The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-08-03 at 11:19am:
  - Many times Star Trek will dispense too quickly with disastrous encounters in a character's life. For instance, it would have been very easy to jump right into a new set of adventures after rescuing Picard from the Borg. Instead, the creators took an entire episode to explore the emotional changes that the experience caused in Picard's life. Excellent!! One of my favorite TNG episodes.
  - Does it strike anyone else as odd that everyone in France speaks with an English accent during this episode?
• From Wayne on 2009-07-13 at 2:12pm:
  If I remember correctly this was also one of the lowest rated TNG episodes when it was first broadcast.
• From Robert Koenn on 2011-02-24 at 3:09pm:
  My wife and I watched this one last night. It was definitely a different type of episode and quite enjoyable. Picard's recovery and return to his home was heart warming and the rivalry with his brother was very realistic and brought their personalities out. Worf's story was also enjoyable and we always get a kick out of Worf's over the top Klingon reaction to things. Wesley still gets on my nerves but this was a better than usual story for him. Overall I gave it a 9 as I did miss some of the "real" science fiction.
• From thaibites on 2011-04-03 at 3:12am:
  I usually don't like human relationship episodes, but this one is really strong and a pleasure to watch. I think what makes it so strong is that the stories are all central and vital to each character - Wesley's father's death, Worf's discommendation, and Picard's emotional scars after being violated by the Borg. This is all pretty intense stuff, and there is no wasted fluff here. Great episode!
  
  And yes, I was wondering why everyone in France spoke with a British accent. I always wondered why Picard spoke with a mild British accent if he was supposed to be from France. Oh well, c'est la vie...(written with a British accent just to be consistent)
• From CAlexander on 2011-05-26 at 3:06pm:
  An excellent episode, very good all around. I wouldn't picture Picard as the sort of person that bonds with his brother by fighting with him, but it seems perfectly consistent with him growing up as the brash young man who picked a fight with some Nausicans and died laughing. And I love Worf's parents; they are so unlike him, but he just looks perfect as the child who is trying to be manly and is embarrassed by his doting parents. And while the Jack Crusher plot seemed rather extraneous, it too was well-written.
• From Axel on 2015-03-24 at 2:43am:
  This one may have been the lowest rated episode of the season when TNG was on the air, but I think it's gotten more appreciation as time has gone by. I doubt viewers enjoyed seeing Star Trek dabble in soap opera and now it's clear this is so much more.
  
  I agree that after Best of Both Worlds, it would've been strange to just go right to the next voyage of the starship Enterprise. Picard's visit home is the perfect epilogue. He briefly considers leaving his Starfleet career, showing just how much the Borg experience has shaken him. He and his brother continue the lifelong feud they've had, and I like that they really don't completely resolve it in the end. Instead, they reach an understanding through their fight that they both lead different lives, and that Picard's life is in the stars with his ship. The whole visit ends up being cathartic.
  
  It was also the perfect time to show how Worf's parents handle the news about his discommendation. They don't know what exactly it means, nor do they feel entirely comfortable asking Worf the details of it. What they do know is that they need to be there for their son. Despite his rigid emotional hide, Worf shows how much this means to him.
  
  The Wesley storyline was appropriately short, and was just enough to fill in between the others while also keeping with the theme.
• From Mike Chambers on 2020-08-24 at 4:04am:
  A very good episode. A little slow in parts, but excellent character development all around. The scenes with Picard and his brother are very well written and moving.
  
  A nice breather from the action and intensity after The Best Of Both Worlds.
  
  7/10 from me.
• From Encounter at Obamberg on 2023-05-03 at 4:02pm:
  The french have english accents because french is just an obscure language in the 24th century! Come on, this great continuity.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-09-29 at 11:57pm:
  - When the barrel falls on Worf, it ends up near his FEET. Another barrel follows it down, and when it hits the floor, the top pops off. In the next shot, Geordi runs up and pushes a barrel away from Worf's SIDE. Also, the second barrel suddenly has its top back on.
  - During his first visit with Worf, Riker makes small talk by commenting that Worf looks pretty good for someone who's been eating sick bay food for three days. How can institutional food still have a stigma in the twenty-fourth century? Everything is replicated!
  - When Worf dies at the end of the operation, Dr. Crusher uses a drug that under normal circumstances would kill him. Even after being taken completely off life support and giving flatline readouts on all the medical displays, Worf manages to come back to life! Dr. Crusher makes a comment that Worf must have a "backup for his synaptic functions." Even if Worf had a backup, wouldn't the lethal drug Crusher administered have killed that, too?
  - Also, why didn't Worf's backup show on a medical scan? And why didn't the medical displays show the activity of his synaptic backup?
• From KingElessar8 on 2009-03-22 at 1:52pm:
  I like this episode, probably more than most. It's an unusual subject for Trek, and it always seemed to me like there was more character conflict here than is common for TNG, making this one a little sharper-edged and more personal than the usual "ship in peril" type plots we so often are given. I liked how Picard, Riker, Troi, Beverly and Worf each have a very distinct way of reacting to this problem, and in each case it is fully in character - but it was interesting to me that Data plays no real role in the story. What would Data's reaction be to Worf's desire to commit suicide? Accept it as logical, or does suicide run counter to his ethical programming?
• From MJ on 2011-02-13 at 5:06pm:
  I think this is TNG at its finest, the real essence of the show that sets it apart from other shows. Here you have several different points of view, each of them with strong justification, and none of them able to be reconciled with the others. The solution is not easily found, and getting to it ends up straining some relationships along the way.
  
  You have Crusher, who takes her usual cavalier attitude regarding the customs of her non-human patients. She's rigidly tied to her perception of good medicine and doesn't apologize for it. You have Riker, the chosen friend and honorable companion, who fought alongside Worf and loves him, but finds it difficult to abandon his human morals on this matter. You have Picard, able to see the Klingon perspective and, while certainly not wanting Worf to die, tries to give Crusher and Riker a new perspective. And then enter Dr. Russell, who practices a wildly different style of medicine than Crusher, who sees Russsell as being reckless and is thoroughly unimpressed by her. All of this makes for a fascinating work of TV.
  
  In the end, things are more complicated than anybody might be willing to admit. Worf is confronted with a flaw in his plan. He is prepared to accept the Klingon fate for a crippling injury, but is unable to involve his son in the ritual, a flaw which absolves Riker of the burden he wrestles with. And while Crusher is disgusted with Russell's brand of medicine, the fact is, Worf represents the one type of situation where Crusher's do-no-harm, play it safe style simply doesn't suffice. Being risky might be bad medicine, but as Picard points out, it's exactly the type of medicine needed for a patient like Worf.
  
  Underlying this episode, of course, is the euthanasia/assisted suicide debate. The old points of contention over sanctity of life, playing God, sparing suffering, and all the rest are brought to bear, but since it’s not a human patient, there’s a new twist: for humans, this particular injury would never call for assisted suicide. By exploring it from the point of view of another species for whom it does call for assisted suicide, however, we can ask the same types of questions in a more dispassionate setting.
• From Daniel on 2014-07-18 at 12:50pm:
  I like this episode for its examples of contrasting morals and ethics in the various characters. I also like it for its emotional impact. But, it brings up two general questions for me... 1. When the doctors perform surgery, why do they go to such lengths to cover their bodies to prevent contaminating the sterile environment, yet they don't wear face masks to prevent breathing germs onto the patient, as any surgeon would? 2. Aside from Geordi's blindness, why are there no handicapped people in Starfleet, on any ship, or any space station? If Worf were to be confined to a wheelchair, do you think they'd still let him do his duty as chief of security?
• From Mr. Awesome on 2016-01-11 at 9:08pm:
  I have mixed feelings about this episode contrary to popular belief. While I do like the premise of this episode (any serious subject requiring lots of thought with no easy solutions are the most fascinating to me), there are numerous flaws, ranging from the practically absurd to intellectual inconsistency.
  
  First, you would think that silly ailments like paralysis would have long been easily treatable by this time. In real life right now, as I'm typing this, medical advancements are being made with such things as stem cell research, nanotechnology, and bionics. You would think heavily advanced versions of these would be readily available. That's why it kind of irks me that La Forge would be blind, requiring a visor for corrective vision.
  
  Secondly, it was mentioned that Klingon anatomy was still not fully understood. How is this possible so far on the future? How could you have members of Starfleet whose basic anatomy you still don't understand? How can Klingons have advanced technology allowing them to pursue interstellar travel, yet not have basic medical understandings of their own physiological makeup? Considering the fact that Klingons are now members of the Federation, this seems illogical.
  
  Thirdly, my biggest gripe is with Dr. Crusher's hypocrisy considering her "holier than thou" attitude. She condemned Dr. Russell for testing new treatment methods on patients, which is understandable to a degree. However, wasn't Crusher the one who, in a previous episode, suggested, or even ordered, Captain Picard undergo a surgery to fix his heart, a surgery holding the potential of killing him? Also, as aforementioned, Crusher admits in this episode that her medical team lacked a full understanding of Klingon biology. As such, wouldn't ALL her treatment methods for Klingons be dangerous, seeing as how there's no telling what kind of adverse effects could occur from various treatment methods designed to treat human ailments? In addition, Crusher can't pretend as if she has a perfect track record when it comes to treating patients. Numerous patients have died under her care over the course of this show. On top of that, she condemns Dr. Russell for her failed treatments for the patients that died under her care, yet Worf dies after Crusher chooses to administer a drug that Russell claims would kill him. Furthermore, Crusher lectures Russell at the end about "conventional research/medicine", yet Crusher doesnt offer any kind of assistance to Russell in terms of developing and perfecting this new surgical technique to perhaps enhance Worf's chances of survival, which could be revolutionary for Federation medicine overall. On top of ALL of that, Crusher is willing to hold Worf hostage against his will in sick bay rather than respect his wishes to die or undergo a dangerous yet potentially revolutionary treatment that could help him regain his abilities. Wouldn't that violate the Hippocratic oath? I understand this episode was made around the time of the real life issue concerning Dr. Kevorkian and his physician assisted suicide methods, but one would think that hundreds of years from now, these types of ethical conundrums would have long been solved.
  
  Despite these gripes, it's still a good episode. Obviously it's very thought-provoking, but I wish it could've been put together a little better.

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 7 Of 14 on 2008-09-17 at 10:47am:
  An overall very enjoyable episode, but a few things just niggle away slightly:
  
  - OK, so Jo'Bril (the "dead" Takaran shuttle pilot) somehow finds a way to release himself from inside the morgue chamber, finds his clothes, leaves sickbay without being seen, makes his way to the science lab without being seen (‘dead Takaran walking!’), kills Dr Reyga the Ferengi, makes his way back to the morgue via sickbay and seals himself back in for another nap. Perhaps he did it during the midnight shift when zombies are free to move around unchallenged.
  
  - Later he again does this trick but also manages to beat Dr Crusher to a shuttlebay without being seen, gets to the shuttlecraft without being seen and gains access to the shuttle to hide inside the storage compartment.
  
  - Yes, it was great seeing Dr Crusher literally blow a hole in Jo'Bril, but then she totally disintegrates him thereby destroying the key evidence needed to prove her side of the story. We have the missing body of an alien already pronounced dead, an unauthorised autopsy on a Ferengi, a negative result from the Ferengi autopsy and a medical officer who has made unapproved use of a shuttlecraft. Perhaps Dr Crusher might have some problems proving what really happened? Still, I guess would I believe her.
  
  Perhaps all this is being a bit too picky; I still really liked the episode but just wanted to mention these little observations.
  
• From JRPoole on 2008-09-23 at 11:20pm:
  This is another strong episode. Finally Beverly gets an episode that doesn't focus on her sorrow. The science is interesting, as are the guest aliens, and the whole package works well.
  
  Some notes:
  Poor Nurse Ogawa. She's spent the past five years healing people's boo boos in the background and having things explained to her so the audience can follow the sickbaby technobabble. Finally she gets something to do here, even if it's clearly as a sidekick to Beverly
  
  It seems very common for Vulcans and humans to marry and mate. It was a big deal in Spock's day, but here it's just presented as nothing unusual. What must love and sex be like in a relatonship like this? What about the Pon Farr?
  
  Troi is largely absent from this one, no doubt because her empathic abilities would have complicated the plot--she'd know that the other scientists were't lying.
• From Mark McC on 2009-02-11 at 9:58am:
  I have to disagree on this one. When the best thing about a TNG episode is the Ferengi, something is off. The basic premise of the episode is OK, but the implementation is terrible.
  
  There's the already mentioned idea of a dead alien releasing himself from the morgue (is accidental diagnosis of death so common in the the future that they have emergency release buttons on the inside of freezer drawers?) and wandering around the ship without anyone noticing.
  
  How do the events at the end of the episode vindicate Crusher? She vaporised his body, so she ends up with absolutely no proof he was the murderer. In fact, the hijacking of a shuttle and blaming the murder on an dead alien whose body mysteriously vanishes puts her in an even more dubious position, and I doubt the Ferengi are going to accept the entire story based solely on her word.
  
  Again, we see that Worf is utterly incompetent as head of security. After Crusher resigns her position, the computer in sickbay locks her out of accessing an autopsy report that she herself wrote. That's what would be expected if an unauthorised person tried to access it, no problem there.
  
  Yet she can still walk straight into the shuttlebay and fly off in a shuttle without any problems. Not only that, but she is able to override the ship's command and control functions to prevent Worf from forcing the shuttle to return to the Enterprise. If the security on a few files in sickbay is better locked-down than the shuttlebay launch controls and the ship's command and control functions, then Worf really really should be demoted by now.
  
  Who ends up with the technology? I'd assume that the Ferengi would lay claim to it and start selling to the highest bidder. Instead it seems that, in a very uncharacteristic moment of generosity, they allow everyone else to use the technology for free, as Geordi seems to have access to it in later episodes. This makes the entire episode a bit pointless. Why go to all the trouble of murdering someone just to steal something that's going to be given away freely anyhow?
  
  In all, an interesting premise and a surprisingly good Ferengi character, but one of those episodes where the logic is so poor the whole thing quickly stops making any kind of sense.
• From Albert on 2009-07-07 at 5:45pm:
  I just watched this episode, maybe for the first time, I didn't remember it at all. It's rare that an episode stands out with such bad writing and directing, I wonder what happened here.
  
  Even the characters don't make sense, why would Crusher facilitate a scientific meeting that had nothing to do with medical research? Why would Picard barely react to Crusher's insubordination, and why would Riker pop up out of nowhere to tell her to "lay low"? Did a child win a contest where the prize was to write an episode of TNG?
  
  The only person who was apparently in-character was Guinan, and even she was totally ham-fisted. "But I don't play tennis!" Then the two point to each other, start to laugh, and we go out on a freeze-frame.
  
  I'd really like to know the story behind this episode, it even seems like the actors are doing a dry run-through, it's missing so many elements of a normal TNG episode.
• From thaibites on 2012-09-24 at 11:35pm:
  I really enjoyed this episode until it was over and I started to think about it. I wholeheartedly agree with 7 of 14's comments above. I couldn't have said it better myself.
  This episode reminds me of X-files where major aspects of the story are never explained. This was produced in 1993, so maybe the writers were trying to jump on the X-files bandwagon, which is a shame. I always thought Chris Carter was a lazy jerk-off that had no respect for his audience.
• From Quando on 2014-08-22 at 1:27am:
  Ugh. Hated this episode. It was like Murder She Wrote in space.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Pete Miller on 2006-05-21 at 11:54pm:
  I LOVE IT when they show the shift changes, and imply that data just mans the ship at night since he doesnt need sleep. That was cool when riker and the first shift people came to relieve him
  
  I have always disliked Star Trek's extremely blatant disrespect for religion. Every so often they make an episode like this that is poorly disguised, and is a slap in the face of organized religion, reducing it to the "opiate of the masses" concept. But then again, I'm glad that the writers are not straying from Roddenberry's beliefs, even if I do disagree with them.
  
