THE MASTERPIECE SOCIETY "The Masterpiece Society" is a very strange episode, and is very hard to evaluate. On the one hand, it's a very atypical TNG episode, in that there's a lot going on, many distinct plotlines and themes, but all of them are very tightly wound up in the backdrop, to wit, the imminent destruction of a genetically engineered, "perfect" society. On the other hand, many familiar TNG ideas are evident: The "character in crisis" (Troi, and Conor), the "Enterprise tries to save a threatened world", the "individual against his society", the "crewmembers find the society reprehensible", and, of course, that old devil the Prime Directive. There were no major gaffes in the episode. But no spectacular pyrotechnics (visual or otherwise). It was a quietyly solid, and yet oddly bewildering, episode. After some rumination, I think I have to major observations (and a handful of minor ones) to make about "The Masterpiece Society". To begin, the major ones: First, this seems an instance of TNG overreaching itself somewhat, in that this concept was just BEGGING for a more thorough treatment. It would have been a prime candidate for a "story arc" approach, especially in that the story itself followed a set progression (Enterprise encounters colony, the effort to save the colony, the repercussions of the Enterprise's visit, and the attempt to minimize those repercussions). There was easily three or four hours of material here. And I'm left with a slightly acrid taste in my mouth because I feel like it was given the short shrift. (And I'm NOT as down on TNG's rigid format as some are. It's rare that I see an episode that I think really NEEDS to be expanded; it's more frequent that I feel they ought to cut out some of what's in the episode and work exclusively with the rest. This is an exception.) Second, this episode is almost unique in TNG in that it tackles its subject matter (i.e., the moral issues surrounding the nature of the colony) from two levels at once: We have Picard and LaForge, who for the most part are sitting safely in their castle in the sky, making grand statements about how they find the engineered colony reprehensible. And we have Troi, Conor and the dissident colonists showing us the reality of the society. Overall, I think the former, more airy, approach is unsuccessful. Picard and LaForge both come off as rather bigoted to me, and their words are, well, just words. Picard doesn't care for genetic engineering? Well, maybe it doesn't care for him, either. Even the dissidents didn't seem to mind their background; it was their future they were concerned about. What gives people the right to decide if LaForge can or cannot live? People exercise that right all the time, not just through procedures such as abortion (which I find an entirely moral action, personally), but by simply electing not to conceive children. If his parents has decided not to have sex the night he was conceived, would that then be immoral? I think not. He never would have even noticed. Hindsight is 20/20, Geordi. The latter approach I found much more successful. We see people grappling with the reality of their isolated society, the understanding that despite their forefathers' intentions to create a perfect world, they have lagged behind the rest of humanity in some ways. We see them making very human decisions on impulse, electing to head out into the stars without really having much of a clue at all as to what is out there. A good decision? Who can tell? Probably some will be disappointed (clearly not everyone in the Federation can become space explorers) and others will relish their experiences. We see Troi's admiration of the society they have constructed, her feeling for Conor, and her realization that the nature of the society she admires makes a romantic relationship between them impossible. Now, for the lesser thoughts: The final exchange between Riker and Picard about the Prime Directive was more irritating than enlightening. Certainly, their presence interfered in the balance of the colony, but as Riker points out, that balance would have been COMPLETELY destroyed if they hadn't done so. This may be a case of the Enterprise playing judge and jury, but it was a role that the crew was forced into. A *lack* of contact would have had just as profound an impact on the colony as the contact did. And really, this is what I see as a great flaw in the Prime Directive: Once a society ahs been discovered, some human MUST make a decision to contact, or not to contact, the people of that society. Either choice will substantially impact that society's development, and there's really no way to tell which way would be better. Perhaps by not initiating contact, the planet will head down a route leading to self-destruction. Did the structure housing the colony remind anyone else of the Leisure Hive from the Doctor Who episode of the same name? As Conor plans to rebuild his society, it seems to me that one idea he should have in the back of his head is to expand its scope. If the colony can be engineered to include redundancies in its population, then perhaps the needs of both the individuals and the gestalt could be met. Obviously, the founding fathers of the colony never anticipated future contact with mankind, or that some of the populace would elect (and be able) to leave. Perhaps if the colony's premise were extended to eventually allow it to migrate off of the planet, it might overcome some of the objections leveled against it. (I.e., the question of the worth of a stagnant utopia as opposed to a flawed but growing culture.) So, is "The Masterpiece Society" a masterpiece? Well, no, but it's an interesting episode, as interesting for its flaws as for its strengths, and a genuine effort to do something new with old ideas. And one of the most cerebrally satisfying - and infuriating - TNG episodes. I like it. Grade: B+ SEASON FIVE AT A GLANCE: Redemption II: B- Darmok: A+ Ensign Ro: C Silicon Avatar: C- Disaster: B- The Game: B- Unification I: C Unification II: D+ A Matter Of Time: B- New Ground: F Hero Worship: C- Violations: A The Masterpiece Society: B+ --- Total Points: 31 Season Average: 2.385 ( C+ ) (Rise of 0.079 from previous episode.)