It was still a somewhat difficult pill to swallow, but I guess we needed a plot somehow. Ardra did do exactly what was written in the contract, and according to Data she met the legal requirements for identification. But even that was explained away relatively easily. All told, this is a more open-minded episode than most stuff you'll see in the media.Īnd then there's the gullibility of the planet. Picard even mentions the possibility that a real Ardra really did sign a contract 1000 years ago. But no, the kidnapped Federation personnel gave Picard a reason to get involved, and Ardra demanding the ship as well gave him an excuse to get rid of her.Īs for the possibility that we would get an anti-religion speech, there was none of that here. I also thought this might be another example of ignoring the Prime Directive. The possibility that this was a Q was immediately brought up, and Picard's skepticism relied on the fact that Ardra immediately zeroed in on the money aspect of ruling a planet. I figured Picard and company would be overly skeptical of Ardra's claims in order to advance the plot (and agenda), given that they live in a universe filled with god-like beings. I was expecting to have quite a few objections to this episode coming in, but was surprised to have almost all of them answered: I guess the budget for alien ships (and facepalms) was all used up. Unfortunately, we're deprived of any scenes actually showing Ardra's ship, and it's always a waste when a courtroom episode doesn't provide an opportunity for a nice facepalm. With Kirk in place of Picard and Scotty unraveling the techno-mystery (Data and Spock being mostly interchangeable as the judge), I think the episode would have been much better - I can just see Scotty reveling in figuring out Ardra's tricks, while Kirk's superior sense of humor would have made the use of the alien gadgets to turn the tables much more enjoyable. I seem to remember reading, perhaps in the Star Trek Chronology, that this actually WAS a leftover TOS script. * The Enterprise visits a planet that believes in a preposterous religion (many episodes) * The alien's plans are thwarted when the alien falls in love with the captain (many episodes) * The planet the Enterprise visits lays claim to the ship based on some irrelevant ancient law ("A Taste of Armageddon") * The Enterprise meets God, who turns out to actually be an alien with some techno-gadgets ("Who Mourns for Adonais," "Catspaw") There are other such episodes, but most of them happened in the first two seasons. This is an episode that would have been much better if it had appeared in TOS. Like this site? Support it by buying Jammer a coffee. I have my doubts that any combination of Neat-O Technology could so perfectly perform the illusions we get in this episode, or if they could, that anyone (okay, maybe Jared, but that's the problem) would be fooled into thinking they're supernatural in origin. Picard turns the tables in utterly predictable fashion, leading to a boring payoff where Ardra is exposed as the con woman she is. The plot is a true who-cares scenario: Who cares if the Ventaxians are exploited? (Frankly, given their stupidity, they deserve it.) And who cares about all the contrived tech details of investigating Ardra? And who cares about this woman lusting after Picard? And who cares if the Enterprise disappears (which plays like lame unintended comedy)? The narrative is a choppy exercise in tedium, revealing its utter desperation by finally just becoming a courtroom episode where Data is the judge. This is clearly overreaching, because if there's one thing you don't screw with, it's the USS Enterprise. Meanwhile, Ardra also lays claim to the Enterprise, since it's in orbit. (Is this someone's twisted allegory for the Second Coming? Naturally, any references to human religions are absent.) The Enterprise crew embarks on an investigation to debunk Ardra's assertion and her claim to the planet. Picard doesn't believe Ardra is really the devil because Picard, you know, has an IQ over 80, which apparently can't be said of any of the Ventaxians. Not if Picard has anything to say about it. In response to Ardra's parlor tricks, spineless Ventaxian bureaucrat Jared (Marcelo Tubert) is prepared to hand over the keys to the planet. Ardra (Marta Dubois) does indeed appear and lay claim to the world, demonstrating powers that would seem magical if this weren't, you know, Star Trek, where technology can do anything. According to said legend, the devil, Ardra, will return to enslave the world (after having so benevolently granted it 1,000 years of peace). The Enterprise answers a distress call from the Ventaxians, whose world is besieged by its own panic because the terms for a legendary millennium-ago deal with the devil is set to expire - like today. Story by Philip Lazebnik and William Douglas Lansford Star Trek: The Next Generation "Devil's Due"
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