Prepare to be transported by Craggus’ Trek Trek Phase II Omnibus – Vol.10

Here’s your weekly Omnibus Edition of Craggus’ Trek Trek Phase II covering Season 3 episodes 17 to 23:

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#StarTrekTNG S3E17 - Sins of the Father ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ It's foreign exchange time again, this time the Enterprise welcomes a Klingon officer, Kurn, to serve as part of the crew. Kurn is fascinated by the Enterprise's other Klingon officer and with good reason - it turns out Kurn is Worf's long-lost brother and he is on a mission to defend the honour of their deceased father whose honour has been called into question by a rival Klingon, Duras. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Ultimately, politics trumps honour and Worf takes on a burden of discommendation to protect Kurn and preserve the stability of the Klingon Empire and the treaty with the Federation. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ It's a fascinating glimpse into the inner workings of the Empire and sets the stage for much drama to come in Seasons 4 and 5. ⭐⭐⭐⭐ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ #StarTrek #TheNextGeneration #sinsofthefather #CraggusTrekTrekPhaseII #StarTrekTheNextGeneration #kurn #klingons

A post shared by The Craggus (@thecraggus) on Oct 4, 2019 at 3:10am PDT

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#StarTrekTNG S3E18 - Allegiance ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ In some ways, this is an unremarkable episode of Trek as Captain Picard is secretly kidnapped and replaced by a duplicate. While the doppelganger's increasingly erratic behaviour raises eyebrows, toasts and eventually concerns the real Picard is trapped in a cell with three other prisoners and faces a series of challenges and tests. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ It's not particularly ground-breaking or important in a season-defining kind of way but it's a superbly crafted episode of entertainment which showcases the character of Picard in new and interesting ways and is quintessentially Star Trek. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ It's a real demonstration of how much the writing has improved because this is also the kind of episode you could see being made in seasons 1 or 2 except it would have been terrible and probably had a sub-plot about Wesley learning to shave or something. ⭐⭐⭐⭐ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ #StarTrek #TheNextGeneration #allegiance #CraggusTrekTrekPhaseII #StarTrekTheNextGeneration

A post shared by The Craggus (@thecraggus) on Oct 4, 2019 at 3:11am PDT

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#StarTrekTNG S3E19 - Captain's Holiday ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Having only recently returned to the ship from his kidnap, Picard is pressured into taking a holiday on the pleasure planet Risa. There, all he wants to do is read his book but ends up getting caught up in a time-travelling archaeological adventure with Vorgons, Ferengi hustlers, beautiful smugglers and Riker's vicarious horniness in the form of a Horga'hn. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ It's frothy, swashbuckling fun - and Picard and Vash make an appealing 30s screwball comedy style pairing. ⭐⭐⭐⭐ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ #StarTrek #TheNextGeneration #captainsholiday #CraggusTrekTrekPhaseII #StarTrekTheNextGeneration #vash #risa #horgahn

A post shared by The Craggus (@thecraggus) on Oct 5, 2019 at 5:56am PDT

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#StarTrekTNG S3E20 - Tin Man ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Star Trek does Farscape almost a decade before Moya made her debut. It's a great sci-fi concept episode as the Enterprise races against the Romulans to locate and communicate with a mysterious alien object orbiting a dying star. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ The pairing of Gomtuu the living ship with the troubled telepath Tam Elbrun works as a satisfying end to the episode and the only real shame is that the two of them were never encountered again. ⭐⭐⭐⭐ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ #StarTrek #TheNextGeneration #tinman #CraggusTrekTrekPhaseII #StarTrekTheNextGeneration #gomtuu #tamelbrun

A post shared by The Craggus (@thecraggus) on Oct 6, 2019 at 4:30am PDT

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"#StarTrekTNG S3E21 - Hollow Pursuits ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ An episode in which nearly every member of the senior staff, including Captain Picard, actively participates in or at least turns a blind eye to the systematic bullying of a crew member who suffers from social anxiety. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Not only that but both Riker and La Forge are ironically outraged by Barclay creating fantasy versions of real people on the holodeck for his own emotional needs. La Forge especially should keep schtum on this one. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Dwight Shultz (of #TheATeam) makes for a fantastic guest star and a fantastic addition to the crew as a recurring character. The character wasn't intended as a satire of Star Trek fans and I don't think it comes across that way but it does nowadays have some resonance for the perils of life on social media versus real life. What really doesn't age well is how dickish Wesley, La Forge and Riker are to poor old Broccoli. ⭐⭐⭐⭐ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ #StarTrek #TheNextGeneration #hollowpursuits #CraggusTrekTrekPhaseII #StarTrekTheNextGeneration #reginaldbarclay

A post shared by The Craggus (@thecraggus) on Oct 7, 2019 at 4:00am PDT

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#StarTrekTNG S3E22 - The Most Toys ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ With his charisma and uniqueness having attracted the attention of crooked collector or rarities Kivas Fajo, it will take all of Data's nerve and talent to escape and return to the Enterprise. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ It's a neatly written little mystery with the two parallel plots complementing each other perfectly. On the Enterprise, the grief at Data's 'death' and the refusal to accept events at face value offer some great character moments while Data's increasing determination to defy Fajo's control raise some interesting moral and ethical questions about which Data is coyly noncommital in a deceptively dark ending. ⭐⭐⭐ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ #StarTrek #TheNextGeneration #themosttoys #kivasfajo #CraggusTrekTrekPhaseII #StarTrekTheNextGeneration #charismauniquenessnerveandtalent

A post shared by The Craggus (@thecraggus) on Oct 8, 2019 at 12:43pm PDT

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#StarTrekTNG S3E23 - Sarek ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Sarek, and the actor Mark Lenard who originated the role, is an important part of Star Trek’s on and off-screen history. The decision to bring him into the TNG fold could have seemed like a cheap publicity stunt (a la DeForest Kelley in #EncounterAtFarpoint) were it not for the fact that he's brought back to deliver a brave and poignant coda to the life of a character who has been integral to the history of the United Federation Of Planets as we know it. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ There's resonance too in the idea of an elder statesman slowly succumbing to a debilitating and degenerative condition bu thaving it hidden from the public - and himself - by well-meaning/ self-serving lackeys. Patrick Stewart gets to flex his acting muscles again as Picard takes on a lifetime's worth of guilt and emotion so Sarek can complete one last treaty. ⭐⭐⭐⭐ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ #StarTrek #TheNextGeneration #sarek #CraggusTrekTrekPhaseII #StarTrekTheNextGeneration #marklenard

A post shared by The Craggus (@thecraggus) on Oct 9, 2019 at 4:24am PDT

Tune in next week for the next Omnibus or follow @TheCraggus on Instagram to get Craggus’ Trek Trek Phase II directly in your feed. 🖖