TF01 3,The Neutral Zone 4,Season 1, Episode 25 Reviewed by Marcus Priddey ---------------------------- Stardate 41986.0 Whilst the Captain has been summoned to an emergency conference on Starbase 718, the Enterprise has encountered an ancient capsule apparently from Earth. As the Captain is not due back for several hours Data requests permission to beam over to study the capsule before it is destroyed by an area of space nearby. Upon transporting over, accompanied by Worf, Data finds that the power is still on and upon further investigation discovers an old style disk drive computer which he downloads and transmits to the Enterprise. Noticing a door Worf walks into it expecting it to open as usual. To his surprise it does not - he assumes it has sealed with age but he fails to notice the door handle. Data opens the door for him which leads to a room filled with containers. After wiping the glass clean, Data discovers the first one contains a corpse due to environmental degredation as does the second container. The third is empty, but the fourth is occupied by a human female. Meanwhile, Picard has arrived back on board the Enterprise AND is anxious to get under way and order a course for 058 Mark 173 - the Neutral Zone. In a meeting with Riker, Data, Worf and Troi we learn that 2 outposts in sector 30 have been destroyed and that communication has been lost with a starbase in sector 31 on Stardate 41903.2. Are the Romulans back after remaining silent for 50 years, and if so, why? The Enterprise has been dispatched to find out why, whether it is to force a CONFRONTATION or to maintain relationships. NCC 1701-D will find out when they arrive at the Neutral Zone in 19 hours, 28 minutes. In sickbay Captain Picard discovers what Data brought back from the capsule. Doctor Crusher informs him that the three humans had suffered from minor medical problems, but incurable at the time so they were frozen immediately upon dying until such time as a cure could be found. The process is called cryonics - a brief fad in the latter 20th century. Data is promptly summoned to sickbay by Picard where he explains that it seemed the right thing to do at the time. As Crusher revives the female, Picard requests security and Worf enters. As the woman comes around, she looks at Picard, then to Crusher and faints dead away when she sees Worf! "Welcome to the 24th century" Picard comments. The records downloaded from the capsule tell that the female is Clare Raymond, cause of death - Embolism, death would have been sudden. The next, a man called Ralph Offenhaus dided from a heart related trauma, whilst the third, an L.Q. Sonny Clemens, died from chemical abuse. When they are fully recovered they are briefed by Commander Riker that they are now in the year 2364, and they have been frozen since their deaths 370 years ago. Offenhaus, a financier by occupation, is impressed and assumes that the companies shares must have gone through the roof making him a rich man, but is then told by Data that cryogenics was a fad that did not last much beyond the 21st century. Meanwhile, on the bridge, Troi is briefing the Captain on the Romulan psychology which turns out not to be much. They are arrogant, and creatures of extremes - tender one moment, violet the next. They will also not start anything - counter punches. Back with the three "time travellers", Clemens is shown how to use a food replicator and orders himself a nice meal, changes his mind and orders what he calls the best martini he ever had. The Enterprise is now 6 hours away from the Neutral Zone and still no word from the 9 outposts along it. Could it be the Romulans? After 53 years 7 months 18 hours, Riker hypothesises that as their information is out of date, they will force a confrontation to find out how the Federation has progressed and proposes to take the initiative and go to red alert. If the premise is correct then the proposal would be correct, but if the premise is incorrect - Offenhaus suddenly interrupts - he has found out how to use a comm panel, much to the annoyance of Picard. Offenhaus does not care and tells the Captain that he should take some lessons from the QE2. Picard is not pleased that his ship is being compared to a cruise liner. Offenhaus insists that he has more pressing concerns than Picard, a mere military officer in his eyes, can know about. Mrs Raymond suddenly bursts into tears - she realises that her husband and children are back in the 20th century. Picard summons Troi to try and help. The Enterprise has now arrived at the Neutral Zone - a buffer between the Romulan Empire and the Federation. They have arrived at Science Station Delta 05, but there is nothing there. There is also no sign of attack by conventional weapons. Offenhaus is now fed up and can feel the tension in the air and leaves to