The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-06-07 at 6:34am:
  - When the Enterprise receives the first distress call from Dr. Manheim, he gives only two coordinates to his location. How were they able to travel to the correct location? Three coordinates are needed for three-dimensional space.
  - Jenice tells Picard she waited for him all day. She also comments that it was raining. Their rendezvous was at an open-air cafe! Did Jenice sit in the rain all day and wait for Picard?
  - During the time rift, the multiple Datas question each other as to who is in the correct position. The middle Data says, "It's me!" In addition to the fact Data cannot use contractions, Data's response is also bad grammar. The correct response should be, "It is I!"
• From CAlexander on 2011-03-14 at 5:16pm:
  The character development was amusing to watch. The other plot was too perfunctory, with unnecessarily huge implications that were ignored.
  
  At the end, Dr. Mannheim asks to return to the research lab, and Picard says OK. I was flabbergasted. They should be hauling him off to prison for Reckless Endangerment of the Galaxy!
  
  @DSOmo: I notice the rain issue as well, but I assumed the cafe was open-air from the sides, not from the top. I don't think the camera ever panned up to show whether or not there was a roof or canopy above them.
• From Percivale on 2011-12-06 at 4:17pm:
  I think the real mistake was deciding that Data wouldn't be able to use contractions. It makes no sense other than to make Data more identifiable as an automaton - which they try so hard to disprove throughout the series - and they obviously couldn't keep up with their own rule.
• From 0ne mooner on 2012-02-18 at 5:31am:
  
  In which Data gets to be a hero. Win!
  
  The guest star who plays the prof also plays Sigmund Frued on Bill and Ted's excellent adventure.
  
  If riker is to buy a round at the blue parrot how is he to do this? I thought currency in the federation was obsolete?
• From mattymjp on 2013-07-21 at 7:05am:
  Some interesting outfits worn by the female guest stars in this episode. That is all I have to say!
• From Dr. Paul Obumheim on 2023-04-21 at 7:53am:
  The scene at the lift where they meet themselves is fantastic, I love it.
  Great episode, could have done without the Cafe scenes.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From a on 2006-09-07 at 3:43pm:
  according to Memory-alpha.org:
  
  [did you know]...that the original version of the script for Star Trek: The Next Generation's "Conspiracy" did not feature alien parasites? The 'conspiracy' in question was simply a military coup within Starfleet, but Gene Roddenberry vehemently opposed such an idea, since he believed Starfleet would never stoop to such methods; thus the alien angle was introduced at his insistence.
  
  Interesting.
• From DSOmo on 2007-06-08 at 8:29am:
  - During the "Code 47" transmission, Keel tells Picard to trust no one. Later, after their covert meeting on the planet, Keel says, "This meeting never took place as far as Starfleet is concerned." Then, just as Picard is leaving, Keel says, "Tell Beverly 'hello' for me." How is he supposed to tell Dr. Crusher that he saw Keel if the meeting never happened and he isn't supposed to trust anyone?
  - When Riker is attacked by Admiral Quinn, Riker calls Security. In the next scene, Geordi and Worf are running down the corridor. What happened to the rest of the security force? I realize that "extras" cost money, but sending both Worf and La Forge from the bridge is a bit much.
  - When Data reviews all Starfleet command decisions for the past six months, the information rapidly flashes across his display screen. One of the graphics shown is a parrot! What does a parrot have to do with command decisions?
• From thaibites on 2009-12-03 at 1:49am:
  Don't listen to the lame review on this one. This episode rocks! Finally, a 1st season episode with some testicles.
• From CAlexander on 2011-03-13 at 2:52pm:
  - The idea of an alien conspiracy was interesting, but really suffered from compression into one episode. Imagine how much a show with more continuity, such as DS9, could have done with this concept!
  - Perhaps this is why the aliens seem rather inept. Quinn beams over alone, then decides to have fun beating up Riker in hand-to-hand combat. He should have known Riker would call security; in fact, Riker is rather tardy about doing so. Basically, the Enterprise crew don't do anything clever, Quinn/Alien just hands them the victory on a silver platter. And the other aliens aren't much better.
  - DSOmo's comments are spot-on as far as Keel's comment and the security team are concerned. It was just silly when the "security team" consists of Worf and Geordi. Geordi?
• From Nicolas on 2011-03-28 at 8:43am:
  Why can't Data simply download the information instead of having to painstakingly read it on the computer screen?
• From CAlexander on 2011-04-07 at 3:57pm:
  Response to Nicolas: This is consistent with many other episodes. Data doesn’t have the ability to download data directly from the computer. His positronic brain is a unique technology quite different from that used by the Enterprise computers.
• From rpeh on 2011-06-03 at 8:42am:
  This is a good episode with one or two wrinkles, the main one being the awful acting by most of the support cast. It's also pretty clear that money was running out, hence the lack of extras in the Enterprise security team and in Star Fleet HQ. It really detracts from the believability when the captain of the fleet's flagship is greeted by a total of four or five people.
  
  I don't understand the comments in the main review about the conspiracy. I thought it was fairly well done, and I imagine we would have seen the parasites again had somebody not come up with the idea of The Borg.
• From a2a on 2012-02-12 at 11:53pm:
  Wow. This was a rather shocking episode. There were quite a few uncharacteristic elements - not bad, not necessarily great, just rather surprising. I'm thinking here of the utter GORE, SHOCK and AWE, when Picard and Riker *violently decapitate* an investigator from Starfleet's inspector general's office. I did not see that coming.
  
  As Picard himself admits, it was counter-intuitive and uncharacteristic for him. I don't know that I entirely agree that it was absolutely necessary (they didn't really *try* anything else, just went for the exploding head approach), but at the same time, I'm not prone to complain about or question the decision. I mean, somehow, in the strangeness of this episode, it seems appropriate. These was a rather insidious threat and the solution was rather ballsy...and apparently successful...
  
  Though here we're left with a bit of a question mark and the eerie soundtrack playing over the credits. This is another uncharacteristic aspect for Star Trek - an ominous cliffhanger... This like a number of other things about this episode reminds one of a Hollywood horror flick rather than the show we're used to...
  
  (The worms dinner scene and some of the writing in general is also sort of Hollywood, or almost Stephen King or something...as I mentioned, this is not necessarily good or bad, its just different and surprising, and I commend the writers for mixing it up a bit.)
  
