Star Trek 1050: Second Chances!

1050. Second Chances!

PUBLICATION: Star Trek: The Next Generation #42, DC Comics, January 1993

CREATORS: Michael Jan Friedman (writer), Peter Krause and Pablo Marcos (artists)

STARDATE: Unknown (follows the last issue)

PLOT: Aboard the artificial moon, Data prevents the machinery from overloading. On the battle bridge, Picard survives a big battle with the Sztazzan. On the saucer section, Mot the barber wishes to distract Alexander from his father's fate. On the planet below, far from Federation space, O'Brien discovers who made the transport technology. They were an alien race facing a natural disaster who transported themselves across space on large engineless pods to a new home, a new home that was soon destroyed by a rogue comet. While he's studying the computer files, the Sztazzan attack and in the aftermath, Lt. Oliver saves the life of one of them trapped under debris. They away team is beamed back with the wounded Sztazzan and O'Brien finds out where the transport receptor (might it be reversed into an emitter?) is a year's flight away at impulse speeds...

CONTINUITY: See previous issues. O'Brien mentions his recent experience with the Cardassians (The Wounded).

DIVERGENCES: Punctuation aside, this is the title for a TNG episode.

PANEL OF THE DAY - The Enterprise's brush with the tree tops.
REVIEW: This issue has taken me aback, mostly because of the art. It's the same art team as usual - Peter Krause and Pablo Marcos - so I wasn't expecting this much scale and action. The battles, both in space and on the planet, are exciting and easy to follow, and the "sets" look big and well designed. Makes for a really exciting issue! It helps that the secret behind the artificial moon is revealed, and that the Sztazzan finally show their hand, of course. Oh, and that the saucer section gets its last hope pulled from under it. Lt. Oliver saves a Sztazzan life despite her feelings, probably on the heels of talking to O'Brien about his similar experience with the Cardassians. Very good use of ol' Miles, and of Mot the barber too, giving that character a little more to do than he ever did on the show.

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