The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From tigertooth on 2017-03-19 at 11:29pm:
  This is another poll that clearly got spammed (or maybe a bug caused a bunch of zero votes to accumulate). The other TAS episodes have a few dozen votes total, but this one has nearly 200 votes, and 3/4ths of them are zeros!
  
  If you took away the 144 zero votes (as of this writing), the fan voting average would be 6.7 instead of 1.46. So these fraudulent votes make the average useless.
  
  If there's any way to eliminate the bogus zero votes, that would make the fan voting averages much more useful data. Thank you.

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• From Frankie on 2015-02-06 at 9:08pm:
  As ridiculous as this episode is, I still find it hard to dislike. It was an interesting change to see Spock, Sulu, and Uhura on a mission. But for me, the Kzinti were the absolute best part of the episode, especially with their revulsion to vegetarianism, which produced several cheesy yet memorable lines: "The human… he's too alien. He makes me taste yellow root crushed between flat teeth."

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From TashaFan on 2008-09-13 at 6:25pm:
  You ask how can there be so many superior aliens while the Federation appears to dominate so much space. I think the superior lifeforms largely ignore us. For example, we think of ourselves as vastly superior to ants. To the ants, it may seem that they dominate everywhere. Only when the ants become an annoyance do we go out and poison them. They see our houses and may try to get some food and as long as we don't notice they are left alone. But once we see them marching across the kitchen out come the baits and the anthill gets poison poured down it. And of course our kids might burn a few ants with a magnifying glass now and then. Just like the occasional Trelayne toying with the Enterprise crew. In the meantime, there are still millions of ants living everywhere that we live. Do they dominate the space? Do we?

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• From Terry A. Hurlbut on 2016-07-15 at 10:19pm:
  Alan Dean Foster, who adapted all the animated episodes to prose, realized the one redeeming value of this particular episode. He expanded on the Bem narrative--greatly. In his version, the Enterprise travels to Pandro (Bem's home world), where Bem and Captain Kirk both have to stretch themselves to the limit to deal with a uniquely Pandronian crisis. (See "Star Trek Long Nine," New York: Del Rey Books, 1977.)

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• From MarkMcC on 2008-12-01 at 3:24am:
  Regarding giving birth to a 100+lb person, I guess people in that universe start off dead, spring to life as an old person and gradually get younger. Then when they're close to death (as an infant) they pop back up into their mother's womb and die when the egg defertilizes?
  
  This is followed by the person's parents having backwards sex - it's probably best not to think too hard about how that works in practice!

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Old Fat Trekkie on 2011-12-15 at 10:22am:
  I thought the tension between Decker and Kirk was forced, unnecessary, and silly. Kirk is an admiral. He should behave as an admiral and he should function as an admiral. I would have liked to have seen his character grow a bit. Kirk's character never does throughout all of the movies. He remains Captain Kirk, while all of his subordinates become Captains as well.
  
  With such a danger approaching the Earth, why wasn't a fleet sent out? Now, Kirk as an Admiral, could have used the Enterprise as his flag ship with Decker as Captain. Kirk could have assumed a more strategic roll, and left the running of the Star Ship in the more capable hands of Decker in that role. In WWII Admiral Halsey was not the captain of a ship, he was the fleet commander. That is the role Kirk should of had.
  
  It becomes incredibly absurd in STIV-TVH when Kirk is demoted and this appears to be a good thing. In real life this is a career ending event.
• From Bernard on 2011-12-16 at 12:04am:
  Ahhh, Star Trek: The Motion-less Picture.
  
  I actually really like this film. Yes all the complaints thrown at it are valid and it is a BIG disappointment compared to what it could and should have been. I think they were thinking too much 2001: A Space Odyssey when they should have been concentrating more on the elements that made the original series tick at its best moments.
  
  I have to disagree with Old Fat Trekkie because part of what gives this film the extra notch that makes it more watchable is Captain Decker. His interaction with Kirk is central because it provides some much needed conflict. Conflict, otherwise, is missing from the film because the all powerful VGER has no underhand objective or evil plan it is simply going about its business. Also what happens to Decker throughout the movie, his arc if you like, paves the way for his dramatic exit in what is for me, a special and spectacular ending.
  This movie shows how to do dramatic and tense scenes between two characters at odds with each other unlike the latest reincarnation of Trek where Chris Pine and Zach Quinto just shout and ball at each other.
  To finish, this movie is a masterpiece in terms of an artistic (effects, shots and music) feature film set in the Star Trek universe. Unfortunately the plot cannot handle the burden placed upon it and the movie drags towards its conclusion with long contrived scenes. Still love it though!
• From Old Fat Trekkie on 2011-12-17 at 8:30pm:
  Thank you, Bernard for our thoughtful comments. I do find it interesting that you disagree with "Old Fat Trekkie," then go on to state that the tension between Kirk and Decker was needed since the film itself was lacking. In that, I totally agree with you.
  
  I believe a great opportunity was lost by the writers. The reason was laziness on their part. Let’s face it; this movie was going to do fantastic at the Boxes regardless of the story line. Trekkies, such as myself and I am sure you as well, had been waiting 10 years for this film. I still would loved to have see Kirk as an admiral, I mean a real admiral, leading a fleet.
• From Bernard on 2011-12-18 at 5:41pm:
  I guess I should have been slightly more specific. I disagreed with your statement that the tension between Kirk and Decker was forced and unneccessary. In my view it was absolutely neccessary and well played. Everything else you said I can agree with!
  
  And yes, always nice to have dialogue though isn't it!
  
  
• From jeffenator98 on 2014-02-06 at 7:45pm:
  After what happened in the transporter room I understand Dr. McCoys fears of "Having my atoms scattered all over the universe."
• From Scott Hearon on 2014-04-16 at 1:25am:
  Not bad, really. I gave it a 6/10.
  
  The "Slow Motion Picture" jokes are warranted, as I thought that first super-slow pan of the Enterprise was was overdone. I guess they just wanted hardcore Trekkies to have time to bask in the glory, soak it all in, and then have time to recover before any more dialogue or plot movement occurred.
  
  The story is actually a very good one, even if it does take a while to build up to it. I love the notion of a massive, mysterious alien lifeform bearing down on Earth, and then learning that it's not malevolent. The idea of living machines is intriguing, and the noted sci-fi writer Alan Dean Foster used it well.
  
  I have to say that some minor parts of the story were ill-conceived and a bit contrived. As others point out, there seemed to be no need to have Kirk an admiral. It just complicated and mucked up the tale unnecessarily. And having to "get the band back together" by pulling in Spock and McCoy seemed like a silly contrivance, in the name of being sly and funny. I found it neither. And this will sound odd, but I found Spock to be too distant and cold. I know, I know - he's a Vulcan. Still, during TOS, Nimoy and the writers always managed to work in the sense that Spock was at least willing to acknowledge emotions and humor, even if he very rarely participated in them. In the Motion Picture, I didn't get any such sense.
  
  The clothing aesthetic was a bit weird, but hardly tragic. A bit drab, but certainly a bit more stately. Though why, oh why, can science fiction movies never get past the hairstyles of the times in which the movies are made?
  
  The remodeling of the Enterprise was quite nice, considering it was 1979. Much stronger, even, were the external visuals. Yes, it borrowed very heavily from the trippy, psychedelic light show of 2001, but it worked well. Though it was probably a tad too long, I actually liked the drawn out journey through and to the alien energy field. It conveyed the sense of scale needed to induce wonderment.
  
  The resolution was fine to me, though I feel that we never get enough information about Decker and Ilia's relationship to feel much empathy for them. it certainly is a romantic, and even poetic, ending for them both, and I liked that. But it was missing some of the emotional punch which I assume the filmmakers intended.
  
  A film not without warts, but a decent one nonetheless.
• From Alan Feldman on 2022-08-04 at 4:09am:
  Hmmm. You've always complained that the aliens in TOS look just like humans. Well, you've got some exceptions: the Gorn, the Vians, the Tholians, the Melkots, Kollos, the thing in "The Savage Curtain." Anyway, now we have a Klingon with the Aquatred [yes, that's how it's spelled] forehead, and now it's a continuity problem! OK, it was cleared up later somehow. I haven't seen that part. The aliens in the newer shows basically look just like humans, but with gunk all over their heads and faces. Basically Halloween costumes. Hey, we've got FTL travel, transporters, gravity almost everywhere, everyone speaking English, stopping in deep space, no seat belts -- why not humans in Halloween costumes as aliens?
  
  Back to the slow-motion-picture. Yes, some parts were okay. But it was definitely too long. A 60-minute story stretched out to 2+ hours. I still recall being in the theater thinking to myself, "Alright! Enough with the blue and purple clouds. Something happen!"
  
  At least in the Nostalgia Critic's video on this, there is a scene where it looks like Decker is looking directly at V'ger's, uh, crotch. (Sorry, I haven't seen the full movie since it came out. I'm going by the Nostalgia Critic's videos and the "Everything wrong with <movie>" videos here. Might not be in some cuts. IDK.)
  
  "One particularly noticeable detail is the uniforms for women are no longer sexist." In an interview in TV Guide, Aug 24, 1996, edition, Grace Lee Whitney said it was her idea for the women to wear really short skirts, or "skorts," as she called them. And after a demo, Gene approved.
  
  Yes, it's _2001: A Space Odyssey_ crossed with "The Changeling." A not so great "Stargate" sequence, and they finally get to V'ger itself. Notice the weird sounds? Just like the weird sounds in the fancy room near the end of 2001 (!). Except it was much better in 2001.
  
  I think the lack of time allowed for making the movie, didn't help any!

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Greg Bonkowski on 2006-05-04 at 6:53pm:
  Simply the best Trek film ever!!! Khan!!!!!!!!!!
• From jaylong on 2007-04-13 at 2:59am:
  "he tasks me..."
  
  love it
• From JR on 2008-07-22 at 11:31am:
  "How could Chekov remember anything about Khan?"
  
  I don't see this as a problem. He could have read about it somewhere, or maybe the other people at the Enterprise at the time told him about it after he came onboard. I assume the events in Space Seed were logged and submitted to Starfleet, and their computers already had a file on Khan with pictures. Now, Khan knowing Chekov, that's the real problem.
• From Lennier on 2009-02-15 at 3:31am:
  "Space Seed"'s stardate is 3141.9.
  