  I must also commend the special effects guys, because that's another thing that was very Hollywood here, in a definitively good way - the effects when Remmick's head explodes and the "mother creature" emerges were absolutely stunning. Imaginative, gory, detailed, disturbing and quite convincing.
  
  So hats off for this bizarre shocker of an episode. (My jaw dropped at least once, which doesn't happen much.)
• From 1moonCircleEyesInDark on 2012-02-19 at 2:26am:
  Not only do Worf and Geordi(?) Show up when Riker calls security but ... Unarmed?!? However Crusher (a medical officer) IS armed? Ok I just didn't get that one? It is like a joke, a medical, science, and security officer walk into a bar and...
  
  I hate to say it but I enjoyed seeing Riker get his butt kicked by grandpa, I think it was priceless. I do like Riker however, especially in later seasons.
  
  The sound effect used at the end of the episode to indicate a disturbance in the force. (i.e. the communication from the bug things to their home world) sounded very similar to the sound effect (used more rhythmically) in the film Contact (Carl Sagan's not ST) when the transport plans are sent to earth from the Vega system.
  
  Anyhow this episode for me was to full of plot holes to really be enjoyable. But I did like Data laughing and chatting with the computer.
• From Nadrac on 2012-05-07 at 12:07am:
  Very disappointing episode considering the buildup to it. Yes it had plot holes, stupidity. I just can't forgive one scene when admiral decided to go onto enterprise( he was a poor choice for this kind of thing considering the history Picard and he has ) anyway then starts a fist fight with Riker, not like it was unavoidable, geordi and worf was alredy mentioned but riker reported an emergency and it seems they bought the "he slipped explanation". For the the love of god, if you tell a story of them being sneaky be consistent, blown up star ship and altered orders were a great buildup for nothing, tail hanging out again watered it down and a single guy dying ended it.
  
  2-3/10 ( just for the first part )
  I am rewatching tng picking only the above average episodes based on rating, this was misleading.
• From mattymjp on 2013-07-23 at 9:27pm:
  Good episode, they cut the gory bit at the end on SyFy though, had to watch it on YouTube.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Sherlock on 2006-10-04 at 9:42pm:
  There are numerous mistakes that Data (actually the writers) make in regards to the Sherlock Holmes canon (one that comes to mind is Data saying Holmes only defeated Moriarty at Reichenbach at the cost of his own life), but despite it, I loved this episode and it's one of my favs. Daniel Davies gets special props for an outstanding Moriarty. He portrays him as intelligent and very aware, not evil.
  Brent Spiner and Levar Burton do a good job as well.
• From Sherlock on 2006-10-07 at 4:41pm:
  Problem:
  Moriarty can clearly see Data, Geordi and Pulaski (and not who they pretend to be) and the arch before the computer bestows upon him the ability to defeat Data. He's looking at the trio oddly as Geordi imputs info with the arch.
  
  Another Problem:
  Data takes the paper that Moriarty drew the Enterprise on out of the holodeck. And when Geordi is looking at it, he's looking at it upside down!
• From DSOmo on 2007-06-16 at 8:53pm:
  - So the computer can create an entity aware of its own consciousness? Not only is Moriarty aware of his own consciousness, he may have qualified for the Grand Prize ... Sentience! In "The Measure Of A Man," we are told a sentient being must have intelligence, self-awareness, and consciousness. Definitely, Moriarty is intelligent. Data states that the computer gave Moriarty consciousness. Troi backs this up when she senses that a "unifying force, or single consciousness is trying to bring it all into focus." All that remains then is to decide if Moriarty is self-aware. "He seems fairly self-aware to me" (to borrow a line that Picard uses in "The Measure Of A Man"). If Moriarty is self-aware, he is sentient. If he is sentient, he is entitled to all the rights granted sentient life forms in the Federation. Doesn't shutting him off constitute a violation of those rights?
  - The whole idea of Geordi misspeaking only one word and narrowly averting disaster must be very upsetting to the crew.
  - The piece of paper leaving the holodeck has already been mentioned (and Geordi looking at it upside down), but what about Dr. Pulaski stuffing herself full of crumpets? When she leaves, does that matter evaporate? Some people would think this wonderful. Enter a holodeck. Eat all you want. Walk out, all gone! ;)
• From Brian D. Parsons on 2008-11-21 at 9:46pm:
  The Enterprise crew ignoring Moriarty after he agrees to be saved in memory wasn't entirely voluntary, per this entry from the IMDb article on this episode:
  
  "The producers, believing that the Sherlock Holmes character was in the public domain, were most surprised when the estate of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle informed them that they still retained the copyright on the character. They did, however, allow the episode to be aired because they felt that the show had done the character justice. Litigation kept the sequel episode "Ship in a Bottle" off the air for nearly four years."
• From hmad on 2010-03-12 at 6:46pm:
  The controversy of whether holograms have a right to sentience is later explored in the Voyager series w/ the EMH doctor and Hirogen Prey episodes.
  
  Federation never regarded anything artificially constructed from their own technology, no matter how sophisticated, as something that should have the capacity for true self-determination. Take for instance the ship's computer, massively powerful and integrated into everything yet has practically no autonomy or decision making ability. Seems hard-to imagine that there would be no AI based technology at some point unless it may have been purposely avoided. (Remember the M5 debacle on Kirk's enterprise?)
  
  @ DSomo: I thought about that too, best explanation may be that food and basic items are somehow replicated on demand within the holodeck for the user's consumption.
• From rpeh on 2010-08-24 at 1:32pm:
  The original review and subsequent comments have said most of what needs to be said, but I just want to point out that the corpse, strangled by his common-law wife is blatantly breathing as it lies on the ground. I know it's a minor point, but hey!
  
  One slightly amusing point is that the French translation doesn't have Picard using the word "merde". Evidently it was too rude - they have him saying something else altogether, although I don't know what it is.
• From Jeff Browning on 2011-09-22 at 11:14pm:
  Perhaps obvious, but Daniel Davis who played Prof. Moriarty in this episode appeared as Niles in the Fran Descher sitcom "The Nanny".
• From Inga on 2011-12-27 at 10:22pm:
  Personally, I find the idea of a hologram becoming sentient and self-aware, let alone being able to take control of the ship, a little far-fetched
• From a2a on 2012-02-16 at 8:46am:
  I thought this was a rather brilliant episode. Good idea and good execution. I appreciated how the writers held back and did not have Moriati assume total control of the ship. That would've been somewhat predictable... and of course utterly unrealistic for someone so technologically out of date and rather out of the loop about his actual place in the world. But I can accept that someone with a brilliant scientific mind and a fiery curiosity (and some intense computer processing power in his cranium) could figure out a thing or two and poke rather aimlessly at the ship's controls - even getting the thing to jostle for a moment or two.
  
