Iron Man 3

I actually saw this a few weeks ago, but figured I'd leave my review until more people had the chance to see it (I wouldn't want to be accused of being topical). This post contains spoilers.

I really enjoyed Iron Man 3, it is definitely better than the second film, and possibly better than the first. The first film successfully launched the character into the mainstream consciousness, which is quite a feat so this one was building on that foundation. On the other hand the first was by necessity an origin story, and so was constrained by that, though it worked in such a way that those constraints weren't clear. As the first Marvel Studios film post-Avengers (Assembled *sigh*) it was going to be interesting to see how the hero would fit back into his own story after the expansion of the heroic universe. It was also necessary to prove that the Iron Man franchise could rise above Iron Man 2, which was only OK and clearly something of a placeholder. I'm pleased to report that Iron Man 3 managed to do these things and more, not only being better than 2 (which was my base expectation), but in fact being really good.

The story is more intimate, which makes sense as it could hardly be, or even try to be, more epic than  Avengers. Bringing the focus back on Tony Stark as a man, and how that man copes with being a hero, was a good choice. For a time Tony is forced (more or less) to rely on his own wits and must rebuild Iron Man the suit, in the process he realises that he truly is Iron Man. while I suspect he was not quite as cut off as the film would have us believe, I think that getting Tony away from his established workshop were he could constantly tinker (and the climax shows just how much tinkering he was doing) was good because it gave him focus and reminded him of his own abilities.

The interactions with the small-town child were pretty good. Adding children to a film that's not about family and has an adult main character can be iffy, as they easily come across as annoying to adult viewers. In this case the kid actually worked really well. Tony never talked down to him, and the kid didn't give Tony any quarter either, so their scenes seemed much more equal than such interactions usually are.

I liked that Tony was profoundly affected by the events of the Avengers film, but that the specific events were only mentioned briefly. What's important is the effect those events (most particularly almost dying after going through a wormhole/portal and seeing massed ranks of aliens*) had on him. I think the portrayal of Tony's panic attacks is well-handled and an excellent example of a sympathetic portrayal of mental health issues. Tony is not treated as lesser because this is happening to him, it is framed as an expected consequence of what he went through. Even a questioning child is simply curious and displays no judgement of him. The person who seems most annoyed by and judgemental of the panic attacks is Tony, which is fair enough as he's the one having them. He even acknowledges that he should get help, albeit quickly and in an off-handed way and then admits that he probably won't. This fits the character and again is not treated with judgement. These are complex issues and they're dealt with quickly but not clumsily. I've noticed that some people seem dissatisfied that the panic attack storyline was not resolved in the film, but frankly it would have been a cop-out if it had been.

The villain was handled very well. There was an understandable level of concern over using a villain called the Mandarin who was basically written as 70s yellow peril, how could that possibly play out well? They managed it, and in hindsight I'm quite impressed that the secret stayed unspoiled. The reveal that terrorist leader, the Mandarin is in fact Trevor Slattery, a junkie actor from London who plays the role for cash, was brilliant. I'm also impressed not only by Ben Kingsley's performance (which could have gone badly wrong in the hands of a lesser actor) but also in what he said in pre-publicity. I read an interview in which he talked about how theatrical the character was and how he manipulated his image, it just ties in so well with both what the character was and how he was used in-film.
I also liked the henchmen. Rather than being faceless goons they did appear to be actual people. There was some great comedy derived not only from the guard's amusement at Stark's unlikely and increasingly manic threats, but also from the henchman who immediately pleads for his life and says how much he hated his job and weird his bosses were. Why don't more henchmen do that?

Again Pepper saves the day, as she did in the first film (I don't think she did in the second, but I don't remember the plot too well). This time definitely taking the real villain out herself, and I thought it was interesting that she ends up having being super powered where Tony isn't. I think that could be an interesting dynamic going forward, but the ending doesn't make clear how much that situation will remain. I also like Pepper's attitude throughout most of the film, she seems to be the only thing keeping Tony connected to reality, and though that in no way stops him from doing stupid stuff she makes sure he knows how stupid it is. I kinda liked that the main villain wants Pepper for his own creepy reasons, but even he is ashamed enough to baulk from saying it bluntly. It makes clear just how repellent it is, and suggests that he still holds her in enough esteem to want to pretend that's not going to be the arrangement.

I like that Tony has a fandom, and is able to use that to his advantage without harshing the squee of his fan, even if the guy was a bit OTT. Actually the slightly amateurish-but-recognisable tattoo made me think of the science brothers fandom, which I'm bemused by but ultimately think is a good thing. So that was already in the forefront of my mind when Bruce Banner appeared at the end of the credits. I'm sure the science brothers fandom were greatly pleased by that.

The things I didn't like are just niggles, mostly do to with the final big action sequence.
I never felt as though Pepper was in any real peril. I knew that she would pretty much be immune to physical harm so didn't feel emotionally invested when she seemed to die.
All the suits at the end were a bit confusing, as they were just a series of flashes and movement. I couldn't tell what they were all for or how most if them were different. It also seemed a contrived that when Tony needed a suit he could simply fall into one, unless the plot was better served by him being unable to do so.
As I say, niggles really.



* I believe that of all the Avengers featured in the film, Stark was the one who would have been most profoundly affected by that sight. He's the only entirely human civilian on the team, and is also a man with a superiority complex who's used to being top-dog. It would have been a bad experience for anyone, but Stark had the least preparation for such a sight.

Time Squared

Episode: s2, ep 13

I was hoping that an episode called Time Squared would be more interesting.

What Happens
The Enterprise comes across a powerless shuttle alone in the middle of space, with no indication as to how it got there. It's pulled into a cargo bay where Riker, Worf and Pulaski investigate. All the markings indicate it belongs to the Enterprise, but all the shuttles are accounted for. Inside is an unconscious Picard, even though they just left the Captain on the Bridge. Riker calls Picard and Data down to the cargo bay.

