99 Reasons for Gratitude

2025 has been a tough year, and I needed sources of comfort. Friends and family have filled that role admirably, but so have books, films, and television shows. Sometimes escapism is necessary. But beyond escapism, I find I need narratives to remind me of good people, good thoughts, good behaviour. 

This morning I finished Brooklyn Nine-Nine, a police procedural sitcom set in Brooklyn's Precinct 99. The world of the show is a somewhat sanitized version of New York; crime exists and sometimes there are murders, but generally the police officers conduct themselves as embodiments of the "to serve and protect" mythology. The officers of the 99 may not be bastions of professionalism, often goofing off and getting themselves into crazy shenanigans, but they don't abuse suspects or ignore the rule of law. They're also very good at their jobs, closing cases more often than not. It's a vision of policing that we want to be true, and the actors and writers create characters we care about and root for; they're good people, and they're a family. 

Of course, as a sitcom, the show needs to deliver laughs; it does so, consistently. The writing is sharp, the gags land where they should, there's great humour in the characters' personalities and their relationships, and the show's not afraid to take advantage of slapstick, bad puns, and utter absurdity, often veering into the cartoonish. 

It's also full of heart. The show is progressive, inclusive, and forgiving. But in 2020, events in the real world--COVID-19, the murder of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement--made Brooklyn Nine-Nine seem hopelessly naïve. The eighth and final season--shortened to just 10 episodes--attempts to address Black Lives Matter by injecting serious notes of reflection and reform throughout its last batch of storylines. It's a noble effort from all concerned, and yet I got the impression that everyone involved in the show's production felt they really couldn't continue to make this kind of show, even as they acknowledged the incredible rift in trust between the public and their (supposed) public servants on the police force. 

As a result, the final season is rather bittersweet--not just the end of a particular comedic narrative, but maybe the end of innocence for sitcoms in general. 

And yet, I'm grateful I watched to the end. I love these characters--Jake, the class clown who grew to genuine maturity by series' end; Amy, the anxious nerd; Rosa, the mysterious femme fatale who suppressed her emotions with Vulcan-like will; Terry, the excitable sergeant with the massive muscles and massive love for his wife and three daughters; the baby-faced, eccentric Charles, Jake's loyal best friend; Gina, somehow the best and worst executive assistant in the city; Hitchcock and Scully, the worst detectives in the city; and Captain Holt, played with remarkable skill, intensity, and wit by the remarkable Andre Braugher--gone too soon. 

These folks made me laugh, and they reminded me that a better world exists within us, if only we choose to build it. 

What If Gates McFadden Hadn't Returned to Star Trek: The Next Generation?

In our world, actress Gates McFadden played Chief Medical Officer Doctor Beverly Crusher on Star Trek: The Next Generation for every season except the second, when she was temporarily replaced by Diana Muldaur playing Doctor Katherine Pulaski. Covering the behind-the-scenes drama causing McFadden's (and Crusher's) temporary absence from the USS Enterprise is beyond the scope of this thought experiment, to wit: What if Gates had not returned for seasons three through seven? And what if Diana Muldaur declined to become a series regular, leaving after season two? 

Enter Anne Twomey

Imagine if the showrunners dipped back into the well of previous actresses who auditioned for the Pulaski or Crusher roles. Imagine further they took a second look at Anne Twomey, who auditioned for Crusher a couple of years before. In this reality, Twomey plays Doctor Rachel Arbogast. 

Doctor with a Difference

To differentiate Arbogast from Crusher and Pulaski, the showrunners give Arbogast a wacky sense of humour; she loves to pull pranks, insert puns into conversations, and tells Mom jokes (though she's not a mother). They also give her a darker backstory than either of the show's previous CMOs. She doesn't warm to the other series regulars until several seasons have gone by, nor they to her, seeing as they've already gone through two CMOs. Wesley Crusher, in particular, is initially the most standoffish. 

As the third season unfolds, we learn Arbogast spent several years ships on the front lines of a mysterious, little-spoken-of war; she survived some gruesome encounters and pulled a lot of people through grave injuries. She lost a lot; maybe she lost everything. She doesn't talk about it. It's in her service record, but you'd never know it coming from her; Riker, Picard, and Troi are the only ones who know the full details, but the other characters (and the audience) won't learn her whole story for a while. 

Alternate Episodes

In many episodes, the show doesn't require a specific character or actress to carry out the role of doctor; any medical professional would do. But in certain episodes, Crusher's replacement by Arbogast would make a difference. Here are a few examples: 

In the real-world version of "Evolution," the show's season three premiere, Doctor Crusher's return is briefly explained and she enjoys a warm reunion with her son Wesley.  But in this version, there's no Crusher and therefore no reunion. Instead, we meet Arbogast when she's called upon to treat Dr. Stubbs, the episode's guest star. Maybe she gets a few extra moments of character development in a meeting with Picard; Crusher and Picard had a short conversation about her return, so there's time in the episode to give the audience a bit of a backgrounder on Arbogast. And maybe the rest of the episode continues as normal; at this point, with the show on doctor number three in as many years, the producers might not yet have decided if Arbogast is going to be a major character or not. Perhaps she gets a scene with Guinan at the end of the episode, just as Crusher did in the original timeline. 