  All in all, an okay episode.
  
  Problem: There's no way in hell that blood on a hundreds of years old dagger still retains its nucleic acid conformity. The base pairs would have disassociated long before. Sorry, nice try, but you can't fool a biochemistry major.
• From Orion Pimpdaddy on 2006-06-04 at 2:01am:
  Rightful Heir is a better than average episode. We get to see a spiritual location of the Klingon Empire, although the outside shots of the monastery look fake. We get to learn more about Khaless, a figure mentioned for several more years on TNG and DS9. The plot moves at a nice pace and Gowron is excellent, as always.
  
  Good episode - 7
• From Guv on 2008-07-29 at 2:12am:
  I have never respected Gowron nor disrespected Worf as much as this in any prior episode. Worf is far too quick to believe in spiritualistic nonsense. I cannot believe the writers made Worf appear "skeptical" in the eyes of other Klingons, because he was obviously quite ready to believe.
  
  Even though he represents the spirit of the Empire, I do not believe it is an honorable solution: they all believe in a lie. How is that honorable?
  
  A memorable episode, but disappointing in its philosophy. I'd give it a 6/10.
• From Remco on 2008-08-13 at 1:34am:
  In contrast to other reviewers, I find this episode to be highly respectful towards religion. It is not a parody of Christianity. It represents a realistic view of religion.
  
  If you don't think TNG plays it "straight" with the beliefs of Worf and the Klingon race, then I don't know how any episode could do justice to religion and the effect it has on people.
  
  You must realize that this episode says nothing about whether the Klingon religion is "false" or "true". That answer is just not given. We only know that many people believe that Khaless will once return.
  
  The people won't believe in a lie, because the people are being told the whole truth. Every Klingon will know that their new emperor is a clone of Khaless, but also the rightful heir. There is nothing a lie about that. It's just the way the prophecy turned out.
  
  Whether they choose to believe he is the real messiah, well, that's up to them. Just like with Jesus. The Jewish are also still waiting for the real messiah.
  
  I can't think of this episode other than very very good. It doesn't try to answer the question whether "God" exists, which really isn't that important. It just takes a look at the human (well, Klingon) side of religion.
  
  I am an atheist, but still I think Jesus would be proud of this episode. If only he could be cloned...
• From JRPoole on 2008-09-29 at 9:42pm:
  Gowron is the shit. I love his adamant denial that this is the real Kahless, and I love his bow at the end when he realizes its best for the empire. Top notch stuff. Can you imagine the kind of shit-storm that would ensue if Catholic Church cloned Jesus from the shroud of Turin?
• From Jamie on 2010-06-25 at 1:22pm:
  What's the only thing worse than a Klingon? Two Klingon's "talking" for 40 minutes.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-08-07 at 3:06am:
  During one tender moment between Worf and K'Ehleyr, she places her hands on his chest. In fact, she lays her hand directly over his communicator. Of course, it doesn't chirp. It must have a "loving embrace sensor" to know when not to turn on ;)
• From JRPoole on 2008-05-02 at 2:05pm:
  Another factoid established by this episode: there are representatives of 13 planets among the Enterprise crew.
  
  This is fantastic, definitely a candidate for my 'best of TNG' award. I especially like Picard's reaction to Worf going AWOL and killing Duras. This is possibly the best-rendered episode of Klingon intrigue, and there's not much to dislike here. Gowron eats the scenery every time he's on screen, Duras finally gets his due, the Romulan involvement in the Klingon power struggle gets teased out, K'mpec dies a death worthy of Shakespeare, and everything comes together nicely.
• From JRPoole on 2008-05-06 at 5:14pm:
  Something I just thought about. As I pointed out in my mini-review, this episode maintains that there are 13 planets represented on the Enterprise crew. This number seems a little small:
  
  Earth (multiple examples)
  Betazed (Troi)
  Kling (Worf)
  Guinan's planet
  Bolia (I guess this is the name of the Bolians', as evidenced by Mot the barber's, homeworld)
  Vulcan (several Vulcans can be seen as crew members in the backgrounds of prior episodes)
  
  This is six already, nearly halfway there, and doesn't even count Data, who's from a colony planet, and the various obviously alien extras who've appeared in the background (the lady getting her hair done in the background of the barbershop scene in "Data's Day," etc.
  
  Okay, I've officially descended into Trek geek-dom by even thinking about this...
• From MarkMcC on 2008-12-25 at 11:44am:
  I've been rewatching this show recently and this is definitely one of the strongest episodes so far. My only minor gripe is with the lacklustre performance of the Enterprise security staff again.
  
  Ambassador K'Ehleyr is playing a pivotal role in the mediations where one of the two sides has already poisoned K'mpect and set off a bomb, and has been directly threatened by Gowron. You'd think after all that, security might at least post someone at her door in case of emergency.
  
  And let's not even talk about the security officer's Keystone Cops-style chasing after Duras' associate. Would a trained Starfleet officer really fall for such an old ploy?
  
  Then again, if security ever did their job properly there would be a lot less drama (and stolen shuttlecrafts) in this great series.
• From John on 2010-12-30 at 5:24am:
  Another "remarkable scene", in my opinion: at the end, when Alexander asks Worf "are you my father?" It's a nice reminder to us that Alexander has been pretty much ignored through all of this, even though it affects his life as much as, if not more than, anybody else's.
  
  I've always liked Alexander. I know some people hate him or find him annoying, but I sympathize with him. It's not easy to see your mother die a bloody death, and then find out your father is the biggest hardass in the galaxy.
• From CAlexander on 2011-03-19 at 3:06pm:
  Great episode. It could so easily have been done badly, but it was done well. I found K'Ehleyr very interesting to watch.
• From CAlexander on 2011-03-20 at 12:05am:
  One point I that was confusing to me was the bomb plot. They never described exactly how the plot was supposed to work and why it failed. It came across as though Duras randomly set off a Romulan bomb because, hey, he's an evil traitor, that's what evil traitors do.
• From Jeff Browning on 2011-10-21 at 2:17pm:
  Another excellent use of the "onesie", the tight, form fitting one piece outfit favored by Star Trek for young, attractive women, in this case K'Ehleyr, who did not disappoint in this area. See my comment on the previous episode.
• From Axel on 2015-02-28 at 5:18am:
  JRPoole, I'll join you in geek-dom, years after your post.
  
  The Federation has a lot of planets and races, but how involved all of them are with Starfleet is unclear. Tellar and Andor are founding members of the Federation and we rarely see them as crew on any ship in most ST series. I think 13 is a reasonable number for the Starfleet flagship. It also stands to reason that humans dominate Starfleet if for no other reason than Earth is where the HQ is at, and therefore probably the main recruiting grounds.
  
  Descending even further into geek-dom, it's been implied that races like Vulcans and Andorians don't reproduce nearly as quickly as humans. Vulcans enter their cycle every seven years, Andorians need four parents, etc. This may also be why Earth and human-colonized planets dominate the overall Federation population.
  
  The simple, real-world reason why humans dominate Starfleet is that makeup and costumes inevitably consume budget money, but I still think that 13 is about right if you consider how many humans are on the Enterprise.
• From House of Obummer on 2021-07-29 at 4:34pm:
  When Alexander grabs the bathlet on the wall, the next scene should have been sickbay. Look where and how he grabs it.
  And the death of the mother was annoying because they did not seem to hurry at all. No beaming her to sickbay, no beaming the doctors into her quarters.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Pete Miller on 2006-05-22 at 2:34am:
  What is that visor thing that data wears when he plays poker?
  
  Data said "perhaps i have evolved to the point where emotions are in my grasp". That is not possible, seeing as how individuals cannot evolve. Only populations of organisms can evolve over time, according to the laws of natural selection.
  
  As usual, when Picard announced that admiral ____ had arrived, I already began to visualize some power tripping bitch. I will say it once more, there are NO good admirals in starfleet
  
  Geordi said "they shouldn't be able to move faster than you or I". That is incorrect grammar. He should've said "faster than you or me".
  
  Lore is ever-so-cocky. I love it every time.
• From Mark on 2007-09-06 at 3:42pm:
  Problem:
  Before the Borg beam aboard the enterprise's bridge, Franklin is standing around just waiting to die (just standing in the doorway like a sore thumb). He has his hand on his phaser anticipating the Borg move though no one else shows signs of expectation.
• From JRPoole on 2008-10-03 at 6:53pm:
  As I'm reaching the end of the series, I'm realiing that for whatever reason I remember the first five seasons much better than the last two. In fact, I have very little recollection of this episode at all. I haven't yet watched the second part, but I have to say that I like it a lot.
  
  Although Data-malfunctions-or-gets-taken-over-and turns-on-the-crew plots are starting to get tired, this one is strong. Lore is a good character and deserves to be brought back here, and it seems natural that he'd be attracted to the borg. The Hugh storyline gets brought up again, which is also a good idea, and any excuse to bring back Admiral Necheyev is fine with me. She is such a power-tripping bitch and you want to hate her, but I find myself agreeing with her over Picard's handling of Hugh. The moral thing here was not necessarily the right thing. I think Picard should have fell back on Vulcan philosophy and reasoned that the good of the many (the human race and all the others the borg wish to assimilate) outweighed the good of the one (Hugh).
  
  The only thing taking away from this episode for me that this new incarnation of the borg is not nearly as scary as the original.
• From djb on 2008-12-18 at 2:16am:
  I was somewhat disappointed with this episode. The idea of bringing Hugh back was cool, and it's always good to see Lore. But this episode was flawed. First, too many redshirt deaths. I mean, the ONE non-regular on the away team dies? Come on!
  
  Also, what are the chances that out of the dozens of search teams, it should be the one comprising our principals (and the disposable redshirt) that discover the compound? Dumb.
  
  The data/emotion storyline was good. Nice laying groundwork for Generations. I also like what Troi had to say to Data about emotions, and how it later backfired.
  
  In response to Pete Miller's comments:
  
  Data is not referring to biological evolution, of which androids are incapable. He is referring to personal evolution, or personal growth (where the word "evolution" is used more loosely), which is something all humans are capable of as individuals, and something which Data is programmed to attempt. He speculates that he has personally evolved or grown to the point to where some kind of emotional programming was able to kick in. Now, perhaps one could take issue with his use of the word "evolve," but that if anything is a scriptwriter's error more than anything else.
  
  The phrase "they shouldn't be able to move faster than you or I" is indeed correct. I didn't know this myself until recently. It is short for "faster than you or I could." It only sounds incorrect because "than" sounds like a preposition, in which case the following pronouns would be oblique (becoming "me" or "him"), but in this case it is a conjunction, and the pronouns following remain nominative. This is getting kind of specific, I know, but just thought I'd set the record straight. Wikipedia has a good article on it.
  
  All in all, I tend to agree with our illustrious webmaster's rating of 4. Maybe a bonus point for good continuity.
  
• From J Reffin on 2009-08-06 at 2:54pm:
  To be fair to Picard, I don't think the Vulcan approach quite works as the plan had been to send Hugh back with a program that would wipe out the Borg Collective i.e. an act of genocide today to rid the Federation of an (apparently) implacable enemy that might (or might not) attack again at some undetermined point in the future.
  
  On the subject of admirals, I have to agree with other comments here - perhaps an example of the Peter Principle at work ?
• From Rob on 2009-09-08 at 4:43pm:
  While I agree that, as a rule, Starfleet Admirals are generally miserable old farts, I can't go along with the criticism of Admiral Nechayev in this episode for one reason: she's right. Sending Hugh back to the Borg without a virus or some means of destroying the Collective was Picard's biggest mistake as a captain. Whether or not it was the inhumane or immoral thing to do, Picard's job is to safeguard the Federation and it's citizens. If the price for doing that is destroying your greatest enemy (who the Federation is at war with...just because there hadn't been any Borg episodes or encounters for a while doesn't mean that there was peace between the Federation and the Borg), then it's well worth it. Nechayev was just making sure that if Picard had any more attacks of morality, he knew what he was supposed to do. I have no problem with that.
• From John on 2011-02-04 at 4:32am:
  The Borg *snore*
  
  Even the appearance of Lore can't save this episode. Or the next one. The one after that is pretty bad too.
  
  Just do yourself a favor and skip right to season 7, episode 4: Gambit, Part I
• From Axel on 2015-03-18 at 1:19am:
  You can agree with Nechayev about infecting the Borg, but doing so would've been completely out of character for Picard. I do like that he wrestles with the problem in hindsight during this episode, though. Still, we've seen a lot of admirals at Starfleet who don't share Picard's interpretation of what the organization stands for.
  
  The biggest flaw in this episode to me is having Picard beam down and be part of a search team while Crusher takes command of the ship. Don't get me wrong; it's great to see her take command and finally get some use for the character outside of sickbay. But wouldn't it make more sense for the ship's doctor to be ready to handle wounded members of the search parties in case they encounter dozens of hostile Borg? The whole scenario is a potential triage and yet they keep the doctor in orbit to run the ship while the captain ends up being taken hostage.
• From Mike on 2017-04-18 at 5:33am:
  "...I made four attempts to induce sexual desire by exposing myself to erotic imagery."
  
  How the hell did the TNG writers get the precise details of my evening ritual? Is there no such thing as privacy in this world?
  
  Anyway, I disagree with many reviews here. The main purpose of Starfleet isn't to safeguard the Federation. That's one of its jobs, but its primary mission is to seek out new life. It's in the opening narration, for crying out loud. What Picard and his crew encountered in TNG: I, Borg may have initially been part of the Collective, and therefore a mortal enemy of the Federation. But it became a sentient, individual life form. The crew also had good reason to believe that Hugh's individual awareness might destabilize the Collective, thus serving their purpose anyway. Nechayev, as usual, plays the role of someone who sees Starfleet purely as a defense force, and to hell with its scientific aims. But that's not what Starfleet is. Does that sometimes mean you make a decision that lets an enemy live to fight another day? Yes. Such is the nature of the Federation. This is touched on too in DS9 with Section 31's infecting of the Changelings. Oh yeah...spoiler alert.
  
  I like the continuity with TNG: I, Borg. But involving Lore took it a little too far. They should've focused on the Borg and how this affected them. Lore has always struck me as a little too villainous. They explain his emotions and his behavior, but it still just doesn't seem believable.
  
  Data, in this two-parter, seemed at first to be purely at the mercy of the emotion chip. But, having never experienced emotions and being so desperate to do so, I did find that part to be believable. Ultimately, he has to reconcile what he's doing with what he was originally programmed to be.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From JRPoole on 2008-04-02 at 9:31pm:
  This is a solid episode all the way through. I don't have much to add to this review, other than I'm glad Geordi is getting some serious screen time and character development at this point in the series.
• From wepeel on 2008-05-16 at 5:05pm:
  While tending to the Romulan in sick bay, Dr. Crusher tells Picard about her old-fashioned treatment, which involves "keep[ing] the fever down, try[ing] to let the body heal itself." However, a fever is not a sickness, it is the (human) body's way of burning out the germs/unknown entities within its system. The only way this would make sense...is if she was talking specifically about Romulan body structures (maybe they see fever as a disease), but it would be pure conjecture on the doctor's part because in "The Defector," it is hinted that very little is known about Romulan physiology.
• From thaibites on 2010-11-27 at 12:12am:
  I like most of this episode, especially the jarring, disoriented opening which launches us into a world of confusion. I love how Worf stands his ground under a lot of pressure, even though it was not the politically correct thing to do.
  The thing that ruined this episode for me was the way Geordi stupidly allows the Romulan to take him hostage AGAIN after the rock slide knocks the guy down. Think about it - this Romulan knocks Geordi out and takes him prisoner on some God forsaken planet on the edge of the neutral zone. When the rock slide knocked out the Romulan, any NORMAL person would either pick up one of the rocks and bash the guy's head in, or at least take the opportunity to take the phaser away. Geordi almost pays for his stupidity with his life. His actions are just too unbelievable. (I realize that if he did what I wanted him to do, the episode would totally change.)
• From CAlexander on 2011-04-14 at 12:36am:
  Not a favorite, but a solid episode. There was some definite drama with the confrontation with the Romulans, and parts of the Geordi/Romulan team-up. On the other hand, there was some hokiness there too, with Geordi acting rather stupid about trusting the Romulan.
  