Picard1

PicardA

This is going to get a bit confusing, so I'm calling the version of Picard who started the episode on the Bridge Picard1 and the one who started the episode in the shuttle PicardA.





PicardA is unconscious and taken to sick bay. Troi  senses that PicardA is as much Picard as Picard1, but as he's unconscious she can't tell much more. Picard1 orders Pulaski to wake PicardA, but his brainwaves are out of phase and he can't remain conscious. Meanwhile Geordi and Data have trouble charging the shuttle, despite the connections being identical and idiot-proof (so idiot-proof that the Chief of Engineering was called). The charger is out of phase so they make adjustments and get enough power in the shuttle to extract the logs. In a staff meeting Geordi show the logs, which have footage of the Enterprise exploding while trapped in a swirly space-thingy. The timestamp indicates that this will have happened in about 3 hours time. No one understands. The plan is to simply continue and hope they don't make the same mistake again.
Pulaski belives that PicardA's bio-systems are out of phase because he's misplaced in time, and he'll get better the closer they get to the time he came from. Troi senses that he desperately wants to leave but probably doesn't know where he is. Pulaski thinks the whole thing is unhealthy and the Captain is under too much stress.
The ship wobbles, sirens blare, and a swirly space-thingy suddenly appears (as they seem to do). Its the same as the one from the shuttle cam. The ship is being pulled in and the engines are needed simply to stay in one place. At first Picard decides to stay and investigate, because poking at something that you know will cause an explosion is always a good idea. Racked with doubt he fears that any decision will be the wrong one; a probe is launched, it explodes. Geordi runs the engines nearly flat in order to remain stationery. Both Picards are shot by blue lightning (space lightning is always blue). Wherever Picard1 goes the blue lightning follows and Troi senses it's focusing on him. At this point he thinks that leaving the ship might help, but that's probably what PicardA thought too.
Picard1 goes to the sick bay where PicardA is awake but doesn't understand what's happening and apparently can't see his own double (for reasons I'll bet). PicardA is desperate to get on the shuttle so Picard1 has Pulaski release him and orders all the crew out of the cargo bay. The pair stride down corridors together and Picard1 speeches at his other self to find out what happened. PicardA believes the entity recognises him as the brain of the ship, which is why he/they are being targeted, he tried to leave in order to save the ship. Picard1 phasers his other self to stop the pattern, then orders the ship to fly straight into the vortex.* PicardA disappears and the Enterprise quickly arrives back in regular space.

Oh Captain, My Captain
It is understandable that Picard1 is shocked and suspicious to see a timeslip various of himself. He also seems unreasonably irritated and gruff towards PicardA, who is clearly suffering. Even when he's sure that PicardA isn't a trick, he's still pretty interrogatory and mean to him. At one point he even shakes his other self by the shoulders, which seems inadvisable to say the least.
Picard's main issue seems to be that he is unused to doubt. Knowing that something he will or won't do causes the ship to explode leaves him in the uncomfortable and unfamiliar position of second guessing himself. Welcome to the life of a neurotic, Picard.

Riker: lover, adventurer, middle-management ...and unsuccessful chef
Before the theme tune Riker is cooking omlette, with real eggs and a whisk and everything. Data, Geordi, Pulaski and Worf arrive with gifts. Data points out that cooking is not a very efficient means of feeding yourself, Riker talks about cooking in terms of subtly, flair and individuality. It turns out Riker likes cooking because his father hated it and left it to him. Worf queries why his mother didn't do it because it's his understanding that "in most human families the woman shares in the cooking."** For someone who was raised by humans Worf's understanding seems a few centuries out of date. Riker reveals that his mother died when he was young (as it turns out this will be relevant to the next episode).
Everyone hates the omlette, besides Worf, who finds it delicious. It turns out Riker bought alien eggs at a starbase and either they've gone off or else that kind of egg is gross.

Counsellor Pointless
Troi claims she can't explain what she's sensing from PicardA, then explains it. She often prefaces statements about her empathic abilities with comments like this. It's not just her job to sense these things but also to communicate them to people who can't. Of course no one can tell whether she's just making excuses or not, but I'd be interested to see whether another empath would call her out on this.
When the swirly space-thingy appears Troi senses a mind but not an intent. There's always a mind behind these things, isn't there. Space seems to be full of bloody big brains just floating about the place.

Poor O'Brien
O'Brien is in the cargo bay when the two Picards arrive and witnesses Picard1 phasering PicardA. Seeing a man you respect shooting his other self is pretty alarming. Then O'Brien sees PicardA and the shuttle fade out of existence, without a guitar solo or anything.

Like me Geordi probably can't see 3D films

Staff Meetings: 1
In the observation lounge Geordi plays the shuttle video log which is blurry because of phase shifting or something. The log shows a sad looking Riker, a swirly space-thingy and the Enterprise exploding. This will happen/has happened 3 hours and 19 minutes in the future.
No one can understand why the ship explodes nor why Picard would leave. Data refuses to theorise because he simply doesn't have enough info. Riker thinks the sequence of events is unavoidable, Worf mentions the mobius time-loop theory. Picard decides to keep going as normal and hope it's fine. Personally I would've thought that getting the hell out of dodge was a better idea.


Death by Space Misadventure
Technically everyone on the Enterprise, besides Picard, explodes in one time line. Then that Picard fades out of existance due to surprisingly dull timey-wimey stuff.

The End
Picard sits in the observation lounge and reflects on what just happened. Riker suggests it was a shared illusion, Picard thinks it was meant to happen. He does not recommend meeting yourself.

* Yes folks, the solution to this episode is actually a line from Star Trekkin'.

