It's Pulaski's swansong and Crusher's return in this short entry. Mindy and I are watching TNG together, and she's out of town this week.
- In "Peak Performance", Riker's put in charge of a derelict ship as part of a war game, and it takes Klingon guile and a cheat from Wesley to win. Meanwhile, Data plays Space Stratego and loses, shattering his confidence. It's all Pulaski's fault, and this is the last nail in her character's coffin.
- I mentioned earlier that the final episode of Season 2 was a clip show, due to show costs and the writers' strike that delayed the season. We've now reached it in "Shades of Gray". Riker is critically injured during an away mission, and is forced to relive bad memories to save him. We see only three sets--the transporter room, a cramped planet set, and sickbay--except in the flashbacks. Almost no additional crew are seen--it's the ultimate "bottle show". At least Pulaski gets a big role in her final episode.
- Season 3 begins with Scrubs' Dr. Kelso (Ken Jenkins) as a stellar scientist. Crusher's return is all about her relationship with Wesley--a year later, he's a lot more independent, and she's not a fan of it. Meanwhile, the ship's computer has gone nuts, and it's all because Wesley screwed up some nanites. The production value of the show--at least the lighting--seems a lot better in this season. It's all in "Evolution".
Season 3 continues next time. Star Trek: The Next Generation is available on Netflix--more to come!