Episode #156, 157: Gambit, parts 1 & 2
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Episode #156, 157: Gambit, parts 1 & 2
GAMBIT, parts one & two - episodes #4, 5 of 7th season / Air Date: 10/11/93 & 10/18/93
written by Naren Shankar, Christopher Hatton (Part 1) and Ronald D. Moore (Part 2);
Directed by Peter Lauritson (Part 1) and Alexander Singer (Part 2)
The latest and last 2-parter of the show aimed strictly for action-adventure: the Enterprise crew run afoul of what amounts to space pirates, making this episode more similar to Star Wars than any of the others. The whole thing begins with several command crew members undercover in one of those seedy interstellar bars, where they find out that Picard has apparently been killed while on an archaeological expedition. Of course, we know this can't be the case, but finding out where Picard actually is becomes part of the intrigue and excitement.
The other thing which entertains here is how Picard and Riker are acting out the roles of unsavory characters: Picard pretends he's a ruthless smuggler, while Riker takes the cue and behaves like a substandard officer who is on the verge of being court-martialed. They both seem to be on the verge of getting eliminated by the leader of the pirates during much of the episode, so it's a case of walking a tightrope.
The leader of the pirates is played by perennial bad guy Richard Lynch - a good bit of casting; his crew all have devices implanted in their necks (this includes Picard & Riker) and he can send very painful signals to any of them as a means of keeping control (there was a similar device used in CHAIN OF COMMAND by a Cardassian interrogator). More than Star Wars, this 2-parter actually reminded me more of all the many low budget sf films in the eighties - the Star Wars copies - stuff like Spacehunter and Metalstorm, or even Ice Pirates without the comedy.
The 2-part episode is well-paced; there doesn't seem to be much or any padding. There are some revelations about the true motivations of at least one of the outlaw crew members and there's enough suspense that we wonder how it all will end up; it's kind of like a good page turner of an action novel - you'll probably forget about it a half-hour after watching it but while watching, it's pretty good. BoG's Score: 7 out of 10
TNG Trivia: Robin Curtis plays a key role here as one of the outlaw pirates; she's better known as Saavik in Star Trek III (1984) and Star Trek IV (1986)
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