  There was a lot of time spent on the Worf/prisoner plot, which I found surprisingly unmoving. Perhaps it is due to Worf's laconic nature – he just stands there and people talk at him. It bored me.
  
  - The reason for the Romulans breaking the neutral zone is rather opaque to me. It seems like a rather extreme action just to pick up a couple of officers.
  - The neutrino probe was one of the better bits of technobabble I've heard. It made sense to me how it was supposed to work, and seemed actually clever.
  - To wepeel: Although you are definitely correct about fever being a defense mechanism, an excessively high fever is not good, and controlling excessive fever is common practice.
  
• From Inga on 2012-01-14 at 3:23pm:
  Picard said that the Enterprise was going to escort the Romulan ship to the Neutral Zone, however, at the end of the episode, both ships are seen flying away in different directions from the planet.
• From Ggen on 2012-03-11 at 9:53pm:
  This was a rather exciting and dramatic episode, with some great "real stakes" content and considerations. The most notable points were "the first Federation/Romulan coventure" between Geordi and the Centurian, which was a pleasure to see develop and unfold. I loved how they were forced to help each other or die, a blind man propping up and led by a crippled man. But it wasn't all dire circumstances though - Geordi seemed to have also genuinely gotten through to his counterpart, made him see reason (as Picard later did with the Romulan captain).
  
  The part where the first Romulan survivor needs a transfusion from a reluctant Warf was also done well. This was a great little dilemma, and I loved how there was no predictable or happy outcome. Warf never warmed to the idea and Picard never ordered him, even though a life was at stake (and perhaps even a war) - and a life eventually lost. That's just great. I mean seriously, that's just great. Picard and Warf basically killed a man in cold blood (not quite, but still... rare enough of an event in Trek to warrant that kind of comparison).
  
  This tied well into the "brinksmanship" developments and made them rather realistic. There was no utterly villainous, singly culpable side here - the situation was not all the Romulans doing, even though they put the events in motion. As the Romulan capt. put it, Picard put territory over a man's life, ultimately leading to his death - so the Federation is itself guilty of contributing to the crisis (both sides involved, as in most real life military/political situations).
  
  - - -
  
  Detail: I liked how the Centurion's first words to his captain were "I told them nothing. I was not mistreated, but I told them nothing." The Romulan implication being that if a prisoner is alive and hasn't been tortured or beaten, then he must be a traitor or collaborator! Gotta love that Romulan military mind...
  
  Question: Interesting that Troi never approached Warf about the donor issue, and that Picard never asked her to. It would've been an obvious move with any other crew member. Funny how Warf's conflicted thoughts, feelings, and emotions are just assumed to be beyond Troi's capabilities!
• From dronkit on 2014-02-16 at 12:41pm:
  problem: Any vulcan crewman (several are seen in enterprise D) could have given blood for the romulan.
• From Daniel on 2014-07-04 at 4:27pm:
  I like this episode for its use of contrasting friend / foe interactions; the building trust between Geordi and the Romulan, and Worf's choice whether or not to donate blood to the Romulan. And I like that they have yet another opportunity to seed an alliance between Federation and Romulan, because the Romulan credits Georgi for helping him - as in other episodes where Romulans and Federation work together to overcome a crisis. One item I should point out is the gurney; they use a flatbed type of carrier - looks like a divan without legs - which they glide across the floor to carry the wounded Romulan from the transporter. I believe this is the first (and only) time the medical personnel have used a gurney. Usually, they transport the injured directly to Sick Bay.
• From lordcheeto on 2017-08-14 at 6:48am:
  Problem: it makes sense for Troi to be able to sense emotions from the occupants of nearby ships, but the Romulan ship was 6 hours away.
  
  I found Riker to be annoying in this episode.
  Raising his voice to O'Brien and the Captain.
• From oh bummer on 2021-07-23 at 10:07am:
  The moment when Picard tells the Romulan "He's dead" is so legendary. Love that interaction!

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-06-06 at 7:04am:
  Changed Premise: If the transporter can screen out bacteria and viruses, as mentioned in this episode, how could the young people who went on the field trip in the episode "Angel One" bring back a viral infection?
  
  - At the end of the show, La Forge calls out the new heading, "9-7-0 mark 3-1-8." The episode "Datalore" establishes that each of the numbers given in a heading cannot exceed 360.
• From Jens-Ivar Seland on 2009-05-22 at 4:34pm:
  Merritt Butrick, who plays T'Jon, also plays Kir'k son David Marcus, in Start Trek 2 and 3.
• From rpeh on 2010-06-20 at 5:33pm:
  The god-awful "Just say no" exchange between Wesley, Yar and Data is the single most preaching, sanctimonious scene in Star Trek. Apart from that, it's not a bad episode.
• From Nick Counts on 2010-11-08 at 8:19pm:
  Sobi is played by Judson Scott, who also played Kahn's right hand man in Wrath of Khan
• From CAlexander on 2011-03-14 at 1:00am:
  I found the Prime Directive issues raised in this episode very interesting. Picard's dilemma is much more abstruse than in the typical morality episode since the Prime Directive doesn't exist in the real world.
  
  Picard's approach is interesting because, if he hadn't been aware of the political situation, he clearly would have given the Ornarans their engineering parts and told them they were not really sick. So Picard is not merely being neutral, he is actively manipulating the two sides in order to return them to the situation they were in before the Enterprise arrived.
  
  The downside to the episode is that it strains credulity to believe that in 200 years, nobody on Ornara has ever realized he can't die from the plague or noticed what the Brekkans are doing. Perhaps the Brekkans control the government and media on Ornara, and anyone who realizes the truth is taken away by the secret police.
  
  Also, how can the Ornarans be so stoned that they can't even remember how to maintain the space ships that they believe are critical to their planetary survival? You would think the Brekkans, at least, would try to correct the problem when the freighters started breaking down. Oh well, those silly alien races can be pretty short-sighted sometimes.
• From a2a on 2012-02-11 at 11:08pm:
  The beginning of this episode made me realize something: I really enjoy how in TNG the Captain addresses and encourages the entire crew, and not just the senior officers (at least in these early episodes - for instance he did this also in Where No One Has Gone Before - and perhaps continues to throughout the series). It creates atmosphere and realism, and gives you a sense of the ship as a whole, with its full complement. When you see random crew men, they are no longer quite so random and forgettable, because they've been incorporated in some small but emotionally significant way into the main events. There's a real sense that the story is about them too, and not just about the main characters.
  
  I'm not so sure about DS9, but this was something that was sorely lacking in Voyager, with a few exceptions. With Voyager, after a while you kind of get the sense that the ship doesn't extend very far beyond the bridge, the captain's quarters, and sickbay (and later the astrometrics lab). (BTW this is why I so strongly disagreed with Kethinov and very much appreciated Neelix' short-lived television show - it gave the ship a kind of social *atmosphere* (and incorporated the rest of the crew and their minor dramas and events...).
  
  Anyway, I'm getting off topic. Little more to say about the actual episode. Quite a good one.
  
  A possible problem in the technical ineptness of the addicted population: I mean, they supplied their drug-dealers with all the means of survival and even prosperity, right? (Who themselves had no industry besides cultivating and producing the narcotic.) So... how inept could they really be? If they could provide for the "necessities of life" of both their own planet and another dependent one, is it really conceivable that they can't maintain their ships, can't produce replacement parts, don't have the necessary tools, and can't align their engine coils or whatever?
  
  The resolution of the episode hinges on this technical ineptness (on a societal scale, not just with this particular crew), and I'm not sure it really squares with their role as suppliers in the relationship...
• From 1ne Moon Circles on 2012-02-18 at 4:57am:
  I have done a ton of reading about Yar leaving STNG, I am still not convinced that Yar did not have a drug problem. If so the after school special scene between Yar and Young Crusher must have been so humiliating for her.
  
  I agree with what some others have said about the drug addicts, if they were industrious enough to supply the drug dealers with all the their posh comforts
  
  then could they really be so technicnly unaware and dim?
• From Daniel on 2014-07-09 at 5:06am:
  Just one comment for this episode... In the scene where the Enterprise approaches the star, and the bridge crew is blinded by the bright light, Picard orders them to "mask out the photosphere", and a big black dot appears on the view screen and is moved into place. With 24th century technology, a big black dot is the best they could come up with to filter out bright light??? Kind of lacking on the tech level here.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-07-26 at 8:08am:
  - As part of his odd behavior, Picard's replica reports for his physical one month early. Later, Dr. Crusher says the test results are identical to last year's physical. Why would the test results be identical? The aliens constructed the replica by scanning Picard, a Picard who was eleven months older than the last physical. Shouldn't the tests show that change?
  - At the end of the episode, Picard manages to communicate his desires to the bridge crew with a single look. With one glance he tells Riker that he wants the aliens imprisoned. It is what should be expected from the bridge crew of the flagship of the Federation. After all, these are the best of the best. So why haven't we seen this type of working together before?
  - The aliens seem genuinely surprised by Picard's anger over his kidnapping. When Picard calls kidnapping an immoral assault, the aliens merely respond that the whole concept of morality ia an interesting human characteristic. Yet, earlier in the episode, when Tholl asserted that they hadn't been mistreated, the cadet immediately responds, "We've been kidnapped! Locked in a room. You don't think that's mistreatment?" This makes sense until you realize that the cadet is one of the aliens. Evidently the aliens understand the mistreatment of kidnapping, because they said so through the cadet. So why do they play dumb at the end of the show?
• From JRPoole on 2008-04-10 at 9:40pm:
  The premise of this episode--sentient beings of different backgrounds and talents being brought kidnapped for psychological experiments--is cliched, both in the Star Trek franchise and sci fi as a whole. As mentioned above, the aliens responsible for the kidnapping are moronic at best. The other aliens, especially the Chalna, are also rather broadly drawn, though I'll admit they do look cool.
  
  The only thing keeping this from being a 1 is that the fake-Picard plot on the Enterprise is entertaining, and the end is genuinely funny.
• From Ggen on 2012-03-23 at 10:25pm:
  This is a pretty good episode with a handful of flaws and confusions... The first thing that comes to mind is the incomprehensibility of the Pulsar diversion and the resultant mutiny. I like the idea of a Picard replicant, and I likewise dig the idea of a mutiny on the Enterprise... but why in the world did the clone take the ship dangerously close to the Pulsar? For seemingly no reason?
  
  I may have answered my own question just now. I guess Picard's replicant was just an extension of the "authority experiments" carried out by the alien race... I think this could've been made more clear...
  
  Beside that, the ending was just a tad too cheesy. I mean, this supposedly advanced and exotic species, with no conception of morality or authority, suddenly "learns" all these lessons when Picard traps them in a forcefield? Picard practically grabs their ear like an irritated taskmaster, and they plead like children... Its a bit too extreme and too silly a reversal. (On the other hand, I like how the crew communicated non-verbally to set the snare).
  
  Another small thing I liked was the Beverly dinner scene. Chock full of subtle tensions, willingnesses, and reluctances, as well as the slightly bizarre disinhibition and detachment of the replicant.
  
  So, kind of strange and imperfect, but a pretty good 'sode, all in all.
  
• From Dys on 2012-07-22 at 12:02am:
  Crew members have no problem playing poker with Deanna Troi and her empathic capacity? It must be difficult to bluff.
• From Mike on 2017-04-19 at 3:55am:
  I think what bothered me most about this episode is that Fake Picard ordered ales for everyone in Ten Forward, but obviously doesn't have to pay for a single damn one of them because it's the 24th Century. So what's the point? Is he giving everyone permission to have an ale, a drink that's normally rationed? That's never made clear. If not, it's an empty gesture and everyone should be thanking the bartender and his replicator.
  
  All of this is to say that obviously I didn't find this episode very memorable overall. It was an interesting premise and it had some promise at first. But it just dragged on and ultimately led nowhere. Too much time was spent on Fake Picard's odd behavior, and on having the four "prisoners" accuse each other, all finally leading to somewhat buffoonish aliens conducting a study in power...not rewarding enough

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Pete Miller on 2006-03-31 at 9:38pm:
  I would give this episode a higher rating (7) because of the great Picard/Wesley interactions. It certainly has continuity with respect to the earlier episode focusing on them. It was quite touching to see Wesley open up to Picard and reveal how much he looks up to him. Picard's comment "I've always been proud of you" almost made me cry. The tear jerker son/father relationship between Picard and Wesley definitely gives this episode a better rating than 5.
• From Orion Pimpdaddy on 2006-05-08 at 5:53pm:
  Major problem:
  When they first reach the cave in this episode, they start talking about the possibility of it being a natural formation. However, there are clearly steps inside the cave, right at the entrance. How could they not notice? These are scientifically trained people too.
  
• From DSOmo on 2007-08-19 at 8:49pm:
  - Riker exposes the crew to almost lethal radiation by wrapping the shields around the barge. He says he does this to protect the barge from the asteroids. But the Enterprise doesn't reach the asteroid belt until the end of the show. Why not tow the barge until it reaches the asteroids and then extend the shields?
  - Isn't it unbelievable that the main computer can count down, to the second, when lethal exposure will occur? Is there really some magic length of time when, one second earlier, you will live although you may need treatment, but one second later, you will become ill with no hope of recovery? And is this time interval exactly the same for every member of the crew?
  - After the shuttle crash, Picard makes an arrow from scrap metal and places it on the ground. He says that the arrow will let rescuers know that they've headed for the mountains. When they start walking away from the craft, they aren't lined up with the arrow! In fact, are a good distance off.
• From Mark McC on 2008-12-27 at 12:39pm:
  They really should have made the asteroid belt a bit trickier to navigate. When the Enterprise finally arrives, there's a few very small asteroids floating slowly about and the ships sail through in a perfectly straight line! If it was that simple to traverse, they could have released the derelict at any time, letting inertia and the sun's gravitational pull do the rest.
  
  A very clear case of one strand of the episode being unrealistically stretched out in order to allow time for some character development in the other strand. The Wesley/Picard bits are excellent, but I wish they'd thought of a better sub-plot to keep the Enterprise out of action while they bonded.
• From CAlexander on 2011-04-20 at 2:49am:
  The main plot with Wesley is reasonable, but not great. Wesley really isn't a bad character if you ignore those "Wesley saves the ship" episodes. The secondary plot about the radioactive ship is totally pointless filler. If they have to have filler, why must the solution be "we need to boost power above 100% in order to escape terrible danger at the last second" yet again?
  - I totally agree with DSOmo's first two comments. It just doesn't make sense to talk about "lethal radiation exposure in 5 seconds" as if it were a well-defined binary concept like "warp core breach in 5 seconds."
  
• From Jeff Browning on 2011-09-30 at 9:39pm:
  Dirgo was certainly the most annoying guest character I have seen in TNG so far. Also, Picard's handling of him was spineless. He shows him far more deference and respect than he deserves. In fact I was aching for him to die. If this was DS9, Kira would have killed him in the first 5 minutes. When he finally got killed I shouted "Yes!!!!".
• From nokko on 2013-01-06 at 3:23pm:
  There were several factual errors in this episode that really gnawed on me. Just a couple of them to name a few:
  
  Why did they not give the barge a nudge to allow the momentum to move it forward toward the star, instead of getting a hazardous dose of radiation while slowly tugging it behind them? That was really idiotic if you ask me, but then again, if in the world of Star Trek when you're minutes away from lethal dose, you'll be absolutely fine (not, for example vomiting blood or unconcious) if you manage to clear the area before the time is up, why bother?
  
