Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's "21 Grams" employs an unconventional narrative to explore how one incident can bind together the destinies of three individuals. To watch lives change in an instant is a sobering experience. Almost as sobering as the claim that life itself may only weigh 21 grams.

Paul Rivers (Sean Penn) is a college professor with a heart problem. Jack Jordan (Benicio Del Toro) is a former convict who has turned his life around with the help of his strong religious beliefs. Cristina Peck (Naomi Watts) is a married woman who finds comfort and stability in her husband and two daughters. A tragedy strikes that devastates Cristina and sets into motion a series of events that draws Paul into her life and forces Jack to reassess his most deeply-held beliefs.

Inarritu's decision to intercut the stories of the three characters in a non-chronological manner is jarring at the outset. However, if you stick with the film, you will be rewarded when all the pieces of the puzzle fall into place and the tale can be finally seen in its entirety. Penn and Watts are solid in their roles but Del Toro's performance is absolutely mesmerizing. You can literally feel the pain of Jack as he abandons everything he has come to believe and cherish in life. Eddie Marsan, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Melissa Leo perfectly compliment the leads with their supporting performances and prove invaluable in increasing the emotional impact of the unfolding events. If you're willing to accept the unique storytelling style of "21 Grams" then you will find yourself watching a devastating and absorbing creative work.

"The Arsenal of Freedom" is clearly one of the low points of Star Trek: The Next Generation's first season. The only positive this episode contains is Commander William Riker's (Jonathan Frakes) joke about his new ship - the "good ship Lollipop." The rest of the episode is nowhere as amusing.

The Enterprise-D arrives at the planet Minos in search of the U.S.S. Drake. Upon beaming down to the planet, the away team is attacked by floating energy weapons and Doctor Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) is seriously injured upon falling into a sinkhole. Meanwhile, the Enterprise itself is under siege from an undetectable enemy in space. Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) eventually learns that the disappearance of the Drake and the attacks on his away team and his ship are all tied to the missing Minos people themselves.

Watching the crew be put in peril and learning that all the dangers they faced were part of a sales pitch gives an awkward feel to this episode. It's like watching a used-car salesman terrorize a prospective buyer by taking him as a passenger on a reckless jaunt down the freeway in order to demonstrate the merits of a particular car. Well, at least we got a peek at the battle bridge in action again which is always a cool sight. Too bad it was only used to destroy a floor model of a sales product. You would think the writers would have thought of a better situation in which to showcase the battle bridge, but then again you would think that episodes like this one would not have moved beyond the drawing board stage.

The Klingons arrive on the scene in "Heart of Glory" to shake things up in the 24th century. Even though there is an alliance in place between the Klingon Empire and the Federation, you can always rely on those classic warriors to stir up trouble anyway.

The Enterprise-D rescues three Klingons from a damaged Talarian vessel. Unknown to Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart), the Klingons are actually fugitives. One of them dies from his injuries after coming aboard. Soon after, the other two fugitives start to devise a plan to take over the ship. They ask Lieutenant Worf (Michael Dorn) to aid them but he remains loyal to his comrades. Eventually, a final showdown ensues in engineering between Worf and one of the fugitives.

"Heart of Glory" was the first Star Trek: The Next Generation Klingon episode and it did not disappoint. The howling during the Klingon Death Ritual was hokey but seeing the Klingons as Star Trek adversaries once more sure rekindled fond memories of their appearances in the original series. The guest performances were solid with Vaughn Armstrong turning in a strong effort as Korris and Charles H. Hyman complimenting him in his role as Konmel. And wasn't that a great moment when that Klingon battle cruiser appeared on the viewscreen? Talk about stirring up those feelings of nostalgia. The Federation and the Klingon Empire are inextricably connected in Star Trek lore and reinforcing this connection in the Next Generation era was a welcome development indeed.

You would not think an episode primarily concerned with people taking an exam would be engaging, but "Coming of Age" is exactly that. Remember that if you ever come across an exam question asking about the proper ratio of matter to antimatter, the answer is 1 to 1. Don't know the answer to the Dynamic Relationships question though.

