S01 The Neutral Zone..HUH?!

[SeattleMatt]

So I've seen just about every TNG episode at least 3 times. I had, for some reason, never seen this episode. I honestly think this episode doesn't even feel like a Star Trek episode at all. I know the first season has a weird feel because its trying so hard to be The Original Series, but the original doesn't even feel like this. Here are some things that bothered me about this episode.

1. The ancient HUMAN craft. Riker acts as if its nothing, and at first doesn't even want to allow Data go aboard because it'd be a "waste of time."

2. There are Human bodies on board the ancient craft and Riker doesn't want to use the energy to beam them aboard the Enterprise at first.

3. There are humans that are over 300 years old on board and no one seems to care. Crusher has to convince Picard to not let them die!

4. Data keeps getting crap from all the officers for even bringing them aboard. The crew only seems to see the survivors as a nuisance.

5. The conversation with the Romulans doesn't even make sense. When Picard suggests they work together to find what destroyed both of their outposts, the Romulans at first say yes, but only in this matter will they cooperate when it is "convienent and appropriate at the time." What does that even mean?! The next thing they say I will just quote directly because its so convoluted: "Matters more urgent caused our absence. Now witness the result. Outposts destroyed, expansion of the federation, everywhere. Yes, we have indeed been negligent captain, but no more." WHAT?! Soooo....You're going to work with the Federation in this one matter, buuuut 15 seconds later you won't because you've been negligent in controlling the growth of the Federation? HUH?!

 

[T J]

Yeah, most of the senior officers did seem very out of character in this one. No one is even interested in meeting someone from 300 years ago. The space craft should have been tractored or beamed into the main shuttle bay and taken back to a museum, I'm sure it would have been invaluable from an historical standpoint.

It would be like an old sailing ship from 1750 (with people still alive on it from that time) sailing into New York harbor and the people just shrugging and ignoring it.

And I absolutely hate that they eluded to fact that the Romulan Empire was so busy they ignored the Federation.

What could be more important?!!?!?

At the very least they could have given us two or three episodes on this, after all we got several Worf family honor episodes, they could have made room for this too.

 

[Christopher]

"The Neutral Zone" was produced during the 1988 writers' strike, and thus had to be shot from an unrevised first-draft script. That probably explains a lot of its awkwardness. (Although plenty of first-season TNG scripts were made even more awkward in the revision process, since a very ill Roddenberry and his lawyer were doing most of the rewriting.)

I sort of got the impression that the idea behind "The Neutral Zone" was that finding corpsicles from the late 20th/early 21st century wasn't all that remarkable because a lot of people in that era had frozen themselves.

 

[Timo]

Also, these were dead people. Why bother them? It's not as if our heroes were in the habit of digging open any other graves they found. Hell, even Picard, a noted archaeologist, never confessed to having unearthed a corpse.

Why would a satellite from the 1990s be even mildly interesting? Back on Earth, they'd be considered annoying garbage. The only thing interesting about the device would be how it ended up in the vicinity of Romulan space, but it seems pretty standard for all Trek heroes to accept that such things are mysteries beyond their comprehension (Valiant, V'Ger, Pioneer 11, Charybdis, Ares IV). Supposedly, extreme spatial displacement is common enough. It happened to both Kirk and Picard several times, after all.

The thing about the Romulans didn't bother me as such. They were supposed to be omnious and obnoxious for the sake of future plotlines. Then there was a pause in such plotlines when the writers were on strike or recovering from it. And then we got the payoff, with superb stories like "The Defector" and "The Enemy". It's not as if this episode would have been better off actually setting up something specific (even though it was indeed used as the basis for the Borg story later on).

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Wingsley]

Actually, I have to agree with SeattleMatt. Setting this ep aside, Picard is clearly waaaay out of character here. The man's supposed to be a history buff, and here's a piece of history. So what if the people inside are considered "corpsicles"? Obviously, they're not totally dead, since Dr. Crusher was able to revive them.

Picard can almost be excused for his antipathy toward the refugees from the '90's, since he does have other things on his mind.

The big problem with this ep is that it is so poorly written. It makes no sense for us to see the main characters interacting with these out-of-time refugees when the ship is on its way to the first confrontation with the Romulans in decades. Also, the way the characters behave makes it sound like the Federation never had to deal with the Romulans before. That obviously makes no sense. If the two opposing sides were so totally isolated from each other, it would stand to reason that they would stay that way. If there were hostility between them, then it would make sense that there would be interaction (of a negative kind) to keep that hostility going over the years.