  Moriarty was an altogether excellent character, and it was great how he became something so much more than a campy villain towards the end. The episode looks forward to more profound holographic-lifeform themes in Voyager and other series, and looks backward to the resolution of The Long Goodbye, when Picard spoke frankly to the holographic characters, who were then compelled to try to leave the holodeck... In fact, there was an either intentional or perhaps subconscious direct allusion to that episode: Moriarty says, "I hate long goodbyes." Picard replies, "Well, a short goodbye then." A clever reference vaguely disguised within a play on words? Or just something that happened spontaneously in the writing?
  
  Small qualm: if this episode was a two-parter or something, I would've expected Moriarty's desire to leave the holodeck to have been elaborated on a bit more. As it was, he never made the rather obvious demand that Picard simply leave him running in the holodeck - he implicitly equated dying with not being able to leave, either literally or by anology... but as far as he was concerned, his entire existence had hitherto been on the holodeck... so, it seems that the status quo would've been a logical (although logistically inconvenient) demand... Of course, I can understand how someone of Moriarty's caliber, having had his eyes opened by this experience, would no longer be satisfied with his prior existence. And I can understand that the writers had to speed through some things...
  
  Actual Problem: if the ship's computer is both powerful and imaginative enough to create Moriarty, a rather brilliant, and most importantly *self-aware* being (arguably life-form), who is capable of learning, innovating, and free will... why on earth does Starfleet need people like Doctor Zimmerman and the holographic engineering industry?
  
• From Dstyle on 2013-08-08 at 1:25pm:
  Whenever someone is trapped in the holodeck (this episode, The Big Goodbye, Fistful of Datas, and more), I always wonder why they don't just get a transporter lock on them and beam them out. Oh, Dr. Pulaski is in danger in the holodeck? Well, we better dress in period costume to go in and get her out!
• From Azalea Jane on 2021-07-13 at 11:21pm:
  This episode is annoying, for many of the reasons already pointed out. For me the very premise of the episode makes it unsalvageable. As a result of the silly premise, I don't feel interested or invested in the proceeding question of how to treat a new holographic life form. If it's possible for someone in the holodeck -- with just a few magic words -- to inadvertently *create a new sapient life form* which can then *hijack the controls of the ship*, that shows us a catastrophically, criminally dangerous and absurdly overpowered device. (Everything in Trek is overpowered. The phasers, for example, being able to vaporize an entire person in a few seconds, is comical.) As with The Big Goodbye, the fact that they didn't try to cut power or beam anyone out is just the laziest of writing. Do I complain about lazy writing a lot? Yeah, but I'm not wrong!
  
  Data emotion-spotting: Even though Geordi seems more bothered by Pulaski's skepticism of Data's sentience, Data still seems invested in proving his abilities to Pulaski. (He seems to respond well to things that challenge him.) He also seems quite excited while in character. Curious! I'm noticing a pattern: Data exhibits certain emotional expressions in the context of learning about or attaining humanity. Even in the pilot, he said, "I'd gladly give it up to be human." (Gladness is an emotion.) He DOES clearly seem to exhibit emotions around his humanity, but apparently doesn't quite "experience" them, or report them as such.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-06-17 at 4:12am:
  When Worf goes to retrieve Okona, he find's him on deck 7. We know this because the first two numbers on the woman's door are "07." Yet when Worf and Okona walk out of the room and onto a turbolift, they are now on deck 11 (the door says "11"). Wrong door markings or did they take a side trip we didn't see?
• From Jon on 2008-09-01 at 3:11am:
  Navigational shields are shields projected ahead of the ship by the deflector dish to protect the ship from damage by micro-particles, space dust and other small debris that could cause catastrophic damage to a ship traveling at high speeds, relatavistic or warp.
• From Razorback on 2009-06-22 at 3:50pm:
  I agree with jon. It would make sense that all warp vessels have them.
• From Daniel Blessing on 2009-09-18 at 3:35pm:
  You stated, and asked...
  "- Picard: "Lasers do not even penetrate our navigational shields." What the hell are navigation shields?"
  
  Navigation shields are the shields the ship uses to move aside space particles, dust, micro meteorites, e.t.c. while traveling. I am not 100% certain, but I believe they are powered by the main deflector. The power output required to keep them up and running is so minimal in terms of what the ship can generate, they are actually tied into life support systems. They are always up and running as long as life support is functional.
  
  This may however be the only time they are actually called "Navigational Shields." Silly Picard.. =]
• From Matt on 2010-07-17 at 10:33pm:
  I think navigational shields are low powered shields that protect the ship's hull from various floating debris and radiation. They aren't shields powerful enough to stop phasers however.
• From CAlexander on 2011-03-23 at 9:27pm:
  I can't exactly commend this episode, but it was amusing. It feels as though there wasn't really a script; the director just got up and said, "The premise of this episode is that Okona is a Loveable Scoundrel. Everyone act accordingly. Now improvise!"
• From One mooo on 2012-02-21 at 6:27am:
  
  Perhaps it is because I have seen this episode half a dozen times before but the comic guy scenes are actually painful for me to watch. I would call this a so so episode. With a rating of meh.
• From Chantarelle on 2014-06-29 at 9:16am:
  I'm not sure if it's coz I'm a girl, but I loved this ep. I agree that it was meh, and somewhat unremarkable, but that scoundrel was just too fun, and too damn cute not to enjoy. I wouldn't have cared if he was knocking up half of the galaxy, I just wish they'd put him in the same amount of clothing that the women from TOS had to wear ;-)
• From Diane on 2015-06-20 at 4:24pm:
  Liked Okana and that TOS-ish storyline. Agree that the comic scenes are painful and that storyline feels like a worst night at the improv.
• From jeffenator98 on 2019-10-25 at 5:16pm:
  Excruciating. 0/10
• From Azalea Jane on 2021-07-14 at 6:27am:
  "Well, the unexpected IS our normal routine."
  
