The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Pete Miller on 2006-05-06 at 9:23pm:
  I completely agree with eric. The episode is captivating, and in my opinion the aliens are thoroughly creepy with all their clicking and whatnot. Very disappointing to see them not return. This episode was a breath of frsh air from that crap with troi and scotty.
• From Orion Pimpdaddy on 2006-05-21 at 3:20pm:
  When Riker, Worf, Geordi, and Troi are in the conference room discussing their shared experience, pay attention to the "ordinary" woman in there. The writers gave her one of the worst lines in the history of TNG. Her line was "yeah, cold." The way she says almost ruins the whole scene.
  
  When they step into the holodeck, she has another bad line, "yeah, it was long." It just seems like she was pasted onto the scences at the last minute.
  
  
  
  
• From JennyDaTrekkie on 2007-08-03 at 12:12pm:
  Although this episode was engauging at the time, and I really enjoyed the holodeck sequence, I feel the 'inteligent cliffhanger' merely made the episode seem unrewarding and pointless.
  However, I found the episode worth watching just for the use of the holodeck and Data's helarious attempt at poetry.
  
• From DSOmo on 2007-10-11 at 7:34am:
  - When Riker first goes to Crusher complaining of tiredness, she finds nothing physically wrong other than muscle tension. She then wonders out loud that his problems might come from REM sleep deprivation. In "Night Terrors," Crusher said that this condition causes a unique chemical imbalance in the brain, and she is able to verify that crew members have this imbalance. If she really suspects dream deprivation, why not just check for the chemical imbalance?
  - In the last captain's log of the episode, Picard reports that all crew members are "safe and accounted for." He must have an interesting definition of the word "safe" because one of the abductees, although "accounted for," is dead!
  - Since everyone in the group remembers a table of some kind, Troi asks the computer to create a conference table. Geordi responds that the table is too high and orders the computer to lower it. Then, Worf says the table should be tilted. Instead of tilting the conference table, the computer replaces it with an entirely different table! Then Riker says the table should be metal, and the computer replaces the angled wooden table with a metal examination table. At no time does anyone ask for a different table design, simply modifications to the current design, but the computer takes it upon itself to start from scratch every time.
  - Everyone in the holodeck agrees that the aliens' examination table was tilted. However, when the episode finally shows the aliens' lair, the tables are flat.
  - After Geordi makes his modifications to the sensor array, the computer reports a massive explosion in Cargo Bay 4. The next shot shows the emergency team "rushing" to the scene. Did I say rushing? More like strolling!
  - When a crew member reappears after an abduction, Worf reports his quarters as being on "deck 9, section 17." However, when Crusher needs a plasma infusion unit for the stricken crew member, she tells her medical technician to bring the unit to "deck 9, section 19."
  - Just before Riker makes his desperate dash through the closing subspace hole, he grabs a fellow crew member. This action pops his phaser loose from its holster, and it falls to the floor. Once Riker returns to the Enterprise, the phaser is back! Yet at no time does Riker stop to pick it up.
• From JRPoole on 2008-09-11 at 6:11pm:
  This episode is more genuinely creepy than any of the Halloween-y episodes or ghost stories that Trek sometimes trots out, and it’s one of the best stand-alone episodes of the series.
  It’s not truly great in the same way that, say, “The Inner Light” is, but it’s still good solid sci-fi.
  
  The only thing keeping this one from a 9 for me (10 is reserved for story-arc episodes and really exceptional stand-alones) is the weird random lady mentioned above. She’s cozying up to Picard at Data’s poetry reading, and their body language seems to indicate they’re pretty familiar, then she shows up to deliver those incredibly stupid lines like “cold. It was cold,” that some of you have mentioned. What in the world is she all about?
  
  The other-universe aliens concept is great. My only question is what Data mentions at the end about the aliens’ cells being salanogen based. WTF does that mean? I love the way this one ends in mystery, and I also like the lovely little ensign who’s been manning the helm for the past few episodes and gets taken by the aliens. I give it an 8.
  
• From IUU on 2010-02-13 at 3:11pm:
  Trivial continuity note: Dr. Crusher *prescribes* a hot milk toddy, and ascribes the recipe to Picard's Aunt Edell.
• From Quando on 2011-08-24 at 12:05am:
  I was frustrated that everybody kept dogging on Data's poetry, suggesting that they should pretend to like it just to be nice. I thought it was brilliant and wanted to hear more! Whoever wrote that should get a gold star.
• From Percivale on 2011-11-10 at 2:00am:
  Great episode. Skilfully creepy.
  
  One comment: I always find it funny when characters get impatient when the computer doesn't understand their incredibly vague commands. Usually it's Geordi - the very adaptable, technically minded engineer - as demonstrated in the holodeck scene of this episode, when he's talking about the lighting. Calm down, dude, and just tell her how much light you want.
• From lumzi23 on 2017-03-16 at 9:00pm:
  This episode is great. The whole concept of alien abduction in the 24th century is great. It is excellent and clever.
• From Shrub on 2019-10-24 at 7:18am:
  I have an issue with the hot milk toddy in this episode. In the episode "Cause and Effect", Picard shares this recipe with Dr. Crusher, however the ship is destroyed in this loop, and the recipe is not shared in the following loops. I suppose it is possible that she could remember the recipe, but it seems unlikely that she would remember that specific detail. It's also possible that the recipe was shared between these episodes, but I find it odd that it would be shared twice within a year when it had not been shared in the several years prior they spent on Enterprise.
  
  Just a thought.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-08-23 at 8:41am:
  - During a meeting with the senior staff, Data claims that the people of Ventax II consider it bad luck to speak Ardra's name. However, the prime minister does it quite frequently.
  - When Ardra shows up on the bridge, Picard has her beamed back to the planet. Immediately afterward, he orders an ensign to put up shields until further notice. The ensign turns around, it is Ardra again. A few minutes later, she leaves on her own. Picard never repeats his orders, and everyone on the bridge must have forgot he said anything about putting up the shields. The end of the show makes clear that she is using standard transpoter technology. That means the crew never raised the shields, because if they did, Ardra could not have beamed into Picard's bedroom later in the show!
  - During the trial, Ardra demands that Picard explain her abilities. He claims he can't. Granted, he doesn't know exactly where her power source is during this scene. However, earlier in the episode, he gave a good guess about her methods during a discussion with his senior staff. Instead of repeating that explanation, Picard simply replies that he can't explain Ardra's abilities.
  - After Picard performs Ardra's tricks, he explains that a team from the Enterprise took control of Ardra's ship. Picard then touches his communicator and thanks Riker for his help. Picard explains that the team had monitored him on his communicator. In other words, the communicator was already on. Does that mean that Picard shut it off when he tapped it?
• From CAlexander on 2011-04-23 at 7:51pm:
  A solid episode. I thought the underlying concept was clever.
  - This episode seems a little confused about how it is trying to portray Ardra. In general, it seems to be saying that she is just a magician using clever tricks (like when they comment on her "bad copy of a cloaking device"). But at other times it seems more like the message is that she is a hyper-advanced alien, but still a con artist. In particular, her ability to undetectably beam people on and off the Enterprise is beyond any capability we've seen from normal Federation opponents.
  
• From John on 2012-03-14 at 12:56am:
  Factoid: Patrick Stewart would win the 1992 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding One-Person Show for his one-man adaption of "A Christmas Carol" on Broadway.
• From Rick on 2014-03-07 at 5:44pm:
  Problem: Two parties cannot make a contract that binds or obligates a third (unrelated) party. I dont care how alien a world is, no one can make a contract that will give away the enterprise in 1000 years. That does not stand up to scrutiny.
• From Rob UK on 2014-06-21 at 2:42pm:
  Got a problem for you, the quote mentioned between Data and Picard when discussing the con game in regard to the P.T Barnum quote is incorrect, it was actually said by Barnum's competition Mr. George Hull, who said "There's a sucker born every minute." after Barnum tricked the press into believing and publishing that his stone giant was real and Mr Hulls a fake, both were fakes but Hull was the original creator of the scam

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Orion Pimpdaddy on 2006-06-23 at 1:56am:
  Problem:
  
  When the one Boraalan left the holodeck and dissapeared, never to come back, why didn't any other members of his species notice he was gone? Surely he had family.
  
• From Wing Fat on 2007-10-03 at 4:22am:
  This episode has many holes. How did Nikolai have the knowledge and authorization necessary to lock the chief security officer (Worf) out of the holodeck (not to mention rigging that whole stunt in the first place)? Nikolai committed a laundry list of Starfleet violations, wouldn't Picard be bound to take him to a Starbase for some kind of hearing and punishment? Why is it one of the few remaining (and most prominent) Boraalans disappears and the others just go about their business like nothing happened? What's going to happen when Nikolai's baby is born and, because it's half human, doesn't have the same facial features as the other Boraalans? And less significantly, isn't that huge grin on Worf's face after he asks LaForge to generate a storm a bit out of character?
• From JRPoole on 2008-10-29 at 7:55pm:
  The noted problems aside, I think this episode is mostly successful. I love episodes that explore the prime directive, and this is one of the stronger ones, perhaps even better than the proto-Vulcan society episode from a few seasons ago (can't recall the title).
  
  I think Nikolai is absolutely right here. However, the best decision would have been to save as many of the Boraalans as possible and not even try to do a cover-up. They're going to die without Federation help. I don't see how saving as many of them as possible is a violation of the prime directive. Obviously, it's best not to interfere, but it's better than letting them die.
  
  The best solution would have been to beam as many of them up as possible, keep them together, explain the situation as well as possible, and find them a new place to live. Not a perfect solution, but the best one possible. That would also erase the problem of leaving Nikolai with the Boraalans. I just don't see how leaving them to die is in the spirit of the prime directive at all. It ensures non-interference in cultural affairs and societal development. Here there's going to be no development without Federation assistance, and you might even argue that not helping them violates the prime directive because it allows a culture to be destroyed rather than preserved.
• From djb on 2009-01-26 at 5:49pm:
  Atmospheric dissipation?! Are you effing kidding me?!?!! Make up as much Treknobabble as you want; you'll never convince me that a planet's atmosphere will spontaneously ... go away.
  
  That aside, this episode definitely reminded me of Who Watches the Watchers (season 3), which was actually one of my favorite episodes. Far better than this one.
  
  I do like the moral quandary it brings up. I'm surprised that Picard, who was always such a bleeding heart (second only to Crusher) took such a firm stance on this issue. After all, non-interference is kind of moot when there's nothing to interfere with.
  
  Imagine how neat it would be if they just beamed them all into the holodeck, told them "we're aliens, from another planet; your world is dying; we're taking you to another one," then beamed them down to their new planet. The story would pass down from one generation to another until it just became myth, and most people wouldn't believe it. Then, a few thousand years later, the Boraalans achieve warp, they make contact with the federation (assuming it still exists), and maybe find out from federation records that the story was true after all! That would be awesome.
  
  In addition to the issue already raised about obvious interference on Nikolai's part, this also occurred to me: what about his surgical implants? Could they last permanently? What if they became damaged? The jig would be up. I also wonder if the handful of Boraalans we saw have a large enough gene pool to repopulate a planet (the same issue brought up in Up The Long Ladder in season 1). Oh well.
  
  Interesting ideas, but poorly executed.
  
  Oh, and Worf's grin isn't out of character. He just doesn't do it very much. It adds depth to his character.
• From Tallifer on 2011-03-13 at 7:56am:
  Unbeliveably bad.
  
  1. The prime directive is made to look ridiculous here. "Is it better to save life or to kill?"
  
  2. But on the other hand, a culture which cannot survive without the same plot of land is not worth saving. The stray Boralan commits suicide because life in a universe of other cultures is unacceptable. Good riddance. Imagine if all the countless ethnic groups who have made happy lives in the Americas had thought that way.
  
  3. Worf looks stupid in his disguise, and the whole Boralan male costume is horrible. Another reason top leave them on their dying planet.
• From JB on 2020-06-07 at 12:22pm:
  Why did Worf take part of the villiage chronicle? What use could he possibly have for it? It seems incredible that he would even think to ask for it given his honorable character, especially after Vorin explained to him how important the chronicles were and then essentially gave his life trying to save one of the other scrolls. And Nikolai let him have it?! He must not have any respect for the Boraalan culture... he had just appointed himself the new chronicler and then as his first act he starts by giving the chronicles away??
  
  Sometimes I wonder WTF is wrong with the writers.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Orion Pimpdaddy on 2006-05-12 at 2:02am:
  Problem:
  In some of the scences where Troi is "flying" you can clearly see strings attached to her butt.
  
• From DSOmo on 2007-08-24 at 11:31pm:
  - When the crew looks for a way to create a massive explosion and escape the rift, no one mentions setting the Brattain to self-destruct. Wouldn't an uncontrolled overload of a warp drive system cause a pretty good bang?
  - When looking for a message to send the aliens, Data scans through the available elements on the Enterprise. One shot shows the elements zipping by, from bottom to top. When Troi spots hydrogen, she tells Data to stop and go back. The next shot shows the elements scrolling slower, but they are still scrolling from bottom to top. It would confuse the hell out of me, going forward or backward through information and having it move in the same direction.
• From Mark McC on 2008-12-30 at 4:42pm:
  At one point we're told the ship doesn't have enough power left to replicate any explosive elements. Maybe if they shut down all those replicators producing synthahol in Ten-Forward they might have had more power and saved themselves the embarassment of a bar-room brawl.
  
  It was convenient that Data decided to visually review the elements available on the offchance that Troi would look over his shoulder and spot something that correlated with her dream. Normally he would have just accessed his memory banks for the information instead of slowly (by his speed) scrolling through them on a terminal.
• From CAlexander on 2011-04-29 at 4:16am:
  The plot of the episode is good in the abstract. But I agree that it progresses rather slowly and without a lot of interesting things happening. And Troi's silly-looking dream sequences are definitely not the high point of the episode.
• From ok@ok.ok on 2011-08-26 at 8:32am:
  This was a fairly decent episode. I like the explanation behind what was happening, and I like how we never actually see the aliens or get a clear shot of their ship... all we get is some indication that they were in the exact same quandary, and could only communicate briefly and indirectly, hoping on a whim that someone will figure out what's needed...
  
  Seeing Data as acting captain was awesome.
  
  Seeing Guinan pull out some crazy plasma rifle from behind the counter was amusing.
  
  As for everyone going more or less insane, well I feel like there were a few missed opportunities here... but at the same time there were some nice subtleties, for instance Crusher trying to tap her com badge and missing the first time (there were a few of these very subtle, easily missed things). Also Wharf being late to a meeting. Things like that which vaguely hint that something just isn't right.
  
  So, maybe not great but certainly not awful, and the premise and explanation hold up and are surprising and interesting enough.
• From Jeff Browning on 2011-09-30 at 8:52pm:
  This episode had two basic problems, in my view:
  
  1. The plot was too simplistic. There just wasn't enough here. Almost all good star trek episodes consist of two story lines woven together. For example, in TNG: Family you have the threads of Picard on Earth with his brother's family, and Worf on the Enterprise with his adoptive parents. (In that episode you even get a bit of a third with Wesley and his father's holorecording.) Another great example is TNG: Galaxy's Child where you have the two threads of the space creature and Geordi's relationship with the holographic Dr. Leah Brahms. In this episode we have just a tiny bit of that with the crew's struggle with lack of REM sleep and Troi's issue with nightmares. But effectively these issues are one and the same. Thus, there is just not enough storyline here to sustain a one hour episode. Effectively, the plot summary becomes:
  
  A. Enterprise gets stuck.
  B. The crew's condition deteriorates.
  C. Trio has bad dreams in which she flies around in a very unflattering outfit.
  D. Repeat steps B and C a truly mind numbing number of times.
  E. Enterprise gets unstuck.
  
  2. The music sucks. Not only was it very consistent ( reinforcing the repetitive nature of the episode itself ), but it consists almost entirely of this depressing dirge. It certainly did not help to improve the episode.
• From Bronn on 2013-11-08 at 1:04am:
  The Troi flying stuff is what really ruined this for me. It's not that I hate every episode in which she's featured, it's just that when she's featured, the writers often had her saying stuff repeatedly, with highest level possible of melodrama. "I have to find you! I have to tell you...!" That was a terrible climax for this episode. Face of the Enemy was a great episode in which she was featured because she wasn't constantly repeating herself, or using a melodramatic delivery.
  
  The funny thing is, that was a beautifully creepy dream sequence if they didn't have her take off flying. The effects were fairly nice-greenish clouds with the moon circling, always in her line of sight. Having her constantly walking through it with that music playing actually WORKS as a nightmarish dream sequence. Having her flying around in that leotard turns it on its head. It's also ridiculous that it took them all the way until season six to realize that they needed to give her a uniform.
• From Axel on 2015-03-24 at 3:28am:
  Great concept for an episode, but poorly executed. This had the makings of a really good Troi moment. Instead of always saying things that are blindingly obvious or telling the captain she senses...something...from some aliens, Troi is the key to solving a dilemma that the ship is facing. It's a situation for which her Betazoid powers are perfectly suited.
  
  Unfortunately, she puts too much drama into the role. There are also scripting problems. Her telepathic dialogue with the other Betazoid and aliens stuck in the rift sounds awkward and child-like.
  
  Overall I like the story for this one. But this is a rare case where the cast's acting just doesn't seem on point. They do this eery sci-fi type of stuff quite well in other episodes, but here it's fumbled.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-06-28 at 8:19am:
  - As the shuttle prepares to leave the Enterprise , Wesley says, "Shuttle Craft 2 is ready for departure." Yet all of the markings on the shuttle say "01."
  - Why doesn't the Enterprise warp over to Starbase 515 instead of sending Picard and Wesley on a shuttle? If it did, it would be a short show because all the dialogue between Picard and Wesley would be missing.
  - Troi warns Riker that La Forge is in great danger. Although Troi has demonstrated her accuracy and worth many times before, Riker does nothing. If he did listen and beamed La Forge back to the Enterprise ... it would be a short show ;)
  - After surveying the Pakled ship, La Forge claims that it contains equipment from the Romulans, Klingons, and the Jaradan. First of all, the Pakleds don't seem like brilliant strategists. Nonbrilliant strategists tend to use the same approach over and over. If that's true, the Pakleds did the same thing with the Romulans and the Klingons. Does this seem like an approach that would work with Romulans and Klingons?
• From CAlexander on 2011-04-10 at 4:40am:
  An average episode, the Pakleds are amusing and there is some good interaction between Picard and Wesley.
  