** FFS, I hate versions of the future where gender roles (among other societal things) are assumed to be entirely the same, or are portrayed very traditionally. Just for the record, in my human family the man does the cooking, mostly because he likes it and I'm not very good at it.

Forests of the Heart

 I've found it strangely hard to write about books recently, hence the lack of book posts. Sorry about that. I'm determined to get restarted though.

 

Forests of the Heart 

Charles de Lint

Bettina grew up near the desert and was taught magic by her beloved grandmother. She is drawn guided north and follows the signs to Newford, where she ends up modelling in an artist's colony. It is here that she sees los lobos, shadowy men who linger in the spaces between the human world and la epoca del mito (the spirit world).* Sculptor Ellie receives a strange commission from an eccentric and androgynous patron. As a natural sceptic she finds it hard to believe those who say she has mystical powers and is alarmed when spooky stuff starts happening. Irish siblings Miki and Donal have never been well off, but life is better than it was when they were kids and at least they have each other. That is until Donal falls in with a bad crowd and crosses a line Miki can't forgive.

This is the first full novel I've read of Charles de Lint. After reading a collection of his short stories I knew I wanted to read more of his work, it was so interesting the way he mixed mythology, magic and modern life. I'm pleased to say that Forests of the Heart did not disappoint. The story draws on both Irish and Mexican/Indian (as in Native American) mythology and brings them together in a snowbound town in the northern United States. The trajectory of the story was mostly as I expected, but there were a few unexpected twists and some minor characters who proved more significant than I first expected. Due to the nature of magic the characters' backgrounds and internal conflicts are as much part of the story as the external action and danger.

There's a fairly large cast of characters, as when as several viewpoint characters there are linked groups of friends and relatives. Every character feels realistic, even if some of the minor cast are painted in fairly broad strokes and others are referred to more than seen (I assume they feature more prominently in other Newford books). The main characters are nostly sympathetic, even when they're at odds. Even antagonistic characters feel fleshed out and have believable motivations, even if they aren't likeable or what they do is bad. The psychology of the viewpoint characters is very important, especially in the case of Bettina. She is given the most detailed back story and her personal issues are a focus of the story. It was interesting to read the juxtaposition of the snowy northern city and Bettina's powerful memories of the desert.

The book was particularly atmospheric because as I was reading it the UK was hit by the most snow it's had in decades. I saw the deepest snow I've ever seen in my life (except for the time I went up a mountain in Switzerland, but I wasn't in the snow then). Of course I realise that the weather we had this spring is nothing compared to proper blizzards and ice storms such as those described in the book, but still it felt fitting to read it at that time.


* I may have learned a very random selection of Mexican-Spanish words.

The Royale

Episode: s2, ep12

What Happens
This episode made me think of Hotel California by The Eagles, so that's how I decided to write it up.
Please note this is not meant to actually be sung (though you can try if you like), parts of it don't rhyme or scan.

On a dark unmapped solar system, winds three hundred and twelve miles per second
Smell of frozen methane, rising up through the air

Up ahead in the distance, I saw ancient NASA debris
I analysed it and I got curious
I sent an away team
In the dark revolved a doorway
I heard no comms from the ship
And I was thinking to myself,
"There's no danger, this might be a nice trip"

Front desk claimed it was Earth, it should be Theta Nine
The people all around weren't real
They're just passing time

Welcome to the Hotel Royale
Such a retro place (Such a retro place)
Why's it out in space?
Plenty of room at the Hotel Royale
For two hundred years (For two hundred years)
You can beam down here

His mind is cliche-twisted, he got the bad novel blues
He encountered aliens who didn't have a clue
How the bellhop bugs the desk clerk, such bad dialogue

The plot is so predictable, no one is agog

So I called up the Captain,
He said "What's your situation?"
I said, "We're trapped in a structure resembling twentieth century Earth."
And still those voices are calling from far away,
Wanting regular status reports
To help us end our stay

Welcome to the Hotel Royale
Such a retro place (Such a retro place)

Why's it out in space?
Dying alone at the Hotel Royale
Aliens made this hell (They made this hell)
But they meant well

Bad novel on the beside
Its why all this is here
The astronaut welcomed death, the situation is clear
And down in the lobby
The foolish bellhop is shot
Surely the melodrama's over now?
Oh no, turns out it's not.

We plan to leave by winning
The android fixed the dice

The cowboy lost his money but
It turned out all right
"Relax, " I said to the desk clerk
"We're buying the hotel
Now we have to beam away
But we wish you all well"

That may have been incomprehensible (especially if you don't know the episode), but I figure the original song is pretty weird too.
In summary: the Enterprise finds NASA debris orbiting an unexplored, inhospitable planet. Riker, Data and Worf beam down to a structure inside a pocket of breathable air and find a 1930s US casino called the Hotel Royale, populated by period-appropriate simulations. Unable to leave, they investigate and discover the remains of an astronaut who left Earth in 2037. His diary reveals that he was left there by aliens who inadvertently destroyed his ship, and then created the simulation in the belief that a very bad novel was a guide to his civilisation. In order to leave, the away team take on roles from the novel (or something like that), win huge amounts of money and buy the hotel.


Guest star: Sam Anderson
I knew the desk clerk was familiar as soon as I saw him. Sam Anderson has had parts in loads of US TV
shows, several of which I've seen. For me he's most familiar as the Fonzi-loving doctor who delivers Pheobe's triplets in the 100th episode of Friends.


Oh Captain, My Captain
Picard gives Riker a short, unasked-for lecture on Fermat's last theorem. He likes to look at it every so often and tries to figure it out as a hobby, or possibly as an exercise in humility. Sadly, it seems the work of Andrews Wiles (who published a proof of the theorem in 1995) seems to have been utterly lost by the 23rd century. Probably due to all the nuclear problems that destroyed all the knowledge accumulated during the 1990s and the next few decades.
Picard reads Hotel Royale, the bad novel the simulation is based on, and gives info to the away team. It's clearly not as good as Dixon Hill.