  Data's explorations around humor in this episode are interesting and often entertaining. The way he moves his hands while telling a joke gets me laughing every time. And I like how he can't be funny on purpose, but keeps being accidentally funny. "My timing is digital!"
  
  I do feel like humor could be explained better. There's been a lot of theorizing about what makes people laugh, and it would have been interesting if they had dug into that a little more. Everyone is giving him examples, but nobody gives him theory that he could really dig into.
  
  Some of it was odd, like Data's line "jump around like an idiot," which seems out of character. You can also spot visible disappointment when he realizes the crowd is programmed to laugh. I continue to wonder if Data's clear expression of hope and/or letdown around his understanding of humanity is intentional or not.
  
  Data's habit of asking about a term he's not immediately familiar with, then looking it up in his own databanks and answering his own question, is getting pretty old. They did it in the pilot ("snoop"), they've done it a few times since, and they do it here ("rogue"). And then he runs at the mouth. Why, writers?? Why would Data ask a question when he has access to the answer?
  
  If you freeze frame right when Picard says "terminate communications" with the two other ships, both the men on the screen raise their arms up at the same time. Nice touch.
• From MJ on 2023-01-17 at 7:03am:
  "A monk, a clone, and a Ferengi decided to go bowling together..."
  
  My rating for this episode, and the entire TNG series, takes a slight hit because we never get the punchline for this joke. At the very least, they could've made this the joke that Data finally "gets" when Geordi installs his emotion chip in the movie "Generations."
  
  Anyway, this is standard TNG Season 1-2. It's light and entertaining, a semi-interesting plot, but no real substance or intellectual delivery like we'll get in the later seasons. It doesn't suck, but it's not amazing. I think "5" is a very fair rating.

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

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From 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 2007-07-23 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 2007-07-24 at 8:55am:
  - During a voice-over, Data talks about teaching Lal "to supplement her innate android behavior with simulated human responses." The scene shows Data teaching Lal to blink. But in many of the scenes preceding this one, Lal can be seen blinking.
  - Picard makes the correct stand at the end of the episode - that Data is a sentient being with rights, and those rights include the right to raise a family. The state cannot simply take children away from their parents. Why does Picard have to take this stand in the first place? Why haven't Admiral Haftel's superiors shut down Haftel already? Or does the decision reached in "The Measure Of A Man" - defining Data as a sentient being - mean nothing? Or is Starfleet simply setting aside both their protection of the family unit and Data's sentience simply because these principles are inconvenient?
  - While Data and Wesley discuss Lal, Dr. Crusher pages Wesley and reminds him of a hair appointment. Wesley responds that he is on his way. He then shakes his head and says, "Parents!" There is no badge tap. Neither Dr. Crusher nor Wesley said "Out." There is no indication that the communication channel had been closed. In other words, Dr. Crusher heard Wesley say "Parents!"
• From Rob on 2008-04-13 at 10:29pm:
  This episode is amazing in that its revolving around an emotionless android (Data) and a never-before-seen guest star (Lal) and yet it so emotionally moving. The death of Lal actually brings a lump to my throat, especially when she's in Troi's quarters thumping at her abdomen and saying "This is what it means to feel."
  
  Phenomenal work by the actress (Hallie Todd?) and everytime I've watched the episode I'm saddened all over again that she suffered that cascade failure. She would have been a fascinating addition to the cast.
• From Crispy on 2009-07-22 at 8:11pm:
  Excellent episode - one of the few truly emotionally moving TNG episodes.
• From CAlexander on 2011-04-21 at 4:09am:
  An excellent episode, rather touching. I found myself pondering Data's arguments. That is a good sign.
  - Since DSOmo brings it up, I'll point out that I don't totally buy Data's argument that he need not inform the Captain about his experiments because he is merely procreating like anyone else, and thus his actions are beyond question. This might be true if Data were a member of a race of androids who had reproduced since time immemorial by building new copies of themselves. But he is creating a brand new experimental life form that may or may not work. So his analogy is flawed; he is not the same as a normal human having a child, and more like a childless man trying to create a genetically engineered superbeing to act as his progeny. While it is reasonable that Data be allowed to "reproduce", his argument that he need not tell anyone else doesn't hold water.
  - Furthermore, the danger involved in building Lal is not merely theoretical. The existence of Lore suggests that Soong-type androids have a fairly high chance of becoming super-powered homicidal monsters. I think it would have been wise for Data to create Lal in a high-security facility with more oversight.
  - Data also defends himself by saying that he took all the steps that any other cyberneticist would have taken. But this is self-serving and thus irrelevant; it is like someone secretly building atomic bombs in their basement then saying it is OK because he promises he took all the necessary precautions. We believe Data, but there is no reason for Starfleet to take his claims at face value.
  
• From rpeh on 2011-06-04 at 9:15am:
  I think this episode rates much higher than a 5. The acting by all the principal characters is superb, and the story is engaging and well-told. It manages to be touching without being overly cloying, which Trek can sometimes do.
  
  The only problem is the usual Reset Button: what happens next? Having demonstrated that he can create other androids, why does Data never apply what he learned and create more? Does he not give his new information to Star Fleet?
  
  Apart from that, it's great. I give it a 9.
• From Jeff Browning on 2011-09-27 at 2:08pm:
  I agree wholeheartedly with rpeh. Our webmaster has nothing but praise for this episode, but rates it a 5? Talk about damning with faint praise. I think it deserves at least an 8.
• From John on 2011-11-23 at 12:12am:
  One of my favorite episodes of any Star Trek series ever.
  
  Everything about this episode is great. The story is interesting and the actress who portrays Lal is superb in her role. Frakes direction is well-paced and thoughtful.
  
  The ending of this episode always gives me a lump in my throat and makes me tear up a bit, which I think is a good thing. It's very moving, and raises some interesting questions about the nature of life.
  
