Cheap Star Trek - The Next Generation, Episode 34: A Matter Of Honor (Video) (Larry Shaw, David Carson, Gabrielle Beaumont, Timothy Bond, Kim Manners, LeVar Burton, Richard Compton, Jonathan West, Marvin V. Rush, Michael Vejar) Price

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Customer Reviews of Star Trek - The Next Generation, Episode 34: A Matter Of Honor

Riker boards a Klingon Bird of Prey as part of an officer exchange program. This is another Next Generation gem with lots of action. Riker has to fight the first officer he bumped from command and has to watch his back. Promotions are gained by assassination! The Klingon captain believes that the Enterprise was responsible for a virus that begins to eat the hull of the Bird of Prey. All these ingredients make for Next Generation Classic!

William Riker, First Officer of the Klingon Crusier Pagh
Few things are as much fun as a Starfleet Officer Exchange Program and no one gets the short end of the stick more often than Commander Riker (a subtle suggestion that if you like this episode you should read Peter David's STNG Novel "A Rock and a Hard Place"). The Enterprise gets Ensign Mendon, a Benzite who notices strange creatures attached to the hulls of spaceships but does not want to say anything until he has completed his exhaustive research. Riker? He gets to be First Officer aboard the Klingon crusier Pagh. The comic twist is that Riker has done his homework. He is perfectly willing to eat the stomach churning Klingon food and beat up the ship's Second Officer to gain the respect of his new crewmates. The problem of course is that since Ensign Mendon did not feel it was necessary to report the gigantic interstellar parasite on the side of the Klingon ship, the Klingon captain comes to the conclusion this is some sort of sneak attack by the Enterprise. For him the only possible move is to go back and attack the Enterprise. For Riker the only possible way to head off this problem is to challenge the captain, take command of the Pagh, and order the Enterprise to surrender or else blow it to bits.

This is a fun episode, rather lighthearted given the all the other life and death crises afflicting the Enterprise crew during the second season. It is certainly nice to see Riker fully develop his sense of humor and with that beard Jonathan Frakes certainly looks like he could go toe to toe with a bunch of Klingons. Of course even if they are allies of the Federation, the Klingons remain that wacky bunch of hotheads (not to mention hard heads with those reinforced skulls) we have all come to know and love over the years. Given that at this point the series has only begun to really start exploring the idea of Worf as the only Klingon in Starfleet, Riker's temporary duty is an interesting look at the flip side of the coin. But Starfleet might want to rethink assigning Benzites anywhere near hazardous duty.

A Matter of Klingons!
Cultural education and social exploration aside, this episode rocks! It is fun to see Klingons from an outsider's perspective, true, but it's fun to see Klingons period. "A Matter of Honor" showcases Commander Riker and it is Riker at his very best. The only comparable Riker episodes (in quality) might be "The Pegasus" and "Second Chances". As Riker attempts to fit in with a Klingon crew as their first officer, he first must gain the crew's respect. This is no easy task for a "weakling human" but Riker succeeds is showing the Klingons that he is no weakling and will not be bullied. Riker learns a lot about this pround species and, in the end, the Klingons learn a bit about humans, too. The result is that both Riker and this crew of Klingon ruffians grow and mature. And when Riker returns to the Enterprise, there is a sense of understanding and camraderie between him and the Enterprise's resident Klingon, Lt. Worf.

Great episode, maybe the best of season two.