Riker: lover, adventurer, middle-management
Riker is pretty decisive and take-charge in this episode, he's the driving force of the away team. He's the one who uses info from Picard to come up with an escape plan. It's a strange plan, and the fact that it works makes absolutely no sense. Then again they all get away safely, so I suppose Riker feels pretty good about himself. His final line makes it clear that he didn't understand what was going on either. (see The End)

Does Not Compute
Data meets a straight-talking person from the past, which is always amusing, or at least weird. Data gambles with a rich Texan and an unlucky blonde woman that the Texan seems to be preying on.
At the end of the episode Data's gambling skills are needed and rather than figuring out probabilities or counting cards he plays dice, even though there's "a certain degree of random fortune involved". Data can tell that the dice are loaded, so he uses his strength to alter the weight and blithely cheats his way to millions, as far as I can tell anyway. I'm not sure why the management didn't change the dice or ban Data from the table before he broke the bank so hard there was not enough money in the building.

Klingon Warrior
Worf is on the away team, he doesn't do much. Early on he tries phasering through the wall, which is good, lateral thinking, though it doesn't work. Otherwise he says very little and no one comments on his appearance, which seems odd in a 1930s setting. It's like they don't know what to do with him in this episode.

Counsellor Pointless
While the comms are down Troi's connection to Riker is the only contact with the away team. When he first visits the casino she can tell that Riker feels safe and is amused. After the away team realised they can't leave she senses he's tense and trapped. It seems Troi's abilities can be pretty useful, but only where Riker is concerned. It's a niche skill set.


Staff Meetings: 3
1. Riker comes to tell Picard that they've discovered weird debris. Picard sidetracks him with a brief lecture on Fermat.
2. Data reports to Picard, Riker and Troi about the NASA debris. It's from mid-twenty first century Earth, even though no ship from that time could've gotten so far. It looks as though it was hit by a modern disintegrating weapon.
3. Picard, Geordi and Pulaski tell the away team about their plan to slice open the envelope holding the air in and beam them out. Due to the atmosphere on the planet they'd freeze in 12 seconds, but could theoretically be revived. Riker decides to figure it out for himself.

The Flaw
The end of the episode doesn't make sense. Picard tells Riker that after the climactic shooting the hotel is bought by foreign investors for 12.5million US Dollars, and the investors leave. I'm a bit confused by a novel that deals with thugs, dames, a tragic love affair and a murder conspiracy subplot (most of which we don't see) ending on a description of a financial transaction that takes place after the narrative character has left. Though I suppose the point is that the novel is bad.
Riker decides that they can only leave if they take on the role of the foreign investors, because the novel states that the investors leave. Firstly, I don't understand why the investors aren't already part of the simulation since they definitely feature in the novel. Secondly, as it's not real why doesn't Riker just say that he's going to buy the hotel? After Data does the gambling Riker simply proclaims they've bought it, without any paperwork or anything, he could have done that sooner. Thirdly, the desk clerk identifies them as "the foreign investors" after Riker mentions purchase price of the hotel. This seems pretty meta and therefore not the sort of thing the character should know, unless he was expecting nameless foreign investors, but there's no indication of that anywhere else. I definitely think that there are lines missing here.

Future History
The dead astronaut's uniform has an American flag with 52 stars. Apparently Riker knows his US history
and this means it's from somewhere between 2033 and 2079. What were the other two states? Puerto Rico? Guam? Scotland?
Record checking reveals that the dead astronaut was on a ship called the Charybdis,* a third unsuccessful manned attempt to leave the solar system. I somehow doubt NASA is going to get round to even one in the next twenty four years.

Space Trumpets
I like that whenever the hot-headed bellhop talks to the desk clerk about Mickey D and Rita (the woman we never see) the music ramps up and becomes more swingin'. It's a audio cue that what we're seeing is part of the main plot of the novel. That and the terribly melodramatic dialogue.

 
Death by Space Misadventure
Colonel Stephen Richey lost his entire crew (number unknown) to the mystery aliens. He was taken further than man had ever been (at that point) and lived out his last days alone in hellish recreation of a truly dreadful novel. He welcomed death when it came.
Who wants to be an astronaut?

The End
On his return Riker goes to see Picard and talks about how weird it all was. His last line is "None of it makes any sense." This is a pretty good description of the episode. Then Picard comments that's it's a puzzle that might never but solved, like Fermat's theorem, which has been solved thus adding to the nonsensical nature of this episode.

* There seems to be a trend for giving space vessels Classical names. Unfortunately the people who choose these names need to do a bit of research as so often fictional ships have names of ill omen.** In this case Charybdis was a mythical sea monster who was pretty much a whirlpool, though she might have been a beautiful nymph who was punished. Getting unwillingly sucked into somewhere you never escape from is a pretty obvious metaphor.
I do like the little picture of a Classical-looking statue and a whirlpool on the astronaut's badge, nice touch.

**In Sunshine I wasn't surprised that a ship called Icarus had done badly when sent to the sun. In fact I suspect that was the reason it did badly (that and the crazy sunburnt guy, obviously).

Goodbye to the Library

Next week I won't work in a library any more. It's not completely hit me yet, but it feels a bit strange.

I've been working in public libraries for just over 7 years. Though I'd never intended to make a career in libraries, it has become part of my identity. Saying you work in a library comes with certain assumptions, many are stereotypes, but a love of books is probably the most accurate. It's a job you usually don't have to explain to people, even though they probably don't understand all that you do.

At the moment I only know bits and pieces about my new job, however I'm guessing it comes with less assumptions. I'm certain it will be a change for the better, for me and my working life. Even o I think it'll take a while before I stop thinking of myself as a library person.
Saying that I'll still be the wife of a library worker, so I guess I won't be entirely out of the loop.

