I have often noted that one think Montgomery Scott and Geordi LaForge have in common is they have terrible love lives. It’s probably more notable in Geordi, but Scotty had his moments.
That said, this is the first episode where that became clear for Geordi. Jimmy and Tom have some thoughts.
“Booby Trap”
Geordi resorts to unorthodox planning methods to get the ship out of an ancient booby trap!
jimmy: Seriously, Data couldn’t have piloted them out of there?
tomk: His arm gears clog.
jimmy: They eliminated him from the initial plan since he couldn’t navigate the ship fast enough, but the computer could…maybe. But with the revised plan, all Picard had to do was hit an arrow on a directional pad like 3 times while Data was relegated to narrator. It seemed like they tried to justify all this with Picard’s “gravity slingshot” maneuver that no one, including Data, would have thought to do.
tomk: Geordi got the idea from a hologram he might have been smitten with.
jimmy: Might have?
tomk: Geordi is a very lonely man.
jimmy: Apparently. I mean, I’m not that smooth with the ladies either, but Geordi makes me look like a God.
tomk: Michael J Fox did much better with Christy in Doc Hollywood.
jimmy: I know I saw it, but don’t remember, so will take your word for it!
tomk: You don’t remember when actress Julie Warner had her first scene in that movie topless? How odd.
jimmy: …
jimmy adds Doc Hollywood to the watch list
tomk: You OK over there? Need a minute?
jimmy: …
No, I’m good.
tomk: Well, Geordi tries too hard with girls he likes. Even Data sees it.
jimmy: Especially Data. But especially Guinan.
tomk: When Data says “Uh oh,” you know it’s bad.
jimmy: Once Wesley explained it to him.
tomk: Well, Data needed more…data.
jimmy: Maybe he’s wondering if Geordi is fully functional?
tomk: Might be a little edgy for late 80s/early 90s.
jimmy: Edgier than a violin pirate?
tomk: Uh, sure.
jimmy: No wonder Geordi’s so lonely.
tomk: As I have said before, Scotty wasn’t much better.
jimmy: Poor Engineers. At least things work out for O’Brien. Must be the ships in a bottle, set him on the right course.
tomk: O’Brien has a life away from the warpcore.
jimmy: Maybe he can teach Geordi a thing or two.
tomk: No one listens to O’Brien’s advice.
jimmy: Slightly changing topic, wasn’t there an episode not that long ago where Worf was trying to build a model?
tomk: Yes. Then Riker recruited him for war games. But he didn’t play with toys. Clearly building model ships now is how he tries to relax.
jimmy: But it wasn’t in a bottle so it was completely different.
The whole ship in a bottle thing seemed out of place anyway. Like it was something taken from Patrick Stewart’s youth, not Picard’s. Do you know anyone of our generation that made ships in bottles? Let alone 400 years from now.
tomk: That might have been the point: Picard was a nerd.
jimmy:
tomk: Then again, what we have seen of these people suggests they all have passions for stuff only someone of Gene Roddenberry’s generation really got into, like Riker’s love of jazz.
jimmy: Music transcends generations a bit more, but I can see that. There seems to be only jazz and classical music in the future. Everything else was banned after the Guitar Wars of 2112.
tomk: To say nothing of some very lethal Rap Battles in 2087.
jimmy: People take their music very seriously.
tomk: Especially when they banned blondes from jazz clubs in 2245.
jimmy: We’re getting off topic. And a lot quicker than usual. 
So after Picard shows his miraculous directional pad touching skills and saves them all, did you feel it was a bit much to immediately destroy the booby trap and the ship? Couldn’t they have set up some alert beacons or something to warn passers by until the Federation figured out a way to disarm it? I mean, they literally say in the episode that the ship should be in a museum. But Picard explodes it without a second thought.
tomk: It might have been too dangerous for other ships. I mean, people don’t always follow safety guidelines. And if that’s what happens to a Galaxy Class Starship, it would probably be much worse for smaller vessels. Especially pirate types looking to weaponize lost tech.
jimmy: I don’t think anyone would miss a few Ferengi ships getting trapped in there.
tomk: That sounds like you have issues with guys with large ears and bad teeth.
jimmy: No, no. It’s just. You know. The Ferengi.
tomk: Better blowing it up in case the Ferengi figure out how to pull it out.
jimmy: I suppose. And I get not wanting another ship to get trapped in there, but it does seem like a waste. Also seems like they could study and use the power sucking technology to their advantage against, I dunno, The Borg?
tomk: You want the Borg assimilating that tech?
jimmy: That would be the risk though, yes.
tomk: Seems like a hell of a risk. The Borg using that sort of tech would make assimilation a lot easier for them.
jimmy: Ok, ok! Blow it up, Tom! Blow everything up! Now, are you happy?!?
tomk: I got a date with Christy later, so yes.
jimmy:
tomk: Turns out blowing stuff up appeals to her.
