Star Trek: The Defector

Episode: "The Defector"

Series: Star Trek: The Next Generation

Season 3, Episode 10

Original Air Date: January 1, 1990

via Memory Alpha

Data and Picard are interrupted during a holodeck rehearsal of Henry V by the news of an unidentified craft entering Federation space from the Neutral Zone.  Romulan Admiral Alidar Jarok has defected and offers information regarding a secret installation on Nelvana III which, if true, would constitute a major treaty breach.  Our heroes may be on the brink of war.

I know the Borg will ultimately emerge as the primary adversary on TNG (indeed, rather soon) but I still find the Romulans more interesting.  They were initially introduced in "Balance of Terror," quite possible the best TOS episode of all.  Every Romulan story afterward echoes (with varying levels of success) the mental chess match of the original.  We never get the thorough world-building for the Romulans that we do for the Klingons (largely thanks to Worf) but there are meaningful drips and drops with each new tale.  When Jarok requests water from the replicator, he does so in onkians, the Romulan temperature measurement.  We also get a view of the Valley of Chula on Romulus, via the holodeck.

With new Star Trek series springing up all of the time, it would be great to see one set in a non-human culture.  Vulcan, Klingon and Romulan characters have been prominent throughout Trek-dom and any one of those cultures would be prime for deeper exploration.  For a franchise built on the idea of tolerance, it's well past time to move past the Federation.

Acting Notes

via Quantum Leap Wiki

James Sloyan (Jarok) was born February 24, 1940 in Indianapolis, Indiana.  After spending much of his youth abroad, he received a scholarship to the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.  His career was put on hiatus when he was drafted into the Army in 1962.

"The Defector" is the first of five Trek appearances for Sloyan, including four characters in three different series.  He's made frequent guest appearances on sci-fi television, including Buck Rodgers, Quantum Leap and The X-Files.  His most significant big screen role was Mottola in The Sting.  Also a successful voice actor, his is the current voice on Mitsubishi commercials.

Squid Mixes: The Champs-Élysées

The Champs-Élysées combines cognac, Chartreuse (green in our case), lemon juice and simple syrup with a lemon twist garnish.  I got my recipe from Drinking French by David Lebovitz.  It is named, of course, for the famous boulevard in Paris.

Chartreuse is new for us.  It has been produced by the Carthusian monks in Voiron, France since 1764 from instructions dating to 1605.  It is made in both green and yellow varieties, the yellow being sweeter and lower in alcohol: 80 proof as opposed to green's 110.  [Drink responsibly, folks!]  It is concocted from 130 different herbs, plants and flowers.  The color, interestingly, is named after the liqueur rather than the other way around.

The flavor is wild!  If I could put psychedelic into a glass to taste, Chartreuse would be it.  Lebovitz warns that it's strong.  He advises a 3:1 ratio, cognac to Chartreuse so the cognac has a fighting chance.  There's a lot going on and it's all sharp and bright.  A half-ounce goes a long way which is good 'cause the stuff ain't cheap.

Fun bonus: my wife got a like on Instagram from Lebovitz himself when she posted a photo of our drink.

I think it's fair to say this is our new favorite cocktail.  And I think of this song every time I make it.

On the Coffee Table: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Title: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Author: J.K. Rowling

via Barnes & Noble

The Triwizard Tournament is to be held at Hogwarts this year, the fourth for Harry Potter at the School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.  This means students from two European wizard schools, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, will be at Hogwarts for the year.  It also means Harry will once again be put in mortal peril.

When my wife and I first started reading the Harry Potter books, the first three had already been published.  As such, the release of Goblet of Fire was our introduction to the publication craze.  We didn't go to the midnight release party (my wife is a morning person) but we did pre-order our copy and pick it up the next day.

Goblet of Fire is the book in which the series loses its innocence.  More on that in a bit.  It's also abundantly clear Rowling is writing with the films in mind by this point.  A lot of the exposition reads like a story board.