  Asteroid belts (at least our own) are actually sparse, and not dense at all. You don't have to manouver carefully amidst the asteroids, as it would an astronomical coincindence to hit one accidentally. Granted, we don't know much about the belts of distant star systems. Still, it sucks as a popular assumption.
• From Chris on 2020-03-27 at 1:57am:
  This episode does not make a lot of sense to me at all. Some garbage scow gravitationally captured by a planet and is now under threat of radiation. Whaaa?!?
  
  I'm pretty sure there is no radiation more dangerous than that from a star. I've never understood how planets ('M' class) or starships can be at risk from any form of radiation in space.
  
  EThe first time, it was in TOS when Kirk bluffs the Romulans that when they use their 'corbamite' device, the space where they were was to be avoided for the next four solar years.
  
  Now, on to my rant...!
  God, I hate Wesley Crusher... this is one of the most vomit-inducing episode in the show! I know that Wil Wheaton hates him too which somehow makes me tolerate his snotty bull-s__ and just plain stomach-churning character easier.
  
  His nose is so far up Picard's ass that if he made a sharp turn it would break.
  I can't imagine how the writers thought he was a good character to have as a major one!
  
  I have only tolerated any episode he is in as long as he isn't the center of attention but otherwise, I just want to shoot myself as soon as I see him! It might have been cool if in the midst of his idiocy he was absorbed by the Borg instead of Picard.
  I wish Worf would have killed him in the most horrible manner!
  
  Thank you for your support! ;-)

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-09-03 at 8:59pm:
  - At the end of "Redemption," Worf was leaving to serve as weapons officer on Gowron's ship. Yet this episode opens with Worf serving under his brother Kurn on Kurn's ship. Did Worf get a demotion?
  - Worf's brother claims that the bar is filled both with men loyal to Duras and those loyal to Gowron. At one point, men loyal to Duras attack Worf in the bar. They knock him unconscious and drag him out. Why doesn't anyone come to Worf's aid?
  - Sela gives Picard an accurate recounting of the facts of "Yesterday's Enterprise." Specifically, she knows that her mother came from twenty-two years in the future. If the Romulans knew that Yar came from twenty-two years in the future, it is inconceivable that they would kill her. Yar was a tactical officer with in-depth knowledge of weapons systems. The Romulans had unlimited time to torture her until she cooperated. It makes no sense for them to throw away a resource like that just because she tried to escape.
  - After the sisters of Duras fail to convince Worf to join their cause, Sela appears on a viewscreen and gives them new orders. Worf calmly looks at the screen before they lead him away. Is Worf still groggy from the beating in the bar? The viewscreen shows the face of a woman he called a friend - a woman he thought died years ago. His reaction should have been similar to Picard's: shock and amazement.
  - Picard's entire plan for exposing Romulan involvement hinges on the successful detection of cloaked Romulan supply ships. The successful detection of the supply ships rests solely on the blockade using active tachyon beams. When the main computers on both the Enterprise and Sela's ship show the blockade, the graphics show lines connecting the Starfleet ships. If the Starfleet ships are using beams, they've got problems. The Romulans could detect the gaps and fly through them. To get the type of density they need, the Starfleet ships would have to be clustered very closely together. And if the ships are clutered that closely together, then the Romulans could simply fly around the blockade. Picard and the main computers on both the Enterprise and Sela's ship must be confused. The Starfleet ships must be sending out "waves" of tachyon emissions. This would fill in the gaps.
  - At one point, O'Brien tells Picard, "The detection net is picking up activity from the Romulans ... fifteen cloaked ships spreading out along the border." O'Brien says this before the Romulans cross into Klingon space. If the blockade could only detect a cloaked ship when it crossed a "beam," how does O'Brien know that there are fifteen cloaked ships getting ready to cross?
  - When Sela speaks with Picard, she asks why twenty-three Starfleet ships lie on the Romulan border. If there are twenty-three ships in the blockade, why do only seventeen show up on the viewscreens both on the Enterprise and Sela's ship?
  - After the Romulans flood the border with tachyon emissions, Picard orders the ships to fall back. Data realizes that the Romulan ships might be detectable for a short time. He gets to work immediately, disobeying a direct order from Picard. Aside from the fact that everything in Data's programming supports his full compliance with orders from a superior officer - Data's disobedience is totally unnecessary. In the time that Data spends arguing with his first officer about Picard's orders, Data could simply say, "Data to Captain Picard. There may be another way to detect the Romulans. Stand by." Data's disobedience is simply a plot contrivance to add tension.
  - Worf's resignation from Starfleet was a major component of the cliff-hanger of the finale for the fourth season. Then, just before this episode concludes, Worf turns to Picard and says, "Request permission to return to duty, sir." Picard says ok, and they leave together! That's it? That's all? A person can resign from Starfleet and all they have to do is say, "Oops, I've changed my mind," and everything's fine?
• From Bernard on 2008-05-26 at 12:09pm:
  I have to say that after such a great buildup in the first part in terms of klingon political intrigue what we get in this concluding part is an episode that deals mostly with a romulan/federation confrontation and a rather out of place storyline for data. Surely we're all thinking 'lets see klingons!!' all the way through the other scenes. Judging by the average scoring others no doubt disagree with me.
  
  Solid episode, but such a disappointment for me considering how well the first part sets things up.
• From Jeff Browning on 2011-10-02 at 3:49pm:
  Problem: During the battle among the three Klingon Warbirds (one of which is commanded by Kurn, Worf's brother), Worf announces that the aft shields are gone. Immediately afterwards, the ship takes several direct phaser hits on the aft section. It would have been totally destroyed without shields. However, the shots are clearly deflected off the Warbird's aft shields. Which is of course inconsistent with the statement Worf just made.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-10-06 at 7:09am:
  - As the Enterprise warps toward Devidia II, Geordi tells Guinan about finding Data's head in a cave on Earth. Guinan replies, "That's why the Enterprise is being sent back to Earth." The Enterprise has already been to Earth. It is on its way to another planet when she makes this comment.
  - When Guinan asks Picard if he is going on the away team mission, he replies that it is standard Starfleet policy for him not to go on away team missions. Starfleet policy must have changed. It is Riker, not Starfleet, who has made a unilateral decision that captains should not go on away teams.
• From CAlexander on 2011-03-31 at 3:45am:
  I liked Data's encounter with 19th century Earth. It plays out nicely. I also liked the mystery of Data's head, and the weird encounters with the phase discriminator. The one negative for me was that I felt everyone's reactions to Data's death were overacted.
  - The ante seemed rather large compared to the size of Data's stakes. Doesn't give him much room to make decisions and use his poker skill. Was he fortunate, or did he cheat?
  
• From Cal on 2017-02-24 at 11:04am:
  Starfleet had had the no captains on away missions rule for quite some time. Riker just enforced it more.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Whoa Nellie on 2007-04-15 at 6:56pm:
  This episode is a perfect 10! If you're going to have someone who is not a Trek fan or even a sci-fi fan watch an episode of TNG, this is the episode to have them watch. Like the TOS's 'Trouble with Tribbles,' Qpid is pure, unmitigated fun! Patrick Stewart's Picard doing Errol Flynn's Robin Hood, you just have to love that! Picard and Vash have a very compelling 'battle of wills' dynamic to their romantic relationship. The combination of Picard/Vash and Q is unbeatable. Star Trek at its character driven best!
• From DSOmo on 2007-08-26 at 8:15am:
  - When Q barges into Vash's room and discovers a rescue note to Riker, Q calls for the guards. The guards rush in, grab Vash, and march her out of the room. She's already in a cell in the tower. Just where are they taking her?
  - When Q returns the crew to the Enterprise, Picard immediately notices that Vash is missing. Picard taps his communicator and asks the computer to locate Vash. The computer replies that Vash is not on board the Enterprise. I thought the computer used the communicators to locate people. Vash doesn't have a communicator. So how does the computer know Vash isn't on board?
• From Dio on 2009-01-02 at 9:35pm:
  I had to rate this episode 10. Vash is a great character, representing both romance and adventure, so she automatically gives this episode 5 points. Q is always fantastic and adds another 2. The last 3 come from the humor, production and continuity.
  
  I wish Vash had made one more appearance in TNG. maybe this could have been a 2 parter with the second episode focusing more on Picard and Vash before Q whisks her away...
• From John on 2010-12-31 at 4:49pm:
  Worf saying "Nice legs. For a human." -- priceless.
• From CAlexander on 2011-05-27 at 12:45am:
  This episode feels aimless. Q pops in and argues with Picard, then puts him in some random situation for no apparent reason, then they act out part of an old movie. I did, however, like some of the funny bits, like Picard being embarrassed by Vash and Worf's reaction to becoming a merry man.
  - It is cool that Vash tries to use guile to manipulate the imaginary characters, which puzzles Q since he knows, as do we, that the Enterprise crew would be too principled for such a thing.
  
• From Mike Chambers on 2013-11-18 at 5:35am:
  Pointless, boring, cheesy episode with a few laughs scattered about. The only bad episode of TNG starring Q. This one gets a big fat ZERO from me. Vash is the worst TNG guest star. Even worse than the traveler, that creepy interdimensional space-pedo.
• From Axel on 2015-03-17 at 10:57pm:
  Either Q endowed Picard's team with special swordfighting skills for the purpose of this fantasy, or fencing is apparently a top past time for most of the senior officers :) I could see Picard himself learning to fence, and obviously Worf has a natural weapon proficiency. But LaForge? How the hell did he so good with a blade?
  
  Anyway, this is a pretty amusing episode. It was good to see Vash again as she is the perfect woman to trip up Picard a bit. There are a lot of scenes I also enjoyed in this one, aside from the ones listed by the OP. For some reason, the scene where Riker is fighting one of the soldiers while Q is munching on a piece of chicken really cracked me up.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-09-02 at 7:26pm:
  When the episode opens, Geordi flies through space in a shuttle. Geordi asks the computer how long until he reaches his destination. The computer replies three hours. How long would it take for the Enterprise to fly over at warp 7 and drop him off? Why travel three, or six, or nine hours in a subwarp shuttle, when the Enterprise could have you there in a matter of minutes? It is a plot device to separate a character from the Enterprise or force a group of characters to be together for extended time.
• From JRPoole on 2008-06-27 at 1:42am:
  I am also quite fond of this episode for the reasons mentioned above. The Manchurian Candidate-esque plot is interesting, and the continuity with past Klingon soap opera episodes is great. My only quibble is that the reset button gets pushed with regards to LaForge's brainwashing aftermath. I find it a tad unbelievable that a Star Fleet officer who was brainwashed into nearly killing a Klingon governor can simply go back to duty after a few counseling sessions. But then again, how many times has Data malfunctioned and nearly killed everyone?
  
  Poor Geordi. He's almost as tragic as Beverly. The only time he has any luck with the ladies is when an evolving alien endows him with artificial confidence. His dream woman shows up and busts him for fantasizing about her on the holodeck. He transforms into an alien species through a process which killed several of his friends. And now he gets brainwashed by the Romulans. Picard goes to Risa, gets laid, and has an adventure. Geordi doesn't even get to set foot on the planet.
• From DIo on 2009-01-05 at 12:34am:
  I wasn't as impressed by this episode. The opening scene was enjoyable, Levar Burton is great. However, I found Geordi's disconnection/clueless routine to be a little frustrating. Why did the Romulans have to subject him to horrors in order to 'brainwash' him? Why can't they just directly feed orders to his brain?
  
  I also didn't enjoy the frequent cuts to the purple/green visor view: once is enough, we know they are watching. I did enjoy Picard's Klingon cursing though! Overall, a below average episode for me. For Geordi, I prefer Booby Trap, Galaxy's Child or Aquiel a lot more.
• From Orion Pimpdaddy on 2010-02-10 at 8:30pm:
  The Romulans in this episode are scary, cold-blooded, deceptive, intelligent, and dark. It should be used as the bible for designing all Romulans in future TV shows and movies.
  
  And yes, they should always have hair.
• From Nick Counts on 2011-02-24 at 4:05am:
  The scene where Geordi and Data investigate the phaser rifle horrifies the engineer in me. Does anything about live firing an energy weapon within feet of the warp core seem safe? Not to mention the conspicuous lack of safety barriers or precautions for personnel. I know they try not to build sets unless absolutely necessary, but it still makes me cringe to watch.
• From Bob on 2012-05-08 at 8:20pm:
  This is one of my favorite Star Trek TNG episodes.
• From Mike Chambers on 2013-11-16 at 4:42am:
  This episode never did much for me. Since when does just forcing people to see really horrible things for a few days make them forget what happened, kill friends without question, and think they were on a peaceful vacation with exquisitely detailed memories of it? Too much suspension of disbelief required for me.
  
  I'd give this one a 3 or 4. Kethinov gives this one a 7 and The Drumhead a 1? Wow, really have to disagree with those two ratings!
• From Axel on 2015-03-30 at 5:16am:
  Yeah, the phaser rifle test fire in main engineering messed with me as well. A shuttle bay would've been a better place to test something like that.
  
  As for Geordi's brainwashing, they just showed the part where the Romulans are demonstrating how they can control what he sees, measure his responses, and send information to his brain. I'm sure they did more than just show LaForge a few terrifying images in order to complete the process. It likely would've taken days to reprogram his brain.
  
  This is probably the best La Forge episode, overall. The plot, his acting, etc. It all comes together well, and is nicely woven in with Worf's arc and an intriguing Klingon-Romulan storyline too.
  
  
• From Dstyle on 2015-06-14 at 7:33pm:
  I'm a sucker for episodes that show Data confidently taking charge and taking command. He's always such a naive Pinocchio figure that I often forget that he's second-in-line behind Riker in the command structure, and the scene where he confidently ordered Worf to detain Geordi was, for some reason, really cool to me.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-06-09 at 7:52am:
  - Why does the Enterprise just hang in space waiting for Picard to return in the shuttle? Why doesn't the Enterprise warp over to get him? It can travel much faster than a shuttle, and as it turns out, speed is of the essence. As soon as Picard reaches the bridge, he sets a course for the Neutral Zone at warp 8!
  - When Offenhouse wanders onto the bridge, Riker orders Security to have him removed. The Security guys do rush over and grab him, but then they get mesmerized by the decloaking Romulan ship. What kind of military discipline is this?
  - While Riker is talking to the recently thawed humans, Picard pages him. Riker gets up from his chair, walks over to a companel, touches it, and responds. Riker is notorious for not touching anything when it comes to communications. And why would he get up and walk over to a companel when he could just slap his chest? Obviously it is a plot contrivance to allow Offenhouse to see how they work so that later in the episode he can bother Picard.
• From carsonist on 2009-03-28 at 2:14pm:
  I was proud of myself for recognizing that the Romulan you see on the left is the actor who later plays Gul Dukat. He still has the same speech patterns.
  
  In all, a good episode.
• From onlinebroker on 2009-09-21 at 10:39am:
  Best episode in season 1, but the end feels a bit weird. So the romulans didnt destroy the outpost, who did? Nobody cares and they just leave? Weird.
• From thaibites on 2009-12-03 at 4:05am:
  BORING...we needed less losers from the past and more Romulans.
• From Roland on 2010-04-16 at 9:42pm:
  This episode, IMO, sets the stage for the introduction of the Borg
• From rpeh on 2010-06-20 at 8:58pm:
  One of the most overrated episodes. The whole thing is so rushed, you have to assume it was originally intended to be a two-parter and got cut down later on. Beyond comic relief, the frozen humans offer nothing and the only purpose of the Romulans is to come out with that awful "we're back" line.
  
