Star Trek 266: Dark Page

266. Dark Page

FORMULA: Phantasms + Manhunt + Violations + Sins of the Father

WHY WE LIKE IT: Wait a minute, is that Kirsten Dunst?

WHY WE DON'T: Majel Barrett's crocodile tears.

REVIEW: Through this whole process, Lwaxana Troi have been the most surprising episodes. I remember most of them as annoying but this process has given me the chance to reassess them, and I think I've been unfair to the character. Dark Page, like Cost of Living before it, is an episode that's not at all like I remember. There are problems with it, don't get me wrong. Majel Barrett pouring it on emotionally is over the top in the extreme. I find her quite effective when she's being subtle however. (And I think the same can be said of when she plays Lwaxana as comic.)

But for Deanna, this is an excellent episode. Her relationship with her father is delved into more than ever before, and we even meet him (making Deanna's accent a total mystery). His death has caused a deep wound indeed, and Marina Sirtis plays this well. In the more comedic first half, Deanna is really sweet and likable in her handling of Maques as well.

And for all of Deanna's character building, it's the more comic half that I really appreciate. Where Maques' halting speech could have been very annoying, it comes off as realistic and somewhat charming instead. Lwaxana's attempts at matchmaking are funny here, and it seems Worf has given up on Mrs. Troi learning his name. And that poor lieutenant in the turbolift with two telepaths... It's also fun to see Kirsten Dunst running around as an 11-year-old girl.

Once Lwaxana collapses, the episode takes a 180 degree turn, and we have to go inside her mind. We've just done this with Data, and it all looks remarkably the same. Dark Page certainly suffers by being placed right next to Phantasms in the schedule. Sirtis keeps us interested, because the surreal imagery doesn't. The secret sister solution is strictly from a soap opera, but again, Deanna's reaction to it is in character and saves it from ridicule.

LESSON: If you want to teach telepaths to speak, you need someone who knows how to talk. A lot.

REWATCHABILITY - Medium, to my surprise: Emotional truth and a strong comedy front end redeems this episode, which I'd wrongly remembered as melodramatic pablum.