Plus, I have never dated a hologram.
jimmy: You never have?
tomk: Nope. You?
jimmy: I don’t kiss holograms and tell.
tomk: That sounds like a yes. Then again, you wouldn’t fall for a millennium old booby trap.
jimmy: hehe, booby.
tomk: You got a copy of Doc Hollywood now from the sounds of it.
jimmy: That’s what weekends are for…
tomk: You aren’t wasting time in the holodeck again, are you?
jimmy: Wasting? No.
tomk: Good. How would you deal with the issue of letting the computer run things?
jimmy: They run things now. They probably run 90+% of the ship’s functionality as it is. I’m not sure what the big deal was.
tomk: It loses the human touch?
jimmy: They pretty much have self-driving cars now, a starship couldn’t pilot around some asteroids?
tomk: Nobody wants to lose their job to a machine.
jimmy: Tell that to the guy who was there before Data.
tomk: There actually was a whole episode of TOS where a new computer threatened Kirk’s position. The computer was flawed in the end, but even Spock didn’t like the idea of computers replacing people no matter how logical they were. Trek as a franchise believes in humans making their own way. Data gets a pass because he’s alive.
jimmy: Computers are not perfect. But there are some things they do well. Better than any person could. I imagine piloting through an asteroid field is probably one of them.
tomk: I know some people who are good at it.
jimmy: But he’s not showing up anytime soon now is he?
tomk: He may just fly on by.
jimmy: And laugh at Picard’s one finger directional pad piloting.
tomk: You know, for an episode about Geordi, we don’t seem to have much to say about the guy.
jimmy: He didn’t really do much. Went on a date and got rejected. Talked to Guinan. Created a hologram of one of the engineers who designed the Enterprise. Told her she wasn’t fast enough to pilot the ship. Told Picard to give it a little push and turn the power off. Kissed a hologram. Exited the holodeck. Maybe he did do a lot.
tomk: He did more on the show than I did this week.
jimmy: Haha. Fair enough.
tomk: I dunno. Maybe this show just doesn’t know how to define holograms. Geordi, Riker, and Lwaxana were both charmed by one. Moriarity might be alive. Even Picard spent a lot of time at a staff meeting talking the thing up after his first trip inside.
jimmy: The holodeck is awesome. I can see easily being charmed by a hologram that looks, acts, feels, smells(?) like a real person. Though Picard’s exuberance after his first trip was a bit over the top.
tomk: That thing seems to cause a lot of problems.
jimmy: Only in episodes. Off screen, the crew has a ball!
tomk: Who told you that?
jimmy: Let’s just say I have sources.
(Or I completely made it up.)
tomk: So, not Captain Jake. Got it.
jimmy: Though I’m sure he knows a thing or two about having a ball on the holodeck.
tomk: And the bridge. And Ten Forward. And the Captain’s Ready Room. And Engineering.
jimmy: He knows how to have fun.
tomk: Geordi, not so much.
jimmy: Poor Geordi. Maybe they should have kept the season 2 love interest around.
tomk: Nah. She had a horrible mutation, had to move to Mars.
jimmy: Maybe Geordi should get his ass to Mars. (He actually does eventually…)
tomk: Mars is the place to be. The most happening place in the galaxy. For starters, the women are real.
jimmy: It’s a start.
tomk: It’s also got some interesting residents.
jimmy: All fine upstanding citizens.
tomk: Especially the first two.
jimmy: But especially the last one.
tomk: J’onn J’onzz is very disappointed in you.
jimmy: I said he was upstanding!
tomk: Yes, well, he wanted a better adjective. Like Geordi wants a better date.
jimmy: Poor Geordi.
tomk: Yes, well, Geordi is a fine fellow when it comes to setting the power relays in order, but he hasn’t met the right woman yet. That, or every woman on the ship is prejudiced against the guy they think can use the his eye wear to see through their uniforms.
jimmy: Haha, that is an excellent point.
tomk: Well, we sure have had fun making fun of a fictional blind man’s woes. Anything else to add, Jimmy?
jimmy: Nah. Doesn’t seem to be a lot to talk about. Caught in booby trap, crew watches old home movies while Geordi works on the holodeck, Picard pilots them out of trap like he is using a Nintendo controller.
tomk: They were caught in a trap. They couldn’t fly out. Because Geordi loved that hologram too much, Jimmy.
jimmy:
tomk: Would you like to see more of Geordi when he isn’t bemoaning how girls don’t like him?
jimmy: Sure. Geordi’s great.
tomk: Then let’s see how he deals with Romulans.
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