The Enterprise-D arrives at Relva VII. As Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton) beams down to take his Starfleet Academy entrance exam, Admiral Gregory Quinn (Ward Costello) and Lt. Commander Dexter Remmick (Robert Schenkkan) beam aboard the ship to conduct an investigation. As Wesley starts to stress over the psychological evaluation portion of the exam, the Enterprise's senior officers start to become impatient with the increasingly hostile nature of Remmick's line of questioning. As if Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) doesn't have enough to worry about, he is also forced to deal with a suicidal Jake Kurland (Stephen Gregory) who has become despondent over not qualifying for the Starfleet Academy entrance exam

Talk about a full plate. "Coming of Age" has a little bit of everything. We get to see what Starfleet Academy's entrance exam is like, we get a glimpse of a Benzite for the first time, we get to witness the tightening up of Star Trek: The Next Generation's continuity in the course of Remmick's investigation, we get to see Picard be offered the head job at Starfleet academy, and we get a wonderful guest starring turn by Robert Ito. Oh, and I almost forget to mention that we also learn that courtesy is a no-no when speaking to a Zoldan. With so much material to fill up this single episode, it is no wonder that it moves along at a crisp pace and manages to keep the proceedings interesting from beginning to end. You know an episode is good when Wesley Crusher is holding your attention. Wow.

"When The Bough Breaks" is such an inconsequential Star Trek: The Next Generation episode that it immediately fades from memory once the closing credits pop up on the screen. If there's any equivalent to newspaper or magazine filler in the television medium then this is it. Well, they can't all be winners.

The Enterprise-D discovers the planet Aldea. However, it turns out the "accidental" meeting between the ship and the planet was planned in advance. The Aldeans have lost the ability to reproduce and have lured the Enterprise-D to their homeworld in order to kidnap some of the ship's children to help them repopulate their race. The situation is eventually resolved when Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) offers the help of his ship to repair the planet's atmosphere which has been weakened by a protective shield encircling the planet.

Yes, Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton) was one of the children kidnapped and the mind boggles as how this television series would have turned out differently had he remained behind in captivity on Aldea. However, this was not to be as the young man was among the rescued and well, the rest is history. Star Trek: The Next Generation also once again borrows another story device from the original series by attributing the problems of a planetary society to a guardian computer. You have to wonder just how many of these computers are out there in the galaxy? Is there a 24th century IBM producing and selling these things in bulk to planets tired of looking after themselves? Can you purchase these computers with that cool dragon-head as seen in the original series episode "The Apple" (1967) or is that a custom job? So many questions . . .

Star Trek has always produced its fair share of cautionary tales. "Home Soil" is its attempt to point out the unintended dire consequences terraforming can cause. It also is the episode that forces you to wonder if the crystals in your personal collection regard you as "an ugly bag of mostly water" when you're not around.

The Enterprise-D arrives at Velara III to check up on a terraforming group charged with the mission of turning the inhospitable planet into one that will eventually support life. However, after an engineer is killed and Data (Brent Spiner) is attacked, the crew realizes that something is seriously amiss on the surface. A startling discovery is soon made - there are microscopic life forms that are falling victim to the drilling on the planet. The previous attacks were initiated by them as a means to defend themselves.

This variation on the original series' superior "Devil in the Dark" (1967) is filled with problems that it cannot overcome. Guest star Elizabeth Lindsey is strangely stiff in her supporting role, Walter Gotell is over-the-top in his supporting role, the production values for the microscopic life forms must have set a new record for production money saved on creating an alien race, and the line "ugly bag of mostly water" is so unintentionally goofy that it undermines the seriousness of the episode's message because you can't get it out of your head and can't stop giggling once it's spoken on-screen. Well, at least "Home Soil" did teach us that the only way to defeat evil crystals is to shut the lights off. That valuable piece of information is what prevents the episode from being a total lost cause.

A year before the Borg made their grand debut, the theme of interdependency between organic beings and technology was explored in "11001001." Even though the pale-skinned assimilators made more of a long-lasting impression, you gotta wonder why they never adopted the Bynars' strategy of duping Starfleet officers with attractive holograms - if this episode was any indication, it seemed like a pretty effective strategy to distract Starfleet officers.

The Enterprise-D arrives at Starbase 74 to have their computer system upgraded by the Bynars. The crew evacuates the ship when it appears that its magnetic containment field is on the verge of collapse. However, the emergency is actually a ruse staged by the Bynars so that they can steal the Enterprise. Yet, Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and Commander William Riker (Jonathan Frakes) are still aboard. The two officers eventually regain control of the ship after pulling themselves away from an alluring hologram named Minuet (Carolyn McCormick).

There are some genuinely cool aspects to "11001001." It's great to see the exterior and interiors of Starbase 74 which rekindles memories of Spacedock from "Star Trek III: The Search for Spock" (1984) and "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country" (1991) and it's great to see a replay of the auto-destruct moment from "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield" (1969). Yet, the whole subplot revolving around Minuet is not totally convincing. You would think the captain and first officer of the Federation's flagship would notice that their ship is traveling at warp speed when it should not be doing so. Guess that Minuet must really have been far more radiant and captivating than it seemed on the small screen. Yet, in the final count, "11001001" is goofy fun and one of the more amusing outings among the first season efforts.