find out what's going on. He enters a turbolift and asking himself where the Captain would be, the computer sweetly informs him the Captain is located on the main bridge. Aprroaching Terra 9, the crew of the NCC 1701-D again find nothing there - conditions identical to that of Delta 05. Red alert would seem too rash so Picard orders yellow alert, when sensors detect a disturbance. Should he arm phasers and photon torpedoes? When he decided not to, the disturbance disappears. They have improved their cloaking device. Now on the bridge, Offenhaus asks who they are, when he gets his answer - a Romulan ship decloaks with weapon systems armed. Picard request hailing frequencies, but Worf protests saying that when the Klingons and Romulans were allies, they attacked Khitomer and killed his parents. Picard insists and finds himself talking to Commander Tabok of the Romulan Empire. The Romulans have apparently suffered the same losses on their side of the Neutral Zone as the Federation. They crossed the Zone to find out if the Federation were responsible, risking another war which is what happened when the two powers last met costing both sides thousands of lives. They meant no aggression - if they did the Enterprise would no longer be in existence nor do they require permission to do what they want. Picard suggests an alliance - to pool resources to find out who their respective enemy is. The Romulans agree, but only when it is convenient and in this area only. They go on to say that in their absence that matters have got out of hand. They end transmission with a warning - "We are back". The lives of the Federation just got more complicated. Later, Offenhaus finally learns that all his money is lost and want and hunger and the strive for material possessions have been eliminated. The challenge is now to better and enrich your life. Clemens is happy though. As a country and western singer, no-one has heard his material so he can make a comeback. Raymond has also, with the help of Troi, traced her family tree to a descendant by the name of Thomas Raymond, her son's name who looks just like her husband. Unable to make the rendevous with the USS Charleston, the Enterprise will drop Offenhaus, Clemens and Raymond off at Starbase 39 Sierra and then proceed in the only direction she should go - forward. Okay, not strictly a Borg episode, but it's the first episode in which we learn that SOMETHING is out there with the power to scoop up entire colonies. When I watched this to review it, several things crossed my mind. The foremost of these was that it looks so, well, dated. I mean, all of us have seen up to Season 4 at least (Best Of Both Worlds Part 2 shown on BBC2) and the lucky ones, Season 7. You soon notice differences when you suddenly go back to Season 1. Saying that, it is not a bad episode, but it is not a particularly good one either. Some redeemers were the nice little touches like referring to some commonplace items in the past tense, such as the TV which, according to Data, "died" in 2040 (which I feel does have a certain element of truth in it now that interactive TV is being tested). Anoth touch I found amusing was that in 2364, Offenhaus and Co. died 370 years ago. Worked it out yet? That's 1994! I think Paramount were being wildly optimistic if they thought that cryogenics could advance to the point where they could afford to send people (albeit dead) into space in six years. (The Neutral Zone was released in 1988.) Also look out for the model 1701-A when Troi is talking to Raymond for the first time - a nice little piece of history. Several things annoyed me though - namely Offenhaus. What an arrogant, self-centred little man. As Riker said, it is wonder we survived the 21st century. The only other thing was, why the computer freely gave out the information to locate the Captain, and then took Offenhaus there! I'm not saying that we should live in a big brother society, but some measure of security should exist. On the whole, a mediocre 5/10. Reviewed by Sven Harvey ------------------------- Data manages to rescue three 20th century people from a cryogenic freeze satellite which escaped Earth's orbit and Doctor Crusher thaws them out, bringing them back to life. Meanwhile the Enterprise meets a Romulan Warbird in the Neutral Zone. Preliminary findings show that outposts from both sides have been destroyed, apparently scooped off their planets. This is all we learn in this episode which never actually mentions the Borg and does throw up some interesting plot anomalies later on. But as far as the Borg are concerned this is little more than an inference of their existence is only really hinted at. Surely it would have been better for the Enterprise to discover the outpost destruction at the beginning of Q Who? A very good episode in all other respects.