  DSOmo: I agree that their tactic of stealing a crewmember wouldn't work too well with the Klingons or Romulans. But frankly, it wasn't working too hot with the Federation either. The whole idea is, appropriately, idiotic. My best guess: The Pakleds suckered some benevolent race, acquired some technology, then went around robbing small vessels and obtaining second-hand technology one way or another. When they saw how big the Enterprise was, somebody had the bright idea of using trickery again, but didn't think it through so well.
  
• From lordcheeto on 2017-07-29 at 3:15am:
  After the main power failure, Geordi uses his communicator to inform Riker that it's going to take him longer than he expected.
  
  Riker says "on screen", even though Geordi wasn't communicating with the ships system, and it still works.
• From McCoy on 2017-11-18 at 8:44am:
  I'm rewatching the series and still wandering... Why most people hate Pulaski, but call Picard best captain of all Trek series? This episode is one of best evidence that Picard is jerk, while Pulaski is great doctor and compationate person. Picards attitude towards her after his surgery is horrible. On her place I would leave Enterprise at once.
  PS - Pulaski once claimed she could help Geordi with his eyes. I bet she could. If she says she can do something, then she can:)
• From Azalea Jane on 2021-07-22 at 2:34am:
  Agreed with DSOmo above. Riker, you of all people know better than to ignore Troi's warnings. Seriously! Geordi wasn't even sent over with a security detail. In just the previous episode, "Q-Who?", the crew learn an important lesson about complacency, and now this!
  
  SO disappointed they didn't utilize the captain's yacht in this episode. I know, I know, budget. ...but still. I wish they had contrived something better than a tiny, slow shuttlecraft. Overall a pretty solid episode, though. Good backstory for Picard that gets revisited in "Tapestry" later.
  
  "Any rumors of my brush with death are greatly exaggerated."

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Pete Miller on 2006-04-16 at 2:10am:
  Worf: "I hate questionnaires"
  
  I rather enjoyed Picard telling Rasmussen that he doesn't give a damn about his past.
  
  I also enjoyed the end. "Oh professor: welcome to the twenty FOURTH century." Oh yeah. That's what's up, professor. You just got served. Picard style. Fun episode that I liked quite a bit.
• From Jeff on 2006-06-03 at 3:17am:
  Problem:
  After arriving on the Enterprise, Rasmussen informs the crew that he is from the late 26th century and has traveled some "300 years" into the past to visit the Enterprise. Well, if he traveled from the late 26th century back to the late 24th century, that's a span of only 200 years.
• From Sherlock on 2006-10-12 at 2:11am:
  This is another of those episodes were the logic of the plot is bizarre, as Kethinov points out in the comments, but I have to say that I liked Matt Frewer's performance. He's so goofy that it makes the episode fun to watch. And I love in the beginning how he tells Picard to move over! Classic!
• From DSOmo on 2007-09-09 at 7:17pm:
  - Troi says that she only feels Rasmussen is hiding something. Why can't Troi sense Rasmussen's deception? In "The Battle," Troi sensed "considerable deception" from the Ferengi captain. Troi should be able to sense Rasmussen's deception, but if she did, there would be no show! Then again, why can't Geordi sense Rasmussen's deception? In "Up The Long Ladder," Geordi immediately spotted the deception from the prime minister of the colony of clones. In that episode, Geordi claimed that his visor allowed him to see the physiological changes that accompany lying. He said it didn't always work on other races, but when it came to humans, he had them "pegged." Rasmussen is human.
  - During a conversation with Picard, Rasmussen continues to act out the part of a historian by measuring the width of the captain's ready room. He backs up against the door and methodically paces off the distance to the window. So how did the door know not to open? Rasmussen backs right up to it and it remains closed.
  - During the drilling, Worf tells Picard, "Target fourteen complete, sir." This means there are at least fourteen drill sites. Later, on one of the workstations, Riker shows Picard a graphic of all the drill sites. There are only eight drill sites in the picture. What happened to the other ones?
  - Rasmussen tells Data he intends to take the items he stole from the Enterprise back to the twenty-second century and "invent" them one at a time. Rasmussen's plan simply will not work. Suppose an inventor from the nineteenth century appears in our time and steals a laptop computer. He returns to his century - certain that fame and fortune await him when he "invents" this incredible contraption and markets it to the public. Let's say the "inventor" quickly learns how to operate it. Next, he disassembles the computer and confronts a very big problem. To him, the inside of the computer would be "magic." For the sake of argument, let's say that he figures out how the insides of the computer work. Now the "inventor" confronts an even worse problem. He has no way to manufacture the computer. An invention won't make you any sunstantial money unless you can mass-produce it. The infrastructure of manufacturing technology that allowed the creation of the laptop computer doesn't exist in the nineteenth century. The inventor has nothing more than an interesting artifact.
  - One of the items Rasmussen stole was a Klingon dagger. Don't they have knives in the twenty-second century? ;)
  - At the end of the episode, when Rasmussen begs to return to his own time in the twenty-second century, Picard won't let him. In fact, Picard asks Rasmussen a very peculiar question as Rasmussen continues pleading. Picard says, "Now, what possible incentive could anyone offer me to allow that?" Maybe Rasmussen is the great-great-great-great-great-grandfather of Riker. Maybe he helped Cochrane with a few conceptual ideas in the early stages of development of warp drive. Maybe he inspired a whole generation of leaders with his "fictitious tales" of life in the future. No one can know the impact of a single life. Yet Picard, with all his supposed knowledge of temporal logic, rips Rasmussen from the past by refusing to allow him to return.
• From Remco on 2007-11-10 at 7:37pm:
  I'm not natively English speaking, so I could be wrong, but before the title sequence, Data says: "The odds are extremely unlikely." That's strange, because it's a contamination of "The odds are extremely against it" and "It's extremely unlikely". An android that doesn't produce contractions certainly shouldn't get creative with other parts of the English language.
• From JRPoole on 2008-07-31 at 8:14pm:
  This one is entertaining if you don't think too hard about the ridiculous plot. Are we to believe that a 22nd century con man plans to steal items from the future by happening by the flagship of federation? Surely there's a better way to smuggle contraband back in time than screwing around with a starship. The post above that mentions the impossibility of "inventing" these types of items out of context is also right on, but maybe he just wasn't a very smart con man.
  
  This one gets a couple of points for me because Troi is pretty badass for a change, and the humor actually works here. Matt Frewer plays Rasmussen well as well.
  
  The thing that makes this ridiculous to me, and the reason I don't generally like temporal plots is that it's impossible to figure out the right course of action to keep history intact. What if, in the "real" timeline, many of the innovations common to the 24th century came about as a result of Rasmussen bringing them back?
  
  Bottom line: utterly ridiculous, but thoroughly entertaining. This is a 3.
• From nirutha on 2010-09-29 at 4:11pm:
  I think your too hard on Picard in what I consider to be the only redeeming scene of this episode.
  The argument between Rasmussen and Picard spotlights the moral dilemma rather nicely and Patrick Steward delivers it very well.
  He has broken the Prime Directive when the ends justified it, and he's also willing to use information from the future to save lives and possibly change the course of history - but to him, it's the future, and it has yet to be written.
  I don't think it's hypocrisy at all, but it's up to the individual viewer to make a judgement. And I like that even more.
  
  Apart from that, I found Rasmussen utterly annoying. Would anyone really believe that's how a historian from the future would act?
  
  And then there's sloppy writing: All Troy can read is that Rasmussen is holding something back. And she really can't tell the difference between holding something back and outright deception - how convenient.
  Then they try to fix the planet's cimate with a procedure that could instantly kill the whole population in a terrible firestorm? And the colony leaders are o.k. with that? Of course, everything works just fine and the huge risk Picard is taking is not really felt.
  In the last scenes, Rasmussen is back in his ship, has taken Data prisoner and is about to return to his time - oh boy, how do we get out of this mess? Luckily, the Enterprise's computer could detect and disable all the equipment in Rasmussen's ship the second he opened the door, including the phaser he was pointing at Data.
  A very, very poor deus ex machina ending, even for ST:TNG.
• From Doddzy on 2012-07-10 at 10:39pm:
  wat about at the end, his time ships destination was 22nd centuary new jersy, woulnd'nt someone else find it and use it?
• From ChristopherA on 2019-04-30 at 3:22pm:
  The plot twist (guy from 26th century is actually from 22nd) is clever and I didn't see it coming, but otherwise I agree this episode is bad. Episode spent watching Rasmussen be annoying, then it turns out his plan was poorly executed (there were much easier ways to make a profit with the time machine!) and is solved with a deus ex machina.
  
  I can come up with some hand waving justifications after the fact. Maybe he chose the flagship of the federation (of all places) to try his con because he is a poor time pilot with a lot less control of the time capsule than he pretends to have. And the ending could have made more sense if they had set it up with Geordi rigging some sort of radiation pulse directed at the time capsule to fry the electronics as soon as the door was opened.
• From Chuck the Canuck on 2023-07-03 at 8:03pm:
  Rasmussen's behavior is just too intrusively obnoxious while trying to pass himself off as a future historian. He says he just wants to observe, and yet the crew is well aware and annoyed by his continuous comments and interruptions. I have a hard time believing they didn't challenge him sooner. Several of them suspected something was up with him, so it's frustrating to see them all play along.
  
  I did enjoy Picard's discussion with him when trying to get insight on his decision about the planet. He made some great points, and clearly Rasmussen was not prepared to have a philosophical challenge to his ruse.
  
  I give this a 3. Pretty silly but at the very least, entertaining.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-06-27 at 9:33am:
  - Why did Data even start this whole episode with the little girl? Data is an android. He is not swayed by emotions.
  - Picard orders Data to sever the contact with Drema IV. Data responds to Picard's order by piping the transmission from Sarjenka into the captain's quarters! This is NOT severing contact. This is a willful violation of a direct order.
  - Picard states that the Prime Directive is "to protect us - to prevent us from allowing our emotions to overwhelm our judgment." And then Picard does a 180-degree turn and decides to help Drema IV. Why? Because he heard Sarjenka's plea for help - precisely the type of action the Prime Directive was designed to prevent. In "Encounter At Farpoint," the Bandi city gets blown to bits while the leader screams for help and Picard calmly discusses his options. In "Symbiosis," the drug-addicted Onarans beg Picard to help them. He refuses because of the Prime Directive. Maybe the leader of the Bandi should have had one of the children call for help. If the Onarans had brought out one of their little girls - writhing in the pains of withdrawal - would that have caused Picard to change his mind?
  - When Data takes Sarjenka back home, he places a singer stone in her hand. Data leaves tangible evidence of the Enterprise's presence.
  - Did Data produce the stone with a replicator? It looks identical to the one in Dr. Pulaski's office. She agreed that erasing the girl's memory was the wisest course of action. She would not have agred to provide evidence of their involvement. If the stone was not replicated, it was stolen.
  - The house on Drema IV is very interesting. It has a door that can evaporate on command. The door represents a very sophisticated technology, a scientific advancement not reflected in the rest of the home.
• From CAlexander on 2011-04-05 at 3:24pm:
  A terrible episode, everyone is out of character. First, the basis of the episode is supposed to be Data's connection with the little girl, which we never see. Not to mention that it is clearly inappropriate behavior on his part to have a secret conversation with an unknown species for several weeks using the ship's equipment, and we never know why he does it. Then Picard sets up the Prime Directive as an impossibly unyielding strawman, claiming that they can't intervene to save a civilization from destruction, it has to be left to its own fate. They've never had this mystic view of fate before, the Prime Directive was to avoid screwing up the population's natural development. There won't be any development if the planet explodes! Then Data demonstrates that he has developed an emotional attachment to the little girl. What? Then, for the rest of the episode, Picard becomes a spineless jellyfish who gives in to every demand from Data because they have to save the little girl. This, on the other hand, is exactly what the Prime Directive was meant to avoid! Picard becomes a huge hypocrite – it is OK for millions to suffer for the Prime Directive, but if one of them is a cute little girl, apparently that is totally different. It is as though the writer doesn't care about the characters and just wants to write a little morality play, though what the moral actually is I'm not certain.
  
  Wesley's plot is OK but not stimulating television.
  
• From Bernard on 2011-04-05 at 10:44pm:
  I find it interesting that CAlexander brings up the point about the Prime Directive. At this point in the evolution of the Star Trek universe the way that starship captains interpret the Prime Directive seems to be seen as flexible. So in this situation where people will die if they do not interfere then Picard breaks the Prime Directive. He breaks it many times in fact.
  
  Take the actions of Captain Archer in the episode Dear Doctor (I think it's Dear Doctor) where they condemn an entire population through inaction. Captain Archer who, incidentally, baulks later on in the series when the Organians show up and intend to do the exact same thing to him and his crew, i.e. they don't want to interfere with lesser species.
  
  What I'm trying to say is that through the years of writing Trek the creators/writers seemed to decide to turn the Prime Directive into something that it was not supposed to be. Perhaps this episode was the start.
  
  I agree that it is an abominable episode by the way and cannot believe that our webmaster has rated it so highly!
• From Alex on 2020-02-20 at 1:38pm:
  I absolutely cannot call this episode dreadful. It may be a less stimulating episode but I feel that it belongs in the "skeleton" that composes the whole body of the series.
  
  I also feel there's a rather obvious difference between this case of violating the PD and when they didn't do it with either the Ornarans or the Bandi. Both "Symbiosis" and "Encounter..." dealth with already space-faring races. In both cases it was not a force-of-nature scenario that would lead to tragedy. In both cases there *was* an option that ultimately would resolve it. This time there was no undercover plot. The species would go extinct because planetary mechanics.
  
  Regarding the comments here: How is anybody "out of character"? They're absolutely IN their character when they debate the PD. Worf says that rules are rules and must be obeyed without second thought. Pulaski of course sees the humanitarian angle. Picard himself isn't a robot, he doesn't like condemning a species by inaction, and it was so often that he prefers compromise, this ended up being exactly that. And "Data lacks emotions so why did he bother" simply sounds like not understanding his character, at all. Data doesn't fully understand emotions, but he can think and decide what is right or wrong. This wasn't ever an issue of him being unresponsive to moving situations!
  
  The most "out of character" bit for me was when they theoretically discussed the "cosmic plan" and how it can be factored it. That sounded maybe a little bit unscientific and it was unusual to see several characters at once discussing it like that.
  
  Overall I agree with Kethinov that the episode is "routinely pleasant". I'd rate it a 6.
  
  P. S. Oh one last thing. When Data transports into Sarjenka's house, you can see in the background an endtable-height thingo that is very much shaped like a goat head! So intriguing to find on an otherwise alien planet!
• From Azalea Jane on 2021-07-20 at 3:15am:
  I heard it pointed out somewhere that the Prime Directive could be seen as a certain kind of apologetics for colonialism. Picard often stresses: "history has shown that any time a more advanced civilization comes in contact with a less advanced civilization, despite the best of intentions, the results are disastrous."
  
  Are they, though? Necessarily? Always? This attitude posits that the atrocities committed by, say, European colonists to the natives of the American continents were cosmically inevitable once they made contact, rather than a product of human ignorance and greed of the time. This, in a way, absolves colonizers of culpability and acts like it's not possible under any circumstances for a "more advanced" civilization to benevolently interact with less advanced societies. (At least to the point of warp, I guess.)
  
  It's a perspective I'm still mulling over. But either way, I think this episode highlights the failures of the Prime Directive. Picard even said it in "Justice": "There can be no justice so long as laws are absolute."
  
  An absolutist approach may seem simplest, but it is not always workable. Failure to prevent harm when you are able to, to me, is ethically questionable. Hiding behind some abstract principle (based on dubious assumptions) doesn't magically change the reality of the harm that is poised to come to these people. I think Picard's faith in the PD is one of his character flaws. For a man of such thoughtfulness and depth, he can also be quite rigid.
  
  CAlexander points it out well: the PD is intended to avoid messing with a society's natural development. But unless the Enterprise intervenes, there won't _be_ any development, for reasons outside the society's control!
  
  It almost feels like an attempt on Picard's part to _feel_ like he's "doing the right" thing by doing nothing. It's a nice reminder that our shining Federation is not necessarily the arbiter of good in the universe.
  
  Data emotionspotting: He's clearly attached to Sarjenka. And when Picard orders him to sever contact, he instead plays a recording -- thereby attempting to appeal to human emotions. It shows an understanding of emotions that enables him to manipulate everyone. And it works! Everyone sees his blatant appeal to emotion and yet it still works! (Also: "Sir, I feel it important...")
  
  In a comment above, DSOmo says "Data is an android. He is not swayed by emotions." This is a little simplistic and misses the point. Data displaying signs of emotion or attachment is not a writing error. It's part of his character. It may be written a little inconsistently, but Data clearly has _some_ rudimentary emotions, even if he doesn't report experiencing them as such. Indeed, you can't completely separate logic from emotion anyway. Logic is a human construct, and human intelligence is a thin veneer over our core of instinct and emotion. At this level of technological ability, one couldn't design an android trying to be human without it showing something that reads as emotion to other emotional beings.
  
  I think it's a very Trek-esque plot point that it is the supposedly "emotionless" (though not really) artificial being that has to remind everyone else of their humanity (humanoid-ity?).
  
  Little peeve: the Enterprise fixing the planet. This is one of many episodes where a process that should take weeks, months, or years takes seconds. Imagine one starship having _that_ kind of immediate power over a planet! Another hasty Trek ending.
  
