HM for Top 12 Picard episodes.

I only have one storyline to go here. This one is just odd, and that's saying a lot for TNG. There are so many odd stories that are a part of this series.

Devil's Due

1000 years ago, the people of Ventax II made a deal with a creature known as Ardra. Ardra promised to give the people of Ventax II 1000 years of peace in exchange for giving control of the planet to Ardra when the 1000 years have come to an end.

The Enterprise happens to be in the area when the contract comes due. The people of Ventax II are panicked and take a Federation science team hostage. When Captain Picard goes to the planet to negotiate the release of the hostages,

Once the Captain arrives, Ardra appears. and claims the planet and everything within it's sphere, including the Enterprise. Ardra displays a variety of powers including changing her shape, causing earthquakes, and making the Enterprise disappear.

Picard convinces Ardra to let an arbiter decide if her claim is valid. Ardra picks Data, and the trial commences.

*Spoilers in case you haven't seen the episode*

After some investigations, the Crew of the Enterprise discovers a cloaked ship that is causing all of Ardra's powers, and they capture the ship and turn the tables on Ardra.

The episode is fun, and shows Picard's ability as a diplomat. Definitely worth the time.

Top 12 Christmas hymns

It's the holidays, so it must be time for a holiday-themed list, right? Well this year, I'm I thought I would list my Top 12 Christmas hymns. Most of them will be familiar, but I expect there might be one or two most of you won't recognize.

These are the songs I associate most with Christmas. Sure you have to have the Chipmunks singing about Christmas time, and it really isn't Christmas for me until I hear Snoopy facing off against the Red Baron on the radio, but these are the songs that really put me in the mood.

I'd totally forgotten one of our traditions growing up was to call my grandma on my Mom's side and sing Silent Night to her on Christmas Eve, and then we got to open one present.

Another important part of this music is singing it with a group of people. The church I grew up in was a singing church. We had a strong history and present of singing accapella, and that really made these songs special. I was going to write about each song, but that was when I was going to do a set of posts. For this, you just get the video and no explanation. I will mention that I really love songs that have a lot going on, especially in a minor key, hence the top pick. But enough of all the background, let's get to the list.

Number 12-Hark the Herald Angels Sing

Number 11-O Come all Ye Faithful

Number 10-Joy to the World

Number 9- To Us a Child

Number 8-The First Noel

Number 7-It Came Upon a Midnight Clear

Number 6-Silent Night

Number 5-Oh Holy Night

Number 4-What Child is This?

Number 3- We Three Kings

Number 2-Angels We have Heard on High

Number 1-Oh Come Oh Come Emmanuel

The Picard Primer-Getting ready for the Top 12 Episodes Jean-Luc Picard

When I started planning for the Top 12 Episodes of Star Trek TNG, I knew it was going to be hard to bring the list down to twelve, but I wasn't expecting to have so many episodes on the prep list. I ended up with 48 episodes to consider when it was all said and done. When I finished with National Novel Writing Month at the end of November, and my Top 12 Avengers, I started thinking about how I was going to make this list work.

As I looked at the episodes, I noticed that a large number of my top choices involved stories with Captain Picard. It made me realize that if I did the list straight up, I wouldn't be able to give all of the characters their due. Then I came up with the idea of splitting the massive list into two lists.


First I will look at the Top 12 Picard episodes, and then we'll look at the Top 12 for the rest of the crew. This will let me give all of the characters some time. For now, though, let's talk about the man, Captain Picard.

Like with all of the Star Trek shows, the captain is the person that drives the show. The captain is responsible for the major decisions. The captain is the focus of the story and his (or her) story arc is paramount.

Jean Luc Picard was a marked difference from William T. Kirk from the original series. Where Kirk was a shoot-first kind of captain (which isn't really fair to the character, but it suits the idea), Picard tried to use diplomacy first. However, if diplomacy didn't work then Picard could fight with the best of them.

Sure Picard is confusing because he's supposed to be French, and although his brother has a French accent, Jean Luc has a British accent. Whatever.

Picard is a thinker and he brings out the best in everyone he has in his sphere of influence. He sees what people have the potential to accomplish and helps them to make it happen.

He is also a paradox of a man in many ways:

• A man who studies and loves the past who captain's the most advanced ship of his time.
• A man that hates kids, but can't help but draw them into his life.
• A man that strives for peace, but has to fight for it.

Let's get into the list and see how Picard stands out in the pack.

Top 12 Episodes of Start Trek TNG-Four Storylines I Could Do Without

I want to say that I love just about everything about the Next Generation, but I have to admit that I have some problems with different parts of the show at different times. It's just natural that over a seven-year span that something is going to rub you the wrong way. What I discovered is that most of my issues occurred in the early seasons or with specific characters, but I'm getting ahead of myself. Here are a few stories I didn't like at all. (Well, not completely at least.)

