TNG Flashback: A Matter of Honor

Having established in an earlier episode that Riker has an interest in Klingon culture, Star Trek: The Next Generation took advantage of it with the big, Klingon-themed "A Matter of Honor."

We learn of an "officer exchange program" within Starfleet, as a Benzite ensign comes aboard the Enterprise to learn about human customs. Commander Riker decides to participate in the program himself, accepting a temporary transfer to serve aboard a Klingon bird-of-prey. When a hull-corroding bacteria is discovered on the hull of the Klingon ship, the captain accuses the Enterprise of deliberately putting it there, and Riker must find a way to avoid attacking his own former ship.

There's a refreshing simplicity to this episode. It's not about any "big science fiction idea," but is simply an exploration of culture clash. The fact that it uses Klingons to do so is just gravy for many longtime Star Trek fans who enjoy that alien race in particular.

Though I wouldn't count myself among the Klingon enthusiasts, even I found myself enjoying their use here. Their portrayal in this episode is much more rounded and interesting than our earlier taste of Klingons in "Heart of Glory." A particular scene demonstrates that they have a sense of humor, and makes a point of Riker being as surprised at that discovery as we the audience. What's more, it's a different type and tone of humor than the "straight man" comedy often given to Worf (even in this very episode); Klingon humor is more like insult comedy, about keeping people from getting too big a head, and it works very well for them.

Especially effective within the Klingon plot is the character of the second officer, Klag. He's as well-rounded a Klingon as any we've seen next to Worf, with a back story about a disgraced father, plus a character arc of gaining respect for Riker. And it's the fact that the story comes to us through Riker as a lens that keeps it from falling into "too much about the guest star" territory.

What's far less effective is the story of Mendon, the Benzite exchange officer who comes on the Enterprise. His cocky arrogance certainly provides a different tone from the usual atmosphere on the bridge, but his character arc of essentially learning to be cocky in a different way (after a pep talk from Wesley Crusher) isn't a very compelling one. I could have done without this subplot, in favor of spending more time with Riker on the Klingon ship.

The thing that's interesting about Mendon has nothing to do with the character, but rather with John Putch, the actor playing him. He also played Mordock, the other Benzite we met in "Coming of Age," and the episode specifically acknowledges this by having Wesley Crusher mistake one for the other. (Fortunately, Wesley's "all Benzites look alike" declaration, which might have come off as racist, is excused when Mendon himself acknowledges that they actually do.) But it turns out that the repeat casting had nothing to do with a quirk of an imagined alien race, nor was it even about the producers liking the actor from his first appearance. The makeup department already had created the makeup to form-fit the actor in his previous episode, and the show saved money by reusing him and not having to do a makeup redesign for a head cast of a new actor.

At least the money saved there does show up in the episode in other places. We get a ship full of Klingons, for starters, plus some fantastically disgusting Klingon food created by the prop department. There's also a scene in the teaser set on the Phaser Range, a neat visual setting for a conversation between Picard and Riker. (Even though the empty black void surely didn't cost much to produce, the phaser shots and moving targets definitely didn't come for free.)

Other observations:

• Mendon's uniform has a collar on the neck, though it's not quite like what we'd see when the Starfleet uniforms were redesigned for season 3.

• We're told in this episode that part of serving on a Klingon ship is a readiness to assassinate one's superior any time he should show weakness. Worf tries to characterize this as aiding the superior's "honorable retirement," but if you ask me, it sounds more treacherous and Romulan-like to me than noble and Klingon.

• Not all the humor in the episode is Klingon inspired. O'Brien has some great fun messing with Riker just before beaming him over to the Klingon ship.

• It's fun to see Data occupying the first officer's chair while Riker is away.

• Riker knows he has to beat up Klag to earn his respect, though he basically starts the fight by catching Klag off guard with a cheap shot. But then, how else would Riker get the drop on a burly Klingon warrior?

• It's interesting that Riker criticizes Klag for not speaking to his father. We'd learn later in this very season that Riker hasn't spoken to his own father in more than a decade. (Main characters on television shows always have issues with their parents, don't they?)

• This episode boasts another fantastic score from composer Ron Jones. It has everything from intriguing, light tension for the mysterious ship-eating organism to all-out Klingon action music for the final confrontation.

This is ultimately a good episode that mainly just comes up short in not having quite enough time to show us Riker settling in aboard the Klingon ship. If only the dud Mendon subplot hadn't chewed up that time, this episode might well have been The Next Generation's first A-grade hour. Still, it's a solid effort worth a B+.