  Pulaski: "My emotions are involved. Data's friend is going to die. That means something."
  Worf: "To Data."
  Pulaski: "Does that invalidate the emotion?"
  
  Pulaski admitting Data's ability to have friends???? Wow. Nice character development!

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Orion Pimpdaddy on 2006-06-18 at 1:43am:
  Season 7 seems to concentrate on fully developing the background of the TNG crew. Inheritance accomplishes by filling in more detailed information about his past.
  
  But that is all this episode is, a chronicle of Data. It is only average when compared to the other Data episodes. I give it a 5.
• From Orion Pimpdaddy on 2006-06-18 at 1:46am:
  Problem:
  How can Juliana live her whole life without knowing she was an android? You would think she would set off metal detectors, get an X-ray done, or accidentally open up the maintenance hatch that is on her head.
  
• From Paul on 2010-08-17 at 9:16pm:
  Geordi would be unable to detect her as an android since she was designed to give off human vital signs etc.
• From John on 2011-02-05 at 5:02pm:
  This episode is ok, though to be honest I've found myself skipping it when re-watching the series. I enjoyed when I saw it for the first time but, like others have said, it really doesn't have much of a plot.
  
  It fits into a sort of sub-category of trek episodes that I find generally annoying: the "charming woman with a secret" episodes. Typically these episodes feature a talented guest actress as a woman who charms one or more of the crew, but who has some hidden agenda or other secret thing about them which eventually becomes the focus of the plot. In many cases, this gets old quick. In the case where the audience actually likes the mystery woman it's just as bad, because they are never referred to again.
  
  I give this one a 4 myself, because it's nothing new, and not all that interesting either.
• From Robert Koenn on 2011-07-05 at 6:59pm:
  I rated this episode a 5. I found it quite interesting and definitely a good Data episode. The story was fairly well done although there are always those plot lines that are written to carry the story as ridiculous as always. Whenever there is something questionable happening or to explain there is either a well it happened this way or a new technology is involved, not something logical. However my biggest gripe is that it would be ridiculous to think an android, no matter how advanced, would not realize it wasn't flesh and blood. That is totally absurd. It never got sick, it never cut itself, it never figured out that the food it ate was not normally processed as a biological being would be, and on and on. Soong could simply not have made everything so human that a thinking machine would not determine it was a machine.
• From Mike Chambers on 2021-10-16 at 4:25am:
  I love how the holographic Dr. Soong tells Data that he designed the android Juliana to shut down in the event that she learns she's an android, yet in the next scene, they are discussing whether or not Data should tell her and this fact is never even mentioned. It seems like an important consideration?

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Orion Pimpdaddy on 2006-06-28 at 4:39pm:
  Whether you believe in evolution or not, you'll probably agree that the science in this episode is really bad. This is so in the initial transformations, where cats turn to lizards and humans turn to spiders, but also in the part where everyone returns to normal. How can a brain, like Riker's, shrink in size and then return to its original size while keeping all of the original memories intact? I also question how half the crew did not end up dying from the wild animals running around. Perhaps it was because they were all huddled together in certain areas of the ships, as Data specifies, but I have to believe that a large number still would have died.
  
  If you can get past the bad science of the episode, you may find the rest entertaining enough to watch, deserving of a 5.
• From JRPoole on 2008-11-03 at 3:15pm:
  Usually episodes that feature truly bad science annoy me to no end, but I'm willing to let it go with this one simple because it's so much fun.
  
  As the person above noted, the science isn't all that bad with some suspension of disbelief. If we all evolved from a common ancestor in the form of a unicellular organism, you can posit that there are reptilian and even insect DNA fragments lying domant in our genetic codes. Human embryos have gills and tails, for instance. Sure it's a stretch, but the visual effects and makeup were all done well and it's great fun if you don't take it too seriously.
  
  What I do have a problem with is the idea noted above about everyone returning to normal. It's ridiculous to think that the structual properties of the new bodies and the memories encoded in the now physically changed brains would remain intact. Still, I enjoyed this one throroughly. I'd probably hide this episode if I was introducing someone to TNG, as it is pretty goofy, but it's action-packed and entertaining, so I gave it a 5. They can't all be classics, and all I ask of filler episodes is to be entertaining, and this one definitely delivers.
  
• From SS on 2009-01-17 at 3:49am:
  The science could have been a lot worse. "Introns" really are sections of the genome that do not code for anything and certain sections have indeed been identified as leftovers of our evolutionary past.
  
  Mammals evolved from reptiles, which evolved from amphibians, so Troi's change works. Ogawa made a good australopithecine, and Riker made a good erectine (although Data identified him as australopithecine, he was much too large to be anything other than Homo). The spider is much harder to justify, as arachnids are not part of humans' evolutionary past, but it made for a good scare.
  
  There are obviously some major problems that others have identified, but it's all in good fun. This isn't one of my favorite episodes, but for season 7 it's well above average.
• From Albert on 2009-07-08 at 7:53pm:
  Another rare bad episode in my opinion, I agree with another reviewer that it's mainly the bad science that makes it insulting. Sorry to repeat another comment almost word-for-word, but Riker's brain shrinking seems like it would do permanent damage. Unless they are trying to say something unkind about Riker in this episode.
  
  Every crew member surely would have suffered permanent brain damage and physical deformities from this illness.
  
  The primordial version of Worf is the best part of this episode, it makes me wonder if in a first draft he was to be the only on affected, and started to hunt through the ship like the alien in Alien. I would have liked a version like this better.
• From Keith on 2013-02-03 at 3:54am:
  Continuity Error
  
  Troi is in Sick Bay after Worf's attack, then in her quarters when Picard and Data reenter the ship, then back in sSick Bay when Worf is intent on mating with her. Surely Picard and Data did not bring her back to Sick Bay.
• From TheAnt on 2013-11-05 at 3:38pm:
  Biology violated
  
  This is one questionable episode indeed, but it made in a way that almost make me think that the authors of the script told themselves that 'We've violated physics so many times, and the internal ideas of Star Trek, so we better violate Biology bigtime now in the last part of the series as well."
  
  When I did see the episode the first time, U initially thought it were some sort of anti-genetic engineering propaganda piece. But the solution which indeed utilized genetic engineering contradicted that idea.
  (So that was one idea I got when still watching this.)
  
  SS is indeed correct about the introns, but those loose segments left over from our earlier stages of evolution would not combine to make other complete organisms.
  Even so with the extremely bad science the story might still have been able to fly, if they had made a few details more believable.
  
  Sadly that's not the case, and with one completely deflating ending, that the shot Crusher gave Backlay had started all this. I can only give this episode a weak 4, and those points given only for the horror action elements and SFX such as Barclay as a spider and Neanderthal Riker.
  
• From Axel on 2015-03-07 at 3:45am:
  The science problems don't really bother me as much as some people. If someone watches this episode and thinks, "Wow, I had no idea humans evolved from spiders!" I think that speaks more to the failure of public education than it does Star Trek's handling of evolutionary biology. Besides, most of the transformations are believable, such as Riker, Ogawa and Picard himself. And as mentioned before, it's not as if Star Trek hasn't sometimes fumbled other scientific concepts.
  
  The acting is what I enjoyed most about this episode. It gave the cast a chance to try some new things, and for the most part I think it was very entertaining. Dorn's performance was a lot of fun; Frakes did a great job playing the smaller-brained devolving hominid; and Schultz got to play Barclay on steroids, which was pretty enjoyable.
  
  As opposed to DS9 with its story arcs, TNG's 7th season feels like it was just wrapping things up as it went along while also pushing the sci-fi envelope a bit. Some of it worked, some of it didn't. This episode wasn't memorable, but it was fun enough. I'd give it a 6.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-07-23 at 2:52am:
  Several times during the episode the terrorists use their dimensional shift to board the Enterprise. Beaming up to an orbiting spacecraft requires a great deal of accuracy. First of all, how do these terrorists locate the Enterprise? They would have to have access to sophisticated sensor equipment. Even then, they would also need detailed drawings of the Enterprise to accomplish the kind of raid that occurs in this episode. The terrorists beam directly to Engineering - one to the upper level of the dilithium chamber and one on the lower level. After the first attack fails, they beam to the bridge and take the captain. Is information about Galaxy Class starships freely available?
• From JRPoole on 2008-04-03 at 2:00pm:
  This episode leaves me flat. I generally like it when Trek does shows that can be seen as an allegorical take on real-world issues, but sometimes they can be pretty heavy-handed, like the TOS episode "Let This Be Your Last Battlefield," which is a fan favorite I've always considered fairly weak.
  
  What's not clear in this episode is why, exactly, the separatists feel oppressed. Like the review above states, the question of whether they deserve independence is ignored. Another thing that bothers me about this episode is the action sequences. The music and the pacing of the episode remind me of cheesy 80s tv shows like the A Team. That combined with the surface-only exploration of the problem of terrorism seriously detracts from this episode for me.
  
  On a side note, I wonder how this episode would have been viewed had it come out in a post 9/11 world?
• From thaibites on 2010-12-24 at 12:45pm:
  I think ALL of the opinions about this episode show that the commentators are so wrapped up in their self-righteousness that they missed the fact that 50% of this episode is devoted to hearing the "terrorists" explain their position.
• From CAlexander on 2011-04-20 at 9:14pm:
  The terrorist leader is truly chilling as a multi-dimensional, well-spoken, but totally ruthless man who can easily justify any action he takes, no matter how many lives it costs. It is interesting how Dr. Crusher develops a hostage mentality (as Picard points out).
  - I totally agree with DSOmo that the attack on the Enterprise showed startling sophistication. But then, so did the dimensional transporters; these were not your ordinary terrorists, they were equipped with superior technology. Maybe they were being supplied with tech by some hostile power?
  - It is odd that the episode doesn't go the way you expect for a morality episode. But that may an intentional plot twist; you expect it to be resolved by diplomatic Federation mediation, but that isn't what happens. The situation on the planet is portrayed as way beyond the crew's ability to solve, all they can do is take decisive action against the immediate threat to themselves and hope that peace will some day come.
  
• From Phil on 2012-03-11 at 4:36pm:
  The BBC banned this episode when it was first aired due to his political content regarding the unification of Ireland. It was a bit of a hot potato for them!!!
  
• From QuasiGiani on 2018-01-01 at 7:16am:
  A really rotten, repulsive episode.
  
  The freedom fighters are supposedly heard and supposedly sympathized with. And then their leader is most certainly murdered by the side The Federation has the fucking nerve to have remained bolstering...
  
  Riker has his little good-for-nothing comment and then it's over-and-out -- off to episode 13! Cue fan-fare music! Daaa dadada dadadaa!
  
  It's a wrap.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-09-03 at 12:32am:
  - Whenever this episode shows a graphic of the distortions, it depicts them as static chunks moving through space. Yet, on the Enterprise, the distortions seem to appear and disappear randomly. If the chunks move through space retaining the same shape, their paths through the Enterprise should define a line. When a distortion hits the hull, there should be decompression of the closest room. As the distortion continues through the ship, the internal sensors should be able to track it until it exits. This isn't what happens on the Enterprise. The distortions phase in and out. But if the chunks phase in and out, this would completely nullify the value of putting a shuttle craft out in front of the Enterprise. A distortion could disappear as the shuttle passed through it and then reappear before the Enterprise arrived at that spot.
  - The crew members directly link the navigational controls of the ship to the shuttle. If they can directly link the navigational controls, can't they link the sensors also? Why not put an unmanned shuttle out in front? The Enterprise could display the shuttle's sensors on the main viewscreen and make course corrections for itself and the shuttle at the same time. In that way, if something happened to the shuttle, no lives would be lost. Instead, Picard places his life at risk.
  - As Data tries to please Jenna, he offers to organize her closets for her. He comments, "I have found that by grouping apparel, first by function, then by color - from light to dark - one can more easily find the desired choice." Considering that Data has never worn anything but a uniform on this series, this is a very funny statement. (Data did wear something besides a uniform in "The Most Toys" and "Brothers," but in both cases the clothing was forced on him.) Even for his last romantic dinner with Jenna he wears his uniform. Since Data has only one type and color of clothing in his closet, what did he mean when he claimed that he had discovered the best way to group apparel?
  - When the computer reports atmospheric decompression in the observation lounge, Worf claims that the sensors do not register a hull breach. Yet after life support is restored and the bridge crew enters the lounge, all the furniture is pushed against a window. Evidently a distortion passed through the lounge window, venting the atmosphere into space and causing the furniture to pile up. Sure sounds like a hull breach, doesn't it?
• From Fred on 2008-01-06 at 4:33pm:
  It turns out this is the first episode directed by Patrick Stewart... was he trying to out do the first episode Riker directed? (also a 'data episode') (how many others has Riker directed? I think it would be good to have the director/writer noted for each episode on your reviews.
  
  I've been reading your reviews as I watch through TNG for my first time. They've been interesting. It's been good to see your feelings and comments and the contrast of your rating with the 'public' rating. Also the more holistic view, relating TNG episodes to the rest of the Star Trek serieses, which I have seen only a little of. Thanks!
• From Mike on 2008-03-14 at 3:34pm:
  Thought this was a relatively weak episode... some comments:
  
  - Jenna was an extremely annoying person, I can see why she's been through some boyfriends!
  
  - Brent Spiner did a great job, but "android tinkers with romance" was really sort of a ridiculous plot
  
  - The death of that crewman totally freaked me out - very cool idea! I agree that I wish they wouldn't have blown her death off like they did, though.
  
  - Why did Picard fly the shuttle? Seemed sort of silly... he's not the best pilot (Riker or Data would've been better), and Riker was right in telling Picard he shouldn't be going.
  
  - I though the premise of the B Plot was pretty interesting, and would've made a more palatable "A" plot.
• From JRPoole on 2008-07-01 at 9:44pm:
  I'm fond of this episode, though I can see why others are not. The subplot was a bit ridiculous, and Picard piloting the shuttle was, as someone mentioned above, beyond stupid. It was a classic Kirk move, and out of character for Picard.
  
  I'm a bit disappointed that the episode largely ignores the subject of sex in the relationship, although that could easily have gotten out of hand. As interesting as I find Data's attempts at romance, I'm glad (for once) that this is a reset button episode, as Jenna is extremely annoying.
• From ChristopherA on 2012-07-11 at 1:48pm:
  This episode is just OK for me. The concept of the relationship is good, and I generally liked the overall flow. I enjoyed the performance of Jenna as someone who wants a relationship with Data for not quite the right reason. And I liked the various different forms of advice given by each character to Data about dating. And the break-up at the end, with Data's reaction of total indifference, is really fitting to his character. The downside is that I didn't find it entertaining to watch Data act out his lengthy series of artificial "courtship" programs. And the plot about the distortions is forgettable (and, as others have noted, it doesn’t make a lot of sense, and having Picard insist on piloting the shuttle is rather unnatural).
• From Daniel on 2014-06-28 at 10:07am:
  This is one of my favorite episodes (I have dozens of favorites). I think Data's attempts at a "romantic program" seem a bit forced and fake. Certainly, by now, he should have a better grasp of human behavior.
  
  One item in this episode puzzles me; it is a technical/costuming glitch I noticed. In the scene where Data is on his "date" with Jenna, and he begins picking up clothes and humming a tune... When he turns away from the camera to walk into the other room, I noticed a big lump on his back. It looks like there is something under his shirt. Later in the scene, the lump is gone. Perhaps it was a stretched piece of fabric which later smoothed itself, or maybe it was a microphone under his shirt which was quickly removed during filming when they noticed it. Does anybody else see it, or am I imagining it?

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-07-06 at 3:24pm:
  - At times the Enterprise is so distant that it takes a considerable amount of time to get a message to another ship or planet. For instance, in "The Battle" it took a day to get a message to Starfleet headquarters. Most of the time the Enterprise can communicate instantly. In this episode, Picard wants to talk with the Sheliak home world, Worf says, "Their home world is quite distant. This will take some time." Presumably, Worf comments on the delay because it will take a while for the communications request to reach the Sheliak home world. Yet when Worf finally makes contact, Picard has a dialogue with the Sheliak. There is no delay for transmission time! In other words, Picard would speak a sentence and have to wait while the sentence traveled to the Sheliak. Then the Sheliak would reply, and the reply would travel back.
  - Data pilots Shuttle Craft "05" to the planet. In this episode, the name of the shuttle is Onizuka. However, in the episode "Times Squared," Shuttle Craft "05" was named El-Baz.
• From paidmailer on 2009-09-24 at 6:32pm:
  I love this episode's Shelliac story. This is the kind of stuff I would like to see more. The colonist scenes were boring, but the whole diplomacy trouble picard found himself in was excellent.
• From thaibites on 2010-09-25 at 2:28am:
  Again, we have an episode that focuses on people's feelings more than it does on sci-fi. Does Oprah Winfrey write these episodes? More Sheliac and less human interaction and feelings, please!
• From John on 2010-12-26 at 5:44am:
  You have to love Data when he basically gets up and says "Quit the BS and pack your bags. I'm done effing around with you people."
• From CAlexander on 2011-03-29 at 8:52pm:
  I generally liked this episode. It was basically two mini-episodes, each with a fun conclusion. My one reservation is that everyone takes a while to see the obvious. As soon as the colonists start to talk about fighting back, my first reaction was, "How?" But it takes Data forever to mention the obvious point that everyone will be obliterated from orbit and there won't be any fighting back! And the usually cunning Picard is rather slow to realize that the Sheliac won't listen to anything not backed by the treaty.
• From Damien Bradley on 2015-01-20 at 7:38am:
  I've always liked this episode. Great character development for data, and great buildup to the scene where he uses the phaser. This time around, the scene at the end between Picard and the Sheliak had me giggling like a little kid! "You enjoyed that!" "You're damn right."
  
  One of my favorite things about this episode was how they didn't handwave/treknobabble away the problem of the transporters not working through the radiation (if it were that easy, it wouldn't be a problem!). No, they really couldn't do it--and they knew that the technological limitations would take years of research to get around. That is a little more realistic!
  