  In brief: the humans serve no real purpose; the Romulans serve no real purpose... so what is the purpose of this episode?
• From Bernard on 2010-06-21 at 6:36pm:
  I agree completely with rpeh. This episode is decidedly average. There is some talk of the palpable tension when the Romulans make their appearance? Well someone must have forgotten to tell me about it because there is little tension in this episode about 21st century humans trying to deal with waking up 300 years later. While that is an interesting premise it it very rushed and wasted on this episode. As is the reintroduction of the Romulans. They do not threaten, or hint at aggression. There simply is no 'game of chess'. They simply appear near the end to huge hype and there is no payoff at all.
  
  Overall I would say the fan rating of 6.5 is a pretty good indicator, I'd give it a 5 or 6.
• From linearA on 2010-09-03 at 4:58am:
  I was bothered by the preachy talk about how people in the 24th century no longer fear death. Still, I was able to overlook the episode's shortcomings, and I consider this the first top-notch episode.
• From CAlexander on 2011-03-28 at 3:49am:
  I don't rate this episode very highly, but it did have its moments. When I first watched this episode, and saw the huge new Warbird uncloak in front of the Enterprise, I thought it was pretty cool. The Romulan plot had some definite suspense. But most of the episode was dedicated to the cryogenics plot, which totally clashed with the Romulan plot; the suspense was broken up by silly 20th century antics. Also, the suspense is something of an unfulfilled promise. Of course it sounds interesting to say "The Romulans disappeared mysteriously, nobody has seen them for 50 years, and now they are back!" It sounds like a teaser to make you watch a TV show. But when nothing interesting is really ever made of the premise, it is hard to give it any brownie points.
  
  Some of the 24th-20th century clashes are interesting as far as how they develop and explain the Star Trek universe. Picard's statement about how the purpose of life in the 24th century is self-improvement, not survival or making money, is particularly memorable to me. But primarily the screen time was spent with the 20th century humans annoying the Enterprise crew, which I didn't find entertaining.
  
• From Jeff Browning on 2011-10-20 at 3:17pm:
  This episode fleshes out one of the main themes of TNG: the idea that life is no longer about acquisition of material wealth, power, fame, or any of the other external status symbols that we strive for, but is instead about internal things: Intellectual, artistic and spiritual pursuits.
  
  That is, as long as the pursuits are not in the form of organized religion, which is generally panned by TNG. But I digress.
  
  The idea that the Federation manages without a concept of currency is commonly expressed in TNG, as it is here. This seems rather preposterous, frankly. Currency is required for any kind of reasonable economy, and in places like Utopia Plenetia we see huge works going on. How is this managed? How does the Federation manage to obtain valuable commodities like dylithium from other races without some form of currency? In Voyager where the crew is frequently running short on stuff, they resort to barter, a rather inefficient way of organizing economic transactions.
  
  The Ferengi certainly have a currency in the form of gold-pressed latinum, but this is a symbol of how they are less evolved.
• From Helium on 2012-02-19 at 5:46am:
  I think the next time I get a sales pitch from my ISP attempting to sign me onto a TV contract I will quote Data "That particular form of entertainment [will
  
  become] extinct in the year 2040". I really hope he is right. I hope on demand video and OLED screens 3D or whatever is coming will evolve to make TV (and pushing ADS 24/7) completely obsolete. I also hope that our species does in fact survive the 21st century. I often think that with so many Offenhouses, perhaps we will evolve into the Ferangi or perhaps even the Borg (although that would take much longer than a mere 300 years).
  
  Anyhow I am getting slightly off topic. I LOVE this episode. There is so much to ponder. So many reasons to fall in love (again) with the United Federation of Planets. It makes me want to raise the flag, go to Starfleet Academy and put on a tight fitting jump suit. Alas I will not live that long however, after viewing this episode one can only hope we live up to our potential as a species. Let us all prove to Riker we can indeed survive the 21st century.
• From doulos23 on 2013-12-24 at 6:32am:
  I believe at the core of whether this episode is liked or not has a lot to do with one's personal agreement with the Roddenberry-ian philosophies or not. It is no secret that Gene's vision was of a techno socialist Utopia. It is an easier pill to swallow the pedantic lecturing of so-called "unevolved" selfish 20 Century man if one agrees with the "promise" of such a future - and one is forgiving of Anvilicious programming. I love Trek, but caricatures are straw men no matter your personal worldview.
• From Amine on 2015-05-15 at 2:00pm:
  What's with the judgment of cryonics? What a condescending reaction they all had, especially Riker with "no redeeming qualities"... how dehumanizing! There is a contradiction in them doing medicine at all and then scorning people for staying alive in this way. And Picard essentially wanted Data to murder those people in the beginning of the episode. Bizarre.
• From tigertooth on 2017-03-18 at 5:41am:
  As others have indicated, I felt the two plot strands didn't mesh together well and neither was very satisfying. We spend most of our time with the unfrozen people, but then never really resolve their plot. Instead the climax goes to the Romulan plot, but given the fact that the destroyed colonies are never mentioned again, that's unsatisfying as well.
  
  There were elements in both plots that could have been developed better and made into good episodes (probably separate episodes), but as it is, this is kind of a mess. Not terrible by any means -- probably in the top half of 1st season episodes -- but not that good.
• From Mike on 2017-03-29 at 4:43am:
  Riker: "It's a pity we can't take them ourselves. Having them on board is like a visit from the past."
  
  Picard: "That would take us in the wrong direction. Our mission is to go forward..."
  
  This is an odd thing to hear Picard say when you realize, after watching the entire series, that he almost became an archaeologist and it's still his main hobby.
  
  What is believable though is the behavior of the 20th century humans. My favorite is Offenhouse, only because he represents so many of the things you hope humanity will indeed eventually move away from as imagined by Star Trek.
  
  The impending encounter with the Romulans looms over this episode nicely, building tension that doesn't disappoint. Best of the first season by far.
• From Axel on 2018-06-13 at 12:08am:
  Re: Jeff Browning
  
  Currency and exchange are based on the idea that you have a scarce amount of one resource or product, and abundance of another. While this includes luxury items, its foundation is necessities: clothing, food, shelter, energy, medicine, etc. All economic models are based on the notion that these items are scarce, finite, and require labor to obtain.
  
  In the future Earth (though not all of the Federation), the idea is that there no longer is scarcity when it comes to necessities. Food and clothing can be replicated. Energy is presumably all drawn from renewable sources. Technology has made medicine, transportation, communication, and shelter all readily available. Automation has replaced human labor in many areas.
  
  If all necessities are taken care of and nobody risks going cold or starving, then what will people do with their time? Will they sit around, lazily mooching from their Eden, growing fat, dumb and happy? H.G. Wells "Time Machine" believed so, which is why you had some humans eventually evolving into the Eloi. Star Trek believes something different. It imagines that, free of the pressure to compete for resources or hoard wealth, people will pursue those interests and goals they otherwise would have: history, art, music, science, etc. As we see from the Picard and Sisko families, some people like to live the old fashioned way, resulting in restaurants and wine that everybody enjoys. Others want to explore the galaxy...hence Starfleet. The collective goals and ambitions of humanity benefit the entire civilization. Is it lofty? Perhaps...but then again, it's not hard to imagine replication technology, automated labor, and renewable energy eventually providing many of our needs even within sight of our own time. And how many people are stuck in jobs they hate because the job market doesn't reward them them for doing what they've always wanted? Would those people honestly sit around and watch TV all day, if they didn't have to work? Perhaps some would...but I do believe enough would pursue something that you could base a civilization on it.
  
  I know I'm going off on a tangent here, but I get the idea that's what this episode is trying to say. The 20th century human Offenhouse can't contemplate how this new economy works, and Picard tries to offer him a summary of the path he can take. It's the Roddenberry vision: a future where every kid learns how to read, none go hungry, and there's no need for money. It's either that, or we end up like the Ferengi :)
• From C on 2019-01-13 at 10:16pm:
  Wonderful episode.
  
  It’s interesting that some commenters here apparently have less trouble suspending disbelief related to the speed of light than the necessity of currency.
  
  Highlights why this episode is so good. Humans have a long way to go before we’ll be starfleet material.
• From jeffenator98 on 2019-07-19 at 5:26pm:
  An average episode at best. 5/10

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Vlad on 2006-04-02 at 3:04am:
  I find it very interesting that DS9 is being called "the most human Star Trek series" even though that the regular cast features the least human characters. This applies here too. This episode is one of the most human episodes of TNG and the amazing thing is that the humanity comes from a creature who is as far from human as it gets.
  
  The Dowwd's dilemma is something, which I think many of us have had to deal with one way or another: How far would you go for the woman you love? Superbeing or not, love makes us do what we never thought we would.
  
  Am I giving him absolution? Absolutely not! Genocide is the worst imaginable crime. Like Picard said: "We are not qualified to be your judges!" But if you ask me if I would do the same if I were in his place... Why do I identify with this being, more so than with any other character I've seen on Star Trek? Why does his pain move my insides so deeply?
  
  This episode is a personal favourite of mine so I give it 10 out of 10! Call me biased if you wish!
  
• From DSOmo on 2007-07-06 at 7:36pm:
  - Kevin perceives Troi is sensing he may not be human from the Enterprise, so he sends music to confuse her. He creates a warship that attacks and retreats from the Enterprise. He is able to control the warship's acceleration to maintain a constant distance from the Enterprise. Kevin destroyed an entire race, wherever they happened to be in the galaxy. Yet every time an away team beams down to Rana IV, Kevin acts surprised. How can Kevin be surprised by the presence of the Enterprise? He could sense the Husnak throughout the galaxy, surely he could sense the Enterprise in orbit around his planet.
  - An instant after Kevin begins to "transport" himself to Troi's quarters, Geordi turns and looks at the turbolift. This is before Kevin fully disappears. How did Geordi know that Kevin would use that particular turbolift?
• From Evan on 2008-05-26 at 1:54pm:
  I agree with JRPoole... I also suspect the arm sling at the end is a bluff. As for the comment about the universal translator, it's just using the same implant as the communicator.
  
  I also like to think that Picard doesn't think he's calling Liko's bluff, but is actually willing to die.
• From Wes on 2011-03-24 at 5:50pm:
  There were some things about this episode that seemed quite familiar after watching TOS The Man Trap. What do you think? Kethinov?
• From CAlexander on 2011-04-04 at 2:17pm:
  I've always liked this episode. However, along the lines of what DSOmo was noticing, Uxbridge seems to be some sort of idiot-savant superbeing. How the heck can his power manage to find and kill every Husnock, when he has such a difficult time even keeping track of the Enterprise?
  
  
• From Ggen on 2012-03-08 at 10:22pm:
  If it wasn't for the dramatic epic revelation at the very end, this episode would've been quite thoroughly lost... but the ending redeems it to a considerable degree.
  
  The premise with the music box and infectious telepathic tune starts off rather neat and eerily mysterious, but ends up being a bit over the top and somewhat silly.
  
  One thing I did like was how something like 1/2 way through the episode, you still really have no clue what the heck's going on. Everything's up in the air and it's not at all clear which way things are going to go. We know things are not as they seem, but what's actually up is quite a mystery.
  
  The way this is actually resolved and revealed is both a bit disappointing but, at the very very end, at least partially redeeming. The long-winded exposition seems sort of lame, just a poor way to resolve all the building tension...
  
  Thankfully we have this rather unexpected revelation: "All Husnock. Everywhere."
  
  That brings the whole matter to a whole new level, a different order of magnitude. As Picard says, "We don't even have the legal definitions to fit this crime" (something to that effect). In short, ep. is a mixed bag, redeemed by taking its premise to a rather extreme conclusion.
• From Dominic on 2012-10-29 at 5:00am:
  I completely agree with the fact that this seemed like a really stupid episode until the ending.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Pete Miller on 2006-04-22 at 11:55pm:
  I don't see it as much a slap in the face of conservatism as a slap in the face of reason. All the arguments for preserving their "society" are flawed. The enterprise had to interfere, or else the colony would have been wiped out. So THAT wouldn't have helped them, to just fly away. And you can't just make the people stay on the colony if they don't want to. They have their basic human rights to choose freely, and who's to say that their path is not the right one for their society? The idea that the prime directive of the federation would support the abandonment of their "society" because it might "upset the balance" warrants a reexamination of the prime directive. Just what is the prime directive supposed to protect if not human rights?
• From DSOmo on 2007-09-25 at 4:08am:
  - Geordi comments to Hannah Bates, "I haven't had any sleep in so long my eyelids feel like I have lead weights attached to them." Isn't this a rather odd statement for Geordi to make? First of all, Geordi is blind. Second, Geordi's visor pumps the information directly into his brain through little attachments near his temples. It doesn't matter whether his eyes are open or closed!
  - I have read, the creators spelled the name of the actor who played Aaron Conor wrong when this episode first aired. In the credits he was listed as "John Synder." All subsequent reruns list the actor correctly as "John Snyder."
• From djb on 2008-04-04 at 6:41pm:
  I thought this was a great episode for many reasons.
  
  This episode is really a human-centered drama with a sci-fi backdrop, much like the series in general, to a certain extent. Fundamental questions about humanity are well-explored, and all of them come down to the basic concept of discovering what it means to be human, a discovery I don't think will ever end.
  
  This colony and its founders have worked so hard to create a utopia, a perfect island amid the chaos of the universe, and this episode makes a very good case that this kind of endeavor is ultimately quixotic and unrealistic. To a large extent, the inhabitants of this colony have forgotten what it means to be human: it's true that the elimination of suffering is a noble undertaking, but at what cost? The drive to explore the unknown, the uncertainty about life, the challenges and struggles and setbacks that define and shape our existence, are all lost, and in my opinion, all but destroy the essence of the human experience. These people have become, for most intents and purposes, automatons.
  
  What's more, the society is so rigidly planned that it's more delicate than a snowflake! The loss of just a small percentage of the population will supposedly upend their entire existence? Clearly, the founders of this colony didn't seem to regard adaptability as a very important aspect of their perfect humans.
  
  This episode hearkened back to two other episodes that dealt with very similar scenarios: The Ensigns of Command and First Contact. The similarity with the former is obvious. A small human colony on a planet is in danger, and might need to evacuate. They are so attached to their way of life that some would choose a losing fight, or in this case, a devastating earthquake. Either way you're dealing with people so set in their ways that they'd choose the possibility of death over having to redefine their existence in a different setting.
  
  The similarities to First Contact mainly lie in the character of Hannah, who, like Mirasta in First contact, is a brilliant scientist who has always desired something more. It was clear to me pretty early on that Hannah would want to leave the colony. Also, as in First Contact, there is an almost comically overdone opposition: first in Krola (who attempts to martyr himself to prevent his planet from making contact with aliens) and now in Martin, whose short-sightedness is appalling.
  
  I don't mind these similarities at all; while it's true that in the setting of space exploration, one will find innumerable different situations, it's also true that a few similar themes will crop up from time to time. Permutations, if you will.
  
  The only thing I didn't like at all was Picard's take on it at the end. This is either poor writing, or Picard acting strangely. His acting as if it were a Prime Directive issue is simply not correct.
  
  Aside from that, I liked the little plot of Troi's tryst with the colony's leader; you can see her mixed feelings about it very well. Those Betazoid all-black irises are intense! I also liked that while there were numerous subplots, all of them were integral parts of the central plot.
  
  One aspect of this show and many other sci-fi shows that I don't like is the mechanistic take on consciousness. This series doesn't do it nearly quite as much as many others, and there are a few examples where it breaks out of that paradigm a bit and explores the possibility that maybe, just maybe, there is more to a human than the sum of his/her DNA and upbringing. The soul, perhaps? I think this episode hinted at that subtly but nicely.
  
  So, good show.
• From Neil on 2009-10-13 at 7:29am:
  What ruined the whole episode for me was the protestations that losing 20 people would destroy a colony of thousands. It's patently absurd, that this 'designer' colony would be constructed so rigidly - are we to assume that a small meteorite that punctured the shield and killed 5 people would cause a catastrophe as well?
  
