Cheap Star Trek - The Next Generation, Episode 24: We'll Always Have Paris (Video) (LeVar Burton, Gates McFadden, Gabrielle Beaumont, Robert Becker, Cliff Bole, Timothy Bond, David Carson, Chip Chalmers, Richard Compton, Robert Iscove) Price

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Customer Reviews of Star Trek - The Next Generation, Episode 24: We'll Always Have Paris

"Oh, we are us sir, but they are also us. So indeed, we are both us."
Star Trek: The Next Generation attempts to humanize its captain with "We'll Always Have Paris." It not only reveals the romantic side of Captain Jean-Luc Picard's (Patrick Stewart) but examines how his personal life has suffered because of his dedication to Starfleet. <
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>A moment in time repeats itself while the Enterprise-D is on its way to Sarona VIII for shore leave. Investigation of the incident leads to Doctor Paul Manheim (Rod Loomis), a scientist who has been conducting a non-linear time experiment. Strong feelings are reawakened in Picard when he comes face-to-face with Manheim's wife Jenice (Michelle Phillips) because she was once romantically-involved with the captain. Yet, Picard must keep his emotions in check until he has found a way to seal the dimensional rift caused by Doctor Manheim's experiment. <
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>"We'll Always Have Paris" showcases some dazzling visual effects with those of Lieutenant Commander Data (Brent Spiner) repairing the dimensional rift being a particular standout. However, all the moments dealing with Captain Picard's bittersweet reunion with his former love fall flat. There is very little spark between Jean-Luc and Jenice and a definite lack of passion in their dialogue. The romantic subplot also is a poor fit with the main "galaxy-in-peril" storyline. It seems strange that the Picard, Jenice, and Doctor Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) would spend so much time thinking about their personal feelings when all of reality is in danger of becoming unhinged. With all of these problems contributing to the episode's ineffectiveness, "We'll Always Have Paris" winds up being just a ho-hum outing in the end.

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Picard relives a moment of great weakness
On their way to a base to engage in some much-needed shore leave, the Enterprise suddenly experiences a brief looping of time. After verifying that the loop did indeed occur, they discover that it was not an isolated event, as it propagated across several thousand light years. Shortly after this, they receive a distress call from Dr. Paul Manheim, a scientist known to be conducting research in the fundamentals of time.
The situation is complicated because Manheim's wife is Captain Picard's first love, someone he was to have met in a café in Paris many years ago, but didn't due to an admitted lack of courage. Which raises the interesting human dilemma that some people who find it easy to face down physical danger fold like a cheap tent when faced with emotional danger. In order to prepare himself for meeting, Picard goes to a holodeck and has it recreate the café where the meeting was to take place.
Arriving at the laboratory, the Enterprise is able to rescue Dr. Manheim and his wife, the only two members of the research time still alive. Clearly, there is still a great deal of attraction between Picard and Mrs. Manheim, which stirs feelings of jealousy in Dr. Crusher. Dr. Manheim is phasing between dimensions, which is damaging his body, so we are once again made to suffer through more instances of Dr. Crusher saying she doesn't know what to do.
Eventually, Dr. Manheim recovers enough of his senses to explain to the Enterprise crew how to bypass the security system in his lab and heal the rift between the dimensions. Data beams down alone and manages to place antimatter in the rift at the right time so that it is sealed.
In terms of human interest with Picard as the focus, this is one of the best episodes in the series. We see him reliving his past, clearly with some sense of regret over his inability to let his emotions take some control over his life. While it is not part of the plot, it does raise the issue that perhaps that is one of the reasons why he is an excellent star ship captain. The feelings of jealousy in Dr. Crusher are also very evident, and both characters play their emotional conflicts very well. The ending scene where both Picard and Mrs. Manheim are in a holodeck simulation of the Parisian café is a classic example of two people putting closure to a part of their life. While they both still have deep feelings for each other, they clearly understand that they must part and they do so with a great deal of dignity.
The one part of the episode that I found detrimental was the role of counselor Troi, whose actions seem out of synch with the rest of the plot. When Picard first realizes that he will be meeting his first love, he obviously reacts with strong emotion. Before Picard can even leave the bridge, Troi stops him and offers him counseling services. We do not need to be told that Picard is undergoing emotional turmoil and he is rightfully annoyed at what should be considered an intrusion. Later, Troi approaches Dr. Crusher, expressing concern over her feelings of jealousy. Once again, this is an instance of over-zealous counseling. The feelings are of no danger to the ship and one would hope that the crew would be able to express natural emotions without having the counselor attempting to get involved in every instance.
Relying on one of the oldest themes in human existence, finding a long lost love, this episode shows Picard at his most vulnerable, where even he demonstrates weakness. Despite this, Picard also shows his greatest strength, in leading the Enterprise crew to the successful completion of a task that had to be done. This episode is good, but not great, slightly better than average when compared to all others.

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Au contraire....
Contrary to the review "Time Distortion" just previous, I would have to say that chemistry of a former affair between the characters of Picard and Jenice was, in fact, in evidence. But this former connection was played with subtlety and maturity, not foolish hot kissing and furtive groping, as is so much in evidence on current television. The former affair would have had its after effects, years later, very plausibly in the way it was protrayed. It made an interesting foil to the time distortion story, as well as help to flesh out the human side of Picard's normally brusque character, a necessary development in the first season towards building audience interest in the new series. And it didn't hurt that Michelle Phillips was cast as Jenice - she played the part with the right mix of chic, loveliness and grace. This episode is one of my favorites, as it addresses the age-old story of lost loves, regrets, ambition, and other roads taken, all as a universal theme of the human condition.