  "Catspaw" (an episode with Chekov) has a stardate of 3018.2.
  
  I like to think that this means that "Catspaw" takes place before "Space Seed". Therefore, Chekov could very well have seen Khan, and vice versa.
• From Kevin Lopez on 2009-04-06 at 4:43am:
  it wasn't blatantly obvious that he was going to be brought back to life at the time: Nimoy was tired of playing Spock and wanted his character killed off. He later changed his mind and directed films III and IV. Your criticism is unfair.
• From Kethinov on 2009-04-06 at 9:24am:
  I stand by the critique. It's clearly a trap door. Whether or not Nimoy did or did not plan to ever play Spock again, it was clear the writers wanted the option of bringing him back conveniently. Sort of like how Data only "half" died in Nemesis. He could easily be brought back via B4.
• From S. M. Willis on 2010-01-06 at 12:54am:
  Melville, not Shakespeare. And Milton.
• From Jeff Browning on 2011-10-25 at 11:26am:
  Having reviewed all of Voyager, most of TNG, and much of DS9, I am now turning to the Star Trek movies to revisit them as well. Of course, I saw them all in theaters as they were released, and have seen them again since then.
  
  Annoyingly, Star Trek, The Motion Picture is not available on any streaming media accessible to me. If anyone knows how to find this film on the internet, please post a comment as well.
  
  Several issues on ST: TWOK:
  
  1. The Genesis device creates daunting scientific issues. First, there is the little matter of conservation of energy. In order for life to exist, energy must be inserted into the system. Living things do not live on nothing. Ultimately, the source of all energy for living things is light. Either animals eat plants (which are simply a form of light energy fixed into hydrocarbons), or animals eat other animals, who in turn eat plants. Ultimately we are all burning energy from light, in the case of Earth, the Sun. However, on Regula 1 we see a "Genesis Cave" which is filled with living things, all of whom are illuminated by a light source (which we conveniently never see). What is the source for this light? Regula 1 is an "airless, lifeless hunk of rock" according to the dialog earlier in the film. Similarly, when the Genesis device explodes in the Mutara Nebula, it forms a "Genesis Planet" which is clearly illuminated. In one shot we see a star behind the planet, a star which clearly wasn't there before. The Genesis device created a star? That would be a trick even greater than converting inorganic matter to living matter!
  2. Another daunting scientific issue has to do with the nature of biological evolution. Star Trek seems obsessed with the concept of evolution, as I have stated in other posts, and has a very unscientific view of this concept. The Genesis device has issues in this area. Specifically, evolution would require a process of billions of years for life to develop which would be adapted to the particular conditions in which it exists. The Genesis device does not seem to involve any adaptation whatsoever. Instead, life simply occurs instantly which is perfectly adapted to the aesthetic and functional requirements of humans. Given that even on Earth life adapts in incredible diversity (from the ice worms that exist in sub-zero conditions in the arctic, to the bacteria that thrive in the incredible heat and pressure of the ocean near thermal vents), it seems remarkably convenient that Genesis device life would somehow adapt the environment to human life, rather than adapting the life to the environment.
  3. Continuity issue: In TNG: Sarek, the Enterprise crew is shocked when Sarek displays emotion by weeping during a musical performance. Yet Lt. Saavik displays emotion by weeping openly during Spock's funeral, and no one seems all broken up about it. (BTW, according to iMDb, Kirstie Alley's performance as Lt. Saavik was her first appearance on screen anywhere.)
  3. Continuity issue: When Dr. Marcus (the mother) gives her presentation to the Federation in support of the Genesis Device project, she states that she is hopeful that the Federation will "fund" the project. According to numerous episodes of TNG, the Federation has eliminated the need for currency.
• From AnotherTrekFan on 2012-08-16 at 9:05pm:
  @Jeff Browning:
  
  1. Light source inside the cave is easy - Starfleet put it there. There's dialog that establishes Starfleet hollowed out the tunnels, so it's not a stretch to believe they hung some solar-analog light source inside the cavern.
  
  Now for the star that suddenly appears, I had always taken it that the star was formed from the nebula via the device (which was intended to be detonated over a planetary body) being detonated inside the nebula. The scenes immediately following the detonation clearly show the nebula changing and contracting. Granted that further pushes the bounds of believability, but we are talking about a Sci Fi franchise that posits ubiquitous faster-than-light travel and near perfectly efficient energy generation after all. ;)
  
  2. This is technobabbled-away in the next movie. There's some dialog in ST3 about the use of something caused "protomatter" which caused the quick developmental evolution of life on the planet.
  
  3. Regarding Saavik's tears, it's established off-screen (and it might be non-canon) that Saavik is half-Vulcan and half-Romulan.
  
  3(b). There are references to money throughout TOS, especially in "The Trouble With Tribbles" where the bartender, Jones, and Uhura all haggle over how much it will cost to buy a tribble. The removal of money obviously happened at some point between this movie and the TNG era, probably when replicator technology became mature and ubiquitous -- because why do you need money when you can just replicate everything?
• From Strider on 2012-08-27 at 4:33am:
  According to Nimoy, he was not at all tired of playing Spock. He simply appreciated the power of a good story, and was willing to walk away if he didn't get it. And of course, the hope implied by the Genesis planet. But he argued with writers time and time again, both in the series and the films, to make sure the stories were worth telling and that Spock's character was treated according to his character. He won some, he lost some.
• From Glenn239 on 2012-10-22 at 3:48pm:
  ‘10’. Nothing better contrasts the problems with Roddenberry’s original vision for Star Trek with the franchise running on all cylinders (by discarding elements of that vision) than in watching ‘The Motion Picture’ and ‘Wrath of Khan’ back to back. Wrath is a more militarized, ‘Horatio Hornblower’ action oriented atmosphere where plot matters because the opponent isn’t some whizz-bang super entity. It just works…better. It’s the difference between a ‘5’ and a ‘10’
  
  Some slight problems with some of the tactical elements, naturally. Enterprise should not be able to survive Reliant’s original point blank fire with the shields not fully deployed. Reliant’s fire is also not efficient – she’d have hit the warp engines and the bridge first. (Of course, that kills Kirk outright and disables the ship). When chasing Enterprise at the end, Reliant would have fired dozens of photon torpedoes to prevent it entering the nebula, not just one. And with the Genesis device, Khan has no motive to enter the nebula since he knows, with the power of that device, Kirk must come to him. Why do super-smarties never act super smartly in movies? Also, with Khan able to control Reliant’s crew there really wasn’t any need to for communications silence in the original ambush. Simply have the Reliant’s captain hail Kirk, maintaining all of Saavik’s regulations as he closed in for the kill. No yellow alert and, moments later, no Enterprise either.
  
  This movie appears to be the origin of the (annoying) tendency in sci fi to present capital ship engagements as boring affairs where massive hulks, apparently incapable of movement, fire away at each other from spitting distance. Even in Sink the Bismarck the HMS Hood and the Bismarck had the common courtesy to be firing at ten miles distance! One slight downside to an otherwise worthy SF outing.
  
  Star Trek #3 robbed Wrath of Khan of its full dramatic impact; the denial of Spock’s death would make this movie an ‘8’ and not a ‘10’. Yes, the writers were presumably leaving Nimoy the option of returning through several plot devices but at the time of Wrath of Khan Spock was dead. Leaving the theatre for the first time, the loss was real. They didn’t introduce the interesting Saavik for nothing, one assumes. (As soon as Nimoy signed on for III, Saavik was redundant and, apparently, Kirstie was sidelined by salary negotiations and replaced by a horrible substitute of the character that can only be explained by the producer’s complete indifference to Saavik if Spock were to continue). So I give it ‘10’ upon the memory of the original ending’s impact, not the campy plot of #3 that robbed Wrath of some of its power.
  
• From Scott Hearon on 2014-04-17 at 4:42pm:
  It had been probably 25 years since I last watched this. It actually holds up quite well. I give it 8/10.
  
  Not unlike the TOS episode Space Seed, this one combined some excellent action/adventure ideas with some strong characterization to create a fun film.
  
  Sure, Khan's dialogue is a bit overblown, and there are certainly things to nit-pick, in terms of the science fiction, but it's overall a good film that has plenty of interesting shifts and turns throughout.
  
  One thing that strikes me is how they story writers didn't manage to work in a face-to-face confrontation between Khan and Kirk. It probably would have felt contrived, the film may have been weakened by it, but it's something that almost seemed missing.
• From as140 on 2016-06-03 at 11:38am:
  "I only take off points for the fact that Spock's death was contrived in that it's incredibly obvious that he will be brought back to life."
  
  But you are wrong on that point. They really intended to kill of Spock. They just kept this solution in case people demanded them to bring back Spock, which they did.
• From steve mccarthy on 2018-02-10 at 11:09am:
  My favorite of all the ST movies but i have 1 continuity nitpick. All of Khans survivors on the planet in the movie seem to be young in their 20s and 30's. Check Space Seed where his crew seem to be in their 30's possibly older already. If this is 15 years after Space Seed then they should all be in their 40s and 50's . Clearly, none are. Also, his first officer ( the blond guy who gets all the speaking time ) is way younger probably about 20. There were no children seen or mentioned in Space Seed and if he is Khans and McGyvers son he shouldn't be more than 14 and hes definitely older than that.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Orion Pimpdaddy on 2008-09-03 at 3:01am:
  The more I watch this film, the less favorable it becomes to me. First, the actions of he Klingon commander don't make sense to me. He already had a tape with Genesis information on it. What else did he want Kirk to tell him about it? I believe he was asking, "What is the secret to Genesis?" How does Kirk answer that? Does he say "Well, the secret is peanut butter, yeah, that's right peanut butter"?
  
  My other problem with the film is the recasting of Saavik. Why, why, why!? Why not give the character a different name?
  
  Those two things are trip me up so much when I watch the film. I still watch it about once every year, so it is definitely not the worst.
• From Aaron on 2009-08-20 at 9:21pm:
  The Klingon only had the short promotional video from ST II that didn't show how the device worked, only what it did. If he knew that Kirk's kid was the main scientist, he probably wouldn't have killed him.
  
