Season 4 contains the 80th episode of The Next Generation, at which point it surpassed the output of the Original Series. A number of extended themes played out during this season delving into both the political backdrop and the personal lives of the crew. These continuing storylines proved extremely popular, however they did not detract from the use of Science Fiction to tell interesting stories. Senior Trekker continues to score every episode with a 5.
Another O'Brien episode, this time a serious one in which he is asked to assist when his former commanding officer goes rogue and attacks a former enemy's ship in the Neutral Zone. Colm Meany also performs a beautiful rendition of The Minstrel Boy.
Whether this is seen as an "issue" story or simply as a tragedy probably depends upon your point of view. It has been called a PTSD story because of the many references to an earlier brutal conflict which cost Captain Maxwell his family and, later, his command. At the same time we see that O'Brien has handled his experiences in a much more measured way and seems to be willing to build bridges towards the future peace.
Senior Trekker sees it more as a straight forward tragedy: Bob Gunton as Maxwell, gives an excellent performance as a man who is internally damaged by his personal bereavement and has completely lost sight of his responsibilities to the chain of command. This portrayal is, if anything, a little too sympathetic because he has, after all, killed a great number of Cardassians and seriously endangered the lives of his OWN crew.
On the other hand, the character of Gul Macet was probably not meant to telegraph mendacity quite so obviously as we see here. Marc Alaimo is now so inextricably linked in our consciousness with the odious Gul Dukat of Deep Space Nine, that we cannot see him as anyone else. This episode marked the first appearance of the Cardassians and their look was obviously still in development; hence the collapsed bicycle helmets and the brown leather car-seat breastplates.
Another O'Brien episode, this time a serious one in which he is asked to assist when his former commanding officer goes rogue and attacks a former enemy's ship in the Neutral Zone. Colm Meany also performs a beautiful rendition of The Minstrel Boy.
Whether this is seen as an "issue" story or simply as a tragedy probably depends upon your point of view. It has been called a PTSD story because of the many references to an earlier brutal conflict which cost Captain Maxwell his family and, later, his command. At the same time we see that O'Brien has handled his experiences in a much more measured way and seems to be willing to build bridges towards the future peace.
Senior Trekker sees it more as a straight forward tragedy: Bob Gunton as Maxwell, gives an excellent performance as a man who is internally damaged by his personal bereavement and has completely lost sight of his responsibilities to the chain of command. This portrayal is, if anything, a little too sympathetic because he has, after all, killed a great number of Cardassians and seriously endangered the lives of his OWN crew.
On the other hand, the character of Gul Macet was probably not meant to telegraph mendacity quite so obviously as we see here. Marc Alaimo is now so inextricably linked in our consciousness with the odious Gul Dukat of Deep Space Nine, that we cannot see him as anyone else. This episode marked the first appearance of the Cardassians and their look was obviously still in development; hence the collapsed bicycle helmets and the brown leather car-seat breastplates.