The world-building:

• This fourth book provides the first deep exploration of a wizarding world beyond the UK.  Even before the Triwizard Tournament, we visit the finals of the Quidditch World Cup, contested by Ireland and Bulgaria (neither normally significant players on the world sport stage).  
• It's another good food book as we see Molly Weasley cook with magic and learn of the mostly invisible House Elf staff who cook all of the amazing meals at Hogwarts.  
• As powerful a wizard as Harry may be, he's a terrible date.  If anything, Ron's worse.
• We get the first hints that Hermione's and Ron's feelings for each other might extend beyond platonic.

Once again, my favorite part of the story involves the Weasleys and their affection for Harry.  I got quite emotional when Molly and Bill turned up as Harry's "family" for the final task of the Triwizard Tournament.  Mind you, I was less impressed by Molly's passive aggression towards Hermione when she believed Rita Skeeter's article claiming that Hermione was Harry's manipulative girlfriend.

!!! SPOILER ALERT !!!

It's impossible to discuss the significance of The Goblet of Fire without addressing the book's ending.  The story is 18 years old.  I'm not sure what the statute of limitations on spoilers is but I'm pretty sure we haven't reached it.

Cedric Diggory, Harry's fellow Hogwarts representative for the Tournament, is murdered by Wormtail, right in front of Harry.  It is not the first time the series addresses death and loss but it is the first time a student dies.  A big part of why the Harry Potter story works through seven volumes is that we are taught to see Hogwarts as a sanctuary from the evils of the broader world and then feel the loss deeply when that safety is compromised.  With Cedric's death, the citadel begins to crumble.

!!! END OF SPOILER !!!

Marvel Immersion Project: Daredevil #172-177

I feel I should share what Frank Miller Daredevil art I easily can.  Most of the time, for images, I simply grab what's most easily accessible on the wikis.  But Miller's art, like that of Kirby or Ditko, deserves special exhibition.

#158 Cover via Wikipedia

#184 Cover via Wikipedia

My Recent Reads

Daredevil #172

Originally Published July 1, 1981

Writer and Artist: Frank Miller

• Believing his wife is dead, Kingpin takes control of the city underworld.
• He hires Bullseye as his hitman.
• Daredevil shows up.  He and Bullseye brawl.
• DD wins but the Kingpin remains in power.

Daredevil #173

August 1, 1981

Frank Miller

• Daredevil stories are frequently dark but this one is particular heavy - and poignant.
• Melvin Potter, aka Gladiator and a client of Matt Murdock's, is believed to be brutally assaulting women on the street.
• The actual assailant is Michael Reese, a man essentially identical to Potter.
• Years before, Reese assaulted Becky Blake, Murdock's secretary.  The attack left her crippled.
• Becky tells Matt about the attack and admits to him that she never reported it to the police.  Matt's horrified she didn't do so and even expresses a sense of personal betrayal towards her.
• When DD has his own fight with Reese and experiences the same helplessness Becky had felt, he becomes more sympathetic.
• Murdock finally convinces Becky to call the police and report that she had been attacked by the same man now attacking others.

Daredevil #174

September 1, 1981

Frank Miller

via Wikipedia

• Kingpin hires The Hand to take out Daredevil.
• The Hand is a ninja order, the very one that trained Elektra.
• Elektra and Gladiator team up to protect DD.  This is a consistent theme for the series.  DD isn't good at accepting or soliciting the help of others.  People seem inclined to protect him anyway, even when he isn't likely to be aware of it.
• An important development as the story moves forward: due to an explosion, DD loses his radar sense.

Daredevil #175

October 1, 1981

Frank Miller

• Daredevil and Elektra battle The Hand.
• Foggy Nelson defends the Gladiator in court.

Daredevil #176

November 1, 1981

Frank Miller

via Marvel Database

• Desperate to get his radar sense back, Daredevil hunts down his old trainer, Stick.

Daredevil #177

December 1, 1981

Frank Miller

• Stick forces Daredevil to face the demons of his past (in gorgeous black-and-white) in order to regain his radar sense.
• The Bugle publishes an exposé on Kingpin's puppet mayoral candidate, Randolph Winston Cherryh.