That episode where Tasha fights not to get married

Season One was a bit rough, not because the show didn't have everything that it needed, but because everyone was trying to force the Next Generation into the mold of the Original Series. Sometimes those attempts were good, like in the Naked Time, but other times, it was just horrible. Take this episode as an example.

In Code of Honor,  we encounter a civilization that is a combination of matriarchal and patriarchal. The women hold the power, but it is the men that control the power of their wives once they are married. The Enterprise is at this planet because it is the only source of  a medicine needed for a medical emergency and Picard needs to negotiate the agreement.

The man who controls most of the power on the planet notices Tasha and decides that he wants to marry her. His Number-One-Wife does not like this idea and challenges Tasha to a battle to the death in an overly complicated contraption and goofy looking blades for their hands.

This is one of the First-Season episodes where it feels like they are trying to make Tasha seem sexy, but they are doing it all wrong. That may be part of the reason that Denise left the show when she did.

That episode where the writers don't know the enemy yet

It's a new show, and you need to have new enemies, right? The Klingons are allies, and you can only do so many episodes with the Romulans before everyone gets annoyed with them. You need some variety. Enter the Ferengi.

I love the Ferengi, especially when they get a strong development in Deep Space Nine, but watching this episode, you can tell that the writers had no plan for them. Let's imagine the planning meeting:

A: We should have a fight episode.
B: Like where the crew gets trapped on a planet and have to fight for their lives?
A: Exactly. They can fight these guys we'll call the Ferengi.
B: That's an intimidating name. They'll have lots of makeup right?
A: I'm imagining big ears. "The better to hear you with, my dear."
B: Dangerous warriors-we can give them some strange weapons, like laser whips.
A: I like it. Let's give them sharp teeth like wolves too.
B: So what do they want?
A: I don't know. Let's figure that out later.
B: Works for me.

That episode where Doctor Pulaski treats Data wrong

If there's one character that completely annoys me, it is Doctor Pulaski. She is insensitive, and arrogant. I especially cant stand the way that she treats Data. Didn't we have enough stories where Data's "humanity" was called into question without having a main character that treats him like a high-tech toaster every time she crosses paths with him?

In Elementary, Dear Data, the doctor decides that Data can't have any original thoughts. He just puts together his previous experiences in order to make decisions. (Which sounds very similar to what most people do in similar situation.) Since Data and Geordi are running a Sherlock Holmes holodeck program, she challenges Data to solve an original mystery.

This leads to some other problems after Geordi orders the computer to do anything it needs to do in order to create an oponent capable of defeating Data, but we'll talk more about that later when I talk about the reasons why I love this episode.

That episode where Picard has to accept that he used to be a kid

X-babies are awesome, I don't even mind Baby Avengers, but the idea can go too far pretty quickly. Take Rascals as an example. Who was clamoring for the crew of the Enterprise to get age regressed? Do we really need a story where Picard has a reason to hate himself because he's become a kid again?

I also object to the choice of crew members for this episode. I'm sure there was a logical reason to make those choices, but Picard, Guinan, Ensign Ro, and Keiko just don't seem like the best choices (aside from Picard.) I know they were trying to include Ro Laren more to give her character more exposure, and maybe Whoopie had to be on the set of one of her films, but beyond that, I just don't understand it.

The episode didn't do anything for the show, and it just got in the way of a much better story.

Those are my picks for the worst stories of the Next Generation, but you might prefer to put down some others. Leave a comment if you have any.

Top 12 Avengers-Number 1

Top 12 Avengers-Number 1

Captain America

Captain America was not a creation of Stan Lee, in fact, the Captain has his origins before Stan was involved with comics and when Marvel Comics was known as Timely Comics. It was 1940, and the United States was still undecided about its policy concerning World War II, but since every other comic company had someone involved in the fight with Hitler and the Axis powers.

Originally he was going to be called Super American, but the adjective had been worn out by that point, so Joe Simon decided to name his character Captain America. In his first issue, Cap got to slug Hitler in the jaw. With that single issue, Captain America was a hit.

So what's Cap's story? I'm sure you've seen or heard it before, but here you go:

Born a Yankee Doodle Dandy (on the 4th of July in case you don't get the reference), Steve Rogers grew up to be a scrawny Fine Arts Student, and when the war started, he wanted to go and fight, but he was deemed unfit for service. He jumped at the chance to be a part of the Super-Soldier project in hopes that it would help him be able to serve his country.

Since the man behind the program is killed by enemy agents as Rogers becomes a Super Soldier, and since he didn't leave complete records of the formula, Rogers is used as a patriotic super hero. He battles America's enemies both at home and around the world, but in a daring attempt to defeat Baron Zemo, both Cap and his partner Bucky are involved in an explosion over the Atlantic, and they are both presumed dead.

Years later, a frozen Captain America is discovered and thawed from the ice. He recovers thanks to the Super-Soldier Serum and joins the team. Cap has often acted as the leader for the team, and his tactical expertise and experience have always been an asset.