  My main beef with the movie was kiling David. It reset the characters back to their TOS setup and they ended up stuck without ever having a chance to grow. Plus, David was in Square Pegs which was one of my favorite shows when I was a kid.
• From Jeff Browning on 2011-11-05 at 5:27am:
  Logical issue: Why would Spock's body regenerate? The previous film clearly indicated that organic matter present on a planet where the Genesis device detonated would be reformed into the new matrix. In other words, total destruction of all organic matter. This is never explained adequately.
  
  Also, what's with the accelerated aging? It is too convenient. It gets Spock to exactly the same age he was at before the events of The Wrath of Khan. It is just too neat.
  
  I agree with the comment about recasting Lt. Saavik. What was so bad about Kirstie Alley? I rather liked her as Lt. Saavik. She certainly went on to great success in other films. And the person they casted in this movie (Robin Curtis) was basically never heard from again (aside from a roll on General Hospital).
  
  I did think that Christopher Lloyd was terrific as Kruge, the Klingon commander.
• From Glenn239 on 2012-10-23 at 1:41pm:
  ‘7’. Pretty good, overall. Of the original six movies, I rate this one in 4th place – but that’s only because 2, 4, and 6 are VERY good movies. The character interaction, a sense of unity and purpose towards a common goal, all this is high on the list of the appeal to this movie; more so than in any of the others, this film gives the characters’ collective sense of personal honor and duty, and shows how that relates to (and can override), professional considerations. Unrealistic perhaps, but a fun premise nonetheless.
  
  That being said, there were a few elements to this film that I did not like. First, and least importantly; Starfleet. The ‘retiring the Enterprise’ subplot (a factor from here on out) was tiresome– stop telling me your decommissioning the Enterprise. Starfleet security (at Earth and Genesis) is also notoriously bad.
  
  Second, Saavik. The replacement was terrible. Hated it. A great character is introduced in ST2, and then in ST3 it is completely ruined. Better to have left her out altogether.
  
  Last and most importantly, this movie robbed ‘Wrath of Khan’ of its dramatic power by reversing the death of Spock. It is said in the site review that this movie deals with loss and passing, but I think the opposite is actually the case. This movie is all about using a cheap gimmick to avoid dealing with what real loss is all about.
• From Captain Keogh on 2013-05-30 at 7:40am:
  This film was the first appearance of Earth Spacedock [correct me if I am wrong] the Excelsior Class and the Oberth Class starships
• From Abigail on 2019-12-26 at 3:47pm:
  I watched this movie with two friends last night. I remember it being rated as one of the poorer movies, although I didn't really remember it from last time I saw it (approximately 20 years ago). To my surprise, I quite enjoyed it. I admit I hadn't thought as deeply about it as you did in your review, but I agree with your points regarding character development in Kirk. An enjoyable film.
• From Gaius Gracchus on 2021-11-06 at 9:07pm:
  Considering the dominating adage of "only even-numbered Star Trek movies are good," I was not expecting this film to be as solid as it was.
  
  DeForest Kelley gets to absolutely shine here, no longer taking the typical backseat to Nimoy, and his scenes where he's channeling Spock's consciousness
  (doing a Spock impression) are gold - "to expect one to order poison in a bar is not logical."
  
  Kirk gets several moments to shine as he outwits Starfleet and the Klingons. The rest of the supporting cast gets ample moments, as well. Memorable scenes for Scotty, Sulu, Chekov, and Uhura.
  
  Christopher Lloyd is an absolute gem as Kruge, and sets a good bar for the "new Klingon" characterization.
  
  The biggest letdown of the movie, to me, is the death of David. The character had a lot of potential but I would have loved an opportunity to see him develop more than just here and Star Trek II. Perhaps that's part of why it hits the audience hard, defies our expectation...
  
  From the destruction of the Enterprise to the fal tor pan, this movie is rife with defining scenes. Nimoy did a fantastic job directing, and I feel this film is unfairly maligned with that "odd-numbered Trek" canard. Watch it.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Wes on 2011-02-21 at 11:28pm:
  I just watched Search for Spock. It's frustrating to me that they change the bridge of the Klingon Bird of Prey between Search for Spock and Voyage Home. Have you ever noticed that? The new bridge set is very similar to that of the Birds of Prey in later episodes and movies, but very different from the set used for Kruge's bridge. If you ask me, Kruge's bridge was pretty fruity looking. It didn't look like a Klingon bridge with all the blues and lighter colors. The doors were lame. I'm glad they altered the set, but it's frustrating, too. Why didn't they just do the new design from the beginning?
• From Wes on 2011-02-22 at 5:27pm:
  This is one of my favorites. I love the humor in it. I really liked the continuity seen in having the same guy play the Klingon Ambassador in this movie and in The Undiscovered Country (although, he gained a little weight between now and then).
  Another stage flaw! The set of the Enterprise-A bridge at the end is DIFFERENT than the bridge set in The Undiscovered Country. The set at the end of this movie is more like the set in the newest movie (Star Trek). That's a bit frustrating. It doesn't make sense to me either. You would think it would cost them more to change the set than to just keep what they had the first time.
• From Overand on 2014-08-07 at 1:53pm:
  One fun tidbit about this film - that scene with Checkov asking about the nuclear vessels? That was filmed with a candid camera.
  
  It was the *actual* responses of people in 1986 San Francisco being asked about Nuclear Vessels by someone with a Russian accent.
  
  Hilarious!

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-05-22 at 8:23am:
  Some overall comments about a couple of things I noticed while watching TNG (and continued on to the next Star Trek series):
  1) The inconsistent use of the communicators. Sometimes they touch the combadge to begin a conversation, sometimes they touch the combadge to end a conversation, and other times the communicators are never touched.
  2) The "don't give a straight answer" syndrome. Picard will ask a direct question and the most common response will be, "I think you better get down here and see for yourself." This syndrome isn't limited to the TNG, I've seen it in the other Star Trek series and even other TV shows.
  
  At the beginning, Picard calls Deneb IV a planet at the edge of "the great unexplored mass of the galaxy." The station there is named Farpoint Station. In other words, it's located out in the middle of nowhere. Yet the Enterprise picks up several of its officers there AND the USS Hood brings an aging Admiral McCoy to visit the Enterprise. So it's common practice for Starfleet to send officers all the way to "the boonies" just to visit another ship? It's not like the Enterprise picked up its officers at a midpoint somewhere. Farpoint Station isn't on the way to anywhere!
• From Bernard on 2007-09-16 at 7:28pm:
  May I say firstly that this site is excellent, your thorough attention to all star trek series' shows how much time you have put into this, kudos!
  
  I remember the first time I watched Encounter at Farpoint, I was 7 or 8 years old and I was fresh from seeing Star Trek III for the first time. I had seen little bits of the original series on re-runs so only had a general feel for that series not an in depth knowledge. But I was excited about this new series
  
  I was engrossed in The Next Generation from the first five minutes of Encounter at Farpoint, the excitement and newness seems so tangible in my memory even now. Of course I have watched it again many times as a kid, adolescent and now adult and I realise that it isn't the greatest episode of star trek ever made but it will always be special remembered through the eyes of a child
  
  As a side note, John de Lancie is remarkable as Q and I'm glad he became a recurring character throughout TNG, DS9 and Voyager
  
  
• From Michael B on 2009-12-20 at 2:12pm:
  As you say, the acting by Patrick Stewart and John de Lancie is indeed very good, and I also thought both Beverly and Will Wheaton to be believable, but the rest of the cast come off as amateurs. Eric Bana, in an interview about the latest Star Trek film, talked about how good the acting was in that film, and that they accomplished it by not letting the weight of their responsibility of upholding the canon rest on their shoulders. He said that when an actor does that, they freeze up. There are many "reaction shots" in this episode, and most of the actors look like a deer caught in headlights when asked for a reaction. I think is is mostly the job of the director to give the actors room to be comfortable, and I think it is one of the flaws of a television show such as this that the actors have no time to bond with a director, and develop a relationship of trust, since the director changes every episode. The acting certainly gets better as the series progresses, but I wonder if it would have gotten better faster, if they were given good, consistent, direction.
• From CAlexander on 2011-03-26 at 5:06pm:
  I'm finding it difficult to review the first half separately from the second half, but I do have an issue for the problems section.
  - The timing of Q chasing the Enterprise is odd. The Enterprise flees, and Q almost immediately follows. Several seconds later they announce that he is gaining on them, and he continues gaining for quite a long while. It is hard to believe he hasn't already caught them by now. Then they fire photon torpedoes, and it seems Q is way behind them. Eventually they separate the ship and turn to face Q, and the Enterprise waits for some time before Q arrives. Where has he been? Did he hit a stop light?
  
• From Amiable-Akuma on 2017-06-01 at 12:03pm:
  It's not hard to convince me to give this 2-parter a 10 out of 10 review due to it being "the first", something that led to a major resurgence of sci-fi of it's ilk, nostalgia, and more.
  
  I love how flamboyant to the point of being near-insane that Q, Picard, and even Tasha Yar are with their line delivery sometimes. Yar's moment of "This so-called court should get down on its KNEES...!" is super memorable. It all adds up to strong random entertainment value and campy fun.
  
  I agree that the saucer separation/reconnect stuff is more boring but I wouldn't cut it either. That stuff looks great on blu-ray to the point it reminds how cool a well-done live-action "multi-section mecha-robot in space" series might one day work.
  
  All the shots introducing the bridge, engine-room, and aspects of ship overall are uniquely interesting as is our basic introductions to these characters period.
  
  -at first I didn't understand Picard's complaint about a ship full of children, I thought he meant figuratively, that his adult crew are still "children" in his mind due to being untested on a new voyage/etc. That that is what he wanted Riker's help with, lol. Now I kinda dig it though, that they wrote that in, 'cause I get sick of kids too in real life, hah.
  
  -check out how well-built Worf is during the "blast a hole through the viewscreen" scene, the whole cast seems in great shape in this particular ep.
  
  -I love how Q's visage says "You are dilatory", just a cool, intriguing moment/diction
• From Encounter at Obamberg on 2023-04-15 at 3:57pm:
  When Data is in that tree on the holodeck, he acts like Lore!