In "Who Watches the Watchers?", maybe Rachel refuses to mind-wipe the Mintakan, Liko. This doesn't change the outcome of the episode, but gives us a bit of insight into Arbogast's character; she's seen such terrible trauma that she refuses to inflict injury on a patient, no matter what the cost. This puts her in conflict with Picard and the Prime Directive, and puts her position (in the real world and the world of the show) in jeopardy. We wonder how long she'll stick around. 

In "The Enemy," Worf's decision to refuse to donate blood to save the injured Romulan results in a long-standing low-key animosity between Arbogast and Worf. Unlike Crusher, Arbogast doesn't have much history with Worf at this point, so her opinion of him is tainted by a decision she must accept as a medical doctor, but privately disdains as a matter of principle. Hard to imagine the TNG writers allowing TOO much tension among characters in the main cast, but maybe they'd allow the thread to play out just a little, at least until events in a later episode cause Rachel to re-evaluate Worf. 

"The High Ground" would be Dr. Arbogast's first big episode, since she's the one that gets kidnapped by Ansata separatists on Rutia IV. Maybe she's more sympathetic than Crusher was to the Ansata point of view; perhaps her experiences on the front lines showed her that sometimes "terrorism" was the last resort of a subjugated people. In fact, we might uncover hints that the Federation was the aggressor in the unnamed war Arbogast participated in. But while she may have some sympathies, Arbogast knows what side she's ultimately on, and for the first time we see that she's no stranger to combat, taking a much more active role in the climactic rescue than Beverly did. Maybe Arbogast is the one that kills Finn, forced to because he was drawing a bead on Picard. 

In "Deja Q," perhaps Arbogast treats the de-Q'ed Q a little more warmly than Crusher did in our timeline, since this will be the first time she's met him. 

In "Hollow Pursuits," Arbogast is less disturbed than her crewmates to find she's objectified in Barclay's hologram, and the episode ends on a dry, suggestive coda: "Let me know if you ever want to try the real thing, Reg." 

There's no romantic plot for Arbogast in "Transfigurations," but from this point forward she develops a strong interest in transhumanism, something most humans in Trek seem to frown on, given the evidence of the various shows. 

In "The Best of Both Worlds" Arbogasts's role is functionally identical to the one Crusher played, but she's more calculated and determined on the away team mission to the cube, though the end result is the same; failure to rescue Picard. And like Crusher, she removes Picard's Borg implants in Part II. 

In "Family," we learn what happened to Arbogast's last commanding officer, the woman who was her best friend and spiritual sister. A holodeck conversation with that officer's avatar reveals something of Arbogast's trauma to the audience, but not to the other characters, providing a bit of dramatic irony for seasons to come. 

"Remember Me" simply doesn't happen in this version of the show. Instead, the producers go for a different bottle episode, a Troi-centric story that has the counselor guiding a severely wounded but recovering security officer through his PTSD--a rare opportunity to see Troi performing her official function. 

In "Data's Day," Arbogast introduces Data to the art of the prank, mostly because she thinks it's hilarious that Data just won't get it. 

In "Q-Pid," Arbogast quips "Now I see why you guys find this maniac so annoying." She also uses a rapier in combat instead of a clay pot. 

In "The Host," Arbogast isn't fazed at all by the Trill life cycle. Of course she and Odan still part ways by episode's end, but only because Arbogast has to stay on the show. The conclusion has more of a "It was a fun ride!" vibe. 

Arbogast doesn't entirely agree with the choices made by "The Masterpiece Society," but following on from her interest in transhumanism established in "Transfigurations," she considers staying behind, in contrast to the Society members who decide to leave thanks to the influence of the Enterprise crew. In the end she decides not to stay on the colony, but because their approach to transhumanism isn't quite radical enough for her...

"Ethics" reinforces the chilly relationship between Arbogast and Worf, but only in lines like "Mr. Worf and I might not get along, but damned if I'm going to risk his life on your experimental treatment." But surprisingly, Worf opens up to Arbogast during a consultation. "I have seen the warrior's fire in your eyes and in your actions. You hide it well, but you know that I cannot live like this. Because you could not live like this." Arbogast realizes Worf is right, and cooperates with Dr. Russell. The operations succeeds, but without the death fakeout of the original version of the story. Arbogast berates herself for working with Russell, going as it does against her professional ethics, but this feeling is tempered by a feeling that sometimes the ends justify the means. 