  The original architects would have included *some* flexibility in people's choice of jobs and allowed them to cross-train just in case.
• From curt on 2010-04-05 at 3:26pm:
  Well I do enjoy reading you reviews, i just wonder if you even like the show at all? I have no problem with that or anything, but I think your way to hard in your reviews.
• From CAlexander on 2011-03-30 at 3:52am:
  An OK episode, but certainly not the best of its type. I wasn't that impressed with the dilemma of the colonists. They keep insisting they cannot survive change. But that is what all cultures say when they are afraid of change! Who knows what would really happen to them. And as others have commented, it doesn't make any difference, the Enterprise had no real choice about what to do.
  
  In response to problems: I thought that Geordi said he was improving the efficiency by 300%. This doesn't violate the laws of physics, it simply means quadrupling the efficiency. Consider a modern car, whose fuel efficiency is measured in km/L. Say you have an old car which gets 5 km/L. Then you upgrade it to get 20 km/L. That is a 300% increase in efficiency.
  
• From Patrick on 2012-01-01 at 6:49pm:
  Magnificent concept, only slightly less magnificent story-writing, barely competent execution in script and filming. Too bad. And that scene with the Chopin playing in the background as Troi and what's-his-name decide to taste forbidden fruit--UGH.
  
  So much promise I wish someone would rewrite and re-film; yes, still using the Chopin prelude (what a great idea that was).
• From Keefaz on 2017-01-12 at 9:25pm:
  Some of the worst dialogue so far.
• From Mike on 2017-03-30 at 7:10am:
  I thought they were going to convince Hannah at the end there, but she stood her ground. I actually thought her scenes with Geordi were some of the best parts of the episode. Having her claim fake damage to the biosphere in order to get the colony to leave was a nice twist as well. Geordi and the Enterprise present her with a dilemma she's never had to face. Ever the scientist, she opts to leave. Her sabotage is a pretty extreme action, but then again she was bred to be a physicist, not a decision-maker.
  
  As for Picard, I agree his reflections at the end are an odd way to wrap this up. There's no conflict with the Prime Directive here. And I thought Picard was the guy who shows some flexibility in applying it anyway, rather than being dogmatic about it.
  
  Since the Eugenics Wars are part of this Star Trek timeline/universe, it may have been interesting to end it by making reference to the dangers of selective breeding and genetic manipulation. You'd think people in the 24th century would be influenced by that, and after Picard's initial reaction to their society, I thought that's the direction it was going. That way, it ends with questions about whether such a society is possible or desirable, not whether ending its isolation and taking a few people away from it will be ruinous.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Ivan on 2006-07-29 at 10:21pm:
  During the scene where Fajo is provoking Dataabout his not capable of killing someone, I kept shouting 'Kill him!'. The Data in this episode shows some kind of 'emotion' but in an android sort-of-way. 9/10
• From DSOmo on 2007-07-29 at 8:41am:
  - When Data begins his final run to the Enterprise in the opening scenes, he reports his progress to Geordi. After the crew of the trader ship stuns Data, his captors talk freely about the components of Data's body. Isn't it very convenient that Data's communicator happened to shut off at just the right time so Geordi wouldn't hear their discussions? Wouldn't an open communications line be standard in these types of dangerous situations?
  - The opening shot shows the Enterprise almost head to head with Fajo's ship. That means that Data must execute two 180-degree turns to get from Fajo's shuttle bay to Shuttle Bay 2. If hytritium is so unstable, why not put the ships back to back? In that way Data could fly out of one shuttle bay and make a straight line to the other.
  - Evidently, whenever there is any sort of dangerous job, Picard sends poor old Data to do it. For Fajo's plan to work he had to know, in advance, that Data would be the shuttle pilot. Requesting Data would cause too much suspicion later.
• From Schn on 2010-02-01 at 12:41pm:
  Is there really a mystery? The transporter chief stated that the weapon was in the process of discharge while in transit. It seemed to me that we realise in this episode that Data has more complex rules for killing than self defence.
• From thaibites on 2011-03-02 at 12:51am:
  This episode is great! I love Data episodes (mainly because you know that Riker or Troi won't be humping the first alien that comes on board). Anyway, Data calculated the possibility of how many people would suffer or be killed by his captor, and then fired. He knew if he killed one man, many lives would be saved. "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few."
  Also, the personality of the captor is spot-on. The actor did an outstanding job of portraying an unpredictable, quirky, manic collector who was capable of doing anything. At what point does eccentricity devolve into self-absorbed madness...?
• From CAlexander on 2011-05-01 at 5:14pm:
  The good part of this episode is the way that Data reacts to his imprisonment. The writing is excellent at portraying his unique point of view. On the other hand, the plot on the Enterprise, while necessary for pacing, didn't seem to work so well for me. The fact that I knew the answer to the mystery seemed to rob the scenes of interest.
• From Lee on 2012-04-07 at 9:43pm:
  After watching this episode, I first thought too, that Data wanted to kill his captor. But he tells Riker and O'Brien, that the weapon might have been triggered during transport. So that would mean, he would be lying to them! For me, that is impossible, especially since killing him would have been justified, so Data had no reason (at least not from his "android-point-of-view") to lie.
  
  But it could have also been a problem with the dubbing, because I watch all the episodes in German with my family (they don't understand English well). So just ignore this comment if it all makes sense in the English version.
• From Ggen on 2012-04-08 at 12:48am:
  Great episode. Vaja (?) (the captor) basically makes this entire episode. He's a unique and all around excellent guest character...
  
  The little "subplot" with the water poisoning situation, which eventually traces back to Vaja, is done well also.
  
  Finally, we have the interesting little tid-bit of an ending: Data for all intensive purposes kills Vaja, with an exceptionally "vicious" weapon, no less. (Not really but he resolves and attempts to - comes within milliseconds of success). This despite the fact that no life was actually in jeopardy, only his own freedom. (He could've chosen to obey, to placate Vaja, to remain captive)
  
  So, was Vaja right in his early discussions with Data? Was Data's talk about using deadly force only for "defensive purposes" a kind of justification of murder?
  
  That Data hides all this from Riker and the crew after the fact is equally interesting. Perhaps Data is most human in these rare little contradictions, questionable judgements, and deceptions...
• From Jack on 2014-05-11 at 6:15am:
  Something to add to the Problems section: After the shuttle explosion Geordi is talking to Picard and Riker in Picard's ready room and Picard calls Geordi "Lieutenant" but Geordi is a Lieutenant Commander.
• From Rob UK on 2014-06-18 at 3:41am:
  Good episode, I believe that Data was on the edge of a cascade failure (See Lal in The Offspring) which brought on the quasi emotional state and more human behaviour, all triggered by the moral conflict and emotional turmoil so strong his positronic brain and programming malfunctioned, the trigger for the cascade failure in Lal was the thought of being taken away from her father and friends. Maybe if Data had murdered his captor and stayed he too would have experienced a cascade failure resulting in his death exactly as his more evolved daughter did under less emotional duress.
  
  All just 5am theorising after spending too much time with midnight mary watching the Trek telethon style

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Whoa Nellie on 2007-04-15 at 8:45pm:
  This episode is a perfect 10. It was marvelous to get to see the relaxed, off-duty Jean-Luc Picard suavely romance the beautiful, lady archaeologist. Wonderfully written by Ira Steven Behr, this episode is an homage to the great romantic films of the 40's. Vash is Bacall to Picard's Bogart. Watch Bogart and Bacall in the classic movie "To Have and Have Not" and then watch "Captain's Holiday." Vash's brazenness complements Picard's more sedate personality perfectly. Picard and Vash have a very compelling 'battle of wills' dynamic to their relationship. The characterizations and relationship dynamics between Picard and Vash makes this episode a pure joy to watch this episode.
  
  
• From DSOmo on 2007-07-28 at 4:27am:
  The Uthat is located in a cave that is twenty-seven kilometers from the resort. It takes Picard and Vash two days to get there. Yet when they leave, they leave their backpack behind. The backpack had their food, drink, and bedding. Did they steal Sovak's transportation? Did they "rough it" all the way back?
• From JRPoole on 2008-04-10 at 11:56pm:
  This is a fun episode, but not a truly great one.  I agree with the review above in that it's great fun to watch Picard off of the Enterprise, especially when he "pulls a Kirk" and hooks up with the guest star of the week.  I also like the alusions to the films the reviewer above mentions, and the whole episode is good entertainment.
  
  The result of all this, however, is that it's hard to take this episode seriously. If the Uhtat is all it's cracked up to be, it could have been the subject of a seasons-long plot arc. As is, it's largely tossed off. This brings me to another gripe. If the Vorgons are really time travellers from the 27th century, why can't they just time travel again, back to five minutes before Picard destroys the Uhtat now that they know how, when, and where he does it? Like the aliens in "Allegience" a few episodes earlier (who, by the way, look very simliar)
  
  And the Uhtat itself is a little problematic. A crystal? Really? Come on.
  
  All that aside, this is a solid episode if you don't think too much about it. The interaction between Picard and the crew is hilarious, especially at the end, and we weren't subjected to a lame sub-plot about what was going on onboard the Enterprise during Picard's absence.
• From KStrock on 2009-03-09 at 3:39am:
  Why does Riker mention Risa like Picard's never heard of it? Even Archer and crew were well aware of Risa's reputation.
• From Inga on 2012-01-21 at 6:29pm:
  The dialogues between Picard and Vash were terribly cliched.
• From Ggen on 2012-03-25 at 1:48am:
  Enjoyable and quite amusing, with an excellent guest character (Vash), but a bit on the silly side. I question the mish-mash of elements composing the main plot: a legendary artifact, star-killing technology, and alien time travelers from the future. Was all of that really necessary to let Picard play Indiana Jones with a sexy woman for a little while?
  
  And what was up with that Transport Code 14 business...?
  
  Some redeeming features to be sure (the Horgon thing was hysterical), but the whole episode could've been streamlined and simplified and polished up a bit.
• From jeffenator98 on 2019-12-03 at 6:11pm:
  I would marry Lwaxana Troi and have 7 kids with her before spending 2 minutes with Vash.0/10
• From Chuck the Canuck on 2023-05-20 at 3:32am:
  When I was younger, I mistook the Vorgons in this episode for the Vogons from "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" and thought this was some kind of crossover episode. I feel like that would've been more interesting.
  
  It's not bad, though. I enjoyed the crew's efforts to get Picard to go on holiday. I laughed at how annoyed Picard was getting while trying to relax. And it was a more adventurous episode, kind of in the vein of TNG: Starship Mine in a later season. Nothing wrong with that.
  
  Vash is a great character and I'm glad she reappears again later in TNG and DS9.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From JRPoole on 2008-09-29 at 3:01pm:
  Two Rikers = way better than two Kirks.
  
  I love this episode, and I rate it higher than most here. While it is a little annoying that we don't hear from Thomas Riker very much after this, it's pretty realistic. They both seem to want to go their separate ways, and they do. This was an interesting idea for an episode. How weird must it be for Riker to watch his double/former self hooking up with Deanna?
  
  I also like this episode for the back story it gives on Troi and Riker's relationship. It's always seemed that they split up amicably with little drama (though it's also clear that they still hook up from time to time) and finally we get the real story. Will broke Deanna's heart. Awww.
• From djb on 2008-11-26 at 9:39pm:
  While I disagree with the idea that someone can be duplicated like this (which betrays a purely materialistic and mechanistic view of the universe), I really like the issues that this episode brings up.
  
  Lt. Riker is basically Riker from eight years ago. We can see how much Commander Riker has matured in that time, and naturally his other self has not, being stuck alone for eight years. What would you do if you met yourself from nearly a decade ago? Would you not get a little impatient and condescending at your own immaturity? Conversely, would your past self not feel intimidated or condescended to by your older self, or perhaps resentful of the decisions he made? This very matter is well-written and well-acted.
  
  I love how they get into some back story about Riker and Troi, which was nice as there are far too many episodes where we see hardly anything of Troi. Interesting that Lieutenant Riker acts as if Commander Riker is a different person and made different decisions than he would have; of course that is not true. They are one and the same person, and therefore both would have made the same decision. I imagine that that is something that Lt. Riker doesn't wish to face in himself: that he was willing to leave the woman he loved for the sake of his career. The only way he can cope with that is by acting as if they are different people.
  
  The only problem I had with the execution of this episode was that when they found the marooned Riker, he had the same haircut and facial hair as the Commander. One would expect his hair to be long and his beard to be big and scruffy. True, he might have been able to fashion some kind of razor from whatever equipment there was down there, but he still would most likely have a different appearance. Maybe their makeup budget fell short!
  
  A strong episode; I'd give it a 7.
• From Mark McC on 2009-02-12 at 12:52pm:
  An interesting episode, but the premise opens up a lot of questions about the use of transporters. If it's so easy to duplicate someone, complete with all their memories, personality and experience, what's to stop someone doing this deliberately?
  
  People could keep backup copies of themselves before going on dangerous away missions. Or an evil person planning to commit a crime could duplicate themselves, have the clone commit the crime while they set themselves up with an alibi, then kill the clone (or maybe the clone would have the same idea and try to kill them!)
  
  What happens in cases like this if the person duplicated has a husband/wife and children? If Riker's relationship with Troi caused problems, imagine how difficult it would be in a family situation to suddenly have two mothers wanting to care for one child.
  
  Good to see that Dr Crusher is always updating her medical knowledge. In the previous episode she had no way at all of telling that Khaless was a clone of the original. Here she simply has to point her tricorder at Lt Riker for a few seconds before declaring that the telltale <technobabble> patterns indicating whether he's a clone aren't present (or maybe it only works for humans).
• From J Reffin on 2009-08-05 at 5:59pm:
  This episode has made me reflect on what it must be like to have an identical twin. The differences to the "two Rikers" is not that great - same DNA and (usually) very similar upbringing and experiences until early adulthood. In my experience, identical twins tend to get along fairly well - but then they have had rather longer to get used to the idea.
  
  A good episode though once again poor Troi gets put through the emotional wringer.
• From Bernard on 2009-12-09 at 6:33pm:
  Happened by this episode a couple of nights ago by way of TV reruns. I enjoyed it so much I dug it out and watched it again!
  
  All of Jonathan Frakes' scenes are remarkable in this episode. He really got it spot on in terms of how both Rikers must be feeling. Hats off to him.
  
  I know it's an interesting premise created by the plot device that sets up so many episodes, the transporter, but who cares. It's the storytelling that gets you past minor problems like that.
  
  Like other reviewers before me, I too wish they had used Thomas Riker more frequently after this. Definitely worth an 8 though for me.
• From Mike on 2010-12-01 at 8:25am:
  If you watch when Com. Riker grabs Lt. Riker on the shoulder (about 17 minutes in) it's really obvious that they're using two different arms. In fact, his arm almost looks like a muppet. Otherwise though, I thought the special effects were pretty good, and that the episode was pretty enjoyable over all.
• From ChristopherA on 2019-04-18 at 5:21pm:
  I think this is an excellent episode, I would rate it higher than a 6. I don't see how you can rate this episode down because you don't like what is done (or not done) with the character in later episodes.
  
  The only thing holding this back from for me is that I still feel Riker feels a bit flat compared to the other characters; I don't feel I got as much from his acting as I get when I watch episodes focused on other characters.
• From jeffenator98 on 2019-10-03 at 5:05pm:
  God awful. 2/10
• From Chris Long on 2020-06-13 at 1:44am:
  I get very irritated with a lot of TNG episodes due to all the 'mysteries' that seem to occur throughout the series... stuff happening in crew quarters that can never be verified because of some imaginary privacy this that appears to dominate. I call BS on any of those notions. Further, several years ago I saw a science episode about the brain where they could almost read a man's mind!
  It was flaky but convincing enough to illustrate how close humanity and its science is to really be able to read someone's mind!
  That has nothing to do with any complaint about this episode because I really love it!!!
  
  I saw a dimension of Frakes' acting that I never saw before. He has always been so businesslike but his humanity really shone through when he and Troi were talking in 10-Forward. I was truly moved.
  A great episode all around!