"We are back!" I heard that one mocked, and it did sound like it belonged on JASON OF STAR COMMAND. Heck, SPACE: 1999 did better than that! You just know that TNG's Romulans must be dummies when some golfer from the '90's can take one look at 'em and figure them out.

"The Neutral Zone" was undeniably a let-down, mostly because of its childish story. That's a shame, because all the elements were there to hit one out of the ballpark. Instead of remaking "Balance of Terror", we instead wind up with a bag of hot air, and that's a waste.

 

[SeattleMatt]

Also, these were dead people. Why bother them? It's not as if our heroes were in the habit of digging open any other graves they found. Hell, even Picard, a noted archaeologist, never confessed to having unearthed a corpse.

Why would a satellite from the 1990s be even mildly interesting? Back on Earth, they'd be considered annoying garbage. The only thing interesting about the device would be how it ended up in the vicinity of Romulan space, but it seems pretty standard for all Trek heroes to accept that such things are mysteries beyond their comprehension (Valiant, V'Ger, Pioneer 11, Charybdis, Ares IV). Supposedly, extreme spatial displacement is common enough. It happened to both Kirk and Picard several times, after all.

The thing about the Romulans didn't bother me as such. They were supposed to be omnious and obnoxious for the sake of future plotlines. Then there was a pause in such plotlines when the writers were on strike or recovering from it. And then we got the payoff, with superb stories like "The Defector" and "The Enemy". It's not as if this episode would have been better off actually setting up something specific (even though it was indeed used as the basis for the Borg story later on).

Timo Saloniemi

I see your point but put in the same circumstances in another season the characters would have acted much differently. Look at the Episode "A Matter of Time", when they actually figure out that the visitor is from the 22nd century Picard says that "I'm sure there are more than a few legitmate historians at Starfleet who'll be quite eager to meet a human from your era." So are we to believe that people from the 22nd century are interesting, but those from our era are basically space trash?

 

[Maurice]

Y
And I absolutely hate that they eluded to fact that the Romulan Empire was so busy they ignored the Federation.

What could be more important?!!?!?

Since the writer's strike forces plans made at the end of the 1st season to not be followed through in the 2nd season, there's not way to know for sure. However, the destroyed outposts are certainly setup for the Borg, as Maurice Hurley has said in interviews that the plan was for the Romulans to reappear as something is decimating their empire. He mentioned the idea that the entire Romulan Empire would be destroyed and the last Romulan ship managed to figure out how to destroy the Borg ship, but was destroyed in the process. Then the Borg would start poking around at the Federation.

 

[Timo]

Indeed, how could that be anything but an effective setup? The Romulans have found something more important than their conflict with the UFP - so it really has to be pretty darn important! Good for drama, not bad for drama.

Obviously, they're not totally dead, since Dr. Crusher was able to revive them.

I have complete faith in Crusher's ability to revive any dead body, including that of her late husband. The results just might not be as pretty as here, or worth the anguish. Medical technology at some point must have advanced to a stage where decisions will have to be made not to intervene even when the means exist...

Robbing the graves of the "not completely dead" doesn't sound any better than robbing those of the "completely dead".

It makes no sense for us to see the main characters interacting with these out-of-time refugees when the ship is on its way to the first confrontation with the Romulans in decades.

Why not? It's better than fiddling their fingers.

Also, the way the characters behave makes it sound like the Federation never had to deal with the Romulans before.

Well, these particular people never had to. The time of interaction was before they were born!

That obviously makes no sense. If the two opposing sides were so totally isolated from each other, it would stand to reason that they would stay that way. If there were hostility between them, then it would make sense that there would be interaction (of a negative kind) to keep that hostility going over the years.

Sounds weak. The Romulans gave a perfectly valid explanation to their absence: they had better things to do for a while. They didn't tell what those better things were, and rightly so, because they owed no real explanation to Picard. Why should everybody's life rotate around our heroes or their precious little Federation?

Also, this was completely in keeping with precedent. A century-long silence was established in "Balance of Terror" as well, after all.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Guy Gardener]

If their individual life expectancy is 300 years, then this period of isolation isn't so huge as perhaps the combined tenure of a sitting Praetor or Consul.