Contagion

Episode: s2, ep11

What Happens
Picard is called to the Neutral Zone to help his friend Captain Varley with a serious malfunction on the Enterprise's sister ship, the Yamato . There's brief communication, then the Yamato explodes. A Romulan ship appears and Picard asks what they're doing in the Neutral Zone, the Romulan Captain returns the question. Picard says he'll stay until he's sure the Romulans didn't cause the explosion. Geordi reports that the Yamato exploded due to an internal problem. Picard reviews Varley's logs and discovers that his friend was tracing an ancient civilisation in order to keep advanced tech from the Romulans. The Yamato encountered a strange probe at an ancient planet, but couldn't do more as they were plagued by malfunctions. Varley wanted Picard to carry on the mission.
Picard takes the Enterprise to the planet, even though Geordi is still checking for explosive design flaws and it goes against what he told the Romulans. Minor system errors cause various problems. At the planet a probe is sent to the ship, the Captain intends to catch it. Geordi has to run to the Bridge to tell them to destroy the probe. He's discovered that the Yamato got a virus from the probe, which spread to the Enterprise via the Yamato's logs. Picard believes that since the problem started on the planet the answer must be there too, he goes to the planet with Worf and Data.
The Romulan ship reappears and asks why they've gone further into the Neutral Zone. It looks as though they're going to attack, but it turns out they have the same system issues, suggesting they tapped into the Yamato's files. Riker orders the shields raised, cutting off the away team. In an underground facility Data partially translates the language on the control panels and accidentally creates a gateway that leads to various places, including the Enterprise. Worf suggests the tech could be a weapon, though Picard senses that the inhabitants weren't hostile. Data tries to tap into the power source and gets infected by the virus. Pic tells Worf to take Data through the gate when the Enterprise cycles round again. Data slowly guides Picard through self-destruct instructions. Worf carries Data to the Enterprise and Picard sets a countdown. Data seems to die then revives, giving Geordi the answer to the system errors. Picard goes through the gate and arrives on the Romulan ship, where they believe he has sabotaged their ship because the auto-destruct is stuck on. With the Enterprise systems fixed O'Brien beams Picard back. Riker sends the Romulans instructions to fix their ship.


Picard Really Likes Old Stuff
At first Picard breaches the Neutral Zone on the request of an old friend. Then it turns out there's an archaeological mystery. This is the first episode where we discover the Captain's weakness for archaeological mysteries, something he obviously shared with his friend Captain Varley. Once Picard learns the nature of the situation he's keen to investigate, even though the Romulans told them not to go further into the Neutral Zone and Geordi can't guarantee the ship won't explode.
The probe from the planet (which looked like a shiny, blue moon with force lightning) was so obviously the problem. I'm really surprised Varley didn't realise it, but by that point he was blinded by ancient mysteries.

Riker: lover, adventurer, middle-management
Riker doesn't want Picard to go on the away mission, it's clear they've had this heated discussion before. Picard won't listen to Riker's perfectly understandable concerns. He said the first time they met that he saw it as his duty to protect his captain, Picard doesn't make it easy. The Captain claims he has specialist knowledge necessary for the mission, not that it matters because it's not as though Riker can pull rank here. I think that's part of the tension. Varley didn't listen to his first officer either, and now they're all dead.
Riker is left to deal with the Romulan's perfectly understandable suspicion and various intermittent system failures. When Troi says the crew would benefit from busy work to relieve their tension Riker suggests they plan for evacuation, which I'm sure made everyone feel a lot calmer.

Does Not Compute
On the planet Data recreates the ancient language to operate the tech. He gets infected by the virus, which isn't surprising, though you'd have thought Data might have better virus protection. The virus attempts to rewire his systems, leading to blindness, paralysis and slow external communication. For some reason Picard still trusts Data to help destroy the facility, even though he's been infected by their virus. Luckily Data's suggestion and Picard's 'feeling' that the civilisation weren't militant. If Worf had been right about military applications Data would have been a massive liability.
When Worf carries Data to Engineering there's little Geordi can do and at one point it looks as though Data dies. Geordi closes his eyes with the close-a-dead-person's-eyes movement that everyone on film and TV seems to know. Then Data sits up, because death isn't the same thing for him, and seems fine except that he can't remember anything that just happened.

Blind Engineering
Geordi realises that the Enterprise got a virus from the Yamato, and that the exploded ship got it from the alien probe. Comms go down just as Geordi tells the Captain to destroy the probe, so he has to run all the way to Bridge. The trip is difficult because the turbolift goes haywire and Geordi is thrown all around. At one point he loses his visor in the lift and it looks like there'll be a Velma moment, luckily he finds it just before the doors open and he is literally thrown onto the Bridge.
When Data is brought to Engineering Geordi thinks he's dead. When the android revives without his recent memories Geordi realises that his system rebooted and dumped the corrupted memory. Then Geordi realises they can do the same thing with the ship, though it'll mean a full shut down. Riker is concerned about the shields being down while they're facing a Romulan ship, but not about life support. The whole thing is accomplished really quickly and without any of the inconvenience you'd expect of rebooting a starship that contains your entire environment.


Security Breach
They really need to upgrade their firewall and virus protection. Also they should be more careful when sharing files.

No Magic Here
Whilst bothering archaeologists (which probably isn't his job), Captain Varley was given a super-advanced artefact that looked like a magic wand, but he doesn't know how to work it.
Picard tells Wesley that contemporary sources called the Iconians Demons of Air and Darkness, and claimed they could travel without spaceships. Wesley says that sounds like magic, I agree. When Data creates the gateway they treat it like technology, even though it links to late-20th Century Toronto and ancient Mediterranean ruins.

