Luckily for me I was able to write two reviews in as many weeks! I hardly ever have the time to do that, so I’m getting this post out as quickly as I can. I’ve just completed reviews of episodes 21 and 22 of season five, The Perfect Mate and Imaginary Friend.
The Perfect Mate is a solid episode that features practically the first appearance of Famke Janssen ever, alongside her co-star Professor X–I mean Captain Picard. The premise of this episode is simple: Kamala (Famke) is a metamorph, an empath able to become the exact sort of woman any man wants simply by being around them, and has been raised to be the mate of the ruler of a neighboring world, with whom they have been at war for a long time. Is it ok for her to be given as a gift to a man she’s never met, or should the Enterprise intervene?
You may not know that Kamala’s makeup was the primary inspiration for the Trill makeup on DS9, not the actual Trill from The Host. Check out the story behind this, as well as Famke’s story about Patrick Stewart giving her the best acting advice she’s ever received in my full review.
Imaginary Friend is a definite step down, and is one of the worst episodes of season five. The Enterprise is investigating a unique kind of nebula, but who cares about that, this story is all about a young girl who has an imaginary friend. An energy alien comes on board and poses as the friend, and we all have to follow the alien in disguise manipulate a young girl and plan to destroy the ship.
There’s not a lot of behind-the-scenes info to be had here, other than listing all the previous episodes where we have energy aliens invading the ship. At this point it’s an over-used trope that leads to maybe the most forgettable and boring episode of the season. This is the first time we learn about Geordi’s parents, who will come into play later on, and did you know a certain writer chose this script instead of doing a Q episode this season? Learn who the culprit was, as well as spotting a scene where Patrick’s goofing off in this episode was captured on camera by reading my full review.
That’s it for this time. Next time I’ll be reviewing I Borg and The Next Phase, two very enjoyable episodes to watch. Hope to post them soon!