Wednesday, September 14, 2011

TNG Ep. 44: Up the Long Ladder

Who doesn't like a chance to make fun of the Irish?

Summary:
The Enterprise responds to an SOS signal from an unknown Earth colony. The colony's sun is destabilizing, so the Enterprise beams all 200 aboard - them and all their chickens. The colony isn't technologically advanced, but they're also no dummies. They are cultural relics but all-in-all they get along with the Enterprise crew after they discover that they can't set fires in the cargohold. Meanwhile, the Enterprise discovers another colony in the system that was colonized at the same time, but is technologically advanced. Unfortunately, the colony is a colony of clones made from the only five survivors. The clones attempt to steal DNA from Riker and Pulaski after they refuse to give it freely, but Riker and Pulaski freely destroy the incubating clones and shake their fingers at the colonists. Then the crew has a brilliant idea - dump the Irish colony unto the colony that needs breeding stock. Picard manages to convince the two colonies that it's a good idea, and everyone goes happily about their new lives. As a parting note, Dr. Pulaski suggests that to ensure the future of the colony, the first generation of women should each have three husbands.


Compared to the episodes before it, this episode is mediocre. Compared to season one, this episode is still pretty awesome. The best part was the loud-mouthed woman that Riker took a liking - and more! - to. The mediocre part doesn't really come in there, but in little details like OH let's just murder some clones! Or we'll just shout "Murderers!" and that will suffice. Maybe if they'd spent less time making fun of the Irish, they'd've had more time to explore issues like that. Not that I didn't enjoy watching Worf give the colonist a harsh Klingon drink.

The end made me wonder about gene pools in a population. I'm generally familiar with the concept of gene pools and why five people wouldn't work very well for a colony, but I'm wondering how over-simplified Dr. Pulaski's suggestion is. I'm wondering if they could still have monogamous relationships if each simply had enough children. Each child, after all, takes a different bit of its parents genes, like a dice throw with a bajillion sides. But then, I guess each woman would have a harder, or at least different, kind of burden if they each had to have a dozen or so children. Three children begins to sound much better.

And maybe loud-mouth lady already has a child by Riker. That should help the gene pool, if they're lacking in bull-headedness.

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