Staff Meetings: 4
1. Geordi's report on the explosion is rich in technobabble. The seal was broken, the forces of light and dark met, and the prophecy was fulfilled... or something. Basically the problem was internal, and the Enterprise could have the same flaw. Troi suggests withdrawing now they know the Romulans weren't involved, but Picard doesn't want to move until the Enterprise is checked (unless an ancient mystery presents itself, of course).
2. Wesley asks Picard about the Iconians, he thought they were a myth. The Captain infodumps. Wesley actually came to talk about the ship explosion, it really shook him. Picard orders tea* and gets flowers, signalling the start of the system problems.
3. Geordi explains that the probe tries to reprogramme systems, like a virus. The Enterprise caught it from the Yamato's logs. Data reports that Pulaski is sending medical teams through vents because the lifts aren't safe.
4. Picard reckons there should be instructions near the launch site on the planet and says he'll lead the away team. Riker objects but is overruled.

Won't Somebody Think of the Children?
Picard goes into the dangerous Neutral Zone with the entire ship, when he could've just taken the Battle Bridge (Varley did the same thing, they really are similar). Picard also doesn't separate the saucer section when it seems like the engine might explode. He stays in a dangerous part of space, in case moving causes an explosion, but then moves the ship to an even more dangerous part of space even though exploding hasn't been ruled out.
When Riker's in charge he suggest Troi lead the crew in evacuation plans, which he seems to intend as busy work. I assume that releasing the saucer section would be the best evacuation plan, though I appreciate that the system problems may prevent that.

Death by Space Misadventure
Everyone on the Yamato dies in the explosion, crew and their families. Picard estimates it's over 1000 people, which seems conservative.

The End
When Picard is beamed to the Enterprise he tells Riker about the situation the Romulan's are in and it's the first officer who sends the lifesaving information to their adversaries. Picard says that they should move the ship away, in case the Romulan's can't fix their problems. Then he glibly tells Riker that he's being hogging all the excitement on the away missions and suggests that it's just been the same old routine on the ship. He leaves the transporter room, followed by a long-suffering look from Riker.

* This is the first episode with Picard's standard order: tea, earl grey, hot. Does it come out cold or lukewarm if you don't specify?

The Dauphin

Episode: s2, ep 10

Wesley falls in love and it's nowhere near as saccharine or nauseating as I feared.
Not quite sure about the episode title; it's a French term for the heir to the throne, but it's also masculine. It must be referring to Salia, but then I would've thought it should be "Dauphine".


What Happens
The Enterprise goes to a very foggy planet to collect Salia, a young head of state, and transport her to the war torn planet she will rule. She's accompanied by Anya, her very protective guardian. Salia and Wesley are attracted to each other, but Anya warns the young ruler that she must focus on bringing peace to the homeworld she barely knows. According to Data's infodumps, Salia's parents are from the two warring sides in a civil war and were killed when she was an infant. The idea seems to be that she can unite the two very different groups, but since one lives in darkness and the other lives in light I'm not sure how that would even work.* Wesley is confused and goes around asking advice from senior crewmembers, this would be inappropriate were it not for the fact that various male crewmembers made a pact to raise him as their own, or something.**
Anya goes around the ship criticising things, she claims the engines aren't working well enough. She turns out
to be shapeshifter who can take on various forms, and turns into a big, ferocious creature whenever she thinks Salia might be at risk. The guardian is locked in the brig after threatening to kill one of Dr Pulaski's patients, lest he pass infection to Salia. Picard asks Wesley to stay away from Salia for the good of the ship, but the young woman goes to see him. When Anya finds them together she goes growly again, but Salia shields Wes by turning into a big-furry-thing-with-claws too. Wesley gets upset about her being a shapeshifter and not telling him, but they part on good terms. She says she wants him to remember her human shape, but lets him see her true form, which is basically shiny energy (not bug-eyed and furry).


Riker: lover, adventurer, middle-management
After being sent away by Geordi, mildly alarmed by Worf and scienced at by Data, Wesley asks Riker for
advice on talking to girls. It took him long enough. As they're in 10 Forward Riker invites Guinan to help. Riker and Guinan flirt with smooth, eloquent intensity, ignoring Wesley's attempts to interrupt. It's both hilarious and weird. Wesley is confused and freaked out (which isn't surprising) and leaves after Guinan tells him to shut up.

Does Not Compute
Data talks to Wesley about biological compatibility and cell membranes after he overhears Worf giving Wesley advice about mating rituals. Wesley is unimpressed by Data's scientific approach.

Klingon Warrior
After being sent away by Geordi Wesley asks Worf for advice. Klingon flirting seems to involve roaring and clawing from the women, and poetry and ducking from the men. It is clearly too hardcore for Wes, so Worf suggests he begs like humans do.

Blind Engineering
Wesley is working for Geordi and should be fetching a magnet when he sees Salia and goes to his quarters to preen in front of a mirror instead. Geordi summons Wesley back using comms and finds that he's too distracted to be of any help. When Geordi discovers Wes is thinking about a girl he sends him away because his glands are full of hormones, which means he can't be useful. Instead of leaving, Wesley quizzes Geordi about exactly what he should say to Salia. Geordi's advises Wes to introduce himself, but he quickly has to tell the kid to talk to someone else. As Chief Engineer he's busy doing whatever it is with the engines, which is no doubt very important and probably nothing to do with ending the conversation (not that anyone could blame him).

Counsellor Pointless
Troi senses something odd about the women visiting the ship. Not that they're impostors, but they aren't quite what they say they are. This is yet another situation where Troi's powers are of little use. No one can do anything to act on her vague suggestion.