  Personally, I give a 10/10.
• From John Bernhardt on 2020-04-14 at 3:05am:
  This episode is certainly more relevant now as part the backstory for star trek-picard's soji/sutra character. I am surprised nobody objected to the admirals attempt to remove Lol from ship. Clearly, data could have simply gone with her.
• From Azalea Jane on 2021-08-08 at 2:24am:
  Lal does something similar to Data, but perhaps more so. She seeks to understand humans and be like them. Well before her fear episode, she also expresses what is clearly frustration at not being able to experience (other) emotions like love or lust or loneliness. Like Data, she expresses some form of emotion around her dissimilarity with humanity, but is unable to "experience" those emotions on a metacognitive level and name them as such. (And, for whatever reason, self-aware emotions seemed to be correlated with a system failure.) I like that Lal questions this pursuit. She expresses confusion and distress around the idea of working toward something one can never attain. Data talks of the "reward" of striving to be more than one is.
  
  I say all this not to nitpick or even find fault. I actually think it's an important point that there may be no true border between thoughts and emotions. Like most pairs of things in the universe, thinking and emoting aren't a simple binary.
  
  The theme of the "inner struggle" is a recurring one in Trek.
  
  The "what are your intentions with my daughter" bit was funny, but any half-sentient being could see that Lal was clearly in control of that situation. I think "Lal, what are your intentions with my commander?" would have been *hilarious.* And a little subversive of gender stereotypes, which always nice.
  
  Despite the ruling in "Measure of a Man", Starfleet brass is still trying to subvert Data's (and, by extension, his offspring's) rights. This might be a writing error, or it could be indicative of some humans' inability to see or acknowledge artificial life forms as truly sentient. This episode feels especially relevant in light of Star Trek: Picard, which I'm in the middle of for the first time. The status, personhood, and rights of artificial sentient beings will probably be an ongoing conversation among humans for a *long* time. The admiral's reaction at the end was quite touching.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

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

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-07-29 at 8:15pm:
  - Changed Premise: This episode makes the point, several times, that Betazoids cannot read Ferengi minds. Troi is half Betazoid. That means her empathic capabilities are scaled-down versions of a full Betazoid's telepathic capabilities. Yet in several previous episodes, Troi comments that she senses certain emotions from the Ferengi.
  - At some point the Ferengi gave up their "phaser whips." In "The Last Outpost," the Ferengi used a bullwhiplike device that emitted a stream of energy when snapped. In this episode, the Ferengi use more conventional-looking weapons.
  - When Lwaxana beams from the Ferengi ship to the Enterprise, she starts out sitting on the Ferengi captain's bed and ends up standing on the bridge. In other words, the transpoter had to rearrange her skeletal-muscular structure in transit.
  - I think Wesley would do a lot better with the women if he'd remember to zip up his pants. The pants on Wesley's "acting ensign" uniform don't close all the way in back! Maybe his promotion and Starfleet uniform will help ;)
• From JRPoole on 2008-04-15 at 5:23pm:
  Uggh.  My general disdain for Ferengi episodes aside, this is still a mess.  I can't buy the way Riker is able to make subtle shifts in the warp signature without being able to read Ferengi.  I can't buy the Ferengi themselves; they're just to ludicrous.  I can't buy the new-found (and then suddenly lost again in subsequent episodes) chemistry between Riker and Troi.  This one is a zero for me.
• From Kethinov on 2008-04-15 at 8:18pm:
  Keep in mind, JRPoole, that it's always been implied that the universal translator allows people to read alien languages as well as understand the spoken variety.
• From JRPoole on 2008-06-13 at 7:06am:
  I guess you're right about the universal translator. But that would that mean the translator is inside the brain?
• From CAlexander on 2011-05-26 at 2:34pm:
  I don't much like Lwaxana, I don't much like the Ferengi, and the combination of the two is almost too much to bear. The only parts I liked were Riker's escape from the prison cell and Picard's Shakespearean performance at the end.
• From Bronn on 2012-10-19 at 9:13pm:
  What I hate about Lwaxana is that, for a telepath, she's so terribly uninsightful. Also, I hate Deanna for telling her that she needs to speak out loud around non-telepaths. She already is too overbearing and loud to begin with.
• From TDV on 2014-07-28 at 6:35pm:
  The worst part of this episode is that it provided the still frame for all the horrible "annoyed picard" gifs on facebook!

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

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

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-08-25 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 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 Pete Miller on 2006-04-16 at 2:58am:
  For some reason, I took quite a liking to the endangered species that Riker saved
• From Orion Pimpdaddy on 2006-05-15 at 1:55am:
  There is always a risk of bringing kid actors onto the screen. You never know how they are going to perform. For this episode I believe Worf's son was played well. The dialog between him and his dad was believable. Troi also has something to do in this episode. The conversation she has with Worf about the true reasons behind Worf's problems with his son is one of Troi's best speeches in the series. It is always a plus to see her do something involving because her character just seems tacked on to the episodes sometimes, with no real purpose.
  
  The rest of the plot falls into the "We are helping a scientist try an experiment and it is working, but oh no, wait, something is wrong" cycle of writing. The fire at the end was a good piece of work, but it is hard to believe Alexander would survive after having metal fall onto him.
  
  New Ground deserves a 6. It is well executed, but there is not much excitement. It is what it is.
• From DSOmo on 2007-09-10 at 8:14am:
  - Several shots near the beginning of the episode show the Enterprise in orbit around the planet that serves as the origin point for the soliton wave experiment. It's the same footage used for Galorndon Core in the episode "The Enemy." I find it odd that sequences aren't reused when they could be. When revisiting Galorndon Core in "Unification II," the Enterprise flies around a completely different colored planet!
  - Alexander's schoolteacher seems to have marital problems. When Worf refers to her, he calls her "Miss Kyle," but when Troi refers to her, Troi calls her "Mrs. Kyle." (I see in the Remarkable Scenes section above, "Ms. Kyle" is used) ;)
  - Early in the show, Geordi raves about the soliton wave as a great improvement. He says that the soliton wave will allow ships to travel at warp speeds without bulky warp drives. Later, the head scientist of the project explains that a group of warp coils on a planet will generate the wave, which will push the test ship to the destination where another group of coils will dissipate the wave. How is this an improvement? What happens if you want to change course in the middle of the trip? How do you reach a destination "where no one has gone before"? On second thought, the better question is, How do you stop once you reach the place where no one has gone before? In addition, the soliton wave emits a great deal of subspace interference. To monitor the test ship's telemetry, the Enterprise must stay within twenty kilometers. In other words, without futher improvement, any ship traveling in a soliton wave won't be able to communicate with any ship more than twenty kilometers away!
  - When Geordi recommends flying through the soliton wave to get in front of it, Picard asks why they can't fly around it. Data responds that the wave has increased in size and there isn't time to fly around it! Yet when a space scene shows the Enterprise chasing the soliton wave, the wave looks very flat. It sure looks like the Enterprise could just fly over it!
• From Krs321 on 2009-08-31 at 5:15pm:
  "Early in the show, Geordi raves about the soliton wave as a great improvement. He says that the soliton wave will allow ships to travel at warp speeds without bulky warp drives. Later, the head scientist of the project explains that a group of warp coils on a planet will generate the wave, which will push the test ship to the destination where another group of coils will dissipate the wave. How is this an improvement? What happens if you want to change course in the middle of the trip? How do you reach a destination "where no one has gone before"? On second thought, the better question is, How do you stop once you reach the place where no one has gone before? In addition, the soliton wave emits a great deal of subspace interference. To monitor the test ship's telemetry, the Enterprise must stay within twenty kilometers. In other words, without futher improvement, any ship traveling in a soliton wave won't be able to communicate with any ship more than twenty kilometers away!"
  
