Series: Star Trek: TNG
Episode: 6.12 Aquiel (2/1/1993)
Rating: 3/5
Redshirt Status: 0/3/38
Notable Guest Stars:
Renee Jones (Aquiel Uhnari)- I know her best as Lexie Carter on Days of Our Lives. She played the role from 1993 to 2012, and it appears to be her last credit. She has no credits after 2012.
Wayne Grace (Torak) – Grace has done both live action and voice work, including several Star Wars and Star Trek games. He played roles in DS9 and Enterprise.
Reg. E. Cathey (Morag)- He played Franklin Storm in the more recent reboot of Fantastic Four. Which I still need to see. He also appeared in House of Cards, for which he has received several Emmy nominations. He unfortunately passed away in 2018, with his final performance being the voice of Captain Quaid in Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure.
Review:
One of these days, I will have to sit down and watch the film Laura staring Gene Tierney because this is the second show that I have watched with an episode inspired by the film. Hopefully the romance is a bit more believable than this episode.
The episode is supposed to be a mystery, with a side of finding Geordi a reoccuring romance. But unfortunately, I think it fails. Part of it may be this style of storytelling may be best done in a film format rather than the shorter TV format.
Also, while I know Renee Jones is a good actress, this role doesn’t seem to fit her well. Whenever I would spend time with my grandmother growing up, we watched Days and the CBS set of soaps, so I saw her as Lexie a far bit. So I know she had a range of skills. I’m not sure if this is just not a fit for her or if it’s the script. She also doesn’t have much chemistry with LeVar so the romance falls a little flat.
Also there is a lot of odd stuff that makes no sense, and several plot holes that were dropped in there. Riker spends most of the episode using his “I AM COMMANDER HEAR ME ROAR” voice, and I don’t really blame him because there is a lot of things in this episode that make no sense.
I wish they would try harder to give Geordi a romantic plot line where he doesn’t come off as…I don’t want to say predator, but he certainly has some questionable ideas about ethics when it comes to his love life. Aquiel, no matter her status in the investigation, is a victim of some assault, and Geordi doesn’t seem to have any qualms about seeking her out.
The weirdest scene in the whole episode is where Aqueil brings out a telepathic crystal that can give them “a strong emotional link during love”. The whole scene acts like a euphemism, but in general is just weird. It’s also sounds a lot like the rock in an earlier episode where Deanna gets attacked by the age monster.
General advice for Starfleet officers: Don’t participate in rituals involving rocks without examining them first. It never ends up well.
Interesting Notes:
- Written by Jeri Taylor, Brannon Braga, and Ronald D. Moore
- Directed by Cliff Boyle
- Aquiel was an attempt to make a reoccuring character for Geordi to have a relationship with.
Pros
- Geordi Backstory. Did you know that he spoke several different languages? I did not. They should have used that part in later episodes.
- New cultures.
Cons:
- Geordi continues to seek Aquiel romantically despite the fact that she has been recently victimized, and also that he is part of an investigation where she is a suspect
- The weird crystal sex thing.
Screencap via CygnusX1.net
Sokorra Lewis 