Star Trek: The Vengeance Factor

Episode: "The Vengeance Factor"

Series: Star Trek: The Next Generation

Season 3, Episode 9

Original Air Date: November 20, 1989

via Memory Alpha

Our heroes work to broker peace between the Acamarians and their pirate kinsmen, the Gatherers.  However, ancient clan feuds surface when one of the Gatherers is murdered.  From the viewer perspective, it's not much of a mystery.  We know whodunit well before the other characters do.

Last week was Troi's romantic tale.  This time, it's Riker's.  The lovely Yuta is the servant of Marouk, the Acamarian sovereign.  Riker falls for her hard.  Unfortunately, she's also the murderer - not much of a spoiler.  Like I said, we know right away.  

A missed narrative opportunity: Riker's weakness for women could have become far more of a liability than it ever did.  No one ever sets a honey trap for him.  Why not?  Just not that kind of show?

Food Notes

Yuta is a gifted cook.  She prepares parthas, an Acamarian vegetable, for Riker and Troi.  In his efforts to charm her, Riker refers to the dish as Parthas a la Yuta.

The final peace negotiations between Marouk and Chogran, the leader of the Gatherers, are conducted over Acamarian brandy.

Acting Notes

via Elm Street Wiki

Lisa Wilcox (Yuta) was born in Columbia, Missouri, April 27, 1964.  She graduated from UCLA.  Her best known role is that of Alice Johnson in the Nightmare on Elm Street films.  In 2000, she and fellow actress Tuesday Knight founded ToeBrights, a toe jewelry company.

Squid Mixes: Cranberry Squidcar

The Cranberry Squidcar is my latest invention:

1.5 oz cognac

0.75 oz Cointreau

0.75 oz lemon juice

3 dashes cranberry bitters

Shake with ice and strain.

I used the sidecar recipe from Robert Simonson's 3-Ingredient Cocktails as my base, then added the cranberry bitters.  The biggest impact of the addition was the color.  I think the result looks like pink grapefruit juice.  There's also an extra hint of cranberry bitterness in the flavor.

Marvel Immersion Project: Daredevil #167-171

Frank Miller was born January 27, 1957 in Olney, Maryland though he grew up in Montpelier, Vermont.  You'd think that last bit would be something I knew before but I didn't.  He went to U-32 High School.  I've been there!

via Wikipedia

Daredevil was Miller's breakthrough, though it was a later title for DC that would cement his status as a god of the industry: Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, often pitted against Watchmen for bragging rights as the greatest comic book series ever.  In the 1990s, his Sin City and 300 series would become major film projects on which Miller would work as co-director (for Sin City) and producer (for 300).  Artistically, Miller is credited with bringing both film noir and Japanese manga sensibilities to mainstream American comic books.

He has won... a lot of awards!

My Recent Reads

Daredevil #167

Originally Published November 1, 1980

Writer: David Michelinie

Artist: Frank Miller

via Marvel Database

• Villain: Mauler

via Wikipedia

• The Mauler is out to get his former boss, Edwin Cord of Cordco, Incorporated.

Daredevil #168

January 1, 1981

Writer and Artist: Frank Miller

• Note: this is the first issue for which Miller served as both writer and artist.

via Wikipedia

• Elektra is introduced!
• Elektra is Matt Murdock's long lost love from before he became Daredevil.  Now, she's a professional assassin.

Daredevil #169

March 1, 1981

Frank Miller

• Bullseye has a brain tumor which causes him to see everyone as Daredevil.  He starts killing them all.

Daredevil #170

May 1, 1981

Frank Miller

via Marvel Database

• Wilson Fisk is living in Japan, retired from his life as Kingpin, a New York crime boss.
• He sends his wife Vanessa back to New York to hire Nelson and Murdock.  He wants to turn state's evidence against his formal rivals.
• Instead, Vanessa is kidnapped.
• In his efforts to save her, Daredevil has a confrontation with Bullseye.

Daredevil #171

June 1, 1981 (now monthly)

Frank Miller

• Murdock goes undercover to join Kingpin's gang.  His cover gets blown pretty quickly and Kingpin pummels him good.
• During the exchange between Kingpin and his wife's kidnappers, Vanessa is apparently killed.