TNG: A Fistful of Datas

[clearspira]

Well, I liked this episode, and I liked the review.

Then this thread happened.

Seriously. Take the train wreck to the news or somewhere else off-topic.

I actually agree. I've said my piece, and it is definitely off-topic. No more. But as this is going to be my last comment I am going to close with just how confused I am that this civil debate where everyone is politely putting their points of view across is somehow a train wreck or a ''this thread happened''.

[Robovski]

Well, I liked this episode, and I liked the review.

Then this thread happened.

Seriously. Take the train wreck to the news or somewhere else off-topic.

I actually agree. I've said my piece, and it is definitely off-topic. No more. But as this is going to be my last comment I am going to close with just how confused I am that this civil debate where everyone is politely putting their points of view across is somehow a train wreck or a ''this thread happened''.

I use ''trainwreck'' more in the sense of the spectacle people used to go and pay to see - two trains hurtling at each other to collide in a great explosive wreck. You haven't collided yet but it was going to happen, or at least that's what the carved wooden pool ball says.

[SabreMau]

To clarify, it's not that I'm saying people shouldn't be permitted to take a lighthearted comedic episode with Klingons and androids in a cliche western and take a slightly related tangent from it off into an extended political seminar on the sins of societies historic and modern. I'm simply expressing disappointment that it's what they chose to do with it in here.

[CMWaters]

I have to say, to get away from that talk there, I bet Brent Spiner REALLY enjoyed whenever he got an episode like this, as he was allowed to get away from having to play emotionless and could stretch his acting muscles out as it were.

[Fuzzy Necromancer]

It certainly shows a better multi-spiner performance than Masks.

[Deledrius]

It certainly shows a better multi-spiner performance than Masks.

It does, but it's the one aspect that I feel doesn't age very well. He doesn't have as much range as they seem to think he does, and it gets tiresome on subsequent viewings (especially in context of Brothers and Masks). Sirtis is really the standout performance in this episode and it's a shame she didn't get to play outside her normal role more often. Face of the Enemy was excellent, too.

[Aotrs Commander]

I am a bit ambivilent about this episode. Sure, I liked it the first time... But unfortunately - like Rascals and many of the other comedy episodes - my sisters loved it and insisted on watching the video time and time and time again to the point that it wore really rather thin, stopped being funny and was just tiresome (as anything will be if repeated often enough).

Though a good twenty year's distance didn't have me sighing at seeing it again, so that's a positive.

[CharlesPhipps]

The funny thing about the Western genre is that its tropes and romanticization started overwriting the real history even AS that time period was still going on, rather than after the fact. Any movie you see with white cowboys and lots of straight people is a consequence of that.

I remember being kind of sad for Denzel Washington who was a lifelong Western fan being genuinely surprised and kind of angry (since he didn't know about it) that so many black cowboys existed in the real Wild West--including some genuine superheroic ones with deeds outmatching the legends of the time. He only found out when doing research for the Magnificent Seven remake.

Census records speak a different language. Most cowboys were actually white, with about 15-30% mexicans/hispanics, about 15-20% black and only really late into the busines any sort of single digit percentage of native americans (obviously depending on the region in question, the percentages can vary).

While it's wrong to say minority cowboys were a majority, I point out the above figures are, "Minorities were disproportionately more likely to be cowboys versus the rest of the population. They also formed at least a third of all cowboys and very possibly half depending on what area you were located in."

[turbo_sailor67]

I've always loved this episode. And in particular, I do love just how much more beautiful Marina Sirtis is in actual clothes as opposed to the pastel cleavage pajamas that she wore for the majority of the show. Jeri Ryan and Jolene Blalock were the same to varying degrees whenever their catsuits were thankfully replaced by actual clothes. T'Pol aside, bringing in real, utilitarian uniforms was something that Enterprise should definitely be commended for.

I think that this episode actually has something in common with ''11.59'' from a couple of weeks ago regarding the idea of potentially toxic nostalgia. The old west was an horrific place that has been romanticized in popular culture to the same level as the Medieval or Ancient Rome. But whilst it makes for fantastic films and videogames, the reality of actually living somewhere like this, especially for those of us in the 21st century who are used to conveniences, technology, supermarkets, the internet, equality etc. it would be an absolute horror show.

That western code based on honour that Chuck spoke of is a great example of romanticism as like the chivalric code of the Knights centuries before, its a combination of make-believe and exaggeration born from the likes of John Wayne films.

While not loving this episode, I did enjoy it as a kid and still do. Marina Sirtis is definitely much more attractive in the cowboy outfit; and it's just gotta be that the "powers that be" view the audience as being unable to focus or care unless they parade beautiful women's boobs around. Incidentally I never noticed that Troi's outfit was apparently intentionally asymmetric, but pajamas they definitely looked borderline to me compared to the others. There's no reason in-universe for why Seven would be wearing that catsuit, because of her unique situation she should have had a set of work clothes like coveralls as depicted in Enterprise (one of the few things they got correct).

Romanticizing "the old west" for a holodeck program fits right in line with the holodeck being largely used as a form of entertainment for the characters, "holodeck gone wrong" not withstanding. People tend to romanticize "the good old days" wherever and whenever that is, no matter how horrible things could have been as you mention due to infectious disease, quality of food, safety, etc. My Grandmother when she was in her last years and watching the news almost 24 hours a day would get quite upset at what the "news" would be broadcasting, and we all know the old "if it bleeds, it leads" because that's "exciting" and she would often say in a almost breaking voice sometimes "We didn't used to have these things! I tell you these things just didn't happen!" and I would tell her "Sure they did, you just didn't have instant access all day long to know about all of the bad stuff happening around the world." not that she ever agreed but anyway, perhaps the closest TNG gets to reflecting on bygone eras is in "Time's Arrow" where they show old-timey SF. That's off the top of my head, and I think they almost portray SF in a better light than it is today - less human feces for one thing.