  Too bad we don't get to see more of O'Brien playing the cello in this series or DS9. Maybe he stopped playing in favor of married life and darts?
• From Alan on 2020-05-06 at 1:05pm:
  Just rewatched the episode . Just noticed that the metal sculpture in Ardys apartment , looks a lot like the battle droids from the Star Wars prequels. Maybe George Lucas was doing some secret Star Trek viewing to get some inspiration.. ????????

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Sherlock on 2006-10-09 at 8:14pm:
  Although I don't think this episode ranks up there with some of the Data episodes, such as "The Measure of a Man," I still bow down to Brent Spiner for his excellent performance of three very different characters. I love him as Lore- so brazen and sarcastic. You almost feel sorry for him though, because Soong did replace him with Data. Sibling rivalry between brothers! Whoda thought?
  I also love how Data commendeered the ship. It makes me wonder-
  if he can imitate Picard's voice and fool the computer with only a simple homing chip, wouldn't it be easy for an enemy of the federation to kidnap him and program him to take over the Enterprise? Data is both the most valuable and dangerous, in a way, member of the crew.
• From Jem'Hadar on 2007-03-27 at 2:04am:
  I don't know why so many people don't like this episode; it's the perfect Data episode.
• From DSOmo on 2007-08-03 at 3:58pm:
  - Voiceprints can be faked. As seen in "The Battle," when a Ferengi captain faked a confession from Picard. Since voiceprints can be faked, I would expect Starfleet to use some method to verify the authenticity of the voiceprint. In fact: Starfleet uses two methods: handprints and voice codes. The point is that it shouldn't be so easy for Data to present himself falsely as Picard. Since the computer can report the location of each person on the Enterprise, wouldn't it be logical for the computer to cross-check the location of the person with a command request? Yet for this seemingly important operation - localizing command function - only a voiceprint is required.
  - After the crew regains access to the main bridge, they find that Data entered a security code. It stops them from giving command orders to the computer. They decide they must go to the planet and capture Data. After a great deal of effort, the crew gets a transporter working, and an away team beams down. Couldn't the crew have saved time by taking the shuttle craft instead?
  - When Data falls into the trance, he rides a turbolift with the sick boy's worried brother. Moments later, Data reaches over to a panel on the wall of the turbolift and indicates his new destination. A panel on the inside wall of a turbolift? When did turbolifts get control panels?
• From JRPoole on 2008-04-29 at 12:19am:
  Maybe it's just because this episode comes straight on the heels of two of the series' absolute best, but it leaves me a little flat for reasons I can't quite put my finger on.
  
  Spiner's acting here is quite good, and the story is poignant, but there's just something missing. Maybe it's that Data's "homing signal" seems pretty improbable. What's the range on this thing, anyway? How did Soong know where Data was? It also seems a little irresponsible to summon a very powerful android with a call that makes him act dangerously.
  
  Maybe it's the nonchalant way that the crew just blows off Data's commandeering the ship. Maybe it's the way they just leave Soong there without much of a struggle. Maybe it's just that TBOBW and "Family" were so stellar. I don't know. I give this one a 6, because it is above average.
• From CAlexander on 2011-05-26 at 4:21pm:
  In general, I thought the episode was fairly effective with the desperate struggle to regain control of the ship, and in particular, the relationship between the brothers and Soong. Lore's jealousy and attempts to manipulate his father are well-played. And it was interesting how Soong, despite his awesome mad scientist cybernetic skills, is far from perfect. He is self-absorbed and not a very good judge of character; reasonable character traits to expect from a technology-obsessed hermit. Data is a wiser man than he is.
  - I had the same impression as DSOmo that it was awfully easy to take over the Enterprise just by using a voiceprint of the captain. But it is reasonable that he could have taken over in that fashion if you assume that, offscreen, he used his computer hacking skills to screw up the main computer and destroy its normal safeguard mechanisms.
  
• From Daniel on 2014-04-26 at 12:47am:
  This is a pretty good episode. I just want to point out two flaws I noticed. First of all, it would seem to me that with a complicated thing like a starship and all the rules and standards of Starfleet, there should be back-up procedures for every contingency; such as Data locking out the ship's computer functions from the rest of the ship. You would think Picard would have several methods of overriding command functions to prevent anyone else from taking over command. The other item, a trivial point, was when Soong asked Data to whistle. Data tried and could not achieve a proper whistle. However, in the first episode, Encounter At Farpoint, Riker meets Data in the holo deck and finds him whistling a tune. So, he can whistle.
• From JB on 2020-05-14 at 8:17am:
  Problem:
  Soong used a signal that overrode both Data's and Lore's regular programming, turning them into homing automata until he reactivated them with his dental tool. Why did he not simply use the homing signal again once Lore stole the chip? Lore would have become powerless, just as he had been upon arrival when Data pleaded with Soong not to reactivate him.
  
  This seems to me a huge and obvious plot hole.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-09-08 at 4:14am:
  When the quartermaster of the junkyard gives directions to the location of the T'Pau, he tells the helmsman the heading and the speed of 200 kph. Which is correct, since Star Trek uses the metric system. However, when the quartermaster makes small talk with Troi he tells her about a "fourteen-foot Caldorian eel." I suppose he could be referring to an eel with fourteen feet ;)
• From CAlexander on 2011-02-22 at 4:00am:
  This episode was generally entertaining, and I quite liked the scene between Picard and Sarek. But I found the setup quite contrived. Picard and Data leave their ship, call in special favors from the Klingon High Command, risk the lives of themselves and the Klingons for a dangerous mission into enemy space, and beam down into a situation with a high probability of capture. You would think they must be on some incredibly important mission for the survival of the galaxy. But no, they are just curious what Spock is doing on Romulus and want to have a chat with him. What? It was hard to be impressed by the drama when I kept wondering why they were doing all this. Talk about a dramatic turnaround from first season Riker's declaration about not letting the captain into dangerous situations. Why is Picard moonlighting as a Federation secret agent? He already has a job as a starship captain. Don't they have any real operatives on the payroll?
• From thaibites on 2011-11-20 at 12:49am:
  In answer to CAlexander's comment, I thought they made it pretty clear that this mission was of the utmost importance because they thought Spock had defected and would give all the Federation's secrets away to the Romulans.
  
  The problem I had with the situation was that is was way too easy for everybody to do what they wanted to do on and around Romulus. For example, how did they get a picture of Spock on Romulus when it is located on the other side of the neutral zone? How did Tasha Jr. get a report that told her Picard was coming? How did the Klingon ship remain completely undetected? Picard and Data were going up and down from the planet so much, it was like they were using an elevator. It just seemed too easy. AND, if it was so easy, why didn't the Klingons just send a whole armada of cloaked ships to Romulus in the past. They could easily blow up the planet if it was so easy to move around in Romulan space.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-08-24 at 10:44am:
  - The head of state needs a more observant receptionist. When the chief scientist introduces Picard to the head of state, they walk into his office. Actually, the scene features the calm voice of a receptionist - over an intercom - announcing that the chief scientist has someone for the head of state to meet. The receptionist's voice is amazingly dull considering the striking physical differences between Picard and the Malcorians.
  - After Picard proposes a toast, the head of state says of the wine, "We have something very much like this on Malcoria III." What are the chances that this man would use the same designation for his planet that Starfleet does, especially since the Malcorians believe they are the center of the universe? Would a culture that believes itself the center of the universe call its planet by the name of its sun and the planet count to that sun? Maybe we should change the name of our planet from Earth to "Sol III."
  - This makes three times that the matte painting of this city has been used: It was the main city on "Angel One"; it was also Starbase 515 in "Samaritan Snare"; and in this episode, it serves as a medical facility in the capital city of Malcoria III.
• From djb on 2008-02-29 at 8:40am:
  - I wouldn't be so quick to judge Krola, or the writers' intentions in making his character as he was, or even conservatism in general. I definitely have my problems with conservatism, but I have my problems with liberalism as well. I think they need to both exist to balance each other out. Indeed, without conservatism acting as a bit of a brake on the speed of progress, things can easily get out of hand and overwhelm people. Of course, without progressive ideas, society stagnates. Krola may be an extreme example of conservatism, as he was willing to not only martyr himself but actually martyr himself in the context of a lie with very serious repercussions, but the point still gets across.
  
  The fact that a man like him is so high up in government strongly indicates that a large bloc of the population shares, to some degree, his conservative outlook, and would be just as hostile, if not more so, to accords with alien races. One can therefore come to the correct conclusion that the Malcorian people in general are not ready for contact with alien races, even though some of them might be happy about such a development. The final assessment that first contact should be put off for a time is sad, but most likely correct. Until the people in general reach a "critical mass" of readiness for such contact, ramifications of such an event could be disastrous, and counterproductive to the goals of interplanetary contact.
  
  - Establishing first contact with an alien race is the kind of mission I would expect the Federation's flagship to go on. It's good to see them doing something other than scientific surveys and taxi services. It's also good to peer into the very complex and delicate situation of first contact. Imagine yourself in Durken's or Mirasta's place... or Picard's. Or Riker's!
  
  - I liked the humorous interlude of the Malcorian nurse bribing Riker for sex. You could tell her intentions the minute she walked in the door! (Can any one say "Xenophile?") Riker is a ladies' man, for sure, but you could tell he was more than a little dismayed at being forced into sex with an alien just to get free... only to be beaten within an inch of his life while attempting escape. Talk about adding insult to injury. Or, in this case, injury to insult.
  
  - Just a thought: The Malcorians apparently have a 29-hour day. I wonder... since they don't have ten distinct digits like we do, who's to say they are necessarily operating in base 10? Or did the universal translator figure that out? How long is their day, really, and why in the world would anyone use a large prime number for any measuring system? One wonders...
  
  - I, too, wonder why someone down on the planet didn't notice a rather large UFO in orbit. Even if the Federation is against the idea of their ships using cloaking devices, wouldn't they want to develop them for this purpose at the very least? A civilization advanced enough to develop warp drive is almost by definition able to detect objects in orbit around their planet!
  
  - The only drawback of this episode, for me, is how it starkly reveals the shortcomings of the "universal translator" storytelling device. Riker had the Malcorians fooled until they discovered his out-of-place organs and his digits. Either Riker learned the Malcorian language flawlessly (not very plausible), or the Universal Translator manages to simultaneously translate the speaker's words, simulate their voice, and make the speaker appear as if they're speaking the language (also quite implausible). This makes me beg the question: how exactly does this device work?! Do the producers just sacrifice believability for ease in storytelling?
• From JRPoole on 2008-05-09 at 4:45pm:
  I'm in almost complete agreement with the post above. Aside from the (admittedly huge) problem of the univeral translator, this episode is top-notch.
• From Jim on 2008-06-08 at 1:19pm:
  "I'm not going to go off on a political rant here, but I will say that this fictitious situation clearly illustrates how much a conservative mindset can hold back the progress of an entire society."
  
  You clearly are going off on a rant. Krola's point is one which the writers may not be sympathetic with, but which is understandable and which the Prime Minister sympathises with. Your own propensity to fly off the handle at 'conservatism' makes you seem as narrow-minded as the people you criticise.
• From Kethinov on 2008-06-08 at 7:49pm:
  Your comment is as needlessly insulting as its point is baseless. The whole point of conservatism as a political ideology is to keep things as they are. That is the very antithesis of the progress and growth of a society.
  
  Maybe you didn't notice, but the whole point of this episode was to take the conservative political ideology to its logical extremes to point out how silly the whole perspective is in the first place.
• From Bernard on 2008-06-08 at 10:51pm:
  Firstly, I like this episode a lot, mainly for the reasons djb has already stated. But I have to say that I feel that storytelling works nicely when you use characters to portray opposing sides to a debate. Here we have Yale on one side, Krola on the other and Durken somewhere in the middle. I do not agree that they are trying to show the futility of conservatism at all, they show both sides of the argument and allow the viewer to make his/her own mind up. Some of us will see it one way and some of us will see it the other way and some of us will probably come into the middle. It is precisely this that makes it a good episode for me anyway, you can have good people on both sides of an argument. Perhaps this is the point that jim was trying to put across. :)
• From Mark McC on 2008-12-30 at 3:43pm:
  I first watched this episode when it aired and I was quite young. Watching it again today, I can't believe I missed the parallels it draws with the alleged Roswell, 1947 alien spacecraft crash that conspiracy folks are so fond of. Only here we have Riker as the alien whose body is recovered and taken to a government medical facility.
  
  Later, when the Chancellor informs Picard of his decision to keep the truth about first contact from the people, he rhymes of a list of ways in which the evidence of alien life will be dismissed or watered down, including weather balloons (which were the official US government explanation of what was recovered at Roswell).
  
  Overall, I think this episode is a very enjoyable piece of allegory about what would happen if/when an advanced civilization contacted us here on Earth; even going so far as to suggest that maybe they already have and the government of the time decided that we too weren't ready for such a consciousness-raising event.
  
  PS not a UFO nut/conspiracy believer in any way, but it's always fun to speculate ;)
  
• From CAlexander on 2011-04-24 at 2:16pm:
  I enjoy this episode, getting to see first contact from the point of view of the "aliens" is pretty cool. But I wouldn't say it was a great episode, in many ways it is rather timid and limited in how it shows the first contact. As though it needed more time to really explore the situation on the planet and the motivations behind the Malcorians.
  
  - Why was Riker carrying a phaser on a delicate first contact mission? And even if he had to for some unknown reason, it seems like it should have been built with a safety mechanism so it can't be activated by the natives.
  - Bringing a member of a race subject to the Prime Directive off of their home planet, and into the Federation, is rather unusual in Star Trek, for good reason. Picard doesn't want to give advanced technology to the Malcorians, as they won't have the wisdom to use it. Now Mirasta is going to enter the larger universe and will surely learn that technology. That's fine, but what if she becomes homesick and tries to charter a flight home? Starfleet is put in the awkward position of having to either forbid her from seeing her friends and family, or trust that she won't reveal her scientific knowledge to a planet for which she is (or was) the Minister of Science!
  
• From Pete on 2011-07-08 at 12:54pm:
  This fictitious situation clearly illustrates how much the conservative mindset can hold back society?
  
  Give me a break. The majority of conservatives don't fear "progress" they just don't want to pay the bill.
  
  If progress is to punish those that are smart and work hard and reward those that are lazy and stupid... I don't think we'll be getting out of this solar system anytime soon.
  
• From Kethinov on 2011-07-13 at 5:04am:
  Conservatism: a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society.
  
  How does that not precisely describe Krola's character, who is the clearly unsympathetic antagonist of this story?
  
  Not all conservatives are as absurd as his character, but I think it's pretty clear that this story was meant to attack conservatism in general, as does much of the storytelling in Star Trek.
• From thaibites on 2011-07-30 at 1:09pm:
  Personally, I think this episode is a "tip of the hat" to Galileo and acknowledges all the aggravation and oppression he suffered at the hands of the Catholic Church. The Malcorians talked about how their doctrine claimed their planet was the center of the universe, and the Church used to BELIEVE that the sun revolved around the Earth - God's perfect creation. To question either of these beliefs is/was heresy and is/was sure to irrevocably destroy everything these people held dear. It would be the end of EVERYTHING! (Or at least that's what the people in control thought and told everybody...) Honestly, those in power ought to give common people some credit and stop trying to spoon-feed them and "protect" them all the time.
• From Brad Smith on 2011-09-13 at 5:48am:
  Good review of this episode as it is quite fascinating. Your understanding of conservatism is a little lacking though and the "conservatives suck" comment is certainly unnecessary. I think you are confusing the classical definition of conservatism with the way it is used in the modern day U.S. Generally, the word just describes people who want smaller government, lower taxes, fewer regulations and the preservation of federalism. The group you are describing makes up an extremely small portion of conservatives and it is a little offensive to pigeonhole all of us into that category.
• From Kethinov on 2011-10-07 at 7:19am:
  I'm sorry you feel that way. To be clear, the episode's critique of conservatism (as well as my own) is limited to the aspect of that political ideology which resists change. Certainly the branch of modern conservatism which favors smaller government, lower taxes, and fewer regulations is not at issue here, as those are actually desires *for* a change from the status quo. Granted, I am critical of that branch of conservative politics as well, but for entirely different reasons which have nothing to do with the political commentary reflected by this episode.
• From Jeff Browning on 2011-10-23 at 10:11am:
  Nurse Lanel was played by Bebe Neuwirth who was a star in the movies "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days" and "Jumanji" as well as a major character in the TV show "Cheers". I loved her performance in this episode. So deliciously salacious. It is apparent tha Riker did indeed have sex with her. Riker is a total manwhore as I have pointed out elsewhere. There is no question Riker would readily agree to have sex with Nurse Lanel.
• From Mike on 2017-03-31 at 7:02am:
  A good spectrum of reactions to contact with aliens is shown here. I have no doubt that if aliens made contact with Earth, there would be similar reactions and that includes Nurse Lanel's :)
  
  The dialogue between Picard and Durken is some of the best written of the entire series. I really enjoyed watching the two of them sort each other out and discuss the various aspects of first contact between their peoples.
  
  Some interesting comments on this one. I think, as mentioned above, "conservatism" is being used here in a general social sense. The conservative outlook is indeed one that resists change and tends to perceive change as unstable and disorderly. Conservatism within American politics is a set of positions on the major issues facing the U.S., and not necessarily the same thing. I mean, both U.S. liberals and conservatives are liberal in comparison to 19th Century European conservatism. That label means different things in different contexts.
  