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Pete Miller on 2006-04-23 at 1:43am:
  GOD the phaser scenes in this episode are cool. I love seeing people fly across a room!
  
  How hard is it for picard to restrict all access to the computer to himself and riker???
  
  Data's inhabitant seems to be a very angry person
• From Dean on 2007-05-30 at 11:02am:
  Why didn't Data simulate Riker's or Picard's voice, so they would have control over the ship?
• From DSOmo on 2007-09-28 at 7:44am:
  - During the shuttle trip down to the planet, Troi sits in the back bench seat. After the crash, Riker blows an escape hatch from the back end of the shuttle, and they climb out. Evidently the designers put the escape hatch behind a wall that is blocked by a bench seat. Does this seem like a reasonable location for an escape hatch?
  - Just after Troi, Data, and O'Brien leave the bridge, Worf traps them in a turbo lift. O'Brien helps them escape by accessing the main computer. He does this by using a panel inside the turbolift. It's amazing how these panels appear inside the turbolifts just when they are needed (see comments for "Brothers")
  - After Troi, Data, and O'Brien take hostages in Ten-Forward, Picard tries to negotiate with them. After listening to Picard for a few minutes, Troi tells Data and O'Brien what the captain is trying to accomplish. She talks as if Picard cannot hear them. Picard tries to open a dialogue again. This time Troi talks and Picard can hear her. What's the difference? What indication does Troi give the computer that some of her statements are meant for her fellow conspirators and others are meant for Picard?
  - During one rescue attempt, Geordi and Ro climb into an access tube and situate themselves directly above Ten-Forward. While they settle in, they discuss their strategy. Once they are in place, Geordi hits his communicator and begins whispering to the bridge. Why is Geordi whispering? He talks at medium volume the entire time they set up the equipment. If he was worried that the conspirators in Ten-Forward would hear him, wouldn't he whisper the entire time he was in the access tube?
  - At the end of the show, the spirits release Troi, Data, and O'Brien because Picard threatens to detonate the cargo bay hatch. Picard claims this will kill all the spirits when everthing in the cargo bay is blown into space. In other words, the spirits need an oxygen environment to live?
• From Mark McC on 2009-01-22 at 6:33pm:
  Regarding O'Brien transporting down to install the transporter signal booster, wouldn't it make sense for Starfleet to equip each shuttlecraft with those rods? Especially when 90% of shuttlecraft launches seem to end up crash-landing on a planet where the normal transporter doesn't work!
  
  Why is Worf still in charge of security? Once again, the Enterprise's systems are effortlessly compromised by people hitting buttons on assorted control panels scattered throughout the ship. I can't see the rationale behind Ten-Forward and every turbolift having easily accessible panels where anyone can access vital command-and-control functions with no way for the bridge crew to shut them out.
• From Rick on 2014-03-11 at 4:44pm:
  As other commenters have noted, the writing in this episode is ridiculous because apparently every bridge command can be overridden by tapping a few keys on any computer terminal on the ship. How tough is it to design a computer system that follows Picard/Riker's commands?

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Vlad on 2006-05-22 at 1:41pm:
  If there was a voting pool for the funniest Star Trek episode ever, this should take first place! I laughed so hard my stomach hurt. Q minus his powers was more irritable than an Andorian and more fun than a Ferengi. And again, as it was the case with "The Survivors", we learn a little something about what makes us human with the help of a superbeing... as unlikely as that may seem.
  
  Oh, and Corbin Bernsen's otrageous appearance as Q at the end was an added bonus. What an amazing actor he is!
  
• From DSOmo on 2007-07-23 at 5:26am:
  - When Worf takes Q to the brig, Worf has to press a button on a panel beside the door before it opens. Later in the episode, Data simply walks through the doorway. Why the difference?
  - When Q hurts his back in Engineering, Data taps his communicator and calls for a medical team. Note: He TAPS his communicator. If badge tapping is simply habitual, why is Data tapping his badge? He is an android. Data doesn't do things out of habit. Data always "does things by the book." If the book says that a badge tap is unnecessary, Data would not tap his badge.
  - Dr Crusher fixes Q's back with a tool that looks exactly like a hypospray. But it doesn't make a hypospray sound. Maybe the hypospray is a mulipurpose machine. Then again, maybe the prop department didn't have time to make another medical device.
• From JRPoole on 2008-04-14 at 1:21pm:
  This is one of the top 10 episodes of all time. Q is hilarious, the writing is crisp, the Calamarain are interesting, Guinan's response to Q is great, as is Picard's, and this is all-around top-notch.
• From CAlexander on 2011-04-20 at 11:55pm:
  There were definitely a few jokes I liked, but in general I found Q's complaints about humanity tiresome and overly exaggerated.
• From Jeff Browning on 2011-10-21 at 9:22am:
  Sooooo, what about the Prime Directive? If the idea of the Prime Directive is to allow a sentient species's society to evolve naturally, wouldn't preventing natural catastrophe be exactly the type of interference to short circuit evolution? Indeed, this exact point is made in TNG: Pen Pals where there is a huge debate over saving a species whose planet is threatened by geological activity. Why no debate here? Perhaps the Enterprise folks have decided to Hell with either Prime Directive.
• From Ggen on 2012-03-16 at 7:57pm:
  Solid episode. Another excellent Q edition. Love the premise of Q becoming human and stumbling through all the physiological and psychological pitfalls. And a nice little ironic reversal with Q suddenly helpless and at Picard's mercy.
  
  The other story arc, with a Japanese-like alien race ( I think they were even played by Asian actors ), worrying about a moon-related Tsunami, was also nicely done. Same for the rather nondescript aliens seeking revenge on Q.
  
  As one would expect in any good Q episode, this one is chock full of witticisms and clever lines. One of my favorites is Picard's "It's a perfectly good shuttlecraft." The Mariachi sequence at the end is ridiculously appropriate, though the final "Engage" cigar gag was just a little bit much.
  
  
• From vote oh bummer! on 2021-07-24 at 9:50am:
  Great and fun episode. I guess showing some orphans or grieving friends and familiy of the 18 people Q got killed last time around would have ruined the good times.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-06-03 at 6:40pm:
  Remmick: "You don't like me, do you?" Worf: "Is it required, sir?"
  
  - When the shuttle begins heading toward the planet, the bridge crew runs through the options. Yar says he is out of transporter range. People are beaming up and down from the planet. Doesn't it seem reasonable that the Enterprise could beam someone out of a shuttle that sits between it and the planet?
  - After giving his report to Admiral Quinn, Remmick walks to the door - actually he almost runs into it - and then turns. The door doesn't open. For the next few moments, Remmick stands with his back very close to the door. Then, before he even begins to turn, the door opens and Remmick leaves. How did the door know exactly when to open?
• From CAlexander on 2011-03-09 at 5:40pm:
  - The entire scene with Jake and the shuttle seemed very forced. The shuttle leaves, then two seconds later, it is beyond tractor and transporter range, even though both it and the Enterprise are next to the planet. That is hard enough to believe by itself. But the Enterprise can move, and is faster than a shuttle, so how can they be so helpless?
  - Wesley's "Do you want this to become violent?" comment was part of the test. He knew he was supposed to act rude towards that species of alien, so that is what he was doing. If he was a bit overboard in his attempts to act discourteous, that fits well with his character of being enthusiastic but young and unpolished.
  - Remmick's paranoid questioning was interesting in that he seemed just as irrational to me as to the crew during the episode, but at the end I could see how it might make sense to "be the bad cop" given what he was ordered to do. However his misbehavior during the shuttle incident was not so easily forgiven; is a good Starfleet officer really going to obstruct the crew during a life-or-death situation?
• From 0mcn on 2012-01-30 at 6:47am:
  
  No else said it so I will. Finally an alien that looks like an alien. No wonder they were nominated for best makeup. Not only that but part of his costume is a device that helps him breathe (or does something for him) so yes this makes me happy. :)
• From a2a on 2012-02-08 at 9:09am:
  I thought this episode was excellent. Some major and minor points: 1) Remmick was a great character, especially in light of the episode's resolution and his final attitude towards the enterprise 2) The "invisible" segue's between the interrogations was a nice touch 3) The inside of the academy enrollment process made for a compelling side-plot 4) The unannounced tests were interesting 5) There was an almost kafka-esque scene with Wesley in a dram room with a single chair, supposedly undergoing some mysterious examination he knows nothing about... and for a little while nothing else happening. Just him, the chair, an empty room, and undefined anxieties. 6) The music was excellently dramatic throughout (including during the aforementioned scene).
  
  Problem number 1: Mullet.
  
  Jake's mullet.
  
  Mullets will apparently be back in style in the distant future. This is not very likely (and not really a proper problem either).
  
  Good episode.
• From Quando on 2014-10-01 at 1:13am:
  This approach to administering the Starfleet Academy entrance exam is idiotic. There are four people taking the exam at this particular starbase, and they have decided in advance that they will accept exactly one candidate - the highest score of the four - regardless of how well or how poorly any of the candidates end up doing. Talk about grading on a curve! What if two of them are geniuses, but one of them scores higher by a single point? Tough luck for the second place genius; it's off to the dilithium mines for you. Likewise, what if all four of them are idiots? Will they go ahead and take the smartest of the four idiots? Why are these four candidates not being compared against all of the other candidates who are applying to Starfleet Academy? This method is like Harvard saying it will admit exactly one candidate each from Galveston, Tampa, Billings, Chicago, etc. I also think it is ridiculous that not only is there only one Starfleet Academy on the whole earth, there is only one in the whole galaxy! So you have highly qualified candidates (probably millions) from the populations of dozens of Federation worlds all competing for one of only a few hundred slots in the next Starfleet Academy freshman class in San Francisco? Given all that, I have a sneaking suspicion that Mordok was deemed the "winner" here because of affirmative action (in a choice between the first ever Benzite in Starfleet and just another white human male, who do you think they are going to take?). I guess it's a good thing that Wesley can just try again at the next starbase and hope for weaker competition.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-07-22 at 2:22pm:
  The defector orders a glass of water from the food dispenser. He specifies "twelve ahgians." The computer replies that it is calibrated for the Celsius metric system. The Enterprise plays host to hundreds of races. What happened to the Universal Translator?
• From JRPoole on 2008-04-06 at 9:31pm:
  This is, in my opinion, one of the finest episodes to this point in the series. The Romulans are a much more interesting, well-written and developed race than the Ferengi, and the episodes that focus on them are generally better as a result.  The defector character is nuanced and well-acted, and his plight is endearing.  My only quibble with this episode is the way the Klingon aid is handled.  I realize that it was meant to build suspense, but the effect is rather cheap and the climax suffers a little as a result. Still, this is top-notch trek.
• From paidmailer on 2009-09-26 at 9:36pm:
  Another great neutral zone episode. Two things I can add:
  
  -In the beginning , the character on the right of Data is played by Patrick Stewart.
  -Problem: Why did nobody search the romulan defector?
  
  
• From thaibites on 2010-12-20 at 12:39pm:
  Finally, a good episode! This one has it all - action, intrigue, suspense, wits, Romulans. It shows what TNG was capable of doing, but up until this point, rarely delivered. I especially liked how the Klingon situation was handled. They throw you one little hint that makes you scratch your head and say, "Whatever..." And then it all falls into place at the end. I really enjoyed this one!
• From CAlexander on 2011-04-19 at 1:44am:
  A superb episode. It really catches the tension involved in Jarok being a defector. And this episode shows the Romulans at their finest. I think the ending is well done.
• From EvanT on 2011-06-24 at 10:12pm:
  "twelve ahgians."
  I can see two explanations for this:
  1) The computer really had no idea the Celsius equivalence of the anghian (lack of information about Romulan culture)
  2)This signifies that the defector is all alone on an alien ship (he can't even have a glass of water) He's truly alienated (isn't this the same scene where he thoughtfully studies his suicide pill?)
• From Inga on 2012-01-15 at 4:06pm:
  I really liked to see Klingon ships and the Enterprise lined up against the Romulans
• From Ggen on 2012-03-13 at 10:39pm:
  A rather excellent episode revolving around an excellent guest character (the defector). Through him, we get an inside look into Romulan culture and sensibilities - which, at least in this case, prove to be more rational and sophisticated than previously depicted - and even a sneak peek at Romulus itself (or its holographic recreation). There is of course also the issue of loyalty and betrayal, and the odd matter of betraying out of one's personal interpretation of patriotism (planeterism?).
  
  Lots of great lines strewn along the way, as the defecting Admiral has a rather lyrical bent.
  
  Question: Riker suggests the defection is a ploy to draw the Federation into the neutral zone, and Picard finishes his sentence, "Then they will have a legitimate excuse to respond with force." *Why* would the Romulans need "an excuse?" In front of what interstellar authority? The implication, perhaps, is that Romulan internal affairs are quite a bit more complex and less monolithic, and their society less thoroughly militarized than it appears... (This, of course, is reinforced by the defecting Admiral's personal beliefs and actions.)
  
• From Matt N on 2013-06-01 at 3:32pm:
  I loved the use of the Klingon music from the old Star Trek films when their ships appear.
• From Lloyd on 2016-07-12 at 7:20pm:
  I found it unlikely that the Holodeck would have exact specifications for an area of Romulus, yet the computer cannot convert Celsius to the Romulan unit of measure for temperature.
• From tigertooth on 2016-09-29 at 1:26am:
  It's curious how many 0 votes this episode got. Yesterday's Enterprise and Deja Q also got a surprisingly high 0-vote total despite being well-liked episodes otherwise. Hmm.
  
  Anyway, one aspect that they didn't explicitly touch upon was the fact that Jarok clearly viewed this as a suicide mission. He surely intended to kill himself regardless of the outcome. And it seems likely he was driven to that partially by his demotions. I feel like as much as he loved his daughter, he was so dispirited and humiliated by being pushed to the side that he was trying one last gasp at being important. Sad that his ego overtook his love for his family and his home.
• From Mike on 2016-11-26 at 6:37pm:
  I'm also surprised by the number of low ratings this episode got from so many fans. I tend more toward the webmaster review and other comments here about the excitement of the plot and the character of Admiral Jarok.
  
  I like the hesitation he shows in revealing too much about Romulan technology and tactics to the Enterprise. A lifetime of loyalties would be hard to overcome, even if he's defecting in order to prevent the war he believes is coming. It's also a nice touch having him miss Romulus and Data taking him to the holosuite to see it. In hindsight, his statement "I have sacrificed everything...it must not be in vain" has even greater meaning. It's not just his career, and never seeing his home and family again. He is preparing to sacrifice his life.
  
  Re: Ggen, I would think interstellar opinion in the ST universe still counts for something, and the great powers would need to legitimize or gain sympathy for actions that would otherwise be naked aggression. An unjustified Romulan move against the Federation might cause other neutral worlds to sympathize with or even support the Federation. And within the Romulan Empire, the civilian government would no doubt need reasons to support this move, as their internal politics and civil-military relations are shown in several episodes to be complex. It's definitely not a military dictatorship.
• From Keefaz on 2016-12-22 at 11:50pm:
  The voting for this episode has clearly been hacked for some pathetic reason. Probably best ep to this point.
• From Charles Gervasi on 2017-03-19 at 10:34pm:
  It's seemed odd to me that relations between the Federation and the Romulans was so bad they could not even deliver a message.
• From tigertooth on 2017-04-25 at 2:18am:
  One thing I caught this time around: when Jarok blows up his ship, he expresses disgust that the Federation was eager to pick apart the Romulan craft for its technology, implying that Romulans wouldn't act that way.
  
  Then when Tomalak thinks he has the upper hand on the Enterprise, he gloats about how he's going to pick apart the starship for all its technology!
  