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-05-22 at 9:17am:
  This is the only episode where Riker and Troi communicate telepathically.
  
  Problems:
  - The computer gives Riker directions to the holodeck: the entrance is the next hatchway on the RIGHT. Riker turns LEFT!
  - While talking to Data in the holodeck, Riker comments that he looked up Data's record. He then asks Data if his degree is honorary. If Riker had read Data's record, wouldn't he have known the degree was earned?
  - While in the holodeck, Wesley fall into a stream. When he leaves the holodeck, Wesley is still wet. If matter created on the holodeck can't exist outside the holodeck, shouldn't Wesley be dry?
  - The alien ship attacks the Bandi city with energy pulses. Why didn't the alien just beam the energy down to its mate?
• From CAlexander on 2011-03-28 at 11:06pm:
  The good part of this two-part episode is the interaction with Q. I like the scenes in the 21st century courtroom. The actual plot about the creature is rather pedestrian, not really of great interest.
  
  Historically, I have to give this episode big props for being the pilot for a great show. But if you look at it as just another episode, it has some definite weaknesses. First, as Michael B pointed out in the comments to part 1, the acting hasn't hit its stride yet. Second, there were a number of elements that they later realized were mistakes and removed.
  - The music is way too dramatic, going off like crazy at rather trivial revelations.
  - The Ship Separation scene. I guess it seemed like a good idea on paper, but wow, what a waste of time! And that "headless" ship is ugly!
  - Counselor Troi going totally over the top acting out her empathic connection with the creature.
  
• From Amiable-Akuma on 2017-06-01 at 12:35pm:
  I agree that the Bandi city stuff is more boring, cheaply-manipulative, and less-interesting than the Q stuff - but upon re-watches it has grown on me. The saccharine ending feels more genuine to me now and I enjoy how the guest-actor who plays Groppler hams it up.
  
  -Note how in the holodeck scene, a clear "stuntman given makeup/hair to be Data" is used for that entire significant sequence where Data springs into action and pulls Wesley from the water. I find it odd that Brent Spiner couldn't at least perform the part where he is jumping down the hill quickly to get there. Maybe Spiner tried it several times and didn't look as smooth as the stunt-performer?
  
  -There's at least two shots in the 2nd half of this two-parter where Counselor Troi is standing, and her "official" skirt is shown to be absurdly short. I kind of love it. Shows that the 80's and Starfleet had an "innocently" sexy vibe.
  
  -Note Troi's headband, hair, and uniform in general. Odd seeing her introduced as such, given that her classic "cleavage" unitard and style becomes so familiar to her
  
  -Finally, Marina Sirtis' acting as Troi bothered the hell out of me when I first saw this, especially the director's choice to linger so much on her "feeling the emotions" scenes. It felt cheap, corny, unnecessary. But I'm over it now. I realize it's part of the silly charm to her character and that's all a means to an end for many storylines, etc.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-05-25 at 9:19am:
  - Picard states in his log that he is concerned "at being in such close orbit" to the collapsing star. Later, when Data states that the downloading of the research information will be complete in forty-one minutes, Picard seems irritated at the length of time. If Picard is so concerned about the collapsing star, why doesn't he just lock a tractor beam on the Tsiolkovsky and pull it to safety? BUT WHEN Worf tells Picard he is getting strange readings from the star, Picard tells him to wait.
  - Wesley blocks the door to Engineering with a repulser beam. Riker and the Chief Engineer spend their time trying to get past the beam, when they could just transport in.
  - Data drunk ???
  - Riker handles his "intoxication" surprisingly well (considering what it's doing to the rest of the crew) However, Picard gets intoxicated very quickly after only breathing Dr. Crusher's breath.
  - Hundreds of crew members are intoxicated. But when Riker brings Troi to sick bay, Dr. Crusher wants to quarantine Riker??
  - As Riker talks to Data about remembering someone "getting a shower with their clothes on," he sits down on the data entry section of the adjacent workstation. Wouldn't this be like sitting on a computer keyboard?
• From Bernard on 2007-09-17 at 8:24pm:
  I enjoyed this episode as a 'getting to know us' episode, some great early character development that also paid homage to the original series. I agree that it is better than the original...
  
  Unfortunately this episode really cannot stand up to repeat viewings, so that counts badly against it. Not a bad early effort though
• From TashaFan on 2008-09-08 at 3:38am:
  Two words: Tasha's dress.
• From Michael B. on 2009-12-20 at 7:11pm:
  I thought the direction in this episode, by Paul Lynch, was much better than the first. The story may have contributed to better acting, as well, as the plot device called for everyone to "loosen up", it seems the actors were able to, as well. All in all, I felt that everyone was quite believable as a drunk, which is not the easiest trick to pull off.
• From CAlexander on 2011-04-05 at 1:15pm:
  In general, I thought the "drunken" performances were somewhat boring, I preferred the Naked Time. Except that I did like Dr. Crusher acting "half-drunk".
  
  - I've always thought that Data was portrayed inconsistently in this episode, as if the conception of how he was built changed. Later shows with Data repeatedly make a point about how different he is from the rest of the crew, how it unaffected by things which affect every biological crewmember regardless of species. Yet here is affected by, of all things, water molecules which act like alcohol. They seem to be implying that he has a strong biological component in early episodes, yet in later episodes, whenever he gets damaged, there is never any sign that he is filled with water.
  - I think it would be quite fair to be impressed by Wesley. He endangers the ship because he is infected with the water virus; that shouldn't be held against him, that isn't his fault.
  
• From Rob UK on 2014-01-17 at 1:20pm:
  Argghhhhhh!!!!! I just noticed Data is a sexbot, possibly even a prostidroid, he tells Tasha (much to her delight) he is programmed in multiple techniques, a broad variety of pleasuring?!?
  
  Really Dr Sung???? What were you really up to with your fleet of manbot sex dolls?
  
  Clearly when data joined the asexual almost androgynous Starfleet culture his sexbot functions were of little use so he adapted his programming to be of use.
  
  Clearly i am having a laugh here but with a serious observation, I just started watching TNG from the beginning (again, lost count long ago) enjoying the good and the bad episodes equally as always, for some reason the suffering of going through a bad episode makes the next good one you watch all that more a piece of delicious sweet mind candy to gorge on.
• From jeffenator98 on 2019-08-08 at 5:26pm:
  A lame episode based on another lame episode. 1/10.
• From Three of Four on 2022-05-15 at 9:48pm:
  Didn't know the YouTube video. Had to post a comment just to thank you for that hilarious tip!
• From The Naked President on 2023-04-16 at 12:09pm:
  Picard explains to Troi that it is not an infection. After that he says infected/infection like 5 times.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-05-27 at 7:49am:
  - While presenting Lutan with the horse statue, Picard says that he is aware of the Ligonian culture's unique similarity to an ancient Earth culture that he "admires." However, later in the episode, Picard states that the customs of the Ligonian culture are the "same kind of pompous strutting charades that endangered our own species a few centuries ago."
  - Just before the battle to the death, we are told: "The rules are known. Let combat continue until there is a victory. It will not be interrupted." But during the battle, when Yareena loses her weapon, Lutan stops the fight. I thought the battle would not be interrupted!! And why is Lutan stopping the fight to return the weapon to Yareena? Doesn't he want Yar to kill his wife so he can inherit her wealth?
• From Bernard on 2007-09-21 at 10:31pm:
  Another good early effort, that holds up to repeat viewings well. Maybe I'm one of the few that agree with you there!
  
  Probably one of two episodes where yar is brought to the fore.. she was an interesting enough character with a good background story just a shame denise crosby didn't hang in there for longer
  
  one aside here, tng at this point is still very much working on the OS premise of 'planet of the week' episodes (coupled with the aliens that look identical to humans)
• From CAlexander on 2011-03-06 at 10:25pm:
  I'm one who never liked this episode, but it doesn't seem quite as awful now as it did the first time I watched it. The basic concept is not that bad. I think my problems are twofold:
  1. The acting from everyone is painful at the beginning of the episode. It felt like they hadn't gotten the hang of how to do TNG yet and were overreacting to everything in a way reminiscent of TOS, and this didn't work in the context of TNG.
  2. The episode led up to the fight scene at the end, which I found to be quite underwhelming. When rewatching this I had no expectations for the fight scene so it didn't bother me.
• From Axel on 2018-06-09 at 2:55am:
  The only way the portrayal of the Ligonians could've been more racist is if the actors had been white people in blackface. Whenever I re-watch TNG's first couple seasons and see aliens in hilariously dumb costumes, I think of these guys and realize it only went uphill.
  
  Data refers to French as an "obscure language" which of course sets off Picard. This is a bit weird since Data, having the crew's personnel records, would no doubt be aware that Picard has French ancestry and is presumably familiar with the language. But Picard's response must've had some effect, because in "Time's Arrow" we see that Data now speaks fluent French.
  
  During the fight, Yareena's spikey glove flies off her hand and strikes a spectator. A few seconds later, he keels over, dies, and is carried away by other Ligonians almost as if they were expecting it. Is it also considered honorable in Ligonian society to die from watching honorable combat? Otherwise, poor bastard didn't get the benefits of the Enterprise medical treatment.
• From Harrison on 2020-01-26 at 6:02pm:
  Political correctness has long demanded that this episode be viewed as an offensive aberration. That's nonsense, of course. Sure, the episode has some typical early TNG plot foibles (eg, the Ligonians were able to develop transport technology?) and the combat scene is a little silly, but overall it is actually a solid effort that explores some interesting themes. Stewart and Crosby are both in great form. It's far more engaging than many early TNG clunkers (like the episode that follows, "The Last Outpost".)
• From Azalea Jane on 2021-07-03 at 7:23am:
  I basically agree this episode is terrible, but for me, watching it again for the first time in years, it's ventured into "so bad it's good" territory. While I agree it's pretty skippable, I'd say if you're a newbie to TNG, do watch this episode at least once and revel in the cringe. (Protip: you don't have to be sober.)
  