Young Love
Wesley and Salia spot each other in a corridor and briefly talk about magnets before Anya intervenes. Then
he goes to see Salia and has absolutely nothing to say to the security officer guarding her door. It's a good thing she comes to the door with a reason for him to come in, otherwise he probably would have bolted.
They talk about the different places Wesley has been, and Salia has only ever read about. I guess Wesley is well-travelled and worldly (quadrantly? galaxyly?). He says she should see other places and takes her to the holodeck to show her various amazing places. He talks hopefully about her seeing other places, but she is wistful because she knows her path is already set. It's actually a pretty effective scene; it looks good, plus the dialogue is simple and honest and it doesn't get bogged down in sentiment.
The pair eat chocolate in 10 Forward and Wesley notices Salia's mixed feelings. She explains that she was isolated before and spending time with him has made her sad because she knows she'll have less freedom in the future. Wesley suggests she stays on the Enterprise (as though that is in any way an option), but she gets upset and leaves. Guinan suggests Wesley go after her. In the corridor Salia is distressed because she knows she can't stay and Wesley tries to insist she can. They are interrupted by Anya and Picard who sternly separate them. Picard tells Wesley that Anya is a dangerous shapeshifter and that he should stay away from Salia for the safety of the ship.
Salia sneaks to Wesley's quarters, and he expresses reservations but is clearly happy see her. They kiss and it's actually fairly sweet. They're interrupted by Anya in full creature mode. Salia tells Wes to run, he calls for security. Anya doesn't back down, so Salia turns into a big furry whatsit too. Wesley runs.
Before she leaves Salia visits Wesley. He's angry and accuses her of 'playing humanoid'. She apologises for hurting him, she didn't mean to. They both talk of love (which seems a bit premature, but this is how these things work on TV), but Wesley refuses to accept her apology. Just before she leaves Wesley gives Salia some chocolate to remember him by.


Security Breach

Worf and Anya are both warriors and both strongly bound by their duty to protect. Even though they wrestle and Worf has to put her in brig, they clearly respect each other. There are times when Worf and Anya exchange hard talk and gazes. I got the feeling that Worf wasn't being careful about poking the bear.
After Anya eludes her guards using her abilities they have to seal her quarters with a forcefield. This is actually a fairly sensible precaution.

Staff Meetings: 2
1. Picard and Troi discuss the situation with Anya and how dangerous she is. Troi senses that on an emotional level Anya is Salia's mother
2. Picard calls Wes to his ready room and explains about Anya being a shapeshifter. The Captain doesn't want to involve himself in personal matters, but for the safety of the ship he asks Wesley not to see Salia. Wesley agrees.

The End
After Salia's gone Wesley sits moodily in 10 Forward. Guinan offers him some understanding words about loss.

* For the purpose of this episode what Salia has to do and how she'll do it are of little importance. The focus is the situation she's in and how she feels.
** A situation which could be exploited for far more comedy value.

Pirate story

I'm pleased to announce that my flash story 'The Trouble with Daydreams' is going to be published in an anthology by Fox Spirit.

This is super exciting as the folks at Fox Spirit are wonderful and its the first time my fiction will be published with ink and paper. 

The Piracy anthology is the first of the Fox Pocket books.
These short books are themed anthologies of flash fiction. They're designed to be a quick, cheap introduction to Fox Spirit authors and stories. They'll be released regularly throughout 2013 and 2014.

The Measure of a Man

Episode: s2, ep9

I'm told that this is the first good TNG episode, and I can't argue with that. Picard gets to say something meaningful rather than just speeching at a problem until it's solved. Plus Data is saved from a terrifying stalker. There is one huge flaw in the concept of the episode (see The Flaw), but if you ignore that it's pretty good.


What Happens
The Enterprise visits a starbase where Commander Maddox, a cybernetics expert, wants to copy Data's brain in order to create more androids. Data doubts Maddox has the skills to do the procedure and refuses to participate for his own safety. Maddox uses the command structure to try and forcibly transfer Data. Picard fights the order and Data even resigns from Starfleet. Maddox then claims that as Data is merely property he can simply be requisitioned and doesn't get to make decisions about his own future. Picard convinces a judge to hold a hearing in order to prove Data has the same freedoms as other sentient beings. Due to a lack of legal staff Picard must argue for Data and Riker is forced to argue for Maddox.

Case for the Prosecution (Commander Riker)

Riker demonstrates Data's robotic functions: his strength, his memory and the fact his arm can be removed to look at the shiny circuitry inside. Riker then demonstrates Data's 'off' switch, which is not cool. Firstly, I'm not sure Riker should even know about it, and if he did isn't that confidential information? Secondly, Riker asked for permission to remove Data's hand, but asked for no permission and gave no warning when he turned Data off.
What sort of hearing is this where the representative for the defence renders the plaintiff unconscious on the stand?

Case for the Defence (Captain Picard)
Picard asks Data about the objects he packed when preparing to leave the Enterprise. Data explains why he values his medals, a book Picard gave him and a hologram of Tasha. Data reveals that he gave his word to not reveal his relationship with Tasha, but Picard suggests she'd be OK with it in this case. Data simply says they were intimate. I must say I'm curious as to how Picard knows about that.

Picard calls Maddox to the stand as a hostile witness. Picard asks Maddox what is required for sentience then asks the cybernetics expert to prove that he (Picard) is sentient, which Maddox finds laughable. Picard then takes Maddox through his definition of sentience and proves that Data fits 2 out of the 3 criteria.* Then Picard launches into his oration about how duplicating Data would be creating a race and how such creations are treated will reveal what kind of people the Federation are.

Louvois rules that Data is a machine, but not property. It's not her place to say whether Data has a soul, he should work it out for himself. She grants him the freedom to choose.