  Jarok's position was obvious puffery - who wouldn't want to look at an adversary's tech? But it was amusing to see the hypocrisy revealed.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-11-10 at 5:48pm:
  - During this episode, Data asks Crusher to define life, and Crusher sputters around for a while before finally coming up with an answer (sort of). During the first season she was a lot surer of herself. When asked a similar question in "Home Soil," she immediately answered that organic life must have the ability to assimilate, respirate, reproduce, grow and develop, move, secrete, and excrete.
  - Prior to a meeting concerning the exocomp, Picard makes a log stating that he has called a meeting of the senior staff. In the meeting, both Riker and Worf are missing.
  - The exocomps have the ability to replicate the tool attachment they need for a specific job. Normally, the exocomp dematerializes this attachment as soon as it completes the job. Very conveniently, an excomp "forgets" to dematerialize the attachment. This forgetfulness allows Data to see the tool and come to the conclusion that the exocomps are alive (which is needed to move the plot along).
  - When the bridge crew quickly runs through the options for rescuing Picard, Faralon claims that they don't have time to send a shuttle to the space station. Yet mere seconds before, Riker tells everyone they have twenty-two minutes! Twenty-two minutes isn't enough time to fly a shuttle next door to an orbiting space station? It's amazing the dance the creators go through to keep the tension up on this show. Of course, if the Enterprise sent a shuttle, the exocomps wouldn't be in danger, and Data couldn't save them, and so on, and so on.
• From djb on 2008-05-29 at 7:55am:
  - I wonder why Riker, who outranks Data, wasn't able to override the transporter lockout. Of course, Data has been shown to be able to lock everyone out, even the captain (see "Brothers") but it didn't seem to indicate he imitated anyone's voice like he did before.
  
  - There's obvious continuity between this episode and "The Measure of a Man" but there's also a subtle reference to "The Offspring," in which Picard encourages Data to disobey the Admiral who wants to take Lal away, saying, "There are times when men of conscience cannot blindly follow orders." It seems Data has taken that to heart.
  
  - I find it weird that there isn't much of a difference made between "sentient" and "sapient" in this episode. Clearly the line has to be drawn somewhere when it comes to the importance of preserving "living" things. If, for example, I had to sacrifice my cat, who is sentient, but not sapient, to save a human friend, there wouldn't be much of a question, even if it were a difficult decision to make. And if it were a tree, there would be no question. The tree is alive by all definitions of the word, but it would be ludicrous to put a single plant on the same level of importance as a starship captain. Data's acting as if the AI exhibited by these devices might make him "not alone" is ridiculous, because simple self-preservation is certainly feasible without a positronic brain. Plus, even if the exocomps could be proven to be "sentient," they don't have positronic brains, and therefore would never make Data less unique no matter how smart they became.
  
  Somehow Data has come to the conclusion that the rudimentary intelligence shown by the exocomps, which is, at best, circumstantial evidence that they are anything approximating "conscious," is of equal value with two humans, one of whom saved him from being disassembled. Wouldn't Data take that into account? He seems to have jumped to conclusions, which is inconsistent with his programming. In fact, he seems very driven by emotion in this episode. It brings up a good question of where our the border between our thoughts and our emotions lies.
  
  It's true that the exocomps exhibited self-preservation behavior, but that is a far cry from sapience. Even following Crusher's loose definition of "alive," these exocomps didn't reproduce or grow. They also didn't consume food any more than a tricorder would. Neither do they obviously exhibit self-awareness. Their self-preservation tendencies could be nothing more than good AI. As indicated in the episode, they have heuristic programming, writing itself as it learns more, and for all we know, this program came to the logical conclusion that self-preservation is most conducive to the unit executing its function properly. Clearly, unlike Data's designer, their designer did not intend for them to become "alive," even in the loosest sense of the word. (This, of course, brings up the whole debate of Intelligent Design, but that's a whole different can of worms.)
  
  Indeed, I wonder why more effort wasn't made to discover to what extent these exocomps could exhibit life-like behavior, why no one bothered to try to communicate with them outside of the typical "enter command" protocol, and why no one asked exactly HOW they became "sentient." It reminds me of "Evolution", where a science project "accidentally" became intelligent, and all of a sudden has to be preserved and protected, even when it threatens the ship. One wonders, then, since the Federation is committed to seeking out new forms of life, why there isn't a comprehensive working definition of life, along with a set of tests to gauge whether or not something is alive, so this quandary doesn't come up every time some device exhibits seemingly intelligent behavior.
  
  - This is trivial, but I like the "beard" continuity between this episode and the previous one. It's true that the producers intentionally kept this series episodic, with not much overlap from episode to episode, but some more continuity on non-plot points like this one would have been nice.
• From 2 Of 14 on 2008-09-05 at 10:53am:
  This episode has some excellent aspects such as great ideas, great production values, etc. However, I just cannot get my head around Data deliberately disobeying direct orders from his commanding officer by locking the transporter. To me, this is a major problem in this episode.
  
  Data’s reasoning that the exocomps are just as valuable as two human lives is totally believable; he is an android and we understand that he sometimes arrives at conclusions many people would not understand or share, that is part of his appeal.
  
  But to directly disregard direct orders from his commanding officer in this way is just bizarre. In an organisation like Starfleet following orders would be essential, such a complex starship cannot operate without a high level of discipline. A commanding officer is supposed to be so highly trained and experienced that if they make decisions affecting the lives of their crew they should expect them to be carried out, not necessarily without question, but certainly without such blatant refusal.
  
  Data knows all this; in "Redemption II" when Lt. Cmdr. Hobson questions Data’s orders, Data threatens to relieve him of duty.
  
  If I was Picard or Riker after this incident I would feel very uncomfortable having Data in such a senior position and would not want him on board the ship in such a capacity.
  
• From JRPoole on 2008-09-11 at 3:49pm:
  Thie episode trots out a few standard Trek themes that are starting to get a little cliche by this point in TNG: the definition of life and/or sentience, Dats's humanity, moral conundrums, and scientists blinded by ambition.
  
  We don't really get anything new here, but these ideas are all handled servicably, and this episode is intriguing nonetheless.
  
  
• From Rick on 2014-03-13 at 5:24pm:
  Huge problem in this episode (which is otherwise a great one): If the scientist and Riker do not buy that the exocomps are lifeforms, then why do they need to disconnect their command pathways? They both tell Data that they arent lifeforms and Data responds by saying that because they are lifeforms they will not accept the commands that will kill them. Then Riker and scientist decide to disconnect the command pathways? Isnt this directly admitting that Data has been right all along and that they are going to kill the exocomps anyway!!!???
• From El Goopo on 2015-03-02 at 6:16am:
  People really don't like this episode, do they? Talk about being unwilling to think things through..
  
  >Very conveniently, an excomp "forgets" to dematerialize the attachment.
  
  Or perhaps it didn't forget, and was intentionally letting Data see it? Works just as well.
  
  
  >Twenty-two minutes isn't enough time to fly a shuttle next door to an orbiting space station?
  
  This is the most minor of nits, for an episode that was clearly not about shuttles. Most problems in stories could be solved far more sensibly without tacked-on conditions to rationalize how the story gets where it has to go.
  
  
  >Data's acting as if the AI exhibited by these devices might make him "not alone" is ridiculous
  
  Data was their advocate, not because he knew they were intelligent, but because a possibly sentient life form was being forced to die, put in the same position he himself was in earlier in the series. Given that the Exocomps never reappeared, he was probably wrong... but not in principle.
  
  
  >Their self-preservation tendencies could be nothing more than good AI.
  
  Rewatch Measure of a Man and revisit the "sentience" criteria - would you condemn something that might be sentient because you think it doesn't qualify? The point is to not be hasty and condemn possible life, not assume it's not life because you can't bring yourself to believe it at the time.
  
  
  >But to directly disregard direct orders from his commanding officer in this way is just bizarre.
  
  "To seek out new life" is the Enterprise's primary mission, spoken loudly right in the title sequence each week. If you saw that your CO was about to sacrifice the greater mission to save two lives, would you not want him to listen to your arguments before saying "yes sir" and pressing on?
  
  
  >If I was Picard or Riker after this incident I would feel very uncomfortable having Data in such a senior position and would not want him on board the ship in such a capacity.
  
  Kind of a ridiculous notion to not trust your subordinate simply for doing something you yourself have done more often, and possibly for lesser reasons than violating your primary mission. Heck, Data hijacked without even knowing it just to go see his father, and they still trusted him after that massive security vulnerability was exposed. Why would this be any worse?
  
  
  >If the scientist and Riker do not buy that the exocomps are lifeforms, then why do they need to disconnect their command pathways?
  
  If your computer isn't responding, do you assume it has achieved sentience, or that it has crashed? No, you reboot it. Similar principle here. Farallon was just a step further, and refusing to accept new facts that pointed at it being more than a "bug", but the story pointed that out.
• From Rick on 2015-10-26 at 3:22pm:
  El Goopo:
  
  I agree with all of your responses, as people tend to see problems where there really arent any, except for the last one in which you question the problem I brought up.
  
  The entire premise of the second half the episode is that if the Exocomps have a sense of survival then they are sentient. Or at least there is a high probability that they are sentient and they shouldnt be mistreated until that hypothesis is confirmed or refuted.
  
  Data explicitly says to Riker, "If I am correct" that the Exocomps are sentient, they will refuse this order because it is too dangerous. Then Riker orders that the command pathways to be shut down, which means that he thinks they will refuse this order too. So are you saying there is a computer bug that only makes the Exocomps refuse orders that are dangerous? That was not programmed into them so it doesnt really make sense that they would develop such a "bug". And besides my speculation, as I already stated, that survival instinct to refuse dangerous orders so heavily suggests that they are sentient that you cannot mistreat them until you find out for sure. So even if Riker thought it may be a bug, he cannot and should not shut down their command pathways until he is sure.
• From Axel on 2018-06-17 at 5:21am:
  So, these poker games the senior staff plays: you have a Betazoid who can sense emotion, LaForge whose VISOR apparently helps him tell when people are lying, and Data, who can count cards. Yet somehow Riker and Crusher are the ones that always win? Riker must be a phenomenal bluffer.
  
  Anyway, Data doesn't suggest that the exocomps are exactly like him. He suggests they are possible progenitors. When did he actually become a life form? He's not sure, which is why he's so interested in the exocomps. They might show him an earlier stage of his own existence as he was being assembled by Soong.
  
  Also, the self-preservation isn't the only reason Data suspects they might be alive, although that gets talked about the most. His evidence that it might have been deliberate self-preservation is because he sees they are rapidly forming new circuit pathways. If that's happening, it's a sign they might be developing self-awareness and a rudimentary intelligence, both signs of life. It also means they might continue to become more intelligent. The possibility of growth is too much to ignore.
  
  As far sacrificing Geordi and Picard for the exocomps, he said it wasn't an easy decision. As Picard says, it was a human decision. As with all human decisions, some people may disagree or have done it differently. The whole point though, to me, is that Data has to make this call quickly and still adhere to his ethical subroutines. It was a growth moment for him as well.
• From QuasiGiani on 2018-06-20 at 5:28am:
  "Huge problem in this episode (which is otherwise a great one): If the scientist and Riker do not buy that the exocomps are lifeforms, then why do they need to disconnect their command pathways? They both tell Data that they aren't lifeforms and Data responds by saying that because they are lifeforms they will not accept the commands that will kill them. Then Riker and scientist decide to disconnect the command pathways? Isn't this directly admitting that Data has been right all along and that they are going to kill the exocomps anyway!!!???" -From Rick on 2014-03-13 at 1:24pm
  
  Yep. Yes. Exactly.
  
  Riker... ...dis-apoint-ted (or as Data basically said: fuck you).
  
  ...
  
  Also -- on a much more serious and substantial level than these squabbles and frittatas about slavery and life-sacrifice -- Dr. Beverly Crusher never really appealed to me (so much, {I mean, who am I kidding}) but in this episode she was undeniably beautiful to my eye (and her character's character was particularly nice as well). Both of these are separate and both of these are just maybe slight improvements but enough to qualify as quantity elevating quality.
• From Chris on 2019-07-28 at 7:18pm:
  Look folks, and I realize how late to this discussion I am... This to me is a very touching episode, with twists I did not expect!
  The Scientist turning on her own creations despite her deep admiration for Data is one big one!
  
  I find in these comments, far too much disbelief that something could never happen the way they describe them, yet are perfectly comfortable with the entire premise of ships that go FTL, and Transporters, and all the other gibberish they use or talk about!
  
  My biggest technical gripe with ST from the beginning is that while a ship may send out a sensing signal at 'sub-space' speeds (whatever that means) the signal would not return at 'sub-space' speeds. Further, when you and your enemy are buzzing around at FTL trying to shoot each other out of the sky, I can't imagine any sensors working in any way, shape, or form!
  
  Let the nits go and enjoy the good stories, because they are, after all, very good stories!

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Pete Miller on 2006-05-28 at 1:33am:
  I think that for these data dream episodes, the writers employed one of their teenage sons that trips out on acid all the time. The dream sequences are so extremely bizarre, I'm glad I've never experienced something that messed up.
• From Robert Koenn on 2011-06-23 at 11:35am:
  I could only give this episode a 3. As the previous comment said, dream episodes in Star Trek tend to be quite bizarre and surrealistic and I suppose that throws my senses off a bit. I particularly dislike the warped camera views but that only happened briefly during the dream sequences. It was interesting that the dreams meant more than simply Data's imagination developing strange scenarios but were actually tied into this alien presence. However where these "creatures" came from, the lack of the prime directive in dealing with a new life form, and just general plot line seemed a bit absurd to me. Sometimes I know that just to develop a new episode the writers obviously search for a plot and a few times these plots have been quite poor.
• From thaibites on 2012-12-19 at 3:21am:
  I thought this was one of the better episodes. It's nice to have some surrealism instead of soap opera. It was a little like that 80's movie Videodrome.
• From Rob UK on 2015-02-25 at 10:25pm:
  For me this episode falls flat on it's arse for one reason the unrealistic character representation in the way of Geordi, throughout all seven seasons he has less pussy than Data's cat and here he has some hot young ensign throwing herself at him and he is acting like she is an annoyance that he doesn't have time for
• From CAlexander on 2019-04-08 at 6:02am:
  I like the intent of this episode, setting up a major mystery and a minor mystery, and solving it by figuring out the symbolism of Data's nightmares. But I find the end product doesn't come together that well, it's just OK. It hurts that the final solution is pure technobabble and most of the symbolism just isn't that important.

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 2007-06-03 at 5:52am:
  - Removing water from the crystal life form kills it. There is no salt water in the med lab. Shouldn't it have died as soon as it left the planet?
  - The woman terraformer told the away team that the planet has a balanced day and night. How does the crystal survive on the surface of the planet at night?
• From CAlexander on 2011-03-06 at 11:09pm:
  Until the discovery of the microbrain, this episode was great. But I totally agree with you, I was annoyed by the lack of continuity. It wasn't just that they were surprised by the inorganic lifeforms, but they kept repeating over and over how unbelievable it was. And it wasn't just the Horta they were ignoring, but a long history of energy-based lifeforms. "Lonely Among Us", in the same season, featured a life form more alien then this; if it isn't even composed of matter, it certainly isn't organic! Equally annoying is that the technobabble about the capabilities and limitations of the organism is full of inconsistencies, such as those noted by DSOmo.
• From Jeff Browning on 2011-09-19 at 11:46pm:
  Huge science problem. Geordi states that the light pulses from the microbrain consist of "positively and negatively charged ions". Light consists of photons. Ions are made from normal matter. Light cannot consist of ions.
• From Inga on 2011-12-23 at 1:48pm:
  -Why didn't Geordi switch off the power when Data was attacked by that laser drill?
  -Why did everyone leave the med lab when the aliens first tried to communicate with them?
• From Azalea Jane on 2021-07-11 at 5:33pm:
  I'll always appreciate this episode for the phrase "ugly bags of mostly water."

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.