  A few things I think make it worth a watch:
  - Wes sitting at ops for the first time. Significant, and hilariously awkward. The way it's handled, I can't tell if the producers were *going* for the awkwardness, or not.
  - Has a bit of iconic dialogue that made it into the famous "Picard song" where Troi answers "you're the captain, sir; you're entitled."
  - focus on Yar, which is unfortunately scarce in TNG.
  - the over -the-top cheesy music. It's almost TOS-level campy.
  - Data's attempts at humor. Or rather, the writers' and Brent Spiner's attempts to get a bead on Data's relationship to humor.
  - "Troi, I'm your friend, and you tricked me!
  
  Problem: Where was Worf? They could have made a lot of use of his character, being from a culture that also places a high emphasis on honor. Very disappointing they didn't work Worf into the plot somehow. (Maybe, just as in "Starship Mine," he called dibs on not having to show up in this episode.)
  
  It's a strange feeling, watching an episode centered around "the vaccine!" now in mid-2021. Knowing a bit more now about how vaccines are developed and how they work, it seems kind of silly for this episode's MacGuffin to be a vaccine, considering the people on this planet are a different species, and thus would not be able to develop, test, or manufacture a vaccine for any offworld species, let alone manufacture millions of them. They could have had some plant or rare compound used in an antidote, or something. A nitpick, sure, but it's damn lazy writing!
  
  negative 5/7.
• From Chuck the Canuck on 2023-05-19 at 1:17pm:
  Yes, yes, this episode holds up extremely poorly especially with our post-2020 hindsight. That said, I don't believe in judging it by modern standards; I think even in 1987 it was a bit much, especially when you look back at The Original Series twenty years earlier. Kind of a slap in the face to the progress TOS had made with Uhura.
  
  I agree this episode is worth watching mainly to see how the actors and writers were working to figure out the show and characters. Spiner and the writing team didn't just create the beloved Data we know from the beginning. It took some trial and error mainly in the first season to sort it out. Same with Picard, who is very, noticeably different in the first season in terms of dialogue and temperament. That exchange with Troi that Azalea Jane mentioned is also a flash of later Picard.
  
  On a side note, Garrett Wang routinely roasts this episode when he appears at conventions. Apparently, it was the first and only episode of TNG he saw prior to getting cast as Ensign Kim on VOY. So, he came into that show thinking TNG had set a pretty low bar. It wasn't until later that he watched more TNG and became a fan.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-05-27 at 3:19pm:
  Changed Premise: during this episode, Troi says she "senses the Ferengi captain is hiding something." In the future episode "Menage a Troi," Betazoids cannot read Ferengi minds.
  
  - Just after the force field seizes the Enterprise, something begins reading information from the ship's computer. When Data's workstation is shown, some of the information is being displayed upside down (i.e. the Klingon and Federation symbols.
  - In Picard's first attempt to contact the Ferengi, he asks Yar to open hailing frequencies, and she quickly responds. Then Picard says, "At least we won't begin with weakness." Why would he say something like that with the hailing frequencies open? That is the last thing he would want the Ferengi to hear!
  - When the away team beams down to the planet, Riker appears alone. He begins walking around and yelling for the others. Why doesn't he just use his combadge? It is true that Data later discovers the communicators are out, but Riker never even tried to use his.
• From Bernard on 2007-09-30 at 12:10pm:
  I don't rate this episode very highly now, but I do find it to be a bit of fun and at the time I thought it was fascinating. Probably because of the following;
  A good glimpse at a new race that have some kind of genuine technology and menace (not for long though)
  Riker gets something of a centre stage while picard is stuck on the ship (something that happens many times over the first 2 seasons)
  The start of this episode is great, the tension created by following the unknown ferengi (which soon evaporates as the story unfolds)
  
  overall not a terrible outing for me, but too many weak points
• From Jeff Browning on 2011-10-20 at 9:51am:
  An interesting, if small, detail: In early TNG when establishing communications, Star Fleet personnel say "open a frequency". Later this shifts to "open a channel". Not sure for the reason for this change, but "open a channel" sounds better to me.
• From Jim on 2011-12-25 at 2:28pm:
  Geordi's reaction to Riker's plan to jump to Warp 9 then "come back fightin'" is far and away the worst line and the most poorly delivered line in the entire series.
• From Azalea Jane on 2021-07-04 at 6:22pm:
  This ep certainly isn't the worst of Season 1. It's not quite "bad," per se, but there's not a whole lot redeeming about it either. Watching it this time, though, it sparked a new idea for something I can do during my current rewatch: I'm calling it "Data's Emotionspotting." I know a lot of it in this episode is first season awkwardness, but even later on, Data displays MANY expressions that could be interpreted as emotive or illogical. It's clear that Soong has programmed him to have at least *some* quasi-human reactions to things (such as interest and confusion), even though he reports not experiencing the emotions themselves. That's actually somewhat believable, considering what we find out about Lore later.
  
  Examples of Data's weird behavior in this episode:
  - his aside to LaForge about second officers. He'd display no dismay or relief, especially around a comment that doesn't not actually affect him. It was a cool little camera trick, and kind of a funny line, sort of, but it's so out of character it just feels gratuitous.
  - his offhand comment about Yankee Traders while the Ferengi captain was onscreen. Unprompted and -- as he should know -- counterproductive. Data is usually cautious about talking out of turn.
  - when he gets his fingers stuck in the finger trap, he seems embarrassed. Also, he should be strong enough to break the finger trap! (BTW, what was that finger trap doing there in the first place?)
  
  I wonder what TPTB (the powers that be) were thinking when they designed the Ferengi in this episode. Could they not see how pathetic and dislikable the Ferengi are here and how unconvincing of a villain they are? Fortunately TNG did come up with some very worthy antagonists like the Borg and the Cardassians later on.
  
  Nitpick: on the planet in front of the Portal guy, they keep referring to "humans" when Worf, a Klingon is standing right there, and nobody points it out. This is a continuing problem throughout the series, too - Troi, Worf, and/or Data are constantly lumped in with "humans", even though Troi is half human, Worf was only raised by humans, and Data is a human-shaped android lacking (most) human emotion -- none of them full humans.
  
  Agreed with Jim above how LaForge's line about "come back fighting" is cheesy as hell!
• From kevin on 2021-09-01 at 11:32pm:
  Wow, I just watched this today, in 2021, have not seen it for literally 30 years. I forgot the story. The beginning is QUITE suspenseful and has great music and packing. I was tense and trying to figure out what the Enterprise and crew were going to do. THEN....They hit the planet with the Ferengi and the story goes mostly to hell. It becomes an old TOS type story, and is silly on top of it. SO, not horrible, but just quite blah overall.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Bernard on 2007-12-03 at 9:09pm:
  I like this one, but it could and should have been so much better. The guest characters are excellent too.
• From CAlexander on 2011-02-17 at 2:23pm:
  I thought this episode was fairly successful, especially by first season standards. In many of the early episodes the characters seem unreasonably obtuse just to move the story along, but here their decisions mostly made sense. I liked how everyone knew Kozinsky's equations were nonsense, but since they worked on other ships, they had no choice but to let him try them. I liked how Picard decided to skip the science after the first trip and concentrate on getting back home. That is what I would have done, if I thought I had discovered a new warp formula; the potential military and scientific value of nearly limitless warp speed would far outweigh the value of one more scientific survey. I liked the pacing of how the first trip takes them far, and the second takes them some else totally different, and the way Picard comments on how he could believe the first, but not the second. Riker's dismissal of Wesley seemed rather obtuse, but I like how he admitted his mistake. The main down side: I wasn't that fond of the "super-Wesley" idea when I first saw the episode, and it doesn't seem any better now.
• From Jason on 2011-07-15 at 6:16pm:
  I agree with Wil Wheaton from his Season One reviews: this is the first episode that is not "a stinker", and it's leagues beyond the five episodes that precede it.
• From Omcn_7 on 2012-01-25 at 4:47am:
  
  On first viewing (when I was a kid) this was one of my favorite episodes for the series. I watched it so many times I wore out the tape. :)
  
  As an adult viewing this episode I remember why I liked it but it doesn't have quite the same appeal. However I give it a 9 because of how much enjoyment I had as a child. I think this is the very episode that made a trek fan out of me for life.
  
  Watching again I noticed one error. Kozinsky mentions that being out this far they have an excellent chance for scientific discovery, to which Picard replies and we report our findings how and to whom? I am not certain this is consistent with Picard's character. In later episodes it would seem to me that Picard is out there to discover, period, regardless of if he can report it to Starfleet or not. The man is kinda a loner.
• From Trekkie on 2012-07-07 at 5:06pm:
  One of my favorite TNG episodes.I just wish they could have explored the far away galaxy more.It would have been cool to see all the civilizations that inhabited some of the planets.
• From dms on 2012-09-22 at 6:00am:
  In my opinion, this is the best episode in the series up to this point. While the Picard turbolift scene was surprising, the scene that really struck me was the one with his mother.
  
  One of the problems you did not mention was that some of the "hallucinations" are visible to everyone, but others only appear to the person having them.
  
  Kozinsky I thought was over-the top. A little bit too much of Wesley also. The actor playing the Traveller did a good job though.
• From SJ on 2013-03-04 at 3:20am:
  Remarkable 1980's futuristic fashion in this episode:
  
  Wesley's sweater. Did grandma knit that, or did he swipe it from Bill Cosby? Possibly worse than his infamous rainbow GrrAnimals suit.
  
  Redshirt ballerina's Jhericurl.
  
  Redshirt dude's manskirt uniform.
  
  Factoids: Chief Engineer Argyle was later sent to by the Traveler to the Star Wars universe, where he assumed the name Porkins and tragically died in the battle of the first Death Star.
• From Oren on 2014-02-03 at 3:18am:
  One of the most memorable episodes of my younger years. Watching it now that I'm older doesn't have the same impact but as a teenager the mysterious episodes, those with a sense of wonder where some thing go unexplained, were my favorites. Both the Traveler and the far away galaxy ignited my imagination during and after the episode.
• From Axel on 2018-06-10 at 9:49pm:
  I swear I've seen the "edge of the universe" in one of my digital effects libraries as a Christmas/winter holiday background.
  
