Battle Lines (⭑⭑)
"Battle Lines" is a puzzling little episode that, while it has its moments, is ultimately hugely disappointing. It starts out seeming to represent the show finally turning its attention back…
The Storyteller (⭑⭑⭑)
How to succinctly sum up my thoughts and feelings about this episode? It's a strange one, for sure, and there are questionable things about both of its storylines—but I must…
Progress (⭑⭑⭑⭑)
FINALLY!! This is the kind of DS9 that I signed up for: a story about Bajoran problems that has no good or easy solution and doesn't pretend to, and one…
If Wishes Were Horses (⭑⭑)
Yawn. "If Wishes Were Horses" is (ironically enough) an unimaginative, pointless, and boring episode on so many levels. It scores above the very worst episodes of this season by virtue…
The Forsaken (⭑⭑⭑)
Here is one of the most confounding things about the first season of Deep Space Nine: its Lwaxana Troi episode is better (and by a considerable margin) than its Q…
Dramatis Personae (⭑⭑⭑)
"Dramatis Personae" is going to be a tricky episode for me to review, because I have kind of a weird history with it. I don't know whether or not I…
Duet (⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑)
"Duet" is frequently cited as the best episode of DS9's first season. I'm not sure that I'm willing to go quite that far, but beyond any doubt, it is one…
In the Hands of the Prophets (⭑⭑⭑⭑)
"In the Hands of the Prophets" is absolutely essential DS9. It's the episode that I've been eagerly looking forward to re-watching and reviewing all season long. In a season that…
The Homecoming (⭑⭑⭑⭑)
"The Homecoming" is both a classic episode and, in my opinion, pretty much exactly what DS9 needed to kick off its second season. It's the sort of episode that, without…
The Circle (⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑)
"The Circle" is about as thoroughly "classic DS9" as it gets. It's an extremely engrossing episode that not only digs deeper into the Bajoran political turmoil introduced in the previous…
The Siege (⭑⭑)
It's hard for me to have to give "The Siege" only two stars. Granted, I have always remembered it as the weakest episode of season two's three-part opening arc, but…
Invasive Procedures (⭑⭑⭑)
"Invasive Procedures" is a reasonably enjoyable hour of television, but it's definitely not anything more than that. It's based on some moderately promising ideas, some of the character dynamics work…
TNG “Story Types”
There are many different ways that episodes/stories can be categorized: by quality, by "genre" (comedic vs. action-oriented vs. dramatic), by which character or characters (if any) is featured, etc. What…
TNG Statistical Summation
Having completed the project of rating and reviewing all 176 episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, it's time for some observations about how the show stacks up, as a…
Meandering Thoughts on “Kitsch” (with a Major Digression Concerning a Beloved TV Show)
One day, a month or two ago, a few friends and I had a conversation that began when somebody referenced the concept of the "ugly Christmas sweater," and I—albeit with…
Music, and Memories, and—Moving On? (Journalings About Recent Experiences/Feelings)
In recent weeks, I’ve experienced numerous little moments of intense emotion, where the emotions in question are simultaneously joyful and profoundly, despairingly sad. And I’ve wanted to talk about these…
Wrapping Up: The Trip Home From Yellowstone
I’m sort of ready to be done writing about this trip, and I’m not sure how much I really have to say about the homeward-bound road trip in any case.…
Day 5 at Yellowstone: Finally Conquering the Mary Mt. Trail!
And so, the day of the big 20-mile hike finally arrived! Once again recapping some back story here: Way back in 2009, during my first trip to Yellowstone as an…
Day 4 at Yellowstone: On My Own, Solving Problems…and Hiking!
So, at the end of my previous post, I left myself waking up in my tent around 2:00 am when my second C-PAP battery died on me. I spent the…
Yellowstone Interlude: Voyage to the Tetons
When I tell people about my various trips to Yellowstone, I am often asked whether or not I also drove down into Grand Teton National Park at all while I…
Day 2 at Yellowstone: Geysers, Hot Springs, Fumaroles, and Swimming!
So, the plan for the morning of “geyser day” was for me to drive down to Fishing Bridge (the RV park) to meet up with everyone else, and for us…
Day 1 at Yellowstone: Waterfalls, Mud Volcanos, Etc.
Okay, forget what I said about “writing about this trip differently.” I thought I was going to just do a few posts, covering two or three days per post, rather…
The Beginning of Another Yellowstone Trip
This was a somewhat different trip from other trips that I’ve taken (and written about) in recent years—and accordingly, I may end up writing about it in a somewhat different…
Days 9 & 10 of Grand Canyon Trip: The Voyage Home
I planned to road-trip home from the Grand Canyon in just two days, which meant driving about 12 hours each day—a lot of driving! Plus, thanks to the no-daylight-savings-time-in-Arizona issue…
Day 8 of Grand Canyon Trip: Final Day at the Canyon
As you might expect, I woke up with some rather sore leg muscles on this morning. At first, it felt like I could barely walk! But it was my last…
Day 7 of Grand Canyon Trip: Indian Garden
This, then, became the "big day" of my trip—the day on which, per the plan that I’d hatched the previous day, I hiked the farthest into (and then, later, back…
Day 6 of Grand Canyon Trip: Going In a Little Further…
I had hopes of getting a really early start this morning; if I did, maybe I could make it all the way down to the 3-mile rest house on Bright…
Day 5 of Grand Canyon Trip
Partly because I got off to a much later start on this day than most others during my trip (thanks to that 10-hour sleep), I decided that it was a…
Day 4 of Grand Canyon Trip: First Day at the GC, First Hike into the Canyon
I ended up deciding to start things out by joining a ranger-led hike going just a little ways down into the canyon on this first morning. The information said to…
Some General Reflections On My Grand Canyon Trip
There will be more day-by-day type posts to come, with pictures and details about my doings out here. This post, though, is not that sort of post. The Grand Canyon…