  But, "conservative" in the way this episode deals with it reminds me more of the Catholic Church/Galileo situation mentioned above. In this case, there is evidence that challenges a society's traditional view of something. The conservative reaction is to suppress or prevent that evidence from bringing about change. The episode isn't justifying what Krola did; Durken does not see him as a martyr who stopped disorder. Rather, Durken realizes that his society, overall, is not ready to confront evidence that challenges its traditions. In other words, his society is conservative and will have to remain "in the dark" until it is truly ready. No wonder Yale wanted to get out of there.
• From McCoy on 2017-12-06 at 7:57pm:
  While analysing conservatism and Krola character, you didn't noticed that he isn't as absurd as it may look. He's suspicious, yes. But come on! Disguised aliens among people ARE suspicious. And I would be cautious as hell if an well-mannered alien beams in front of me and serves me an utopian speach about long life and prosperity:) As it was well pointed in this episode, the conquerors very often are presenting good will, and then... Boom! Cortez is coming...
• From Mike Chambers on 2020-04-18 at 8:31pm:
  "Maybe you didn't notice, but the whole point of this episode was to take the conservative political ideology to its logical extremes to point out how silly the whole perspective is in the first place."
  
  Eric, the logical extreme of practically any political ideology is silly. Whether that be conservative, progressive, libertarian or whatever. That's why it's called an extreme.
  
  Krola's character is indeed very annoying, and supremely ridiculous. I think he's very poorly conceived of and written. Cornball stuff. He should have been more nuanced, and not such a caricature. Very lazy work by the writers of this otherwise decent episode.
• From Kethinov on 2020-04-20 at 1:09pm:
  In the 12 years since I wrote that comment, history has only made the insight more relevant.
  
  It turns out it was overly generous for me to say that merely the "extreme" side of conservatism is characterized by the toxic status quo bias Krola exhibits in this episode because it turns out it was never all that fringe an attitude at all. Where once we could debate which variant of conservatism was dominant within the coalition, it is overwhelmingly clear that people like Krola define modern conservatism nowadays. Their political project is focused almost exclusively on resistance to change or rolling back change. Social change, demographic change, etc. You don't get a terrible rise in right wing populism globally without fear of (or resentment about) change being the basis of your political psychology.
  
  I've long suspected that status quo bias was an underrated psychological driver of conservative politics. As far back as 1955, prominent American conservative William F. Buckley, Jr. wrote that a core part of his political ideology was to "[stand] athwart history, yelling Stop." The quote is frequently misinterpreted and clearly wasn't meant to be taken literally, but it does clearly signal a discomfort with change, or at least the rapidity of change at the time. It should be no surprise that more than half a century later, conservatism has metastasized into a movement dominated by people obsessed with tradition, anti-intellectualism, and authoritarianism; all of which are political attitudes focused on resisting or rolling back change.
  
  If Krola is poorly-written, then so are millions of voters in the real world all across the globe who are just like him.
• From obumpresidency 4life on 2021-08-01 at 3:10pm:
  I just wanted to point out to that one commenter that the opposite of conservatism is not liberalism, it is progressivism. Liberalism is the opposite of fascism.
  
  Apart from the good scenes with Picard, the episode is pretty bad, though. It is bearable if you skip the Riker and Malcorian only scenes.
• From Brad Smith on 2023-09-13 at 3:24am:
  Kethinov, My how things have changed. Your response to my comment from 2011 is appropriate in some respects. It turns out it was just me and like three other guys that actually cared about small government and what we called conservatism. That being said, I disagree about calling the political party in the US that you are referring to conservatives. The populism they are espousing is mostly policy free and ideologically void of any conservative principles, especially on the economic side. Conservatives once stood for limited government, a strong national defense, free markets, fiscal responsibility, and the rule of law. But this party now reject free markets, ignore deficits, embrace international appeasement, and could not care less about the rule of law.
  
  I think people like me need to look inward and ask if we ignored the bad seeds in our movement for too long and allowed them to grow unchecked (obviously I have no political power, but I mean people like me generally).
  
  I would encourage you (and people of your ilk) to also look inward and ask if your generalizations of conservatives for decades as misogynistic, racist, unsympathetic, and out of touch helped contribute to the problem. And by that I mean, when you call all conservatives those things, you really pissed off a lot of people that weren’t those things. Pissed them off so much in fact that many of them voted for that guy just to get back at you (I certainly didn’t).
  
  For example: you all hit a demonstrably decent man in the 2012 nominee of that party with each of those false accusations (along with felony tax cheat, thank you very much for that lie Harry Reid). By the time that party nominated someone who actually is all those things in the next cycle, people just tuned out and just assumed it wasn’t true like the last time. Well, unfortunately it was and is true, but now we cannot agree on what truth is anymore. As Andy Shepard said in American President, “people drink the sand (leadership) because they don’t know the difference.” Unfortunately, when you use the same words to describe the 2012 nominee as the 2016 nominee, you contribute to that unfortunate reality.
  
  I could go on forever on this subject, but I guess I’ll close with saying, we still aren’t all like what you describe.
• From Kethinov on 2023-09-14 at 3:02am:
  Again, what I was referring to in the review is temperamental conservatism, or status quo bias, not an entire political party. And if your politics includes a robust policy agenda of things you want to change in society — whether those changes are primarily aligned with left or right-wing political thought or not — then congratulations, you're not conservative in the sense that I'm critiquing here: status quo-oriented temperamental conservatism. And while the political right definitely has its "change is scary" faction, rest assured, there are plenty of people on the political left who are like this too who should be criticized for being like Krola as well.
  
  For example, the internecine left-wing fights about things like replacing means-tested social programs with universal ones are vicious. Likewise the internecine left-wing fights about whether or not to levy wealth taxes are vicious. It's because the debate isn't really about whether or not doing these things would be more redistributionally progressive or lead to a more progressive society or whatever. The debate functions as a proxy for whether it's good to have faster change or slower change. It's just temperamental progressives fighting with temperamental conservatives about how much change how quickly is too scary and they dress up that debate with fancier arguments to mask their fear.
  
  So no, the political right doesn't have a monopoly on these people and never did. I do however think those kinds of people are more common on the political right simply because of the coalitional incentives at play, this has almost always been the case for the reasons I outlined above, and I think it likely will remain so into the future.
• From Axel on 2024-02-12 at 11:05pm:
  I know that not every episode of TNG (or any Star Trek) could make a sequel of itself. But this one, in my opinion, screams for a sequel. If nothing else, it would've been interesting to see what happened to Yale.
  
  This one seems to have ignited quite a debate about conservatism, progress, and such. It did get me thinking; the Malcorians in this episode are an obvious mirror for humanity, and how ready (or not) we would be for alien contact that might shatter our traditional views.
  
  Is it a simple question of majority rule, i.e., once the majority of people are open to first contact, then it would all work out swimmingly? That is simple and makes sense, but of course, I can't imagine a minority that senses its power slipping away, or its traditional views eroding, simply agreeing to go peacefully into the night and concede to majority rule. We have plenty of examples of how that never happens, including in our own time. Conservatism often has a staying power that does not at all rely on its being in the majority.
  
  I disagree with the portrayal of Krola being "stuffy" or a caricature. That staying power I speak of is almost always based on fear, and fear is incredibly potent, powerful, and metastatic. Krola is afraid, and he no doubt represents many others who are, even if that fear is a bit exaggerated for dramatic effect and to fit into a one-hour TV slot.
  
  In the end, the wise Chancellor made the right decision for his people, the visionary Yale got to get out of a society that didn't entirely appreciate her talents or foresight, and the crew of the Enterprise avoided what could have been a disaster, thanks largely to the good fortune of both the Enterprise and Malcor having leaders like Picard and Durken at the helm. This was TNG at its best.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-08-05 at 8:04pm:
  - The graphics at the beginning of the episode, showing the Enterprise arriving and docking at Starbase 133, are the same graphics used in "11001001." However, on that episode the Enterprise was at Starbase 74. I understand the necessity to reuse these expensive-to-produce visuals, but why not make reusing them make sense? Wouldn't it have made more sense just to call Starbase 133, Starbase 74 instead?
  - When Quaice turns up missing, Data scans the entire ship for life forms. He also suggests they check the transporter ID traces to see if the man went back to the starbase. One of the graphics shows the Enterprise docked at the starbase and connected by a tube. Quaice could have just walked off the ship.
• From DSOmo on 2007-10-18 at 6:14am:
  Near the end of the episode, when Crusher leaves the bridge, she boards a turbolift. When the turbolift starts to move, the light in the window goes from top to bottom. If the light is going from top to bottom, the turbolift is moving up. But Crusher boarded the turbolift from the main bridge. She is on deck 1. There is nothing above the main bridge to go up to. How can Crusher be going up?
• From djb on 2008-02-01 at 5:52am:
  Although it wasn't the best episode, this one was in the "alternate universe/timeline" vein, like Parallels and Yesterday's Enterprise, and I especially enjoy episodes like that. Notice the theme running through all three of them: something changes and only one character notices. Guinan in Yesterday's Enterprise, Worf in Parallels, and in this episode, Dr. Crusher. (There are others but they don't occur to me at the moment.)
  
  One of the purposes of Star Trek, in my opinion, is to explore questions as to the nature of the universe, time, reality, perception, consciousness, etc. This is evident from the very start in the first Trek pilot, "The Cage." While the execution of this kind of philosophical/existential exploration may not always be perfect, I admire the willingness on the part of the writers and producers to go, basically "where no one has gone before," despite the imperfections. Crusher certainly went where no one has gone before in this episode: her own universe. Freaky! (There's something for your memoirs.) What if you suddenly started noticing drastic changes that no one else noticed? Put yourself in her place: I think she handled it quite well. A lot of people would go mad.
  
  I liked the return of the Traveler, though his abrupt appearance was a little contrived. I also like the brief explanation as to the various uses of a ship of that size, because anyone who has looked at the plans of the ship knows it can hold a whole lot more than a thousand people. Probably my favorite moment in the whole episode is Dr. Crusher literally being hurled back into reality! Must of been a ton of fun for McFadden. Overall a nice character piece for Crusher, nice continuity with season 1, and a less-than-perfect yet enjoyable episode.
• From Rob on 2008-04-13 at 11:38pm:
  The part that always gets a laugh out of me is when Crusher and Picard are the only people left aboard and Beverly's utter astonishment at his attitude...
  
  "This is all perfectly logical to you, isn't it?! You and I just roaming about he galaxy...," ect.
  
  Just the way that Gates delivers these lines is really funny and the bemused look on Patrick's face.
  
  
• From CAlexander on 2011-03-11 at 7:04pm:
  The first time I watched this episode, I was distracted and missed some of the key scenes on the real Enterprise when they discover what happened. That greatly improved the episode, as the good part is all about Dr. Crusher and the collapsing universe. I have fond memories of some of the ludicrous things like Picard's "We've never needed crew before" and the idea that it was a "structural flaw" that the ship wasn't designed to fit within the universe.
  
  Watching it in full, though, makes clear why this episode is memorable but not great. Unlike the other great "alternate universe" episodes, the main character can't move the story forward in any way. We see that the universe is collapsing, and it is cool to watch, but that is it. The resolution is in the real universe with Wesley and the Traveller, but I found that quite dull. I just don't understand how the cliched idea of Wesley being "the Chosen One", who can "use the Force" to rescue his mother, is in any way interesting in the context of Star Trek.
• From sphere on 2011-08-17 at 7:18am:
  This was a great episode. It was spooky to see people disappearing so completely that no even remembered that they ever existed. The scene with Crusher and Picard absolutely alone on the bridge, alone on the entire ship - Picard still convinced everything that everything was fine and that Crusher had lost it - was haunting, compelling, and very well acted.
  
  "We've never needed a crew a before..."
  What a great line.
  
  The twist that it was Crusher that disappeared and not everyone else was very well done and quite unexpected. I mean, I knew it was all going to get resolved somehow, but not in such an elegant way. I like how that revelation was executed too - just a sudden cut to Picard making a log entry in the "real" universe.
  
  What almost ruined the whole episode for me was "The Traveler." He is like an amalgamation of every New Age cliche into an ever-smiling, infinitely annoying, quite unnecessary character. I found him very irritating to watch.
  
  And what the heck was up with the solution to all this? The solution is for Wesley to type equations blindfolded, like some kind of nerdy Kung Fu monk, while listening to "The Traveler's Motivational Hypnotherapy, Disk 1?" Very, very annoying.
  
  I want to give the bulk of this episode a 9, and the ending a 1, and I really don't want to average the two... so I think I will abstain from voting and recommend this episode, despite its unsatisfying, and rather irritating ending.
• From Jeff Browning on 2011-09-29 at 4:33pm:
  A huge problem you missed. In "Where No One Has Gone Before", Kozinsky is shown to be a complete idiot and a charlatan. So why is Wesley performing an experiment based upon his equations? And why does Wesley consult with him on the issue concerning the warp bubble?
• From Will on 2011-09-30 at 8:59am:
  In response to "If you can just order the ship to fly itself anywhere you want to go, why does the show ever bother with helmsmen?":
  
  A helmsman would be required for battle scenarios, which could potentially happen at any time.
• From Inga on 2012-01-30 at 12:08pm:
  When Beverly ordered the computer to monitor Picard's vital signs, the computer reported his body temperature as 37 point something. The norm is 36.6, so was he ill?
• From Glen on 2013-10-11 at 9:43pm:
  It is interesting to go back and read the comment about absurd techno-babble when there are researchers looking into warp bubble technology today.
• From Mike Chambers on 2013-11-22 at 10:19am:
  Inga: It's because Picard is just so super-cool, obviously.
  
  Great episode. One of my favorites. The vibe as everybody disappears slowly is very creepy. McFadden's acting as all of this is going on is spot-on. I'd have reacted exactly the same, very believable.
  
  I just wish the Traveler didn't have to come and ruin the ending. He's so ridiculously annoying. Why don't he and Wesley just get it over with and spoon with each other already?
  
  I'd have given this episode an 8, but I have to take off a point for the lame appearance of the Traveler and magical Wesley-fixes-everything-again ending... so it's a 7.
• From Mike on 2017-07-30 at 1:25pm:
  CRUSHER: “Data, I interned with him…I’ve known him for 15 years”
  
  DATA: “I do not doubt you, Doctor. But I have tried 173 phonetic variations of the name…”
  
  How can anyone dislike Data?
  
  THE TRAVELER: “As long as she thinks she is alive, she is alive.”
  
  RIKER: “What the hell does that mean?”
  
  Well put, Riker. That’s pretty much what I’ve wondered after everything the Traveler has ever said.
  
  This was a good episode. They didn't make it immediately obvious that it was Dr. Crusher who was caught in the bubble. It was also a well shot episode as they did a decent job of making people disappear in Crusher's midst. I do think pretty much all the inconsistencies can be explained, as you point out, by this universe being Crusher's own creation to include the idea that the ship can fly itself.
• From Rick on 2018-03-08 at 2:31pm:
  Kethinov, I believe you have made an error in your problem section. The episode is still partly to blame but not in the way you state. The warp bubble is a three dimensional thing. Geordi likely meant 15 m cubed per second. Given the way that Wesley’s computer simulation warp bubbles collapse, they spherical bubble collapses with an ever decreasing diameter. So it isn’t that every edge of the sphere is moving at 15 m/s but rather that the volume of the bubble loses 15 m cubes per second.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Rozenn on 2006-04-02 at 6:59pm:
  I can't for the life of me remember where I read this, but I think the tensile strength of the body is enough to keep the blood in the veins from boiling. So no exploding bodies...
• From Pete on 2006-04-15 at 5:35am:
  I enjoyed this episode quite a bit. Good acting by the kids, and Worf delivering a baby is priceless. However, I cannot tolerate Picard's overcoat. It's probably the single most annoying thing for me in the later seasons. Whenever I see it I get distracted and think about how much I hate it. I just don't understand why the directors feel like they have to change the uniforms up every year. I mean, the real Navy never EVER changes their uniforms. Starfleet changes them about every other year. It's extremely irritating, and Picard's overcoat is the worst. It makes him look extremely unprofessional. The only things I hate worse are the uniforms they wear in Nemesis.
• From Orion Pimpdaddy on 2006-05-09 at 12:27am:
  This episode works because there are so many interesting, tiny plots. They are skillfully woven into each other. The cargo bay scene is a very creative idea by the writers, and it does not seem implausible. Also, Riker taking off Data's head is one innovative, and hilarious concept. The three kids are not typical of the kinds of kids you normally see on Trek. These three were off the wall, and entertaining, except for the crying.
  
  It would have been great to know what the final death toll was, since it can be assumed that people died all around the ship. Engineering was vacant. Where did everyone go? Either way, this episode deserves an 8.
  
• From Bob Bracegirdle on 2006-07-14 at 1:20pm:
  Decompression scene is ridiculous. Quite apart from the best policy being to totally EXHALE so there is no air in the lungs, the "holding" on to a frame would be impossible in an explosive decompression - you would be blown out with the cargo. You would have to tie yourself to such a frame.
  
  Incidentally why is the recompression button so far from the decompression one?
• From DSOmo on 2007-09-06 at 5:36am:
  - Troi asks what a containment breach is! At the beginning of "Contagion," the Yamato explodes when matter and antimatter mix uncontrollably. Troi is on the bridge at the time. Later, in the observation lounge, Geordi explains in great detail about the magnetic seals dropping and the catastrophic consequences of unregulated combination of matter and antimatter. Troi is also at that meeting. Why doesn't Troi know what will happen if the antimatter containment field goes down? How did she get a rank of lieutenant commander without learning about warp engines? No one expects her to be able to field-strip a warp coil, but antimatter containment seems pretty basic.
  - When Picard and the children finally find a turbolift door they can open, Picard's waist is level with the deck floor. Picard heaves the top half of his body onto the floor and then yanks and pulls himself the rest of the way. Why is Picard going through all these gymnastics? The ladder goes all the way up the turbolift shaft, with the doors for each deck to his right. Why not just hop up a few more rungs with his right foot and then step off when his right foot is level with the floor?
  - While Geordi tries to open the door manually, Crusher places her hand against a wall. She then tells Geordi the wall is hot, and Geordi says, "Where?" Where? Geordi can examine things thermally. He should be able to look at the wall and see the heat.
• From Fred on 2008-01-10 at 4:53pm:
  For anyone interested, a search on Google, and a wade through many less than useful posts like 'you suffocate and explode', it turns out that Dr Crusher and Geordie's experience was reasonably accurate... except neither of them lost control of their bowels.
  
