Half a Life

The Good....David Ogden Stivers and Madeline Barrett. It's about time they finally gave the latter a serious role instead of her usual man-hungry sexually frustrated female.

The Bad....the message and morality of this episode. I was very disappointed to see the writers/directors/producers promote an anti-aging morality here instead of fighting to show how ignorant and ridiculous forcing people to die at age 60 is. Now I'm sure if the topic were slavery or no-women's rights, and some culture accepted these as the way it is and has always been....the brain trust of this show would have fought very hard to show how that way of thinking SHOULD BE challenged, and would not have rolled over like a submissive puppy dog as they did here.

So why fight hard to show slavery and no-women's right are evil but not fight to show suicide for 60 year olds is also evil? Very simple answer.....because they are opposed to slavery and no-women's rights but not opposed to not having "elderly" people populating their world. That seems to pretty much be the way of the world today....well, especially the Western world. I still don't think that way of thinking has caught on to the Eastern part of the globe.....yeah for them!

/rant over. I feel better now. Disclaimer: it's not important for anyone to agree with me because you are entitled to believe for yourself....not adopt my belief system. I'm not looking for an "amen" from anyone. But thanks for listening.

Such an underrated episode. Brilliant acting all around, a compelling an emotional story perfectly executed, and some of the not-so-subtle social commentary reminiscent of TOS. What I enjoyed most about this is it was the first episode where I saw the good in Troi's mother. This was a great reminder that what is annoying and unbearable about some people is actually what also makes them wonderful and important in the right situation. No, this was not Q Who, but I'd put it in my top 30. If you can watch the scene with his daughter (Ensign Ro, is that you?) and not be emotional, then you either have no soul or you are Data.

This episode is just another example of what STAR TREK always did so well - take a relevant issue and explore it through the lens of an "unbiased" third-party - ie, the future generations. Sure, it is written by modern-day authors ... even so, it's informative to see how a more "enlightened" generation might handle a topic like euthanasia.

Incidentally, this concept is based loosely on a novel written in the 1880s by British novelist Anthony Trollope called THE FIXED PERIOD. In that novel, the leader of a new (fictional) British colony has passed a law requiring men at the age of 67 be put away into a tenement, and later euthanized before the age of 68 - for the same reasons, that the elderly burden the young. The story of the novel follows his attempt to carry this law out for the first time. Fascinating read, and recommended if you liked this episode.

While personally not a fan of either Troi, this episode focusing on Deana's mother Lwaxana is emotionally entertaining. A scientist from a reclusive isolationist culture boards the Enterprise to conduct an experiment that could lead to the restart of his worlds dying sun. Lwaxana develops a relationship with him only to find his culture has a very different way for dealing with their elderly. The episode deals with a social issue facing our own cultures, posing an arguement that while logical, clashes with those of both ourselves and the Enterprise crew and guests. Overall a good episode, though started for me with a verbal explitave after the initial log being a personal one from Counsellor Troi. A great addition to the TNG universe.

This is one of the few TNG episodes that could achieve timelessness. Great acting on all sides and Lwuaxana gets to shine brighter than ever, this is the first time I see her as a person and not as a joke. This is the kind of debate that sci-fi does so well: should we all just die at 60/65? No matter what? Do we have a responsibility to care for our elders in their frail age? This central debate is very well argued on both sides. No strawpeople, the discussion was legitimate.