Story: Skin of Evil
Written By: Joseph Stefano and Hannah Louise Shearer
Series: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Year: 1988
I was never a huge fan of Tasha Yar. I never cared for her character, and while you could argue that it was because she didn’t get developed, I would argue that it was because I think Denise Crosby is a weaker actress. But the development issue, and the fact that TOO many characters pushed her to the sideline or back burner…made Crosby ask to be written out.
The episode we get for her dramatic death is LAME. Some goo monster that acts like a little whiney baby holds Troi captive and the crew attempts to save her…and like some red shirt Yar gets hit by the goo monster and killed anti-climactically. That said I kind of like that a major player gets killed as if it were any extra of the week might, it really showed how rough the death of one of those red shirts can be when you actually know the character.
Tasha’s death is a milestone in the series. It affects several elements of the show in the future. It is central to the plotlines of “Yesterday’s Enterprise” and “Redemption” and it shifts the balance of the crew on the ship from here on out. Worf is made acting Chief of Security, a role he would assume completely in the beginning of the second season all the way through this crew's first film. So whether this episode was any good, or Tasha’s death was at all interesting, the FACT that she died is important to TNG in a lot of ways.
The final scene…the weird hologram of Yar telling everyone what she thinks of of her crewmates…weird. I just found it creepy. It’s played for emotions but just didn’t hit me that hard, maybe because we didn’t know her or the rest of these cats too long…she tells us about these relationships she had with all these people…but the weak writing of this season never showed us ANY of this. Suddenly we are forced to believe that Riker made her laugh, or that Geordi would help her through problems…I just don’t buy it.
NEXT TIME: The Manheim Effect
Written By: Joseph Stefano and Hannah Louise Shearer
Series: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Year: 1988
I was never a huge fan of Tasha Yar. I never cared for her character, and while you could argue that it was because she didn’t get developed, I would argue that it was because I think Denise Crosby is a weaker actress. But the development issue, and the fact that TOO many characters pushed her to the sideline or back burner…made Crosby ask to be written out.
Tasha’s death is a milestone in the series. It affects several elements of the show in the future. It is central to the plotlines of “Yesterday’s Enterprise” and “Redemption” and it shifts the balance of the crew on the ship from here on out. Worf is made acting Chief of Security, a role he would assume completely in the beginning of the second season all the way through this crew's first film. So whether this episode was any good, or Tasha’s death was at all interesting, the FACT that she died is important to TNG in a lot of ways.
The final scene…the weird hologram of Yar telling everyone what she thinks of of her crewmates…weird. I just found it creepy. It’s played for emotions but just didn’t hit me that hard, maybe because we didn’t know her or the rest of these cats too long…she tells us about these relationships she had with all these people…but the weak writing of this season never showed us ANY of this. Suddenly we are forced to believe that Riker made her laugh, or that Geordi would help her through problems…I just don’t buy it.
NEXT TIME: The Manheim Effect