Let's talk for a little bit about what makes Cap so special. The Super-Soldier Serum increases his strength, agility, speed, and everything else to beyond peak performance. He has a shield that is made from a blend of adamantium and vibranium (along with some other things) that is invulnerable and can absorb almost any shock it receives. Cap's long experience as a soldier has taught him how to predict the moves his enemies will make and how to counter them.

Cap has been a part of almost every major story line in the Avengers and the Marvel Universe. Although he only has his enhanced strength and the shield, Cap is still more than a match for many of the opponents he faces, but he does so with a humility that makes him endearing.

Let me tell you about some of my favorite Cap moments.

Captain America defeats Iron Man one-on-one. This has happened more than once actually, and every time it happens It makes me happy. Somehow Cap manages to overcome huge obstacles to defeat the man in the super armor.

Captain America defears the Super Adaptoid in possesion of the Cosmic Cube. The Super Adaptoid is a sentient robot that was designed to defeat any and all chalenges by duplicating the powers of anyone it encountered. At some point, this device gained the powers of the Cosmic Cube. (This is not to be confused with the cube in the Marvel movies.) The Cosmic Cube can basically grant any wish its holder might make. Using the power it had copied from the cube, the Super Adaptoid capture the Avengers, who were led by Captain Marvel (aka Photon) and held them in cubes that their powers could not affect. Captain America (then using the identity the Captain since he had been stripped of the title Captain America by the US government) was teleported to the scene. Cap was able to show the Adaptoid that it wasn't as perfect as it thought even though it had immense power. It wasn't able to create something original or even beat the Captain in combat. This proved, the Super Adaptoid shut down.

Awesome shield tricks I don't remember where this happened, but in a storyline Cap needed to get to the bottom of a deep pit. Without taking time to think about it, he jumped and fell

Cap jumps off the SHIELD helicarrier and hijacks a jet while it is in the air.
At the start of the Civil War storyline, Captain America is on the SHIELD helicarrier talking to the woman that is responsible for reigning in all of the heroes that are against registering. Rather than trying to explain the situation and the reasons that the government is taking these actions, she tries to detain the Captain. Cap doesn't take this approach very well and does something no one is expecting-he uses his shield to smash through the glass of one of the windows, and falls.

This is unexpected enough, but then Cap guides his decent so he lands on a jet plane patrolling around the helicarrier and ejects the pilot so he can fly it to safety.

Let's talk about the movies

I didn't do this with the others,but I just appreciated Chris Evans' performance in this role so much. Along with that, the film makers really got the character right. (Certainly better than Cap's first film.) Steve Rogers is all about being that guy that takes one for the team. He will jump on the grenade and think about everyone else first in a combat situation.

I loved watching Cap stand up to Thor's hammer and arguing with Iron Man. (Movie Iron Man gets a pass compared to the comic books.) I wasn't expecting Captain America: the First Avenger to be a period piece, but that ended up being the perfect way to introduce the character.

Steve Rogers is a symbol for America, but more than that, he fights for everyone that needs a hand, and that makes him my favorite Avenger. You may or may not agree, but that's what the comment section is for.

Top 12 Avengers-Number 2

She Hulk

Jennifer Walters was one of the last creations of Stan Lee during his original run as Marvel's idea man. She was an attempt to stop the Incredible Hulk television show from creating a cousin for David Banner that they wouldn't have the rights to.

She Hulk is a result of Bruce Banner trying to save his cousin's life. While he was visiting Jen, henchmen of crime boss, Nicholas Trask, shot her while trying to kill her sheriff/father,  and Bruce gave Jen a blood transfusion that also gave her powers similar to the Hulk.

Over the years, it was explained that her appearance was shaped by her subconscious desire to be the ideal woman as opposed to her small and shy original self. She Hulk became a member of the Avengers and had some solo activity before joining with the Fantastic Four to replace the Thing who had left the team during a period of frustration with Reed Richards not being able to return him to his human form.

After her time with the Fantastic Four, Jennifer Walters , who had become a lawyer, took a job as assistant District Attorney, and was given her own solo book, the Sensational She Hulk in which she knew she was actually a character in a comic book.

She Hulk has been a part of many of the legal proceedings of the Marvel Universe when she was counsel for Speedball after the events that led to the Civil War, and tied up legal proceeding for Peter Parker after it was revealed that he was Spider-man.

I know I can't list a lot of contributions from She Hulk as an Avenger, but she's always there lending a helping, green hand. I love her personality and resolve. Whether she's with the Fantastic Four or the Avengers, or just lending a helping hand, she is a great character that deserves to be at a top spot on this list. I just hope that someone decides she deserves a movie, and does it right. Joss Whedon could write and direct it, just make sure he doesn't kill her, OK?

Don't forget about the Lady Liberators too.