"Realm of Fear" turns out pretty much the same, but with some more flirting from Arbogast toward Barclay as she treats his "transporter psychosis." 

"Chain of Command" reveals that Dr. Arbogast makes a more badass commando than Dr. Crusher, but the episode goes pretty much the same was as in our timeline. 

"Suspicions" reveals Arbogast to be even more stubborn in her pursuit of the truth behind Reyga's death. 

When Picard and Arbogast are "Attached," Arbogast learns how much Picard misses Dr. Crusher, which explains, perhaps why he's never warmed to the woman who took her place. Picard learns, finally, the full truth of Arbogast's heretofore hinted-at past, and it drastically changes their relationship - perhaps even calling into question Picard's original choice to have Arbogast replace Pulaski. They form an uneasy understanding by episode's end, but the tension will remain for the rest of the series. Note that only Picard knows what happened - the audience isn't privy to this information. 

In "Parallels" Arbogast doesn't appear--but Gates McFadden returns as Doctor Crusher in several of the quantum realities visited by Worf. 

"Sub Rosa" relies completely on Crusher's backstory, so it's replaced by "Uncomfortable Truths," a bottle episode in which an old colleague of Arbogast visits the Enterprise and accidentally reveals a shocking truth: during a battle in the mysterious war hinted at in earlier seasons, Arbogast was forced to choose between blowing up a starship with a full crew infected by an insidious biological weapon or trying to save the crew and risking infection of the entire Federation. 

We learn that against the orders of her commanding officer, Arbogast beamed a photon torpedo into the engine room of the infected ship, destroying it and killing all aboard. A turning point in the war, this act proved the Federation's resolve in the eyes of the enemy, who agreed to a brokered peace. Only this prevented Arbogast from being cashiered, especially when it was discovered that Arbogast herself had dismissed a potential cure proposed by one of her colleagues - a treatment that, further experiments later proved, would have worked. 

Picard, of course, learned all this in "Attached," and he shares his prior knowledge with his senior officers, each of them dealing with conflicting emotions. Worf is surprisingly supportive, given that Arbogast made a "warrior's choice." Data is sympathetic, given that her choice was logical with the information and choices she had at the moment. Riker, Troi, and LaForge are horrified and acknowledge it will make their working relationship with Arbogast difficult. 

Arbogast decides to leave, not being able to bear the umbrage of people she's grown to love and respect. She and Picard share one last scene in the transporter room. "What will you do now?" he asks. "I failed because I was human," she says bitterly. "I'm going to see if I can rectify that." Picard shakes his head in sorrow, but knows she's made up her mind, and beams her over to the USS Kurzweil. In the transporter room of the Kurzweil, an unseen figure greets her: "Dr. Arbogast. Let's talk about your future." 

In the remaining season seven episodes, Suzie Plakson at long last returns as Doctor Selar, newly promoted to take Arbogast's place. She'll go on to appear in all five (!) TNG films. 

Arbogast doesn't appear again until "All Good Things," in the portions set 25 years in the future. She serves the same story function as Crusher did in the original episode, but without the Picard/Crusher romance beats; instead, we see that Arbogast has transformed herself into a cyborg--cold and efficient and in control, far from the practical joker of her early appearances. Old Picard is freaked out by this, given his experiences with the Borg, but knows he has no choice but to work with her. The episode plays out pretty much as it did in our world, but with one difference: before Picard joins the poker game, we see him composing a letter to Arbogast, asking her to meet the next time their ships are (relatively) close; he has something important to share about her future. 

But with Plakson's Doctor Selar taking McFadden's Crusher role in the four TNG feature films, there's no compelling reason to revisit Arbogast's thread in those films. Instead, she doesn't return--nor does Crusher--until the third season of Picard, where we see that her quest for transhumanity has had tragic consequences--though she goes out a hero...

Landing Party Gear

To create a little more storage space and home décor, I've been installing display shelves around our first floor. This new shelf is now home to my collection of Star Trek landing party equipment replicas. 
 

Doom Patrol Donkey

Is it a donkey, or a portal to other universes? Why not both? 
 

The Missing Key to Tomorrow and Yesterday

 

Stealth Sky Fighter

I figure Diana probably has a secret police force, and I'm sure they fly around in something dark and sinister. I didn't put landing gear on this one; instead, I'll mount it on a clear flying stand. 
 

Another Visitor Sky Fighter

I'm getting better at painting the Visitor symbols. 
 

Pop Culture

 I always thought these were "knee-highs." I blame Radar. 

Dale Arden Takes Notes

Also makes a pretty good retro Lois Lane. 
 

