Star Trek TNG: "Redemption"
"Be the change you want to see in the world."~ Mahatma Gandhi, 20th century Indian spiritual & political leader
Redemption
(Star Trek - The Next Generation episode production codes 200 & 201)(the 2-part season 4 cliffhanger / season 5 opener)
written by Ronald D. Moore
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Ever since the block-buster two-part Borg cliffhanger that ended
season 3 and started season 4, Star Trek fans wondered
how the franchise would ever top that. Even today, some polls
suggest that perhaps they never did - at least, not in terms
of TNG TV episodes. The question became particularly acute
each time another season attempted to end on a cliffhanger
to be resolved by the opening episode of the subsequent season.
In that respect, I think "Redemption" stands out as a damn fine effort, being a completely different and unique story that doesn't copy "The Best of Both Worlds" in any major way, yet has enough of its own highly-charged intrigue to be truly worthwhile as a cliffhanger. Good job.
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To be fair, a lot of the impact depends on the viewer having seen a fair amount of the show previously, as it draws on a lot of prior story threads. At this stage after four seasons, that isn't such a bad thing.
If any thing feels weird about it, it is that 3/4 of a Federation year has passed between "Reunion" and the opening of this episode, when it seems it would have been more natural for the events of the opening to have been an immediate follow-up. Oh well. This won't hurt things too badly.
Although this story doesn't quite manage to mention the Prime Directive
by name, it heavily discusses the non-interference policy of the
Federation at the widest scope it will probably see - concerning
relations with its two largest rival interstellar organizations.
As long as there is dissent only within the Klingon Empire,
they believe they must remain uninvolved. However, if the Romulans
are found to be meddling in the conflict, the Federation will see
fit to weigh in as well.
In many ways, this finally clears up a few points that have been hounding The Prime Directive since first season Next Generation stories like "Too Short A Season". Good.
On the other hand, is the philosophy here truly more enlightened than the disaster witnessed in "A Private Little War"? I think we are on good ground in "Redemption", in that the Captain feels at home in respecting the wishes of the past Klingon leader in arbitrating the succession, but resists armed combat. And even when prepared to do more in the end, they still never actually get around to fighting - spending their time instead exposing secrets. All good.
Pretty much all of the non-interference discussions are over and done with in the first episode, but even in the second, the plot is still hinging on the Federation's position on the issue.
I must say, one point I found quite strange was the sudden escalation from a basically diplomatic story centering in the High Council Chamber in the Klingon Capital City to a space battle fought with armadas of ships - the geography of the conflict seemed like it didn't really need to go beyond a few city blocks of the Council Chamber to be decided, at least not unless the principle figures of one side or the other make a desperate escape and then need to fight their way back to the Capitol. Additionally, the declaration of the Capitol City as "neutral territory", where one can drink with one's enemies before returning to attack his spaceship with one's own... is all a bit too weird. It pretty much takes all logic out of the logistics of the war, and impedes the structure of goals vs. barriers in the main plot, defusing audience interest and emotional engagement in the tale. Thankfully, the Federation/Romulan portions are still working well enough to hold everything together.
The second episode actually reopens a time-travel conundrum
from a previous episode. What is interesting about this
particular piece of backstory is that,
as far as the regular Next Generation characters are concerned,
it was one of those "Adventures That Never Happened".
Notice how much more awkward it is for them to deal with it now,
as they can't even talk about it properly.
This should be another good nail in the coffin
for writing those kinds of conundrums in the first place.
Thankfully, Guinan has some sense of what happened,
but even then, she remains far less articulate than a
proper exploring "slider" ideally should be.
Season 5 of the Next Generation is, in my opinion, the year of gimmicks - and I don't mean that in a particularly bad way, just an honest one. Season 5 is full of ideas with great marketability, meaning it was excellent at getting people excited about the episodes and getting them to tune in and watch. It was a bit more hit and miss as to whether those ideas actually produced satisfying stories. Denise Crosby as "Sela" is really the first season 5 gimmick. Though her character works well within the main plot, the story beat of her coming aboard the Enterprise D just to babble on about her backstory feels a bit too tacked on and out of place in this narrative, though of course fan interest would and does demand it be dealt with.
The biggest flaw in "Redemption" is probably the simple fact that the Enterprise crew largely feel like bit players in this story. Troi and Dr. Crusher have virtually nothing to do at all, while Geordi's contributions don't come about until the second half. Even though Riker gets his share of lines and scenes, he remains on the periphery of the story's concerns.
This really is a story for Picard and Worf, focusing on these two quite heavily and successfully. Data at least gets an interesting sub-plot in the second half, but its emotional subject matter feels a bit too forced. On that note, one wonders why the Federation is able to supply so many ships that have crews but no captains of their own. This is truly bizarre and awkward, and something that I don't think is ever repeated anywhere else when Star Trek has shown multiple ships getting together. This would be a great situation for Picard to be promoted to Commodore, where he still commands Enterprise D, yet also outranks all those other captains. Having him continue to outrank the leaders of all the other ships simply because none of them are captains... not so believable.
At any rate, one really good thing about this story is that we finally get off of the Enterprise D for a bit, and get plenty of scenes in other places - something that modern Trek didn't do nearly enough of. "Redemption" excels in that, and should be celebrated for it.
All in all, this is one of the good stories of The Next Generation
that you can't afford to miss. Enjoy.
"Redemption" is available on DVD. The complete story is available in the Star Trek Klingon box set.
Click on the Amazon symbol for the desired disc format and location nearest you for pricing and availability:
Star Trek Fan Collective - Klingon Box Set: | ||
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13 episode "hours" @ 45 minutes each.
Get your copy of this 4-disc DVD set from the links below: 
Region 1, NTSC, U.S.
Region 1, NTSC, Canada
Region 2, PAL, U.K.
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DVD includes:
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"Redemption" - PART ONE ONLY - is available in the
standard season four box set,
which includes cast and crew interviews discussing
the creation of the episode.
Click on the Amazon symbol for the desired disc format
and location nearest you for pricing and availability:
Star Trek: The Next Generation - Season Four (1990-1991): | ||
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26 episodes @ 45 minutes each.
Get your copy of this 7-disc DVD set from the links below:
Region 1, NTSC, U.S.
Region 1, NTSC, Canada
Region 2, PAL, U.K.
Region 2, PAL, U.K. (Slimline Edition)
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DVD Extras include:
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"Redemption" - PART TWO ONLY - is available in the
standard season five box set.
Click on the Amazon symbol for the desired disc format
and location nearest you for pricing and availability:
Star Trek: The Next Generation - Season Five (1991-1992): | ||
 |
26 episodes @ 45 minutes each.
Get your copy of this 7-disc DVD set from the links below:
Region 1, NTSC, U.S.
Region 1, NTSC, Canada
Region 2, PAL, U.K.
Region 2, PAL, U.K. (Slimline Edition)
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DVD Extras include:
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Article written by Martin Izsak. Comments on this article are welcome. You may contact the author from this page:
Read the next Star Trek review article: "Time Travel - TNG Season Five"