  In short, they would have survived, and Dr Crusher's summary of what would happen is largely accurate, according to research performed by NASA in the 60s. Our bodies would mostly hold us together, but the expansion of fluids and gases would be what kills you, starting from the outside working in.
  
  One other interesting thing I read, was that if you model the human body as a black blob, it would take several hours for it to loose enough heat to freeze.
  
  For more info, these site's give some good info: http://www.astronomycafe.net/qadir/q62.html
  http://www.damninteresting.com/?p=741
• From djb on 2008-03-23 at 11:03pm:
  I used to watch this show when it was running, though it started when I was only 6. Many of them, though, I have no recollection of having watched before. This one I do remember. The main scenes I remembered were Picard with the kids in the turbolift, and LaForge and Crusher in the shuttlebay. It was a pleasure to see it again. As a funny little aside, I recognized one of the kids-- I used to go to school with him.
  
  I wonder, if the results of hitting a quantum filament are so potentially severe, why a starship is so susceptible to them. Even if the likeliness of hitting one is low, you'd think there would be some kind of special protection against them, or increased ability to sense them. Since we don't hear from quantum filaments again, this falls into the AOTW category, except this time that stands for "Anomaly of the Week" instead of "Alien of the Week." The premise could have been better.
  
  Seeing counselor Troi completely bewildered at the prospect of commanding the bridge is good for character development, but rather unrealistic. She's an officer, meaning she's been through four years of starfleet training. She holds the rank of Liutenant Commander, meaning she's supposedly quite capable. Wouldn't starfleet training and rank-advancement tests prepare one for this kind of situation? I will say, though, that I like how she gradually transcends the sense of being in over her head (it really doesn't become her) and takes to command quite decently. She's able to put Ro, quite a forceful personality, in her place, without being forceful back. This is a good example of Troi's "gentle-but-firm" personality.
  
  An interesting thing to note here is how she is always wearing off-duty attire even while on duty, which helps lend an informal air to her in general. That is usually good, except in situations like this, where I suspect that she would have taken to command more easily if she were wearing her uniform. I certainly wouldn't want to take command of the ship in my sweatpants!
  
  My two cents on the suttlebay decompression scene: I think it was slightly unrealistic, but not overly so. I doubt that the shuttlebay was 100% decompressed: while the majority of the air would have escaped immediately, I think enough would have lingered after the forcefield was re-activated to allow someone to live for a few more seconds. A total vacuum would have killed them pretty quickly. I think, though, that both LaForge and Crusher would have been severely bruised. What I don't understand is why the atmospheric controls weren't on the same console as the forcefield controls! Aren't these ships designed with tons of redundancy for this exact type of situation? Also, the main problem I had was how quickly the air was returned to normal compression. It should have taken at least a minute, and both of them should have fallen unconscious.
  
  Despite all that, I like this episode a lot. I like the isolated subplots, and I like the interaction of the sub-groups of the main cast. I liked the birth scene, with the normally mild-mannered Keiko yelling at Worf. I liked seeing O'Brien on the bridge (again). I loved seeing the turboshaft; it definitely helps one to grasp how big the ship is. I also like how Picard is forced to learn how to deal with the kids he's stuck with.
• From Matt on 2008-04-24 at 12:49pm:
  No, they wouldn't "explode". Humans do not explode when in space :-)
  
  Dr Crusher had it about right - the capilaries on the surface of the skin could burst and there'd be some bruising... but no humans exploding :-)
• From JRPoole on 2008-07-16 at 4:17pm:
  This episode is a personal favorite. The Worf/Keiko interaction is great, and all the subplots--especially the Ro/Troi tension are handled very well. Like someone above, it also annoys me that there's never a mention of the death toll, but that's pretty minor. Good stuff all around.
• From paul on 2010-07-12 at 11:29am:
  Technically, when you 'suck' in real life, you are creating a vacuum where your diaphragm was, so the air is blown into your lungs from the outside due to the pressure imbalance. So being sucked out into space is the same as being blown out
• From Jeff Browning on 2011-10-22 at 10:21am:
  One glaring issue: in whose dreams would Captain Picard ever consent to giving a bunch of children a tour of the ship? It does not accord with his character at all! He would have simply delegated the problem to someone like Troi.
• From John on 2012-03-15 at 1:36pm:
  @Jeff: Picard would do such a thing if he felt it was his duty. No doubt Troi managed to convince him that it was part of his responsibility as captain, the same way she convinced him to do "Captain Picard Day" later on in season 7 ("The Pegasus").
  
  That doesn't mean that he would enjoy it, just that he would force himself to do it and be a gentleman about it.
• From Trekkie on 2012-07-07 at 5:49pm:
  Picard has never been one to care for and have children aboard his ship.I think this episode may have changed his output on that a bit.I liked this episode, yet it seemed a little rushed.44 minutes is not always enough time to fit all the details of the episode in.It should be more like 50, like TOS(51min)
• From ChristopherA on 2019-04-30 at 5:44am:
  I really liked the feel of this episode, it really felt like some terrible disaster had struck the ship. I liked how Troi was a little out of her depth, but still able to function. And although I cried "Don't do it" when I saw the cliche of Keiko giving birth coming on, the scene was actually handled pretty well.
  
  There was some extra heavy suspension of disbelief required, however. I don't really believe the ship would completely lose communication (the comm badges are routinely used independent of the ship) but it was necessary for the plot. The fact that engineering was empty was very strange, I totally thought it would make more sense for Data and Riker to rally the trapped engineering staff and save the ship, rather than doing it all by themselves.
• From rpeh on 2021-07-25 at 10:39pm:
  Watching this again, the most remarkable thing is that despite ship-wide power outages, the artificial gravity and lighting work perfectly throughout.
  
  It's an underrated episode. There are a few scientific problems, and the acting of the three kids at the start is awful. But apart from that there are some strong performances and it maintains the tension right up to the end. And then the comic moment.
  
  I like this one. It's not important enough for a 9 but I'll give it an 8.
• From Ensign Obummer on 2021-08-06 at 4:49pm:
  Is it just me or did the O'Brien baby turn from a boy into a girl? I'm sure they only discussed male names last episode it was mentioned?

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Orion Pimpdaddy on 2006-05-12 at 2:16am:
  This episode deserves a 7 because it is emotional. Sure, you don't get the typical Hollywood exaggerated death scene where the character has a heroic last stand right before they get hit by a weapon and gets to say some meaningful last words before they silently close their eyes as if they are falling asleep. What do we get instead? We get a cold, gritty, quick, unusual death. That is what a death in Starfleet would be like. The scene in sick bay is dramatic, and the funeral sendoff at the end was top notch. This episode deserves more than what others have given it.
  
• From DSOmo on 2007-06-06 at 7:53am:
  Just after Armus engulfs Riker, the rest of the away team runs up to the edge of the "oil slick." When they stop, Geordi's phaser falls out onto the ground. Does this seem like a first-class holster design?
• From DSOmo on 2007-06-10 at 6:28am:
  I forgot to mention, this episode has one of the worst examples of the "don't give a straight answer" syndrome (see my commentary for Encounter At Farpoint, Part I). Just after Armus rises from his "oil slick," Picard calls down to the away team and says, "What is it, number one? What are you seeing?" Riker responds, "Trouble."
• From Evan on 2008-05-26 at 12:33pm:
  I absolutely love the "death is that state in which one exists only in the memory of others, which is why it is not an end" line.
• From Thorsten_Wieking on 2008-09-01 at 7:06pm:
  Regarding Tasha's final recording to her friends - I don't think that this is unusual to be that cuurent with events. In one DS9 episode, O'Brian mentions that he just recorded yet another final message for his wife and how many times he has done this before (just like the rest of the senior staff). So maybe Tasha indeed did make those recordings every now and than. After all, she came from a violent planet where death seemed to be the norm and hey - she works security. Remember the approx. lifespan of a red shirt in TOS? Maybe they have a special course at the academy for "To-be" security officers "How to record a touching eulogy about yourself", SCNR just kidding.
  
  Cheers
  Thorsten
• From CAlexander on 2011-03-23 at 3:51pm:
  I'm not sure what to make of this episode. But I have to say, it really puts the nail in the coffin for the idea that the Captain can't beam down in dangerous situations. Tasha is killed by the monster, Riker is held hostage by it, and Picard then beams down alone so he can chat with the monster face to face!
• From Jeff Browning  on 2011-10-20 at 1:26pm:
  Hate to be contentious guys, but for me this was one of the worst TNG episodes ever. My main issue is the funeral scene. It's the worst example of TNG being overly sentimental, cloying, and corny that I can think of. Everytime I have watched this episode, I end up cringing.
  
  The one consololation was that they killed of Tasha Yar, who I found to be one of the most anoying major characters in early TNG. Fortunately, Denise Crosby does much better as a guest character, both in the reboot episode, and later in the two-parter at the end of Season 1 where she plays Tasha Yar's daughter.
• From mattymjp on 2013-07-20 at 8:51am:
  This is the first season episode I remember the most from when I watched them as a 9 10 year old, for obvious reasons. I especially remember the shot of Riker's face in the oil slick, and that shot still holds up even today!
  
  Watching this again I was suprised how much I enjoyed it. I thought it was well written, especially the face off between Picard and Oil man. "I'm a skin of evil left here by a race of titans". Great stuff.
  
  And what happened to Marina Sirtis? Her acting up to this point had been awful, but in this episode she's amazing! Maybe with Denise Crosby leaving she knew she had a chance to increase Troi's screen time and she stepped up her game.
• From Quando on 2014-09-25 at 5:43am:
  At the beginning of the episode, when chief engineer "Leland T. Lynch" is reinstalling the dilithium crystals to restart the engines he orders them to set the matter/antimatter intermix ratio at "25 to 1." But in the prior episode, Wesley's starfleet acadamy test established that "there is only one possible intermix ratio for matter and antimatter: one to one.". 25 to 1 will blow up the ship. Maybe that's why they fired Leland T. Lynch as chief engineer.
• From Jake Sisko on 2023-03-09 at 11:38am:
  My father would have sent Garak down there with Odo. Odo to mix with it in a weird way and Garak would bore it with stories that may or may not have been true about the Obsidian Order.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-06-25 at 9:50am:
  - One of the last times Picard goes to sick bay, Troi follows him in a subsequent turbolift. Yet when Picard arrives in sick bay (after a commercial break), Troi is already there!
  - Having an ensemble cast makes it difficult to provide lines for all the actors in every episode. However, this episode goes a bit far. After Picard kills Picard, he calls for Dr. Pulaski. When Pulaski shows up, Chief O'Brien comes with her! Does he moonlight as a medical technician? Of course, the real reason O'Brien is there is so he could be in the shuttle bay to see the 2nd Picard disappear. This allows him to get a few lines of dialogue in this episode.
  - While the Enterprise is flying into the vortex, everyone bounces around in their seats on the bridge. However, O'Brien in the shuttle bay is standing perfectly straight even though the floor is moving around.
  - In the episode "11001001," Picard and Riker go to the "Weapons Room," and use a voice print identifier to get access to some phasers. On a ship with civilians (especially children), it is not a good idea for phasers to be accessible easily. Yet in this episode, Picard simply reaches back to a wall panel, flips it open, and grabs a phaser. With these easy access wall panels, why do they need the Weapons Room?
• From TashaFan on 2008-09-29 at 2:18am:
  Of course the quick access to the phasers is for the convenience of the script... but we can make a case for it. The crew is most likely to need phasers on an away mission, which would mean the phasers should be stowed near the shuttles and near the transporter. And although it's ridiculously easy to steal a Federation shuttle, we can assume the shuttle bay at least SHOULD be a secured area where children and civilians can't wander.
  On another subject I have to disagree that the ending is inconsequential. On one level it's a "RESET button" episode - everything ends up how it was. On another level, Picard ruthlessly guns down someone to save the ship... and that someone is himself. Does one have more right to kill a version of oneself from the past (future?) than to kill someone else? In any event the first time I saw thoughtful, pensive, slow-to-raise-shields Picard just shoot and kill the other Picard, and then leave, I was kind of shocked.
• From CAlexander on 2011-04-04 at 1:14pm:
  I think I pretty much agree with you on your comments. Usually I love this style of episode. But not this time. It is just off. They say things which don't match the action or make sense. Like Pulaski complaining that Picard isn't fit to command because he has been under intense stress. Where did that come from? The whole situation only started a few hours ago! Then suddenly Picard is asking the other Picard for advice. Why? Why ask future Picard for a plan when now Picard knows the same info and could make the same plan? And why did Picard shoot Picard?
• From Ted on 2011-07-21 at 12:26am:
  An interesting point is raised in your criticism. In order to enjoy SciFi/Fantasy, and in fact all dramatization, one must allow a 'willing suspension of disbelief'. When a dramatization steps beyond an individuals threshold of disbelief, the 'illusion' is compromised and the ability to empathize and enjoy a show is lost. For example, I don't believe in magic/superstition and so I have a hard time enjoying most fantasy movies.
  All that said, this episode didn't violate my sense of ST believability and I enjoyed the fact that the phenomenon remained a mystery. All to often in ST, such phenomena are explained with a neat and tidy bit of technobabble that tends to lessen the experience for me. I can certainly understand why you didn't care for it, but I rather like this episode. 8 out of 10
• From Ggen on 2012-02-25 at 11:47pm:
  This... did not really work out. There is a somewhat interesting premise and a promising opportunity to explore Picard's psyche, but it doesn't really come together.
  
  One - I don't understand why every space anomaly out there has to be a mysterious lifeform. It seems like Troi picks up a "consciousness" and an intent from everything and its mother... Can't some things just be things? Can't some anomalies just be anomalies? (I'm not faulting how they write Troi, I'm faulting how they write these damn anomalies...)
  
  Two - no question, the technobabble here stretches credibility, especially in light of the countless other time travel episodes where people act more or less normally, despite being "out of phase." The future Picard being sort of comatose and then zombified, not really aware of what was happening around him was just sort of annoying and disappointing.
  
  Three and Four - agree with Kethinov about all the other points... the pacing, the lackluster ending...
  
• From One moon in blue pants on 2012-03-02 at 7:29am:
  I love this episode, it is one of my fav. I love the technobabble scenes in the conf. room. I love the pacing of this ep. It is not rushed like so many others, things are just aloud to happen. I think this might be the first ep. in which Troi has a little betazed orgasm-mind meld kind of moment when reaching out to future Picard. So yeah I give this one a 9. Plus the band Orbital used a sample from worf in one of their songs so it is all just too awesome.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

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

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Pete Miller on 2006-04-16 at 4:30am:
  Overcoat appearance, I hate that damn thing. Also, it seems quite tactless of the producers to place two troubled-kid-that-doesn't-fit-in-at-school episodes back to back. It was a little irritating. Okay episode, though
• From Orion Pimpdaddy on 2006-05-16 at 9:34pm:
  Two back-to-back children episodes -- that's odd. Two back-to-back children episodes where the kid gets stuck under ruble -- that's even more odd.
  
  Besides the obvious similarities, Hero Worship holds up do to yet another kid who acts in a believable way. Having the kid believe he blew up the ship was a brilliant idea from the writers.
  
  The science portion of this episode falls into the typical category. Once again, they crew must do the opposite to get out of a deadly situation.
  Besides that, this episode is well executed. It gets a 5 due to the fact that it is not one you get out and watch over and over again. Watching a "kid" episode is not something the average viewer strives to do, especially back-to-back.
  
  
• From DSOmo on 2007-09-11 at 7:04am:
  - When Timothy asks Data about his lack of emotions, Data replies, "My positronic brain is not capable of generating those conditions." Dr. Noonian Soong must have thought it was, because he created a set of emotional subroutines for Data in "Brothers." And Lore proved a positronic brain is capable of generating those conditions in "Datalore."
  - The Vico must have a humongous computer core. While discussing the destruction of the Vico with Geordi, Picard punches up a side view of the Vico on a monitor. He indicates the midpoint of the saucer section with his finger and comments, "The boy was here." Geordi agrees, adding that Timothy was in the hallway outside the computer core. Geordi them points to the lower portion of the drive section to show Picard where the second away team found the body of Timothy's mother. He tells Picard she was in the computer core. Does the computer core on a research vessel stretch from the saucer section all the way through the yoke and all the way down to the bottom of the drive section?
  - To test the effectiveness of the phasers inside the black cluster, Picard orders Worf to fire them at maximum yield. Picard gives a firing direction of 0-0-1 mark 0-4-5. So the heading Picard gives should be directly in front of the ship and raised at an angle of 45 degrees. The next scene of the ship shows the phasers firing twice. The first time the phasers fire they shoot directly ahead, a heading that would be described as something like 0-0-1 mark 0-0-1. The second time, the phasers finally approximate the right heading. Does Worf need a practice shot to figure out how to fire the phasers in the right direction?
  - Under Troi's encouragement, Data visits Timothy. Of course, Timothy is alone in the room, but that's normal Starfleet procedure for a boy who's just lost his parents. (See comments for "The Bonding")
• From KingElessar8 on 2009-03-20 at 4:43pm:
  "My positronic brain is not capable of generating those conditions."
  
  I don't see a real problem here - he meant his particular positronic brain isn't naturally capable of generating emotions, not positronic brains in general (although the later could still well be the case). Dr. Soong had to write a specific program for him to be able to experience emotions, and I assume Lore had something similar, or (more likely) Data's brain was designed differently to avoid the problems Dr. Soong encountered by the more "human" Lore.
  
  Overall, this is an ok episode. The scene that reveals that Data cannot taste food was taking Data as Inhuman Machine (which overall reached its bleakest point with "In Theory") a little too far. I thought the original idea was that Data would become more human as the series progressed, but that certainly isn't how it ended up working in practice.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Jennifer on 2006-04-02 at 7:13pm:
  In stark contrast to our fab web-master here, I did really like this episode. I liked the romance that Crusher had with the man at the beggining, and the part where she kisses Riker (but not really Riker) is both moving and funny. It's fascinating to see how well Jonathan Frankes carries off another role still technically being the same person. I loved the crushing, totally unexpexted twist at the end.
• From Andy978 on 2007-05-10 at 2:09pm:
  Who, exactly, says that we have to "dismiss" seven years of DS9? They changed their mind about how Trill are supposed to work after this episode, end of story. It doesn't "negate" anything, nor does it expect us to take one more seriously than the other.
  