  I considered this problem while watching the episode. I think the explanation would be that they are simply testing the theory that A) soliton waves could be created/harnessed and B) that they would actually propel a spacecraft. I don't think the experiment was to be a finished propulsion system.
  
  
• From Mitch89 on 2013-03-24 at 9:36pm:
  My favourite scene from this episode is at the very beginning, where Geordi likens witnessing the soliton wave test as a moment in history, equivalent to witnessing Cochrane engage the first warp drive. Little does he know in the future, he will be at that moment too!
• From Rick on 2013-11-26 at 5:55pm:
  reviewer:
  
  look at your problem from the reverse angle: 98% means 2% loss in the energy transfer. 4.5 times the loss of energy in the transfer would mean the enterprise operates at 91% energy transfer which is right around where you think it should be. hope that helps
• From Dstyle on 2016-09-16 at 6:01pm:
  Worf's meeting with Picard is interrupted twice: first by Ms. Kyle and then, moments later, by Dr. Crusher. Worf looks annoyed, but seriously, when you think about the communicators for a second, wouldn't this happen all the time? How is it that the person on the receiving end of your communication just so happens to never be in the middle of an important conversation? Especially the senior level folks, you'd think they'd be getting interrupted all the time by the officers under them.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Orion Pimpdaddy on 2006-05-18 at 3:38am:
  The best scenes in Violations are the actual mind rape scenes. We get to see Picard and Beverly together at the morgue, and Troi and Riker have a romantic encounter. These scences add depth to the characters and make them more lifelike. It is questionable that Jev would believe he could disable three crew members and not get caught. He must have been deeply in love with Troi. It is also surprising that he late Troi regain consciousness. Why not put her back in a coma to keep her off his trail?
  
  The concept of telepathic historians is brilliant, and the female one really seemed like a real alien. There is just something about her. Anyway, this episode gets a 7 because of all the reasons stated.
  
• From DSOmo on 2007-09-24 at 11:14am:
  - After Jev leaves the dinner because of his father's remarks, Troi follows. She catches up with him outside a turbolift. From the time Troi joins Jev outside the turbolift, until she departs, it is one continuous shot. When Jev and Troi get on the turbolift, the first two numbers on the door are "03." However, when the doors close on Jev at the end of the scene, the door once again begins with "03." Troi asked for deck 8 when they boarded the turbolift. It should have read "08" at the end of the scene.
  - Toward the end of the show, Data and Geordi search medical records for comas on the planets visited by the Ulians. At one point, Geordi finds two cases of "Irisine syndrome" during the Ulians visit on Melina II. Geordi's computer screen shows the title "Melina II Planetary Medical Data Base." Data immediately comments on Geordi's success by saying, "Two cases of Irisine syndrome on Jarada III at exactly the time Tarman and his group were there." Jarada III?? The last comment Geordi made concerned Melina II, and his computer screen showed he was still working with the Melina II medical data base.
• From JRPoole on 2008-08-01 at 12:56pm:
  This is a solid, often overlooked episode. It's one of the best of the "real-world issue-exploring" TNG episodes. The sci-fi part this episode (the telpathic historians) is fascinating, and the mind rape scenes are genuinely creepy.
  
  What's that on Picard's face in the morgue flashback? Some sort of medical device? Was Jean-Luc injured in the incident that killed Crusher? It looks like the aftermath of Picard's turn as Locutus, but that doesn't make sense.
• From Dstyles on 2014-07-13 at 2:43am:
  Ugh, I really don't like this episode, and I was surprised to see all the positive comments above. First, while the whole idea of mind rape is interesting, why must we see Troi remember an actual rape? Riker, you asshole, no means no. I guess in the 90s we didn't care so much if images of sexual violence triggered traumatic flashbacks among rape survivors. But go ahead, Picard, imply that rape is no longer a problem in the Federation. I guess date rape doesn't count.
  
  Also, we knew from the very first attack who was responsible, so the dramatic tension was all about whether he'd get away with it, and obviously he wasn't going to get away with it. When Jev did the memory probe on Troi (and why, if they were suspects, were they allowed to do the memory probe? Surely there must be a crew member on board from another telepathic species--a Vulcan, perhaps--who might be able to help retrieve the memory?) and he "discovered" that his father was responsible, I thought, "wow, that would be a really interesting twist! What if the father was actually responsible but was disguising himself as his son in the memory so that if they woke up and remembered anything he'd still be safe?" But of course I knew that wasn't what was going on. I knew that it was actually Jev. And he obviously wasn't going to get away with it. Yawn. I rate this episode a 2.
• From Proconsul Obummer on 2021-08-08 at 9:31am:
  The episode is very much undermined by the creepy closeups the obviously guilty guy gets right from the first minute. Reminds me of the Simpsons where they often parody stuff like that.
  I liked Dr. Crushers new assistant, he was great. Picard with more hair was a highlight, too.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

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

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Pete on 2006-05-03 at 10:41pm:
  In my opinion, they feature Lwaxana troi waaaaaay too often on this show. Her character is NOT enjoyable dammit!!!
  