Oh Captain, My Captain

At the starbase Picard meets Phillippa Louvois, a judge who was temporarily kicked out of the Justice department after trying to court martial him. They have an adversarial relationship, but there's chemistry there too, she calls him a "pompous ass and ... damn sexy". This is far more interesting than a lost love/old flame relationship. The episode sees them arguing more than flirting, but that makes sense in context and it's nice that neither uses their wiles on the other.
Picard uses his skills to save Data and prove the lieutenant's personhood. The Captain is motivated by his principles, loyalty, friendship and his desire not to lose the most efficient employee he's ever going to have.

Riker: lover, adventurer, middle-management
There's no other legal staff on the starbase and so Judge Louvois forces Riker to represent the prosecution. Riker initially refuses because he's against the idea that Data isn't a person. Louvois says that if Riker won't participate, and try his best, she'll simply decide that Data's a toaster** without a hearing. Riker grudgingly researches for the hearing and constructs a reasonable argument. After the hearing Riker feels ashamed of his part in it, but Data reassures him.

Does Not Compute (Thinks)
What the episode never acknowledges is that Commander Maddox's attitude towards Data is horrifying.

Maddox first encountered Data on the Academy entry panel, and was the only person to vote that Data shouldn't be admitted, on the grounds that he's not sentient. Maddox was fascinated by Data and ever since then he's studied the work of Data's creator Dr Soong, trying to understand and replicate it. To do this he claims that he needs to study Data's brain. Maddox refuses to listen to concerns from anyone and goes on about his dream to create copies of Data.
To put it another way: Maddox has been obsessed with Data since they met. He ignores Data's wishes, treats him like an object and plans to hold him, experiment on him and make copies of him against his will. Whenever he and Data have a scene together Maddox stares at him with a weird intensity. Maddox also gets angry when people speak of Data's rights, he claims that Data having rights impinges on his rights.*** One can't help imaging that Maddox's lab is behind a fake wall in a basement somewhere.
Despite the creepiness of the whole situation -which probably goes right over Data's head- at the end of the episode Data says that he would be willing to work with Maddox in the future, when the Commander is better prepared. Of course Data is stronger than a Klingon, so it's unlikely Maddox presented a real threat to him, unless he was able to access his off switch.

Guinan's Hat: purple-ish
Picard shares his concerns about the hearing with Guinan. He fears that the wrong outcome will be disastrous, and not just for Data. Guinan speaks about disposable people, and Picard picks up on the analogy to slavery. In cases like this 'property' is a comfortable euphemism.


Staff Meetings: 3
1) Picard, Riker and Data meet with Commander Maddox to discuss his plans. Data (who knows his own systems better than anyone) asks various technical questions, which Maddox cannot satisfactorily answer. Riker and Picard are both concerned.
2) Picard and Data meet to discuss the situation. Picard doesn't want Data to go, but points out that creating other androids could be beneficial. Data points out that making all sighted officers replace their functioning eyes with visors like Geordi's would be beneficial, but no one asks them to do that.
3) Picard explains to Data that Louvois ruled him property, but Picard is fighting it and making her hold a hearing.

Poker Face
At the start of the episode Riker, Data, Geordi, Pulaski and O'Brien play poker, the first senior crew poker game. Playing cards in the future look disappointingly unfuturistic; they aren't even shiny or holographic or anything. During the game Riker manages to successfully bluff Data. It's something that Data understood in theory, but doesn't have the skills to identify in reality.

The Flaw
This is a fine episode that makes various good points, it's a shame that it's redundant.
The central question (should Data be treated as a person) was answered years before. Data entered the Academy, graduated as a Starfleet officer, served aboard vessels for at least 20 years, rose to lieutenant, and was awarded various medals. Now I'm assuming that replicators don't have ranks, transporters aren't granted service awards, and vacuum cleaners are stored in cupboards not given quarters. Data has been treated as a person ever since he joined the Federation. If he'd been considered to be equipment the entire time then surely he would have been kept in a lab, or a box? No one should have listened to Maddox once he started claiming that a Starfleet lieutenant is an object.

The End
Data tells Riker that he shouldn't be ashamed of his actions at the hearing because his participation helped save Data.

* And as Meat Loaf tells us, that ain't bad.
** It's a purposefully silly decision. As anyone who watches BSG will know, Data is far more advanced than a Cylon Centurion.
*** Claiming that other people shouldn't have rights because it inconveniences you pretty much makes you the villain.

Good news everyone!

I've got a new job! It's all very exciting.*

This last week or so has been a bit of a whirlwind.
I saw the job advertised a couple of days before the closing date and filled in the application form in an afternoon. I got invited to interview on the closing date itself, which I was not expecting.
Obviously the interview went well, I did more prep than I have previously. If anything I probably over-prepared, but that's no bad thing. After the official questions were out of the way the people seemed really nice and it was fairly relaxed (for an interview) and I chatted with them a bit.
I found out I had the job 2 days later and was fairly buzzed for that entire afternoon.

I'm really pleased because I've been job hunting (on and off) for a year, and thinking about leaving for longer. I like working in libraries, but the situation kept changing for the worse and I've gotten restless. Plus my husband works for the same library service, and when there were cuts our situation felt precarious.

I'll start my new job in mid-April and there's plenty to get done before that, mostly sorting things out at my current job. I'm interested to see how my reading habits are affected (and I suspect that'll be the change that's most obvious on this blog). I'll probably get through my TBR pile quicker; without the daily distraction of library books I'll probably read more new stuff. I suspect my choice of reading could narrow a bit, but I'll try not to let that happen too much. Besides I can still use libraries even if I don't work in them.

I'll be working in a contact centre, so it'll mostly be taking phone calls, and dealing with emails and letters. Enquiry handling is something I do a fair bit of in the library, so although the environment will probably be very different I think the skills needed will be similar.

I've ticked off one of New Years Resolutions, and it's the one I had the least control over.



* For a given level of exciting. I'm not going to be having wild adventures or doing anything dangerous. Then again I'm a fairly low key person in many ways, so this definitely counts as exciting.