  In short... I don't think your review or argument makes any sense here. Sorry. Your argument seems to be based on a straw-man controversy, and if revelations made in a later series actually ruin your enjoyment of this episode... man, you've got serious, serious problems. (by your logic, we can't enjoy Star Trek IV. After all, there's a woman in the Captain's chair, when we ALL know from "Turnabout Intruder" that women can't be Captains. No, no, it's not that the creators of the show changed their mind 20 years on due to changing social mores... it's *obviously* sloppy writing and we should consider this an "inconsistency.")
  
  This isn't a flame - this is a great website and, for the most part, I appreciate your opinion and analysis. Please consider it more of a "constructive criticism." Saying "I don't like it because of something that came later that was different," isn't a very good argument, and it's sort of disappointing because most of the time, your opinions at least hold water.
  
• From DSOmo on 2007-08-31 at 7:28am:
  - Troi walks into the beauty parlor and takes her seat beside Dr. Crusher. Troi then looks over. A surprised expression comes over Troi's face, and she greets Crusher. Should Troi be surprised to see Crusher? When Troi walks into the room Crusher is sitting low in a chair, with her back to Troi. Shouldn't Troi's empathic sense tell her that Crusher is in the chair? Wouldn't there be something like an emotional fingerprint?
  - There is a minor tension point in the plot near the end, when Dr. Crusher removes Odan from Riker. Odan can survive in stasis for only a few hours, and the host is still nine hours away. The Enterprise rushes to meet the Trill ship at warp 9. What's the rush? Why not just implant Odan into another person on the Enterprise?
• From JRPoole on 2008-06-26 at 8:42pm:
  I find the debate here amusing. While the inconsistencies mentioned above annoy me to no end, they shouldn't ruin the episode.
  
  But, why, oh why, does every Beverly-centered episode have to descend into melodrama? At least they didn't go for the shock value of a lesbian make-out scene at the end, though I'm sure it would have heightened this episode's fanboy appeal....
• From Orion Pimpdaddy on 2008-10-24 at 4:10pm:
  This is a very emotional episode, and very well acted. Beverly, Picard, Riker, Troi, and Odan pull off splendid performances. Riker REALLY looked sick and unhealthy, like he'd swallowed poison. I think he is underated as an actor.
  
  Though, I have trouble believing Riker had enough room in his chest for the symbiont. I think his intestines would probably have to be removed and set aside for a while.
  
  Also, am I to believe that he had sex with Crusher? He didn't look like he was in the condition to do so.
• From Pemmer Harge on 2010-04-07 at 6:57pm:
  You can't mark this episode down just because DS9 contradicted it, you just can't! That's DS9's fault!
• From ChristopherA on 2012-07-05 at 7:33pm:
  When watching this episode now, it is very hard to think of anything other than how different this older Trill concept is from the DS9 concept. Yet it just doesn't seem fair to judge this episode down just because they later made changes to the concept. In effect, this episode is about a different species of hosts and symbionts than the ones in DS9.
  
  In that light, I think the episode is rather thought-provoking. The idea of that the man Dr. Crusher is in love with inhabits the body of someone she knows only as a friend and comrade, and wants to continue their intimate relationship through that body, is creepy and interesting. Also interesting is the question of whether it makes a difference that he never revealed to her his fundamental nature, as well as the twist ending. None of the actual "suspense plot" was particularly meaningful or memorable. But at the same time, it didn't detract from the central point either. I figure that if I come away from an episode thinking and pondering, it must be a good thing.
  
• From lumzi23 on 2017-02-16 at 12:15am:
  Regarding what someone above said. I think it is unfair to say someone has "serious problems" due to having issues with changes and inconsistencies as a series progresses. I personally don't always have such issues but as someone who watched Star Trek out of order (for the most part) I can understand why such changes might be jarring especially when they are so obvious.
  
  Note: I didn't see the original comment and I'm only commenting on this part of what his responder said.
• From Kethinov on 2017-02-16 at 5:18am:
  The comments flaming me here were in reference to the original version of the review (from a loooong time ago) where I docked points on this episode due to its inconsistencies with DS9.
  
  In the end, I ultimately found Andy978's argument persuasive and altered both my review of this episode and my stance towards how to handle continuity errors across the board accordingly.
  
  That's why some of the comments here seem to be flaming me over a nonexistent issue. They convinced me they were right, so now what they were responding to is gone.
  
  I should probably remove all comments relating to the debate, as there is no debate now. But I'll leave the comments up for now, at least until the new version of the site that's being developed is launched Real Soon Now™.
• From jeffenator98 on 2019-08-20 at 5:15pm:
  This episode is cringe worthy no matter when you see it. 0/10

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

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

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-08-25 at 1:43am:
  - Both Picard and Dr. Crusher allow Geordi to return to work alone - even though they know that the change can strike suddenly. Picard should have assigned Data to watch over Geordi. Data, on his own, does make a halfhearted attempt at offering his help to Geordi. Geordi gives him a feeble excuse. Data accepts this and leaves.
  - If the computer was programmed to monitor Geordi's movements, wouldn't it sound an alarm as soon as Geordi disappeared? Of course, if an alarm sounded, or Picard had assigned Data to Geordi, it would have been a short episode.
  - Evidently, the show was running a little short on time anyway. Data takes "forever" converting a flashlight to emit ultraviolet light so they can locate Geordi on the planet's surface. Earlier in the episode, Data states that he is "strongly motivated" to help Geordi. Data is an android, in other episodes, has worked so fast that his hands become blurred. If Data is so strongly motivated to help and he can work that fast, why is he moving like his batteries are nearly drained?
  - When the away team beams down to rescue Geordi, Leitjen tells them to turn off their flashlights because the light will scare the aliens. Leitjen tells Riker that the ultraviolet light is "beyond their visual spectrum." Yet when Data illuminates them with his flashlight, Geordi and the other two aliens immediately turn and run away!
  - During the scene when Geordi is trying to determine the source of the shadow, the light strikes his visor at an angle, and we can see LeVar Burton's real eyes (black pupils, not the "white eyes" we normally see when Geordi removes his visor.)
• From JRPoole on 2008-06-15 at 6:23am:
  This is a better-than-average stand-alone episode. The alien of the week was actually interesting, Geordi got some character development, and it was all executed fairly well. The scene where Suzanna coaxes Geordi back to the ship was a little much, but this is pretty good all in all. I give it a six.
• From CAlexander on 2011-05-01 at 4:22pm:
  The good part of the episode is the way it presents and explores the mystery. It is well done. But the plotting is not consistently strong throughout, many scenes feel off.
  - As DSOmo's examples show, there is an awful lot of "crew idiocy".
  - Another example is how utterly ineffective they are when they come to capture Geordi in the holodeck. They were just told that he will be hard to see, but they don't account for that at all. And not only could they have turned off the holodeck, with some imagination they could have changed it to a setting that would make it easy to find Geordi (a pristine field of snow, for instance).
  
  
• From o@k.aok on 2011-08-27 at 1:20am:
  Agree with the reviewer on all counts. Good episode, even better than a 5. Some good performances in this one.
  
  Also, Geordi tracking down the mysterious shadow in the holodeck was downright creepy. Actually, there were a number of "horror movie" elements in this episode, all tactful.
  
  
• From Mike on 2017-03-26 at 5:13am:
  I agree with DSO. Geordi being allowed to work alone is the one gaping hole in the plot of this episode. There's simply no good explanation for that, given what they know about what's happened to the others.
  
  That aside, this episode is pretty good. Geordi's holodeck investigation was still a great scene, and the whole backstory made this a compelling watch right from the start.
• From One world, one obumpresidency on 2021-08-02 at 7:10am:
  Oh my gords, the "blue episode". When I think of all the atrocious episodes scifi shows had between the good stuff back then, this is the one that always comes to mind. Stargate had a similarly bad one where they turn into Cro-Magnons.
  It alone has prevented me from rewatching TNG at least 5 times, I think.
• From Azalea Jane on 2021-10-16 at 2:23am:
  I remember liking this episode as a kid. It seems kind of silly now. I'd love to see what those aliens would look like with modern special effects technology!
  
  There's the ever-present away team problem, where a ship with a crew of a thousand sends a handful of its senior bridge crew to a strange planet at night with no hazard suits, no backup, no surveillance drones, and no large floodlights. Eh. I know, that's how TNG rolls. But even Leitjen sort of pointed this out when she mentioned sending several teams down.
  
  The shadow thing doesn't make sense. If the creature blocked the light from hitting the wall, the light would either bounce off of it or be absorbed, allowing it to be visible. For it to be invisible, light would have to pass through it -- as we see in the transporter room -- and thus it would not cast a shadow.
  
  Data emotion-spotting: too easy this time, considering Crusher basically points out that Data is worried!

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Shashank Mayya on 2007-08-30 at 7:14am:
  The Bell Boy and Data's errand lad goes on to become the famous writer Jack London who wrote the "Call of the Wild".
• From DSOmo on 2007-10-08 at 7:53am:
  - The away team establishes a base of operations in a boardinghouse. One of the lighthearted bits of the episode has Picard trying to squirm his way out of paying the rent. However, the second time the landlady comes to collect the rent, Data is with the group. Doesn't Data have money from his winnings in poker?
  - Troi takes Clemens to visit Geordi as Geordi works on reconnecting Data's head. After entering the room, Clemens sees his watch on a table and grabs the watch. Doesn't it seem likely that a watch from the nineteenth century would be on its way to a museum instead of lying on a table in Geordi's lab?
  - While trying to reattach Data's head to his body, Geordi finds a metal file at the base of the opening in the back of the head. Why didn't Data discover the metal file when he examined the head earlier?
  - Before departing for the nineteenth century, Clemens states that he wants to go back because he has more books to write. Later, while preparing to fire the torpedoes to destroy the aliens' origination point, Riker expresses concern that Picard should have gotten back already if Clemens had returned to the nineteenth century. Worf then says, "We have no way of knowing if Mr. Clemens was successful." Can't they check their historical data base to see if Mark Twain wrote any books after August 1893 (the time frame for this adventure)?
  - At the very end of the show, Clemens instructs the medics who carry Guinan off on a stretcher. Do the doctors of nineteenth-century Earth really have the medical knowledge to help a woman whose physiology is so different that she lives at least five hundred years?
  - Phasers reacquire the ability to be tuned to different frequencies in this episode. Originally, phasers had this capability, as demonstrated in "Arsenal Of Freedom." Then phasers lost the capability in "The Best Of Both Worlds."
  - Picard sends a message to Data by tapping on the back of his head with a metal file. After Data comes to life, he tells Geordi that he is processing a binary message from Picard. A binary message? Do you know how many 1's and 0's Picard would need to send to create a message that Data could understand?
• From thaibites on 2012-04-06 at 1:20am:
  This episode really pissed me off! I waited a couple decades to see what finally happened to Data's head, and all I get is the WORST character in the history of Trek - Mark Twain. This guy was more obnoxious and unlikable than Dr. Pulaski! Plus, he never shut up. I wish Data would've popped his head like a big zit.
  I think the creative team really dropped the ball on this one because they wasted all that time on Twain and never really delved into these mysterious aliens that occupy the same space as us, but are out of sync with our time. It's a fascinating concept that could've led to many wonderful revelations about reality and quantum physics, but all we get is some miserable, old moron prattling on and on and on...
  This episode suffers from too much padding, too much comedy relief, and much too much Twain.
• From Dys on 2012-08-10 at 6:11pm:
  This episode looks like some 2005 Doctor Who's episodes (and surely old doctor who too?), with disguised aliens commiting some machination at differents periods, in costume s'il-vous-plait, guests historicals characters, and of course time travel.
  For me it doesn't fit correctly in the star trek mythology and let me a disappointing feeling.
• From Quando on 2014-07-29 at 1:07am:
  I just re-watched this episode last night, and I had a couple of thoughts.
  
  First, when Guinan is brought back to the hotel and is with the rest of the crew (Riker, Crusher, La Forge) for the first time, nobody even says anything about it. Like how about, "what's Guinan doing here?" They all just act like she came with them in the first place.
  
  Second, I thought the whole "zany" side story about pretending to be putting on a play to get out of paying the landlady was incredibly lame. Based on what they found in the cave at the beginning of the episode, they knew in advance that they were going back in time to late 1800s' San Francisco. Picards' group may have even brought appropriate costumes with them (they don't otherwise explain where they got those perfectly appropriate clothes, including a police uniform and a nurse's uniform). So before they left, why didn't they just replicate a bunch of currency from that time period?
  
  Third, I was rather skeptical that they could take Data's 500 year old head and just hook it up to his body and have it work fine like nothing ever happened. I guess that also means Data will have to live the rest of his life with a head that is 500 years older than the rest of his body -- kinda creepy.
  
  Finally, the climactic scene in which they beam Picard out just in the nick of time was not believable. Remember: Worf fired the photon torpedoes, shortly thereafter there is a report that sensors have started to pick up Picard's life signs in the cave, Riker calls the transporter room, and then the transporter guys lock on and beam up Picard, all in the time it took for the photons torpedoes to travel from a ship that is in orbit of the planet down to the cave. Those are some seriously slow torpedoes. I know they wanted to manufacture some tension, but they could have come up with something better than that.
• From Axel on 2015-03-01 at 9:43pm:
  This is the only TNG two-parter I didn't like. It was stretched out longer than it needed to be. There is too much filler, mainly involving the Twain and London characters. It feels like there was such a need to force them into the plot and make the audience aware of their presence, that the main storyline involving the Devidian aliens never gets developed as much as it should. The Guinan subplot was a nice touch, but it too gets convoluted by the overall mishandling of the episode.
  
  It was a nice episode for the Data character. Along with "Measure of a Man" and several other episodes, it's clear the Enterprise crew has become very protective of Data and see him as much more than an android.
  
  Still, I'd give this a 4 ranking. Not much of a cliffhanger, on top of everything else.
• From Keefaz on 2017-01-29 at 9:34am:
  Mark Twain almost single-handedly ruins this episode. Like a squawking bird right up in your ear for 90 minutes.
• From Cal on 2017-02-24 at 3:31pm:
  I love this finale. I love the setting, I love Clemens and his reaction to Worf and the Bolian. I love the continuity, I love the way Data turns up in a getaway coach. There's lots to love. Allthough I still don't know what Data says when he's speaking French.
  I recognised the young reporter's voice talking to Clemens, turns out it's Ensign Taurik from Lower Decks and later Ensign Vorik from Voyager. Loving these blurays.
• From Rick on 2017-03-28 at 1:24am:
  To the poster above, Data says something along the lines of "we are almost brothers, nice to make your acquaintance"
• From Chris on 2018-02-12 at 9:14pm:
  I like this episode but too, have some problems.
  
  I don't know what Twain's (Clemens') voice was like but this guy is extremely annoying and I'd have punched him a lot!
  There's a recording of Rod Rawlings' imitating Twain, and it is much more tolerable. Rawlings was an early neighbor and acquaintance of Twain and apparently was good at imitating famous people.
  
  Anyway, no one on the away team brought suitcases and unless they had things like Tim 'The Toolman' Taylor's 'Suit in a Bag', there is a major screw up with the costuming!
  Very irritating that something so glaring would get past the editors!
  
  I also have a problem with the notion that a person of color would be so highly regarded in 19th Century San Francisco, regardless of its progressive reputation, or her status!
  
  Think about how the real George Washington Carver was treated during the same period! Rather shabbily IMO, and he was far more influential than any literary figure, black or white!
  
  I realize that there is no story without accepting this as a possibility, but it kind of bugs me. Perhaps they could have illustrated the prejudices that existed at the time, especially to the Asians in SF! I guess others would complain about the soap-box, but it would have made the story much more believable and Twain would have been far more impressed once aboard the Enterprise in the 24th Century!
  
  Then there's LaForge and his visor, on and off, but on, quite often in front of folks, it shouldn't have been on!
  
  Of course, Jack London never met Twain as far as I'm aware, so I will suspend my incredulity for all these things.
  
  I loved when Riker said, "I have the utmost respect for the law!" Wham!!!
  
  Otherwise, I enjoyed the episode very much!
  
  P.S. Does anyone else feel that entire Tricorders and other sensors could be embedded in Data's head or whatever so that they are never needed by him? Similarly perhaps with Geordi's visor?
  
  Sorry that my comment ran on so long!!!

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From James on 2007-06-07 at 7:10pm:
  I have to say I really dislike this episode. It seems to me like the series switches between a serial series (Jericho, Dominion War DS9 kind of) and a syndicated show (every crappy 80's show on SciFi).
  
  My finance and I have watched everything from season 3 onward and it seems like the show went more serialized in th 6th season and then this piece of crap episode pops up.
  
  1. Starfleet just lets the flag ship stay under Riker and then Data's command.
  
  2. Riker and Data: I thought for sure they were going to make out at least twice in this episode
  Data: I am sorry if this ends our relationship
  Worf: no it is I....
  LAME!
  
  3. Why in the hell does it take the entire cast (minus Data for once) to go down to the bar and find Picard?
  
  4. My finance and I both think the acting in this episode seemed forces. Data was more robotic than he's ever been - despite all of the advances he's made in 6 years.
• From curt on 2010-04-20 at 5:31pm:
  I think this is the only 2 episodes that Picard doesn't wear a starfleet uniform through the whole episode. Every other episode he has a uniform on, at one time or another.
• From Tallifer on 2011-03-12 at 8:18am:
  I enjoyed these two episodes for the most part.
  