Captain Challis' Choice

While watching the second season of Andor, a thought occurred to me: Colm Meany would be wonderful as Lynnic Challis, an Imperial officer with growing doubts about the Empire he serves. I can just see him starting out as a veteran officer of the Old Republic who gets taken in by the Emperor's propaganda, only to slowly realize his duties are becoming more and more onerous. You could do a whole season about one person's choice--to stay safe and support tyranny, or rebel and risk everything? 

I guess that's really just Andor all over again, but with a minor shift in point of view. 

Never mind. Just watch Andor. It's phenomenal. 

My Contribution to To the Journey

To the Journey--Looking Back at Star Trek: Voyager was released to its backers a few days ago, and I watched it this morning. I didn't find this film nearly as strong as What We Left Behind--Looking Back at Star Trek: Deep Space Nine; it's a little too meandering, a little too unfocused, but To the Journey is well-intentioned and practically overflowing with empathy, though at the cost of glossing over some of the behind-the-scenes drama. I learned a few new things about the show's production, so I'm glad I backed it. 

Plus, for the second time, I get to see my name in the credits of a Star Trek-related production. I'm a little embarrassed to admit how much that thrills me, even if all I did was tack on an extra $50 to my pledge. Hey, technically the money men are producers, right? 
 

Why I Watch the Intro

I can see why some people might not find much value in the opening credits of television shows. Once you've seen an opening title sequence once, why watch it again for every subsequent episode? 

I watch title sequences because they serve as a transition from everyday reality to the world of the show. The music and visuals evoke specific emotions meant not only to introduce us to the cast and other creators, but to put us in the right frame of mind for the drama or comedy to come. For genre or so-called "high concept" shows, title sequences often include a narrative thesis for new viewers, welcoming them to landscapes that might be difficult to grasp without some kind of introductory exposition. This was especially important in the days before the Internet made finding information as easy as typing a question onto a screen. 

Imagine, for example, watching a random episode of Gilligan's Island sometime during 1965 without its famous title sequence: 
 

The jaunty theme song tells us the who, what, when, where, and how of the show in a way that invokes lighthearted hijinks. The new viewer knows exactly what to expect: seven people with disparate backgrounds and personalities are castaways on an uncharted island, and they're hoping for rescue. 

Then there's the brilliant opener for each episode of The Rockford Files: 

Before we even see James Garner as Jim Rockford, the camera pans across his desk as someone (a different person each week) leaves a message on his answering machine, usually leaving some kind of bad news. Images of the titular private eye flash across the screen; Rockford usually looks pensive, pained, or puzzled, in keeping with the cheerfully fast-paced, liltingly ironic theme music. We also see images of Rockford's environment, the urban Los Angeles of the 1970s, along with a couple of shots of his father, a key supporting character. The fast-paced editing--which includes many shots of Rockford's signature vehicle, a gold Pontiac Firebird--suggests plenty of action and adventure, serving as a nice contrast to the music; subliminally, we expect some laughs to accompany the car chases and fistfights. 

Finally, consider The Waltons: 

Jerry Goldsmith's magnificent theme plays over images of a tranquil forested mountainscape and a cozy two-story home nestled in its valley. Here live The Waltons, a large extended family whose members clearly love and support each other, expressed without words as Pa brings home what is clearly the family's first radio. The fashions and technology on display, combined with the score, create a sweetly nostalgic sense of time and place; we imagine a time that perhaps included more struggle, but perhaps, too, more innocence. (We know it's an illusion, but a comforting one.) 

A carefully crafted introduction is crucial to our understanding not just of a show's plot or characters, but its ethos. Would Law & Order feel the same without "In the criminal justice system . . .?" Would Star Trek be a cultural touchstone without "Space, the Final Frontier?" 

I don't think so. And that's why I watch the intro. Every time. 

Martian Week: Sol 5

 

Martian Week: Sol 4

 

Martian Week: Sol 3

Here's a Martian statesman. We come in peace! Even so . . . 
 

Martian Week: Sol 2

The Martians described in Bradbury's stories had golden eyes. Mine are a bit more yellow, but I think they stand out nicely. 
 

Martian Week: Sol 1

Exogenesis, the latest collection of pulp figures from, well, Pulp Figures, takes its inspiration from the so-called golden age of pulp science fiction. One subset of Exogenesis, The Martians, features five figures clearly based on the Martians seen in The Martian Chronicles, the 1980 NBC miniseries, in turn based on, of course, The Martian Chronicles, the great fix-up novel by Ray Bradbury. 

In the miniseries, the Martians all whore white robes. I've given my Martians a more colourful wardrobe and tried my hand at a bit of abstract art for each base. 

This Martian wears a fearsome mask that really freaked me out as a kid. Turns out first contact isn't an easy thing . . . even when both sides have good intentions. 



 

Here Come de Jugde

Looks like the prop department was slightly off their game for the production of this fourth-season episode of Hill Street Blues. 
 

The Green Hornet

Watch out, crime! The Green Hornet is going to sting you! 
 

Cylons Three