  Ah, the Traveler. He's TNG's version of Prophet/wormhole alien, albeit thankfully far less featured. I agree that this brand of New Age/sci-fi fusion is annoying, although it was all the rage in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
  
  It would be interesting to see an episode like this made now, given what we've discovered or theorized about what's beyond the observable universe. It could make for a cool, fascinating episode without delving into "thought becomes reality" crap. Humans have always fantasized about our thoughts, dreams, imaginations, whatever somehow being connected to reality. What may be at the "edge" of the universe is far more mind-blowing.
  
  Anyway, enough geeking out. The episode was at least entertaining and attention-grabbing, a very nice break from turban-wearing African stereotype aliens, Aryan free-love aliens, and humanoid fish and snake aliens.
  
  

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-05-28 at 3:21am:
  When Dr. Crusher wanted to talk to Worf about his memory block. His response, "I still don't remember having one." :)
  
  - The entity controlled Picard orders a course change of "9-2-5 mark 3-7." No wonder the crew is suspicious!! The episode "Datalore" states that headings have a maximum of 360 for each number.
  - I have a problem with the "transporter retaining Picard's physical pattern in the transporter buffers" idea. Data reconstructs Picard using that pattern. In essence, the transporter has duplicated Picard. With this theory, when someone dies on an away team, the crew could just use the transporter to duplicate the person (just as they were before beaming out)
• From Bernard on 2008-01-10 at 9:32pm:
  The fact that I still like this episode shows it can stand repeat viewings well (for me anyway)
  
  I love Patrick Stewart in this episode, and the meetings held by the rest of the crew to discuss the possibility of removing picard from command are great.
  
  Unfortunately thesse details do not save the episode from being average.
  
  Oh, and nice appearance by o'brien in this episode (who still doesn't have a name yet)
• From CAlexander on 2011-03-23 at 11:44pm:
  I thought it was clever that the mysterious malfunctions were caused by an alien entity trying to communicate a desire to get home and not knowing how to do it. I was confused about why Picard beamed into space, though; they talked as though he wanted to become an energy being, but all I saw was the alien mind-controlling him.
  
  Responding to DSOmo: While the transporters retain the pattern of Picard, they need the "energy essence" of the real Picard in order to recreate him. They state that the process won't work unless energy-Picard has found his way into the transporter circuits so he can be re-integrated with his body. (Maybe it works like reuniting Spock's katra with his body in Star Trek III).
  

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-05-28 at 6:02pm:
  - How can Yar review the Edo's laws and customs, but not know the price for violating them (one punishment for any crime)?
  - Picard tells Troi that he wants to speak to Dr. Crusher personally about what has happened to Wesley. When Picard returns to the Enterprise, Dr. Crusher stops him and demands to know what he is going to do about Wesley. She states that she read the away team report. What away team report? The away team is still on the planet. Even if they had made the report from the planet, Picard just told the away team that he wanted to handle the situation.
  - There is a simple solution to the Prime Directive dilemma in this episode. Picard already used this solution in "Code Of Honor." Why not let the Edo inject Wesley, watch him die, beam him back to the ship, warp away, and resuscitate him? At one point, Riker took a syringe from a mediator, they could have used it to make an antidote.
• From Bernard on 2008-01-16 at 12:46am:
  There are not many episodes that I rate as lowly as this one.
  
  I find it insulting to my intelligence that picard and the crew spend the latter portion of the episode worrying over breaking the prime directive when by the very fact they have revealed themselves to such a primative culture is surely against the prime directive in the first place!
  
  Other than that, there are a few small delights such as the first time worf describes something as merely 'nice'. A few nice moments for Gates McFadden to sink her teeth into, and in my opinion Wil Wheaton does remarkably well with some atrocious dialogue.
• From Sherman on 2016-06-30 at 7:55am:
  I've been watched everything on this list and read every review after I watched an episode and out of everything this episode stuck with me the most because of the absolute law and the captains decision to ignore the prime directive and just take Wesley with him.
• From Chris Long on 2020-07-25 at 1:24am:
  You know? I like light-skinned folk as much as the next guy, but this race of beings is far more irritating than the TOS Episode, the Apple where everyone was some hunk version of a white Adonis!
  
  Who thought this was a good idea?!?!?
  
  ... I'm no BLM guy but come on!!!
  This episode just insults every sense of intelligence of all but the absolute stupidest people in existence!
  
  How could this crapfest ever get past the producers?!?
  Pure garbage, start to finish. And While I understand they were fleshing out the characters, this is worse than the worst TOS episode by miles and miles!
  Season one of TNG is truly a throwaway season in every sense. I can't believe my kid and I loved it so much when it first came out!!!
  
  He even had genuine TNG uniform! He'd have been a much better Wesley too!
• From Azalea Jane on 2021-07-05 at 11:50pm:
  This ep is so silly it should basically be non-canon, like Force of Nature. Many violations of the Prime Directive in TNG are a little bit more circumstantial, but this is one is straight up "we found a nice planet with some horny aliens on it and we're gonna go chat with them and vacation on their planet!"
  
  They don't seem to have (or even think to look for) any anthropological data on the history of Edo society or any other societies on their planet. They just materialize out of nowhere and the Edo are apparently not fazed by this!
  
  Agreed with DSOmo above -- Yar says "I've listed my report on their customs and laws, sir. Fairly simple-- common sense things." Not looking at the punishments is a massive oversight for a security chief.
  
  I also noticed something along the lines of Chris Long's comment above: Every Edo is white, blonde, fit, and apparently straight, living in an orderly society enforced by an extremely authoritarian legal code and protected by an actual god. An Aryan paradise! We're not supposed to respect the Edo, exactly, so it could be interpreted as a subtle dig, but it still rubbed me the wrong way just a tiny bit, even as a white person myself. (Maybe I'm just jealous I'm not blonde.)
  
  I do like the takeaway: that justice -- and morality -- aren't about blindly following a rulebook. Despite the hamfisted way they delivered it, it's a nice way of stating one of Trek's principles directly.
  
  Data's emotion-spotting:
  - when the orb appears out of the bridge floor, Data looks scared.
  - his un-self-aware babbling isn't quite an emotion, but it's not logical!
• From The T'Obum Empire on 2023-04-16 at 8:31pm:
  In the beginning Wesley gets told this:
  
  LIATOR: "Our rules are simple. No one does anything uncomfortable to them."
  
  He forgot the part where you get the death sentence if you step on the wrong patch of green at the wrong time.
• From Chuck the Canuck on 2023-05-19 at 4:27pm:
  Liator, the male Edo leader, responds to the Away Team with dripping sarcasm about how backward their justice system is compared to the Federation's. But take away the sarcasm, and his words are correct. They're in pretty desperate need of some social evolution on this. You would think living in such a leisurely paradise of society is an appealing enough reason not to break the law. Are the Edo so prone to violence or crime that the only way to enforce this idyllic society is to execute even those in the wrong place at the wrong time?
  
  More interesting to me was the ship, city, being, or whatever you want to call it in orbit of the planet. After being contacted by it, Data speculates they have accepted their role as a deity for the Edo at this stage of their development. Perhaps they even planted the Edo there. What's the backstory on this, and did it happen before or after the Edo became...the Edo?
  
  In the end, all this episode does is contribute to TNG's gradual chipping away at the logic of the Prime Directive. By the end of the series, it will be in tatters.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-05-28 at 7:29pm:
  Changed Premise: Troi senses "considerable deception on Bok's part and danger." In future episodes, Betazoids cannot sense Ferengi thoughts.
  
  - Why didn't Picard set the autodestruct sequence on the Staegazer? Why did he abandon it and just let it drift through space for anyone to discover?
  - While Data figures out a defense for the Picard Maneuver, he says, "... a vessel in the Picard Maneuver might seem to disappear ..." The vessel doesn't seem to disappear, it seems to be in two places at once!
  - Why didn't Riker grab the Stargazer with a tractor beam before it flew off? He had plenty of time!! A lot happens from the time Riker finds out Picard is under some kind of mental control to when the Stargazer flys out of tractor beam range (including a very very long speech by Bok)
• From Bernard on 2008-01-16 at 10:36pm:
  I think this is a pretty decent first season offering, I only wish they had done more on Picard and his Stargazer days later on in the series. The pityfully one dimensional ferengi 'bad guy' does nothing to help this episode though...
  
  They (the series producers) seemed very eager to bring in the new race, the ferengi, but this is the second occasion when they just failed to give them any real character. Oh well, give it six years and we can watch them come into their own in DS9.
• From tigertooth on 2011-02-17 at 2:37pm:
  It seemed to me that they gave away the mind control thing to the audience way too early. Would have been better if Picard had no trouble before the Stargazer came around, but then started acting erratically. One could interpret that as him being afraid of his past.
  
  Data discovers that Picard attempted to tamper the logs on the Stargazer, and finds the log that says he destroyed a defenseless vessel. This causes the crew to suspect Picard, and Picard to suspect himself -- and the audience doesn't yet know the true answer. We later learn the false log got there because, instead of the Ferengis faking the log, Bok mind-controlled Picard into re-recording it.
  
  Also it would have been nice if when we were in Picard's Stargazer cabin, he found some things he left behind and reminisced on them -- fleshing out more history. But instead we just got another "Ow, my head!" scene.
  
  It might have been nice if the aliens involved in this story weren't Ferengi. Especially at this point, they were so clearly "bad guys" that there's no way to establish doubt (Kazago's last action did show another side of the Ferengi, but it was too late to help this episode). Maybe it could have been some alien species with some degree of mental powers in order to help explain the mind control device.
• From g@g on 2012-02-06 at 2:50am:
  More problems:
  
  1) How did Riker know Picard took his phaser with him on the Stargazer? For that matter, *why* did Picard have his phaser? He was last reported "resting," hardly a good reason to be armed, - although that might have been some kind of ruse. Still, Picard's movements before he transported were controlled by Bok's "thoughtmaker," and Bok would hardly want to make his job more difficult by arming Picard... Neither the fact that Picard was armed or that Riker somehow knew about it makes any real sense.
  