  However one thing which I hated was how incompetent Worf was with a phaser during the firefight! He is supposed to be the chief of security!
• From Robert Koenn on 2011-06-22 at 11:44am:
  Personally I gave this episode an 8 rating. I suppose that was mainly due to it being an exciting episode and a bit off the normal TNG story lines. I also enjoyed the aliens and the Star Wars like bar scene although it did get a bit out of hand when half the bridge crew showed up at the bar. There are always inconsistencies and rather absurd plot line devices so I've grown use to that. Picard playing a thief with his attire and Bronxy accent sounded a bit like in a Piece of the Action from TOS. And as someone else mentioned, these Star Fleet people are some of the worse shots in the galaxy.
• From dronkit on 2014-03-12 at 7:58pm:
  Did I hear "I'm receiving a transmission fro admiral Chakotay?" at 8:08 lol

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

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

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-07-09 at 3:17am:
  - If Iralius IX was originally a planet, wouldn't the assimilators have had to be placed in the debris after the battle that decimated the planet? And if the battle that destroyed the planet was the battle where the enemies fought to their mutual extinction, who placed the assimilators? Obviously the assimilators must have been placed before the final conflict, which means that the debris field could not be Iralius IX. But that would contradict Picard, because he identifies the Promellian cruiser as being among the ruins of Iralius IX.
  - Why hasn't someone already found the Promellian cruiser? It's been there for a thousand years. Evidently somebody investigated the area prior to the arrival of the Enterprise, since the crew knows that this was the location of the final battle.
  - These Promellians must make an incredible battery. Remember that the assimilators have drained all power from the vessel. Yet, it still manages to send out a distress call for a thousand years!
  - Why is the Promellian cruiser sending out a distress call? The captain of that ship knew the assimilators were destroying his ship. Why lure another craft into the trap?
  - At the end of the episode, Picard blows up the Promellian cruiser. This is a mint-condition, thousand-year-old artifact. Even Picard says it "belongs in a museum." There is nothing wrong with the ship. It is just surrounded by the assimilators. Doesn't the Federation have the technology to clear the booby trap and tow the ship out?
  - Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge is on the Enterprise, populated by the finest of Starfleet's engineering staff, and he has to get a holographic representation to help him solve a problem?
  - At the end of the episode, Geordi says they are going to shut everything off and use only two thrusters. When Picard flies the Enterprise out of danger, he actually uses three thrusters: starboard, port, and starboard aft.
• From djb on 2007-12-25 at 6:50am:
  - A thousand year old derelict's gravity generator still intact?
  
  - There is nothing in space to stop a moving object's inertia. How did all that debris come to a complete standstill? Why didn't it strike anyone as being strange?
  
  "I'm not used to having people question my judgment." "And I'm not used to dying." Great comeback! Even if she's just a hologram.
• From JRPoole on 2008-03-24 at 4:14pm:
  The above mentioned problems bothered me as well, but they didn't take away from the episode because I can rationalize some of them away. The only exception is Picard's order to blow up the booby trapped wreckage. Why not just put some warning bouys around the debris field until somebody can figure out how to clear the assimilators?
  
  This was a rare episode where the sub plot was more engaging than the main plot. The character development for Geordi was much-needed and well done, especially considering that there's some good continuity with the Lea Brahms character later in the series. Poor Geordi; even Data gets more action than he does.
• From CAlexander on 2011-04-07 at 6:52am:
  My favorite part of the episode was the part with Geordi. I always liked the idea of Geordi falling in love with the hologram, he needed some character development. But the part at the end where Picard maneuvers the ship out always seemed rather forced – "lets make up some silly reason for Picard to maneuver the ship using thrusters, it's dramatic!"
  
  - DSOmo has a lot of valid comments.
  - It is funny how Geordi, chief engineer on the flagship of the Federation, seems to have no idea what the holodeck can do until the computer tells him. He acts like a kid trying to figure out a new toy for the first time. But this is consistent with many episodes, that holodeck is just full of surprises.
  
• From John on 2011-09-01 at 12:01am:
  The reason Geordi doesn't know what the Holodeck can do is because the audience doesn't know, and it has to be explained to them (us). It's called exposition. They might have been able to do it a little better if they had more time, but not within a 40-minute episode that also included Picard's own "archaeology" story.
  
  I love the way Picard relieves Wesley at the helm. Just like his counterpart on the alien ship, the Captain is taking full responsibility for the success or failure of the endeavor.
• From Ggen on 2012-03-10 at 9:03pm:
  I don't have too much in response to this episode, although it was quite good, quite entertaining. The main plot was rather static and not that intricate, but Geordi's romantic subplot adds enough color and flavor to compensate...
  
  I rather liked both of the two solutions presented at the end: let the computer make 1,000s of helm adjustments every second to "exploit the time differential" in the snare's response, or have someone, as it turns out Picard, fly the ship "on one propeller," with the lights and engines down, on thrusters only.
  
  Of course, I'm sure we've seen this "thrusters only" thing as a solution before (as we've seen the "slingshot off the object's gravitational pull" maneuver enough times to no longer be surprised - unlike Data, strangely enough)... but hey they had to write a lot of episodes... I don't blame them too much for recycling elements here and there.
  
  So, not a particularly remarkable or emotionally or intellectually gripping episode, but enjoyable nevertheless.
• From Daniel on 2014-07-05 at 4:47pm:
  This episode is in my top ten of favorites of all STTNG episodes. I love it for its simplicity; the plot is basic and uncomplicated. I also love it for its uniqueness; the music used in this episode is very different than the music in any other episode... It has a very different flair. I find it interesting that when they first sight the derelict vessel, Worf is the first to recognize it as a Promellian Battle Cruiser. And when Picard starts talking about it, even Data has an expression of awe. I also love this episode for the way they explore Geordi's inadequacies with talking to women - that he is better with talking to the computer or a holographic woman... (And have you ever noticed that his only real friend is an android? - poor Geordi, not good with people, though he tries so hard.) I also love that they include Guinan in this episode - I love her character. The general fascination with the ancient ship and the way Picard is so taken with it is wonderful, despite that the wonder is soon lost when they realize the danger of the booby trap. One flaw I see in this episode is the condition of the captain and crew of the derelict ship. If they had been floating there in space for over a thousand years, it seems unlikely the ship would still have breathable oxygen. Even so, if the bodies of the captain and crew were positioned in their chairs for over a thousand years in an oxygenated environment, the skeletal remains of their corpses would not have skin or hair, and their clothes would have deteriorated to dust. But, regardless of how scientifically plausible or implausible that is, this is a great episode.
• From Rob UK on 2015-02-17 at 4:04pm:
  Poor Geordi couldn't get laid in a morgue, even in episodes where he would have been able to with ease like 'The Naked Now S01E03' when everyone is intoxicated and knocking boots on all floors where is Geordi? That's right he's not getting any action because he is strapped to a bed in sick bay. The poor fellow hasn't even got the cohonies to get some holo booty action with the construct of Leah Brahms, he even becomes her friend. I wonder if the title to this episode BoobyTrap is more a reference to the Nice Guy Trap that Geordi falls into in the pre title sequence rather than the space based dilema of the Enterprise
• From Azalea Jane on 2021-08-01 at 6:43am:
  "Oh great, another woman who won't get personal with me on the holodeck." Fuck you, Geordi. Seriously. Since when are you entitled to a stranger's personal logs? Eat a dick. Don't get me wrong, I like Geordi. I like that he has room for growth here. And I think a lot of us have had times in our lives when we can relate to his romantic frustrations. But damn. That line really struck me this time. That attitude won't get you anywhere.
  
  Also, why isn't Geordi working with, like, every other engineer on the ship? This is kind of an emergency. What is everyone else doing? It's strange to see people just casually walking around like it's another Tuesday, when they're just hours away from lethal radiation poisoning.
  
  That objection aside, this is a nice, solid TNG episode. It has a relatively plausible premise (for Star Trek anyway), and I liked the drama of Picard piloting his own ship to safety.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-10-09 at 6:15am:
  - Doesn't it seem as if Barclay is staying conscious for a long time through his process of molecular deconstruction?
  - The away team finds a Lieutenant Kelly dead and covered with second and third degree burns, on the USS Yosemite. Crusher states that he did not die from the burns. But the episode never says what Lieutenant Kelly did die from.
  - It appears the crew of the Yosemite ran their plasma tests with the comtainer still on the transporter pad. Don't they have a lab for this type of activity? This is a science vessel.
  - If the worms in the transporter are members of Starfleet, aren't they behaving rather strange? One did bite Barclay's arm.
  - For the past five seasons, the doors adjacent to the center island in Main Engineering have led to turbolifts. In this episode, Barclay opens this same door and the turbolift is gone! Now it's some kind of auxiliary engine room.
  - When did O'Brien get demoted? At some point he got busted back down to ensign! He takes a direct order from Barclay. I thought both Barclay and O'Brien were lieutenants. However, in this episode, O'Brien is wearing only one black-centered pip.
  - After discovering the life forms in Barclay's arm, Crusher gives him an armband monitoring device. She says it will tell her if "there is the slightest sign" of the life forms increasing in his system. Later, in Engineering, Barclay collapses as a blue glow erupts from both arms and his neck. Oddly enough, the monitoring device attached to his arm doesn't seem to inform Crusher of this development.
• From JRPoole on 2008-09-08 at 1:38pm:
  I'm fond of this episode, like I am of most Barclay episodes, but the premise here is borderline ridiculous. I don't mean the existence of the matter/energy microbes in the plasma stream. I don't even mean the idea of the crew members trapped in the energy stream.
  
  But how does Barclay "see" these entities? I can buy that there's a moment or two when the transporter process first begins where it's possible to see the world around you swirling through all the phased matter. But it's ridiculous to think that you can reach out and grab something sharing the stream with you and simply bring it back with you. Reach out with what? You don't have arms (or eyes, or legs, or teeth, or hair). You exist as a pattern of energy.
  
  I'm usually willing to overlook questionalble science (except when it's REALLY bad, as in the upcoming "Rascals" episode) but this is pushing it a little for me. Although I believe this episode is well paced and interesting, this terrible science drops it down a bit.
• From Drake on 2010-11-08 at 7:10pm:
  Barclay is such a terrible character. One of The worst episodes of the 90's.
• From Sanduzzo on 2014-02-06 at 5:03pm:
  Any episode with Barclay is both boring and annoying to watch.
• From Rob UK on 2015-02-23 at 5:12am:
  Goddammit i hate the character Barclay, annoys the shit out of me in so many ways, what a twat, how the hell this supposed character ever got into Starfleet beggars belief, he gets even worse when they regurgitate him in Voyager.
  
  Dwight Schultz should have retired from acting after playing Murdoch in The A-Team as it was the only character his stupid face fits.
  
  Even Neelix is less annoying than Barclay
• From Bronn on 2015-07-01 at 10:16pm:
  Don't get why this episode is voted so low. Love Barclay, unlike the other commenters, and think he's a delightful addition on the show. Dwight Schulz nails this character, and honestly, this episode really addresses the elephant in the closet: transporters are scary, when you consider the implications of them.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-08-24 at 8:19pm:
  Great confusion surrounds this matter/antimatter ratio thing. When Brahms come on board, she claims the matter/antimatter ratio has been changed. She says that the mixture isn't as rich as Starfleet specs call for. In "Where No One Has Gone Before," Picard says Kozinski is coming on board to test "different intermix formulas." And the chief engineer in "Skin Of Evil" talks about setting the ratio of matter and antimatter to 25 to 1. Isn't there only one matter/antimatter ratio? While taking the Starfleet exam in "Coming Of Age," Wesley and Mordock said there is only one ratio with matter/antimatter ... 1 to 1.
  The energy needed for warp drive come from the mutual annihilation of matter and antimatter as they mix in the dilithium chamber. When an electron and a positron meet, an explosion occurs, destroying both entities. If two electrons and positron meet, wouldn't that leave one electron with nothing to do? So if the ratio is anything but 1 to 1, what does the extra matter do once the antimatter is used up?
• From djb on 2008-02-25 at 9:47am:
  Poor Geordi! He just tries too hard.
  
  I was excited when they mentioned Leah Brahms at the beginning, because Booby Trap left open so many great questions: What is she really like? Will Geordi ever meet her? If he does, is his love life finally going to change for the better?
  
  Geordi is a great character, very likable. Unfortunately, his luck in love hasn't always been so great. I really root for him, but have to shake my head at how he shoots himself in the foot. Having them meet in his quarters, him in casual clothes, with just the right lighting and music... really laying it on thick!
  
  I like how he finally starts to be honest with her; as he points out at the end of the episode, he should have just told her about the holodeck program from the beginning. Of course, we wouldn't have had that great scene between them later on! I like how they come to terms at the end, even if it is abrupt. The poignant ending with Brahms answering a call from her husband was a nice touch.
  
  I was a little disappointed in Geordi's handling the situation in general; he still seems pretty insecure, even though he supposedly gained confidence after an encounter with the alien in "Transfigurations." Maybe it would have been even worse...
  
  I enjoyed this episode on multiple levels. One level is obvious: good character development for La Forge. Another is more subtle, but also important: holodeck ethics. Hearkening back to "Hollow Pursuits," one wonders what really are the ramifications of being able to holographically simulate real people? If the holodeck were a real invention, would there be laws or restrictions as to whom you can simulate, or what situations? Would people have to sign releases allowing their likenesses to be used in holodeck programs? Would hackers sell underground holodeck programs that illegally simulate celebrities or other people for consumers' basest fantasies? I mean, what happens when a wife walks in on her husband having sex with a virtual woman?
  
  More relevant to this episode is the striking contrast of holodeck reality with actual reality. Even though I doubt Geordi had replayed that program in the year or so between meeting holodeck Leah and meeting actual Leah, one gets the strong impression that the one exchange on the holodeck in "Booby Trap" made him develop a serious crush on Leah. Or, at least, holodeck Leah. In the time between meeting holodeck Leah and actual Leah, it's clear he'd thought about her a lot, imagined the possibility of a romantic connection, and probably gotten a little carried away.
  
  Unfortunately, as Guinan tries to warn him, there's a big difference between a holodeck's approximation of a person (which is, basically a computer program) and the person herself (not at all a computer program). To me, this is a warning about not becoming too emotionally involved in a fantasy, whatever that fantasy might be.
  
  I like the actress who plays Leah and it was good to see her again, and it's great to see subplots in characters' lives pick up where they had left off in previous episodes.
  
  I found the plot about the space-borne life form mostly unremarkable, except I did like how the two subplots fused towards the end.
  
  And hats off to whomever came up with the name! "Galaxy" refers to both the life form's home (interstellar space), as well as the Galaxy-class Enterprise; "child" refers to the dead life form's offspring as well as both La Forge's and Brahms' attitude towards their engines! Great name.
• From JRPoole on 2008-05-07 at 2:20pm:
  I don't usually comment on technobabble errors, but the matter/anti-matter thing bothered me as well. But DSOmo has already said that. In other technobabble news, what in the world are Geordi and Brahms referring to when they say that all matter in space resonates at a 21 centimeter interval? Granted, I'm not a physicist, but this seems absurd to me. Can anybody explain this, or is it just another instance of really stupid technobabble?
  
  I do, however, really like the idea of the space creatures. We've seen something sort of like this with Tin Man, but these seem to be slightly lower-order animals, I'm thinking something along the line of "space whales." The Geordi/Brahms plot is welcome as well. Overall, a decent episode.
• From CAlexander on 2011-04-28 at 1:14pm:
  A solid episode. I actually rather liked the "filler" B plot about the baby.
  
  Answer to JRPoole: 21 cm is the "hydrogen line" that can be seen in interstellar space from quantum transitions in hydrogen. So all matter with hydrogen (not "all matter in space") would emit a tiny bit of radiation at this wavelength. Not that this really justifies the technobabble, but it is based on something.
  
• From EZ on 2012-05-06 at 11:33pm:
  Wow, this had such great potential and then crashed at the end. Calling Geordi's emotional hissy fit "standing up to Brahms" is baffling.
  
  Once she discovers what's going on, she has every right to be outraged. Geordi is right, it's not what she thinks. But instead of explaining that to her, the writers have him get emotional and shut her down because he "tried his best." What a horrible excuse.
  
  Her response should have been something along the lines of "How dare you try and make me feel bad about this. You were the one creating and then flirting with a digital duplicate of me. You're the one using that experience to hit on me, despite the fact that I am not interested. You are the one who crossed boundaries. You do not get to pretend that you're the one on the high road here. You're the one that needs to explain yourself."
  
  I could have chalked that up to the characters. But the worst part is Geordi's hissy fit ends up solving the problem. Not only that, but now she's acting shy around him and begrudgingly takes her husband's phone call. A man who was established that she's strictly monogamous with. The whole ending completely undermined Brahms character in order to try and show Geordi as the good guy in the end. Geordi did and acted nothing like a good person would. And a strong female character like Brahms had been up until that point should have called him on that and not been taken in.
  
  Such a wonderful and interesting thing to explore, completely ruined not just the episode but the character of Geordi by poor writing without a lick of emotional intelligence.
• From Axel on 2018-08-20 at 3:29am:
  I think it's safe to say this episode would never be made today, at least not without sparking a lot of backlash. In the 27 years since this episode first aired, the digital/internet age has changed the conversation on this issue. So have society's views of what's considered sexual harassment. Geordi's actions in a modern context seem borderline creepy, and I recall Burton saying something to that effect when asked about this episode at a convention a few years ago.
  
  Had this entire thing not been given a sexual undertone, it might've been more apt for Geordi to react to Brahms the way he did. In his diatribe, he claims he was merely reaching out to her in friendship, but it's obvious he wanted more than that. And the dialogue he assigns to holo-Brahms was much too intimate for her to mistake it as anything but a fantasy. I think a modern audience would applaud her disgust, and would in turn be disgusted at Geordi's defense of his actions.
  
  This is all a shame, because it's a solid episode. It involves the discovery of an interesting species and a dilemma that the two must work together to resolve. But, the "resolution" of the Brahms and Geordi relationship is too poorly handled for me to think of this as above average.