Compare this with the US Supreme Court and how there's talk of benching Row vs. Way as soon as the right people chose to retire.

 

[The Boy Who Cried Worf]

I voted this as the worst episode in that thread for precisely the reasons Timo pointed out. First season TNG's humanistic outlook was often established at the expense of ridiculing Earth's past and this episode took it to an insulting level. The 20th century humans are just there to point out what savages we all were and what angels we'll all become. It's probably due to an aging Roddenberry not knowing how to be subtle anymore, and in retrospect it is a good thing his influence eventually was limited.

 

[Trek Survivor]

Yikes. I'm obviously way out of touch with the rest of you - this is one of my favourite eps from season 1!

 

[SeattleMatt]

I voted this as the worst episode in that thread for precisely the reasons Timo pointed out. First season TNG's humanistic outlook was often established at the expense of ridiculing Earth's past and this episode took it to an insulting level. The 20th century humans are just there to point out what savages we all were and what angels we'll all become. It's probably due to an aging Roddenberry not knowing how to be subtle anymore, and in retrospect it is a good thing his influence eventually was limited.

I thought Timo was defending the episode?

 

[Timo]

That doesn't prevent the same points from being used for disliking the episode, though.

Yes, I guess I preferred the first season for that very reason: it dared try science fiction. It dared show people acting according to alien customs and mores, even when it was in many ways stuck to the eighties visually and stylistically. It dared leave out the part where one of the heroes would be the voice of the audience, quoting contemporary truths and beliefs.

"The Neutral Zone" is wonderful in that very respect: there indeed is a contrast between the 1990s people and the 2360s ones, not just a different set of costumes. And it's difficult to see how such a "contrast" episode could ever have been written without alienating the audience from the heroes. Still doesn't mean it shouldn't have been written, IMHO. It's just about the first time the future feels like the future in Star Trek.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Christopher]

Actually, I have to agree with SeattleMatt. Setting this ep aside, Picard is clearly waaaay out of character here. The man's supposed to be a history buff, and here's a piece of history.

It's out of character in retrospect, but Picard's interest in archaeology wasn't established until "Contagion" in the second season, so it wasn't out of character at the time. (In "The Last Outpost," he'd never heard of the Tkon Empire and seemed to have no particular archaeological knowledge or interests.)

Also, the way the characters behave makes it sound like the Federation never had to deal with the Romulans before. That obviously makes no sense. If the two opposing sides were so totally isolated from each other, it would stand to reason that they would stay that way. If there were hostility between them, then it would make sense that there would be interaction (of a negative kind) to keep that hostility going over the years.

The idea was that there'd been no interaction in most people's living memory, that they were a threat from history. It was basically a rehash of "Balance of Terror," in which the Romulans were attacking for the first time in a century; despite that long interval, there was definitely hostility there.

The problem is that "The Neutral Zone"'s claim of no Romulan interaction in 53 years contradicts "Angel One," in which the Enterprise was ordered to respond to a buildup of Romulan ships along the border. But then, "Angel One" was also contradicted by "Heart of Glory," in which the characters said that the name "Romulan" was one they hadn't heard "in a while," even though it was just five episodes after "Angel One." Basically, the continuity in the first season suffered badly due to the heavy turnaround in the staff.

 

[Timo]

...Of course, following the stardate order comes once again to the rescue.

"Angel One" had SD 41636. "Heart of Glory" had SD 41503. Thus, no problems there; there could indeed have been a long pause in Romulan activity before "Heart of Glory".

And while our heroes in "The Neutral Zone" say that there has been no "direct" Romulan contact since Tomed, this could well be acknowledging that there has been contact this year. After all, something prompted Starfleet to call Picard to that meeting about a resurgence of Romulans. The events of "Angel One" might have been that something.

(I know stardate order poses some problems for S1 of TNG. There are three big ones, really: the major presence of Tasha Yar in "Arsenal of Freedom", and her presence in "The Battle" and "The Big Goodbye". These episodes are actually victims of a rewrite of stardates between the penultimate and ultimate script. But apart from those, stardate order would seem preferable from the plot logic point of view, too.)