  A really stupid episode
• From DSOmo on 2007-10-01 at 4:09am:
  - Does it strike anyone odd that Troi - a person who has never had children and can't even get along with her own mother - is providing parenting advice to Worf?
  - During Lwaxana and Alexander's first mud bath, an almost nude dancer entertains them. Is this acceptable entertainment for a young boy?
  - After Geordi and Data discover the metal parasites, Data claims the sensors cannot detect the metal parasites. He also suggests a strategy to slow them down, but Geordi comments, "The problem is finding them." Why don't they scan the ship for nitrium, wait a few seconds, and scan the ship again? Wouldn't the parasites be wherever nitrium is disappearing?
  - Just before the Enterprise flys off to the asteroid field, Campio and Erco board the ship. After Data successfully cleans the Enterprise of the bugs, the wedding proceeds. There is no mention that Campio departed and rejoined the ship later. Did Picard drag Campio and Erco all the way to the asteroid field with them? During the trip, life support is lost, and people started passing out. The structural integrity of the dilithium chamber decayed, and the entire ship almost exploded. Picard knew the danger involved, and he allowed a person of royalty to stay aboard anyway?
  - As the Enterprise prepares to fly back to the asteroid field, Picard and Data board a turbolift for the main bridge. During this entire scene in the turbolift, Picard has only three pips on his collar.
• From Remco on 2008-01-22 at 9:25pm:
  @DSOmo regarding:
  "During Lwaxana and Alexander's first mud bath, an almost nude dancer entertains them. Is this acceptable entertainment for a young boy?"
  
  Lwaxana has no problem with nudity. It's even the preferred 'dress' to wear at wedding ceremonies. I suspect Betazoids are a lot less sensitive about their sexuality. And what else do you expect from the care-free holodeck people?
• From JRPoole on 2008-08-19 at 3:40pm:
  I generally like Alexander episodes, but this one is embarrassing. The wedding subplot is interesting (if you overlook the broadly-drawn Alien of the Week) but the whole holodeck thing is so stupid that it leaves a bad taste in my mouth for the whole episode. I can buy this as a holodeck destination, but I have problems seeing it as a real colony. Are there really that many lame performance artsts in the galaxy? this was absurd.
• From Mr. Awesome on 2016-01-14 at 7:57am:
  Overall this episode was pretty weird. I like how it sort of predicts online dating. However, I don't see how in the world Troi and Campio's profiles could in any way be compatible, seeing as how they're completely different. Also, I have no clue why they would jump straight to marriage when they've never even met. I mean who does that? Also, why would someone who's supposedly royalty need to hook up with chicks online? Also, even though Troi's nudity is understandably surprising to everyone to say the least, I'm confused as to why Campio and his assistant were so appalled at her, with the assistant shielding Campio's eyes. If she is to be Campio's wife, wouldn't he ENJOY seeing her naked? I'm sure one doesn't choose to marry someone they don't find attractive unless some ulterior motives are at play.
  
  Most importantly, I simply didn't understand the point of either plot. The whole thing about the ship's malfunctions wasnt really a big deal, and I'm confused AF about the whole Troi/Alexander relationship. I agree with Kethinov that this episode is mostly filler, serving only to develop characters, but I agree with Pete up above that Lwaxana's character is simply insufferable and featured WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY too much on this show! She's not funny or charming, simply annoying AF!!!

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-10-01 at 9:52am:
  - Famke Janssen plays Kamala in this episode. She later plays Jean Grey in the X-Men movies (with Patrick Stewart)
  - At the beginning of the episode, Briam asks Picard to declare Cargo Bay 1 off-limits. After the Ferengi come on board, one of them simply walks into the cargo bay. Why didn't Picard station a guard outside the cargo bay or at least lock the door?
  - Picard and Alrik have a conversation in the observation lounge. In the shots showing Picard, the stars in the observation window drift slowly from right to left. In the shots showing Alrik, the stars remain still.
  -The last scene shows the Enterprise and a smaller ship flying off in different directions. The footage comes from the end of "Suddenly Human," and the ship is Talarian, not Kriosian.
• From paul on 2010-07-19 at 2:07am:
  What's interesting, to add to DSOmo's point is that in this episode, Famke Janssen plays a mutant (her own words in the episode)! So we have another x-men relation!
• From CAlexander on 2011-03-16 at 12:16am:
  I quite liked this episode. It has a much more subtle approach than one might expect of Star Trek. Picard is trying to navigate between many conflicting demands. He wants to give her freedom. Then he finds he has to confine her. But she is a person who has done nothing wrong. He knows that she is dangerous. But to simply reject her as a threat simply because she is who she is would remove her fundamental right to interact with other sentient beings of her choice. And he's only human, and she has become the perfect woman to him, the most interesting person to talk to. It is a tricky situation with a poignant but not overdramatized resolution.
• From Mike on 2017-03-27 at 11:25pm:
  Ambassador Briam: "Captain, may I ask that the cargo bay be declared off limits to all but the most essential personnel?"
  
  Picard: "I can assure you, ambassador, that the only people allowed in that cargo bay will be authorized Starfleet personnel and one dimwitted, lustful Ferengi. Two Ferengi at the most. Beyond that, you have my guarantee that cargo is secure."
  
  Briam: "Why, that doesn't sound good at all, Picard!"
  
  Picard: "Look, ambassador, you have nothing to worry about. My security people are top-knotch. They'd never let this ship be taken over by a bunch of Ferengi. Can you imagine?"
  
  Commander William "Intergalactic Playboy" Riker comes out a bit in this episode, too...when Kamala walks past him after emerging from stasis with his "awww yeah" look. And as hinted by the webmaster review, when he goes to the holodeck after visiting Kamala to do there for free what Quark in DS9 charges his holodeck customers for.
  
  Joking aside, the concept of the episode was interesting and it explored some worthwhile themes. It does drag a bit slowly sometimes. But I like the way Federation values are once again contrasted fairly objectively with that of another culture. My sense is that most modern, Western people would react to arranged marriage much as Crusher did, with haughty ethnocentrism. It's a tough thing for post-industrial societies to tolerate. Picard is more reserved in his judgment about the marriage itself, but asks questions about her choices and preferences. In the end, he has to balance a unique challenge to his self-discipline, the interests of the peace process he is supposed to facilitate, and his own convictions about individual rights and sentient beings making their own choices. Despite the dull pacing, it's a pretty good episode. I'd give it a 6.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Pete Miller on 2006-05-15 at 3:31am:
  Factoid: Is it just me, or does Troi start wearing her official starfleet uniform more often after being criticized by Captain Jellico in "Chain of Command"?
  
