Ugh. Shades of Gray almost doesn’t even deserve a review. This episode fails primarily, but not exclusively, because it is a clip show. While I understand the circumstances that necessitated this kind of episode, the result is still an abject failure.

The circumstances surrounding the episode (Riker being infected on an alien world) are fairly plausible. And indeed, Riker manages fairly well. However, the whole premise of a disease that is affected by stimulating specific memory patterns is wholly implausible, and was so obviously contrived that it is simply embarrassing.

Clips aside, this episode also suffers from Pulaskitis and Troitis. Their performances are utterly abysmal. They are so bad, in fact, that it is easy to conclude that both had simply gone on early vacation. Troi is back to her incessant overacting and Pulaski, who was never any good at conveying any sense of urgency, acts as though she is dealing with specimens in a Petri dish, instead of trying to save the life of a crew member.

If you must watch Shades of Gray (as in someone has a gun to your head), then at least fast forward through every scene that is either a clip, or contains just Pulaski and Troi. You’ll get maybe 57 seconds and two jokes worth of entertainment. Maybe.

Filed under: TNG Reviews