Timo Saloniemi

 

[The Boy Who Cried Worf]

I voted this as the worst episode in that thread for precisely the reasons Timo pointed out. First season TNG's humanistic outlook was often established at the expense of ridiculing Earth's past and this episode took it to an insulting level. The 20th century humans are just there to point out what savages we all were and what angels we'll all become. It's probably due to an aging Roddenberry not knowing how to be subtle anymore, and in retrospect it is a good thing his influence eventually was limited.

I thought Timo was defending the episode?

Oops, sorry. I meant SeattleMatt.

 

[Myasishchev]

That doesn't prevent the same points from being used for disliking the episode, though.

Yes, I guess I preferred the first season for that very reason: it dared try science fiction. It dared show people acting according to alien customs and mores, even when it was in many ways stuck to the eighties visually and stylistically. It dared leave out the part where one of the heroes would be the voice of the audience, quoting contemporary truths and beliefs.

"The Neutral Zone" is wonderful in that very respect: there indeed is a contrast between the 1990s people and the 2360s ones, not just a different set of costumes. And it's difficult to see how such a "contrast" episode could ever have been written without alienating the audience from the heroes. Still doesn't mean it shouldn't have been written, IMHO. It's just about the first time the future feels like the future in Star Trek.

Timo Saloniemi

That's a passionate defense, and I can actually agree with many of the points. At the same time, while a moniless economy is ultimately buyable (ha), humans no longer fearing or caring about death is nonsensical outside of a cult mindset. Humans treating less advanced humans like garbage is, however, quite believable--unfortunately, the episode doesn't sufficiently play up the irony that Data, a robot, is the only person who actually thinks these poor people, thrust into a world they never made, are better off alive at all.

There was this issue of Warren Ellis' Transmetropolitan featuring awakened sleepers who were treated like crap by the future (indeed, pretty much the same indifference and contempt shown by the E-D crew). It was handled a lot better, maybe because Spider Jerusalem (and the author) actually cared about their plight. Regardless of their circumstance or their foibles or their archaic ways, unfrozen cavemen lawyers are still people, and should be treated as such if a story is to be written about them.

My memory of "The Neutral Zone" is that it did not care very much about its characters' plight. They weren't even characters, really. Just cardboard cutouts for the writer to knock down. Stock broker: "I need my money!" Country singer: "I need my drugs!" I forget what if anything the soccer mom contributed other than being frightened by Worf.

Further, the episode suffers badly from narrative bifurcation. Demolition men and the Romulans have nothing to do with one another, and at the end of the episode, still had nothing to do with one another. Both stories suffered badly from being confined to the same episode without rhyme or reason, other than the writer's strike.

And personally, I think it's too bad the stock broker didn't put Picard in a depressurization chamber. That would've kicked this turkey up a notch.

 

[Timo]

I thought the three sleepers were actually compelling characters. The musician developed a nice rapport with Data, fun as all hell in a "Way to Eden" sort of way. The homemaker was the one who let the feeling of loss show, and was depicted as tracing back her descendants' fates in a very realistic manner. And the broker wasn't merely obnoxious (thus creating the contrast where the heroes would look good despite also looking strange), but an attempt was made to give him some worth as well, in the Romulan part of the plot.

Too bad that the mixing of the broker and the Romulans fell so flat. He didn't contribute the hoped-for shrewdness or insight; if anything, his observations were less useful than Troi's.

I never felt the Romulan "plot" needed more room, though. It wasn't a plot, it was merely a setting. There was no story there, only the promise of one the next season. There was nothing for our heroes to do regarding the Romulans, except fly to meet them and chat with them; that was done with the minimum of fuss, as a mood-setting piece only.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Alrik]

Yikes. I'm obviously way out of touch with the rest of you - this is one of my favourite eps from season 1!

Don't feel bad, I still look at it from the point of view of how it hit me on it's first run airing. I remember when the Warbird de-cloaked and the Romulans showed up on screen, my thoughts were, 'How cool is that? They brought the Romulans back.'

Now if you put it under the microscope, does it hold up well? Probably not, but for me, having Conspiracy and The Neutral Zone on the same disc is kind of a guilty pleasure. They're the two eps from S1 that I tend to watch the most.

 

[Wingsley]

^ They were both guilty pleasures because they were all hype and not enough payoff. And they're an even bigger letdown because both eps had potential.