Title: Manhunt
Airdate: 06/19/1989
Plot Summary
Lwaxana Troi is back, she’s looking for a man, and she’s got her eyes set on Jean Luc Picard. Meanwhile there are also the Antedeans, a fish like race, who have a couple of delegates that they have to transport to a conference who are in self-induced stasis. Picard decides to hide in the holodeck.
Make It So
Picard just wants to relax in the holodeck and can’t seem to figure out how to do that within the confines of the Dixon Hill program. He also shows some incredible mix of diplomacy and escape artist skills when he brings Data in to his and Lwaxana’s dinner to use him as the most boring anti-wingman ever.
Number 1
Riker is quite amused that Picard is the target of Lwaxana’s affections. Picard is less so. Riker also gets the duty of trying to lug Lwaxana’s suitcase this time.
Fully Functional
Data sure knows a lot about nothing special but not how to read Lwaxana’s body language that he’s boring the shit out of her. He’ll get there. He also is keen to dress up and join the Dixon Hill program.
Today Is A Good Day To Die
Worf really thinks the Antedeans are sexy.
Phase Inducers
Geordi sits this one out.
Counselor Cleavage
Troi spends most of the episode explaining her mothers behavior, but it doesn’t seem like Lwaxana embarrasses her like she did in season 1’s Haven.
Doctor Not Bones
Pulaski really likes the Antedeans. She sees to their care and their food for when they get out of stasis.
Shut Up, Wesley
Wesley really enjoys Riker’s stories of Lwaxana hitting on Picard. Picard is less amused.
Guinan?!
Nope.
Enlisted Man
O’Brien keeps the Antedeans in the transporter room for Pulaski until she can get sickbay ready.
Canon Maker
This formally recognizes Lwaxana as a full ambassador as she actually has duties to do, even though all she seems to care about is finding a maaaaaaan!
Canon Breaker
Lwaxana says that the transporters can’t detect the explosive substance the Antedeans have but that makes no sense. In order transport things properly, it has to be able to understand what it’s transporting. If it can’t detect it, how can it transport it in the first place?
I find it hard to believe that Lwaxana doesn’t understand what a holodeck is, and how the characters in it work.
The transporter helpfully took a lot longer than usual to beam Lwaxana down so she could take one last moment to embarrass Picard.
A Little Bloody Nose
Only Picard’s will to live when Lwaxana is around.
Technobabble
Apparently there are some explosives that transporters don’t detect, but tricorders do.
Please Repeat Your Communication
Counselor Troi: [to Picard] My mother is beginning a physiological phase. It’s one that all Betazoid women must deal with as they enter midlife.
Commander William T. Riker: Yes, it’s something Troi warned me about when we first started to see each other. A Betazoid woman, when she goes through this phase… quadruples her sex drive.
Counselor Troi: Or more.
Commander William T. Riker: Or more? You never told me that.
Counselor Troi: I didn’t want to frighten you.
-Troi laying down a truth bomb on Riker. Riker’s look of panic switching to intrigue was priceless.
Library Computer
There’s a truly surreal moment when you see Lwaxana have an extended moment with the computer, both played by Majel Barrett.
I Know That Guy:
Majel Barrett returns as Lwaxana. Of course she’s nearly on every episode as the computer.
With her, as always, is Carel Struycken as Mr. Homn.
In the Dixon Hill simulation, we get Rhonda Aldrich returning as Madeline plus some new faces:
Robert Costanzo as Slade Bender. If you needed a tough, crusty guy, Costanza was your man in late 80’s and early 90s. He was the cop who gave McClane a ticket in Die Hard 2, Schwarzenegger’s “buddy” in Total Recall, and gave a hilarious performance as a construction worker coming to his kid’s class and telling a completely inappropriate story in City Slickers. Not to mention Harvey Bulloch in Batman the Animated Series. And I’m sure in the comments someone will point out their favorite appearance.
Rod Arrants played Rex the bartender. Just Rex. His biggest role was on the soap Search for Tomorrow for about 180 episodes. He would return to Star Trek in Voyager 9 years later.
Robert O’Reilly played Scarface. You know him just from those bug eyes. He would use those eyes later on to great effect as Gowron, the future leader of the Klingon Empire throughout Next Gen and DS9. He would also play a bounty hunter in Enterprise.
Finally we have Mick Fleetwood completely unrecognizable as an Antedean dignitary. He is one of many celebs, like John Tesh earlier this year, that were huge Trek fans and wanted to be a part of it. Most got parts like this, with only Whoopi Goldberg getting an actual character. Fleetwood didn’t mind the makeup, he just wanted to beam up, which he got his wish.
What It Means To Be Human – Review
Commander William T. Riker: I’m sorry they startled you, Mrs. Troi. They’re Antedean delegates; they’re being stored here temporarily.
Lwaxana Troi: Delegates? Last time I saw something like that it was being served on a plate.
This is the kind of “humor” we can get throughout this episode. What a mess. First you got the typical Lwaxana shenanigans, with her being at her most insufferable. She maneuvers Picard into a dinner he thinks is formal, she creepily even almost hits on Wesley, and tries to marry Riker right there in front of her daughter. While I have given Riker and Troi crap for not taking the plunge, Lwaxana trying to bag him is crossing a line.
And yes, I know it’s all supposed to be played for laughs but there wasn’t a laugh to be found in this shitshow. Well, no laughs, however I do admit to liking the cleverness of Picard getting Data to get him out the “date” by using Data to bore her tears.
Then we bring in the holodeck and Dixon Hill again for him to relax. It was also fairly amusing to see thug after thug come bursting in and Picard keep having to shout “Computer! Freeze program!” Going to the bar within the program finally calmed everything down which was fun.
Finally it all comes together when the Antedeans wake up and Lwaxana off-handedly tells the crew that they are actually terrorists, now that she read their minds. I’ll admit that it does come as a bit of a surprise.
But overall, I just don’t like this episode. It’s grating.