  2)Beverly makes some odd statements. First of all, she says that cases of headache have been rare ever since the "brain has been charted." The thing is, and I know this from personal experience, many if not most headaches have very little to do with the brain.-They're a result of muscular tension, either in the actual face and scalp muscles (like the Temporalis), or more likely in the neck and shoulder muscles, especially the Sternocleidomastoid, the Scalenes, and the Trapezius. So long as human beings rely on these amazing but fault-prone sinewy tissues for movement, there will, at best, be occasional cases of headaches. The only one on board who is actually immune is Data.
  
  retty cool episode. Esp. liked the human-farengi first officer connection here.
• From Daimon Obumtarr on 2023-04-17 at 5:02pm:
  When they are in the ready room while talking about the forgery, Beverly barges in and addresses Riker as ""Number One".
  Isn't that weird?

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-05-28 at 11:16pm:
  Main Bridge Design: The big curved railing on the main bridge looks great. Unfortunately, the railing is also very impractical (which is very evident in this episode). The captain sits in front of the railing, while the security people are behind it. To protect Picard, Worf needs to run down the ramp a little ways and then jump over the railing! Not the best layout to ensure the captain's safety.
• From Bernard on 2008-01-17 at 12:45am:
  TNG does 'where no man has gone before', but for me it's not as good as the original series despite the excellent john de lancie.
  
  Too many characters are acting out of character, except the consistantly written picard. I love the interaction between him and Q it is delightful as always
• From CAlexander on 2011-03-22 at 3:33am:
  I found this episode too simple-minded. Q wants to corrupt Riker. So he gives him Q powers, then puts his friends in a situation where he has to use his powers to save them. It immediately becomes clear that the Q power has unhinged Riker's mind. Not very sporting of Q, poor Riker never stood a chance. Eventually he decides to give everyone their greatest wishes. But everyone refuses – naturally, since the whole situation is just a big creepy Q game and refusing is the only way to rescue poor Riker's mind. Riker is saved, end of story. No interesting decisions or actions at any point in the story.
  
  The combat scenes with the animal-things are rather stilted and unnatural, especially the way Wesley runs forward to get killed. On the other hand, maybe this is a positive - it sort of acts as an artistic way to emphasize that the confrontation isn't real, but merely a game concocted by Q.
  
  On a positive, the scenes that stick in my memory are Q interacting with Riker (rather than Picard), and the "penalty box" scene with Yar, which was unexpected.
  
• From Jeff Browning on 2011-10-20 at 11:05am:
  This episode, as well as TNG: Adventure at Farpoint, further elaborates one of TNG's principle themes: That humanity is evolving into some sort of semi-divine state, similar to the Q Continuim. While very common in new-age metaphysical movements (including Bahai of which Gene Roddenberry was a member) the idea is utter nonsense scientifically.
  
  All evolutionary processes require a life-and-death struggle, as I have said on other posts. Star Trek TNG completely misses this point, where other Sci Fi fictional works get it perfectly. (Two examples being Dune by Frank Herbert and Dragon's Egg by Robert Forward.)
  
  While there is some support for the idea of altruism evolving in species (including the human race, see for example The Moral Animal by Robert Wright), all evolution is nonetheless grounded in a brutal, selfish process. That's just the way it is. TNG seems to think that it we all are simply nice to each other and get along, we will evolve into gods. Sorry, folks. Ain't gonna happen.
• From g@g on 2012-02-05 at 2:39am:
  Early in the episode, when Picard finds himself alone on an unresponsive ship, he yells "Turbolift control, do you read?!"
  
  "Turbolift control" ? Seriously?
  
  Can you imagine the kind of log entries they must write in "Turbolift control"? "Today, I heard that Commander Riker gained total control over matter, space, and time - and Captain Picard outwitted the godlike Q. Turbolift 2 is functioning properly, but 3 is running a little slow."
  
  WTF. "Turbolift" control? The image of a "liftman" is anachronistic even in the 21st century... Yet, somehow, 350 years later, even on the flagship of the Federation we still need someone to run the elevators? So much for that infamous "human compulsion" to grow.
• From President Obummer on 2021-07-12 at 9:54am:
  Dreamjob Turbolift Control :D
  
  I thought it was very funny when Data was to describe the scenes with the French Pigsoldiers to Picard and said "you might find it asthetically displeasing". A nice reference to earlier episodes where Data disrespected the French in front of Picard.
  
  Also, I think this is the episode that most shows why they needed to get rid of Tasha. The scene in the penalty box is so embarrassing, she is just a terrible actress and the charater is super-lame.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-05-29 at 1:47am:
  Data: "Could you please continue the 'petty bickering'?" :)
  
  - The slow approach of the Tarellian ship ... as the vessel draws closer, the tension increases. Picard calmly waits for the plague ship while the Haven government is going crazy. He even allows the ship to get within transporter range. Why doesn't Picard take the Enterprise out of orbit and meet the incoming ship?
  - For a chameleon rose, it doesn't change colors very much. During the time Troi is holding the rose, she becomes visibly upset and embarrassed, the rose stays white.
  - When we first get to see Ariana on the viewscreen, there is a man to her right, sitting in a chair. The chair is made of several spheres. In future episodes, this chair will be seen in Worf's quarters.
• From Joey Poole on 2007-07-12 at 2:41pm:
  While I agree with many of the concerns listed in the main review, I have a real soft spot for this episode. Lwaxana Troi is a great character, and this is a good introduction to her. As pure entertainment, this episode works, due mostly to the interaction between Troi, her mother, and Picard. I also like Riker's reaction to the whole marriage business. I view it as one of the "humor" episodes, and one of the best of those at that.
  
  My only real problem with this episode is the lame, seemingly random connection between Wyatt (who's a bit of douchebag, by the way) and Ariana. Plus, for the dying remanants of a people killed off by an incurable plague, the Tarellians don't seem very sick.
• From Bernard on 2008-01-19 at 6:20pm:
  I don't treat this episode with too much scorn, it is to me... average.
  
  The main problem for me is that I do not care about the terellians or wyatt. If you do not care about either of those by the climax of the story then to me the whole build up has been pointless.
  
  I do however love majel barrett as lwaxana, and also Mr. Homm. Some really funny bits in this one too as Datas role in comedy is used to good effect here as the perfect straight man.
• From djb on 2008-01-25 at 3:05am:
  It's true that this episode is not one of the best, but what I find absolutely remarkable about it is this dialog:
  
  Lwaxana: "Now the answer to the puzzle of Arianna and you is so simple, it's too simple for most humans to understand."
  Wyatt: "Too simple."
  Lwaxana: "Of course. It's something they all know instinctively yet go to great effort to reject or build complicated superstitions about. All life, Wyatt, all consciousness, is indissolubly bound together, indeed, it's all part of the same thing."
  
  I was amazed and extremely pleased to find such a fundamental mystical truth exposed in a relatively agnostic TV show!
• From thaibites on 2009-08-14 at 2:37am:
  This is one of the worst TNGs I've ever seen. It's one of those episodes where they need to take a break and save some money. Lwaxana is the most unlikeable character in the ST universe. As an American, I've gotten enough bossy, ignorant, demanding white women to last me a lifetime. I certainly don't need it when I just want to be entertained!
• From CAlexander on 2011-02-20 at 6:18am:
  This episode suffers from a common problem - two plots, one of which you wish they had left out completely. I had no real problem with the wedding plot, it is OK. But the Terellian plot is quite inadequately developed.
  - Totally agree with DSOmo that Picard should have tractored the Terellians long before they reached Haven.
  - No reasonable explanation given for the central point of the episode, the connection between Wyatt and Ariana.
  - No explanation given for why the Terellians appear perfectly healthy. I can explain this (the virus lies dormant until it kills you), but I shouldn't have to, the episode should have done so.
  - It is unclear what the Terellian motivations really were. They make a point of rejecting all communication as they come to infect Haven, then when they are stopped, they start chatting as if they are pleasant people who had done nothing suspicious.
• From Omcn7 on 2012-01-28 at 6:58pm:
  Ariana? Please stop the hair. I have nightmares about the hair. Wyatt is a moron to want to go with this freak hairdo women. I thought this episode was great for the character development. However, as many have said the plot was sub-par in the least.
• From Azalea Jane on 2021-07-07 at 7:23am:
  This time, I found this episode oddly entertaining and more interesting than I had anticipated.
  
  Boy oh boy, has my mind changed on some things, though. I commented here as "djb" (old initials) in 2008 and now I completely disagree with myself. It's not a "mystical truth," it's quasi-spiritual mumbo jumbo! But, then again, the Star Trek universe does have tons of mumbo jumbo in it, so... it's not untrue in-universe, I suppose.
  
  Putting on my "killjoy feminist" hat for a second: Overall this show is refreshingly not-sexist for the 80s. Hell, there are much later shows that are unwatchable because of the sexism (BBT anyone?). But I like noticing the tiny things that sneak through--not as a "show bad" sort of thing, more of a curiosity. A study of evolving cultural norms, if you will.
  
  Take Wyatt's commenting more than once on Troi's looks instead of her intelligence, accomplishments, maturity, depth, etc. Or the ridiculous outfit worn by Ariana. Like, don't get me wrong, my lesbian brain is like PRETTY LADY!!1! but her outfit is such obvious pandering and so strikingly unrealistic that it kinda harshes my mellow, as weird as that may seem. Or makes me laugh, depending on my mood. ... Then again, maybe she wanted to look extra nice for the man of her dreams, so she put on her most alluring outfit for him. I'd buy that.
  <takes hat off>
  
  Data's emotion-spotting: During the reception where the parents fight, Data looks positively amused. Given his "please keep bickering" comment (maybe the best line in the episode), Data seems to be programmed with a rapt interest in petty humanoid conflicts!
  
  This episode is a must-watch for anyone interested in Riker/Troi's relationship. Here we hear "imzadi" for the first time since the pilot, and find out what it means. I do enjoy their relationship throughout the series. You don't see relationships like theirs on every show, and I think it's handled pretty well.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-05-30 at 6:41am:
  - The crew works the whole time trying to get the doors open to the holodeck. Does it have some kind of shield or force field? Why can't Picard and the others just be beamed out of the holodeck?
  - Matter created on the holodeck cannot exist outside the holodeck. However, during Picard's first visit, he is kissed by a woman. When he leaves the holodeck and goes to the bridge crew briefing, the lipstick remains. Shouldn't it have evaporated?
• From Bernard on 2008-09-01 at 8:37pm:
  The very first 'holodeck episode'! Certainly a landmark, but is this what we want to be watching? Star Trek OS used to just do parallel earth episodes to tell this kind of story.
  
