4.04 Suddenly Human

Rating: 2

The Enterprise responds to a distress call from a Talarian ship. The ship contains five young boys, all part of a training mission. One of them is human, captured in a war with the Talarians when his human parents were killed. Picard sees it as his mission to bring the boy back to the human world, but it may not be that simple.

Comments

When captured, Talarians make a howling sound, called the Banar, to signify mourning.

This episode didn’t work for me, perhaps because the boy is not a very good actor, or perhaps because the scriptwriter felt the need to tie everything up too neatly.

Nits

It seemed a contrivance that when Jono stabs his spoon into the sundae, the bulk of the ice cream ends up on Wesley’s face.

It seems unlikely that someone as dexterous as Jono would attempt to eat with a utensil by stabbing it into the food.

I was confused and a little offended that Jono/Jeremiah’s grandmother only seemed happy to see Jeremiah because now that meant that the family line could carry on. First of all, does that mean she only sees the value in finding him if he has kids? Will she disown him or give him back to the Talarians if he doesn’t? And second, even if Jono stays with the Talarians and has children there, wouldn’t his family line still carry on? Granted, if he mates with a Talarian female, his children will only be half ‘Rossa’ (his family name), but that would be the case no matter whom he mated with.

Memorable Moments

•    Jono breaking down during rocketball is very moving.

Quotable Quotes

"You’re probably not aware of this, but I’ve never been particularly comfortable around children."
- Picard to Troi