In "Datalore," Star Trek: The Next Generation tried its hand at the time-tested evil-twin story by introducing viewers to version 1.0 of the series' beloved positronic-brained android. This episode provided the same opportunity to explore the dual nature of the psyche like "The Enemy Within" did during the run of the original series. Sadly though, the doppelganger didn't demand to be given brandy this time around - more proof that the 23rd century was a much more fun time period than the 24th.

While trying to solve the mystery behind the mysterious disappearance of a colony in the Omicron Theta star system, the crew of the Enterprise-D discover a disassembled android in a laboratory. When assembled the android proves to be an exact duplicate of Data (Brent Spiner). It turns out the android named Lore (Spiner in a dual role) was created before Data but was shut down when he encountered difficulties co-existing with the colonists. It soon comes to light that there is a sinister connection between the reactivated android and the disappearance of the colonists.

Brent Spiner is assigned double-duty with this episode and he admirably pulls off the difficult task of playing the twin androids. Although similar in appearance, Spiner infuses both Data and Lore with personas so distinct that you never confuse the two of them. While Lore's facial twitch and use of contractions seem to be contrived and convenient story devices, the novelty of watching a dark version of Data is so amusing that it helps to temper the weaknesses in the story. Wisely, Lore is dispatched in a manner that leaves the door open for further appearances. His return in future seasons would contribute immensely to the continued development of Data.

The holodeck premise has led to the creation of many horrendous Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Voyager episodes. It has brought about so much misery and confusion to loyal Trek viewers that it is easy to forget that there actually have been quality holodeck episodes. "The Big Goodbye" is one of them.

The Enterprise-D is traveling to quadrant Korona IV which is home to the Jarada. In order to get on their good side, Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) has been asked by the alien race to deliver a precise greeting that cannot deviate in any way from its specifications. To ease his stress, the captain visits the holodeck along with Data (Brent Spiner), Doctor Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden), and ship historian Whalen (David Selsburg). The group participates in an adventure set in twentieth-century San Francisco but a malfunction occurs which traps them in the holodeck with the safety features deactivated. A race against time ensues to save the lives of the trapped crewmembers and to free Captain Picard in time for his meeting with the Jarada.

Yes, Wesley once again helps to save the day but let's concentrate on the more positive aspects of this episode, shall we? The Star Trek franchise has always been at its best when it explored profound ideas. In keeping with this approach, the holodeck has been a wonderful device to comment upon the nature of reality and our perceptions of it. When it is utilized correctly as a storytelling tool, it has posed some intriguing questions about who we really are and what exactly is this world that we occupy. This was the first Star Trek: The Next Generation episode that hinted at the better things yet to come in later seasons. It is not as smooth or polished as later entries but it still holds up rather well when measured against the other noteworthy episodes in the series. And who knew that the job of Enterprise-D historian could be so hazardous?

There are two lessons to be learned by watching "Too Short A Season." Number one - the quest for the fountain of youth is ongoing well into the 24th century. Number two - the practice of aging actors through bad-make-up applications in television productions was still ongoing well into the late 20th century.

The Enterprise-D is ordered to transport Admiral Mark Jameson (Clayton Rohner) to Mordan IV so that he may negotiate for the release of hostages. Karnas (Michael Pataki), the governor of the planet, has a score to settle with the Admiral as their prior dealings decades ago led to catastrophe. As the Enterprise-D gets closer to the planet, Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) cannot help but notice that the aged Admiral appears to be physically turning younger. When confronted with this observation, Jameson tells the captain that he has used an alien drug to help him regain his youth so that he would be in a better position to deal with Karnas. However, the Admiral soon discovers that his regained youth is not the blessing he had hoped for.

"Too Short A Season" is a misfire. Despite the sweet interplay between Clayton Rohner and Marsha Hunt as the Jamesons, this episode never makes any serious attempt to explore the perceived connection between youth and job performance. Is Jameson correct in asserting that he needs the vigor of youth to do his job adequately? We never find out since the de-aging process and Jameson's accompanying deterioration is just used as a story gimmick. Even more fatal to the episode is the aforementioned make-up application on Rohner. It is so bad that it will constantly keep you distracted. You will not absorb vast amounts of story information because brain cells in your head that should be following the unfolding tale will instead be rendered numb and useless every time the horrific image of the elder Jameson appears on the television screen. If you can actually recall specific aspects of this episode besides the bad make-up job when it is over then you are indeed a master of concentration.