  I would rather have seen one of the other characters being the subject of this episode as Patrick Stewart seems to have had the monopoly on most episodes upto this point.
  
  Where this one really falls down is the virtually non-existant B plot, so the A plot has to hold our attention...
• From Jeff Browning on 2011-09-19 at 5:33pm:
  Another problem. Picard is kissed by a woman in the holodeck and has lipstick on his face after leaving the holodeck. Not possible.
• From Kethinov on 2011-09-20 at 7:18am:
  Not necessarily, Jeff. It's possible the lipstick was real, replicated matter. There has always been speculation for some time that the holodeck combines both photons and forcefields with actual matter produced via replicator technology to enhance the realism. This hypothesis goes a long way toward explaining any number of similar continuity errors across a number of other episodes as well.
• From g@g on 2012-02-07 at 12:02pm:
  I have to comment on the humour in this episode, which was top notch. Data was maybe a little over the top (although his scene at the very end, esp. Picard's reactions was amusing), but Beverly was pretty much hysterical. As soon as she put on "period dress," everything she did and said had perfect comedic timing.
  
  A small criticism is that perhaps this entire episode, main plot included, was just a little too funny, a little too light-hearted. Comic relief is good, but it would've been nicely contrasted against something more serious. As it was, with the mysterious "insect species" that never made it on screen, talked with a strange pseudo-Japanese accent about pseudo-Japanese honor and greeting rituals in its funny native tongue... well, it was all a little too much like a parody of itself.
  
  But I enjoyed it nevertheless.
• From Bronn on 2012-12-20 at 12:16am:
  Anyone else thing it's weird that this won a Peabody Award for 1987 when it didn't air until 1988? I mean, that's not a typo, and I can understand why things like this sometimes happen, but it sure is awkward.
• From Dstyle on 2013-08-06 at 5:11pm:
  So if there's a small army of engineers sitting outside the holodeck, desperately trying to get it open and get Picard out, where are they when the doors open and the holograms walk out? And why doesn't Picard hurry out of there to get to the bridge once the doors open?
• From Azalea Jane on 2021-07-08 at 5:29am:
  The title of this episode always bothered me. "The big goodbye" would be more emotionally weighty if it weren't coming from a barely-developed hologram. Why Picard doesn't just leave and/or try to end the program so he can go attend to other pressing matters -- and instead pauses to have a sentimental moment with a holo-cop I don't find myself caring about ... just weird. An NPC's belabored existential crisis just doesn't seem episode-title-worthy to me. My alternate episode title: "Another World".
  
  I guess by this point they had not yet established that Data is bulletproof. We know he's super strong; he could have incapacitated and straight-up killed the mobster holograms with little trouble even if they'd gotten any shots off at him. We see a hint of this later when he grabs the last mobster's gun. But all three of them would have been short work for him. (We get to see a bit more of his fighting abilities later this season in "Home Soil".)
  
  I'm also annoyed that they didn't try a) manually wrenching open the doors, or b) cutting power to the holodeck. They could at least have added some treknobabble saying why they couldn't do those. Lazy writing!
  
  "For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. A Newtonian truism which you have obviously neglected." Fantastic line. Lawrence Tierney was pretty cool as Redblock. He had a lot of great lines.
  
  Answering Dstyle above, I think the holodeck has multiple exits. You'll notice there was an exit both in Hill's private office and outside the entrance to his lobby. The crew was working outside the other one.
  
  Data getting into character was pretty funny. He may not experience emotions, but he sure does express them when he's in character!
• From the obummer on 2021-07-12 at 8:53am:
  I found it fairly annoying how cavalier they treated the history buffs life, the guy who got shot. I mean he is there on the floor taking his last breaths and they take their sweet time even after the doors are open.
  They make some jokes, have Data first beat up the mobster hologram all while the guy is bleeding out and only then slowly carry (!) him to sickbay. And the Doc doesn't even bother to go with him LOL

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-05-30 at 8:41am:
  - Near the end of the episode, Lore goes to a cargo bay and contacts the crystal entity. Lore tells the entity to attack the ship the instant the shields drop (for the beaming out of a tree). Then the fight between Lore and Data occurs. The fight ends when Data tosses Lore onto the transporter pad and Wesley beams him into space. Does the entity care what object beams out? Either way, the shields must drop. Since Lore told the entity to get ready for the beam-out, why doesn't it attack?
  - There have been a few episodes where Data has used a contraction. Like you said above, "it's not a big YATI." However, they spend this entire episode telling us that one of the differences between Lore and Data was that Lore used contractions and Data didn't. At the end of the episode, Picard asks Data if he is all right. Data responds, "Yes, sir. I'M fine."
• From Bernard on 2008-09-02 at 11:50pm:
  One of my favourite first season episodes, I too love Brent Spiner here and in many episodes. Good insight into his past and into his character.
  
  You have mentioned above already, but I have to repeat one of the funniest things I have ever heard Geordi say,'Captain I'm picking up a bogey coming in on a five o'clock tangent'... really?? Care to supply co-ordinates? Gets me every time, I love it.
  The scene in the turbolift with Lore and Worf is quite disturbing also.
• From Jumbo on 2009-08-07 at 5:52am:
  The "Shut up Wesley!" was horribly out of character, but also hilarious. I was laughing so hard I had to pause my DVD when Picard and Beverly yelled at the poor kid. That scene is one of the main reasons I love this episode so much :)
• From Rubin on 2010-06-28 at 12:12am:
  First thing I noticed was that "Dr. Noonian Soong" sounds an awful lot like "Khan Noonien Singh"...
• From CAlexander on 2011-02-28 at 2:47am:
  I particularly like the first half of this story, when everything is mysterious and they are learning about Lore. I also like how uncomfortable they are about offending Data, that seemed like a nice human touch.
  
  You are right about the twitching being annoying and irrelevant. All it does is waste screen time; the story would have unfolded in exactly the same way without it.
  
• From Percivale on 2011-11-30 at 5:26pm:
  Many people point out that Picard and Riker's treatment of Wesley was unreasonable. Over the top? Yes. Unreasonable? no.
  
  Wesley did have a reasonable suspicion. But, if you pay attention, he never actually states this in uncertain terms to his superiors. Instead, he passive-aggressively expresses frustration that everyone else is trusting Data. This is socially unproductive, inefficient behavior in general, but it is universally not accepted in authority-based organizations like Star Fleet.
  
  I would say that this is a refreshing instance where the writers understood how healthy, authority-based organizations work. Sadly, the officers' reactions really are over the top, once again demonstrating the writers' notion that setting boundaries is "mean."
• From g@g on 2012-02-06 at 10:49pm:
  I actually *liked* how Picard yelled at Wesley to shut up. It was uncharacteristic and kind of shocking. What I didn't so much like was how he was still arrogant and unapologetic even after he was proven wrong, at the end.
  
  But the initial outburst - that whole scene was quite nice. Not only did Picard yell at Wesley, (even though Wes had a valid concern and was being quite polite about it) but he also practically shooed a protesting Beverly off the bridge. It was a subtle demonstration that the master of composure and diplomacy is very very human, and prone to losing it a bit on his own bridge, under special circumstances.*
  
  * Fair to say that a giant life-consuming crystal thing edging its way into your shields while your second officer is dealing with doppelganger issues certainly qualifies as special...although, relatively speaking, he'll face worse in the future.
• From Alexander Uziel on 2013-12-15 at 11:15pm:
  Wesley: Have you got a cold?
  Data: A cold what?
  Wesley: It's a disease my mom says people used to get.
  
  These little bits are scattered throughout the first couple of seasons and they are noteworthy, not simply for the fact that they are flatly contradicted by repeated trek episodes after the second season, but because they highlight the utopian influence of Gene Roddenberry in the writing room. Gene was constantly rewriting scripts in the first season, usually to conform to his more idealistic, utopian philosophy. The writers fought against this and it wasn't until the piller/taylor/moore staff came aboard that this sort of stuff was minimized.
  
  Also, these exchanges are kind of annoying since they are just so blatant and out of place that it sounds like Roddenberry was preaching to the audience.
• From tigertooth on 2016-08-08 at 2:24am:
  If Noonien Soong is well known, how was Data in Starfleet for decades without anybody noticing the resemblance? Especially given that Soong was known for working on a positronic brain?

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-06-01 at 3:45am:
  - More matter leaving the holodeck, a snowball hits Picard as he is walking by.
  - When the Enterprise begins to search for the survivors, Picard orders Geordi to break fixed orbit. If the Enterprise is in fixed orbit, it would remain above a given location on the planet's surface. However, the shot before Picard's order shows the planet turning in one direction and the Enterprise flying in another.
• From CAlexander on 2011-03-02 at 6:05am:
  I found the acting of the denizens of Angel One, and the shipwreck survivors, to be boring, and I didn't care about any of them. And the side plots weren't interesting at all - they get sick, they get better, they fly away. I was, however, amused by Riker going native, and his ending speech was good.
• From Jeff Browning on 2011-10-20 at 12:43pm:
  This is the first episode to feature Riker's propensity to be a manwhore. He has absolutely no compunction about jumping into bed with any reasonably attractive female. Of course, this makes him the stud of TNG, at the expense of Picard who is, in live stock terms, a "shy breeder". I.e., Picard has intimacy issues. Both themes get played out later in future episodes, e.g., TNG: The Game for Riker and TNG: Captain's Holiday.
• From dubton on 2016-07-24 at 7:28am:
  Having sex while this episode plays in the background is, by far, my greatest fantasy. All criticism, in the interest of diplomatic relations, is forfeit. We have muuuuuuuuch to discuss and set phasers to sttttuuuuhhhhh-unnnnnnnnn
• From Rick on 2017-02-24 at 1:06am:
  It is my understanding that the Prime Directive does not apply to non-Starfleet personnel. The Federation is all about freedom and equality, so I do not think they would have this overbroad restriction on the liberty of all of their citizens. What right or jurisdiction would the Federation have over the actions of its citizens hundreds of lightyears away on non-Federation planets? None of course.