  Data was tripping BALLS in this episode. That was the most ridiculously psychotropic experience I've ever seen.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Pete Miller on 2006-05-24 at 1:01am:
  I found this episode to be stupid, simply put. The whole idea was just dumb. However, the immense amount of Worf humor was priceless. That cancels out the badness, giving it a 5. Good rating.
• From djb on 2009-01-05 at 6:14am:
  Voval says they are studying human culture. Why then, is Byleth learning about Klingon antagonism? Why was Loquel interacting with a half Betazoid? At the very end, you hear one of the Iyaarans say to the other, "fascinating species!" Which one?
• From Neil on 2009-10-18 at 6:18am:
  It was fun to see Warf freaking out and offering to disembowel the other ambassador on the spot.
  
  But in all this episode was disappointing, primarily because of what happened in the last few minutes. When Picard discovers the truth, he almost thanks the aliens, which is totally out of character.
  
  Normally, we would see Picard give a fiery lecture about privacy and personal rights when an alien 'uses' people so blatantly. Particularly in his case when he was put through a lot of physical pain and emotional turmoil.
  
  Those aliens would have faced a blistering verbal assault from Picard, not the friendly forgiveness that we saw. I don't know why the writers chose to do this, it's totally out of character.
• From Robert Koenn on 2011-06-19 at 6:42pm:
  I gave the episode a 5 but as others have said, overall it was rather absurd but the humor, particularly related to Worf's problems, made it better than it might have been. My wife and I both broke out in laughter when the following scene occurred between Word and Data:
  
  DATA: I have found that in moments of diplomatic tension, it is often helpful to find elements of commonality.
  
  Worf considers this for a moment.
  
  WORF: Ambassador Byleth is... demanding... temperamental... rude...
  
  DATA: (innocently) You share all of those qualities in abundance. Perhaps you should build on your similarities.
  
  There we or course many other humorous parts but that particular sequence was hilarious. There were the obvious inconsistencies such as why did they not simply orbit the alien world rather than use the alien ship and it almost appeared as though they were in an entirely different solar system when they had to crash land on the planet. Most episodes have such errors which are simply written in as the plot line dictates. It would be nice if technically things were more accurate.
• From Chris on 2018-02-11 at 5:53am:
  I tolerate the episode and agree about the 'study' of humans when neither are being guided by humans...!
  
  My biggest problem with the episode (and I know that I've read this complaint in other reviews on this site) is the complete lack of safety gear and seatbelts!
  
  I know there have inertial dampers to take care of the ride MOST OF THE TIME, but they do, as in this case, sometimes fail. No one would have survived that crash after seeing the ditch the craft dug into the ground!
  
  I guess though that perhaps in this case with the crash done on purpose, safety gear may not have been necessary...
  
  
• From ChristopherA on 2019-04-17 at 7:49pm:
  I enjoyed the little adventure of Picard on the planet, and have a modestly positive reaction to the episode, although I don't much care for the plot on board the Enterprise, it felt like a sitcom to me.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

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

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From 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 Pete Miller on 2006-05-31 at 6:38pm:
  Factoid: This episode features Terry O'Quinn, who plays the character Locke on the show "Lost"
• From Orion Pimpdaddy on 2006-06-19 at 3:28am:
  Problems:
  Pressman mentioned that the engineering section had been exposed to space for years, preserving everything. However, there is no way that the bodies stayed intact, since flesh explodes in a vacuum.
  
  Also, the view screen showed the inside of solid rock as the Enterprise exited the asteroid. How is it lit up? I have never stuck my head inside a rock, but I'm pretty sure it would be dark.
  
• From Rob on 2008-04-24 at 10:19pm:
  Just a note: When you said that the Klingons and Romulans never developed anything like the phased cloaking device, did you forget the Romulans did attempt it? Remember the episode where Geordi and Ro are accidentally phased. It's mentioned in the episode that it appeared the Romulan's were experimenting with a new system, which Geordi later realizes was involving a 'phased cloaking device'.
  
  It wouldn't surprise me to find the Klingons haven't experimented with this (that we know of) considering how they feel about scientists overall.
• From Evan on 2008-05-26 at 4:26pm:
  To the primary comment why the Romulan's just let the Enterprise leave, it's possible that they didn't expect to be able to do anything. If the Romulans attacked, the Enterprise could have just recloaked; its unlikely that the warbird would have been able to do enough damage before the Enterprise recloaked. At the same time, such an act would have very profound implications. I'm sure the warbird captain already knew what was going on.
  
  Orion Pimpdaddy: first, no, flesh won't explode if exposed to a vacuum. "2001: A Space Odyssey" as well as TNG: "Disaster" get this right. (Or mostly right; in Disaster, Crusher says that she and LaForge should hold their breath when exposed to the vacuum. This is the wrong thing to do.) Second, the Enterprise does have exterior lights.
• From Orion Pimpdaddy on 2010-01-11 at 2:46pm:
  I realize now that flesh does NOT explode in space. My bad. Thank you for the correction.
• From Robert Koenn on 2011-07-05 at 5:15pm:
  I rates this episode and 8 mainly because I liked some of the technical parts and the conflict between Riker and Pressman. Obviously there are technical issues as with almost any episode of ST. But I found the ship imbedded in the asteroid believable, assuming the technology behind the phase cloak was viable. I found Pressman realistic as a power hungry military guy who wants to one up the enemy and was willing to do whatever to do that, Dr. Strangelove anyone? I liked the conundrum of his crew having mutinied against him and Riker finally challenging him. Now how the Federation got rooked into a treaty preventing them from using cloaking devices while their enemies can seems like another logic flaw in the plot used only to move the plot forward. Hardly a perfect episode but for me it was good nonetheless.
• From L on 2013-04-28 at 9:34am:
  A definite Star Wars moment entering the asteroid.
  The Romulan captain's politely threatening banter was great and well delivered.
  Terry O'Quinn has very pretty eyes.
• From Mike Chambers on 2013-11-20 at 9:02am:
  Love the episode. This one gets an 8 from me. However... problem:
  
  - If the interior of the asteroid rock wall is visible outside the Enterprise while they're phased/cloaked, why is it magically invisible from the interior of the ship as they pass through it? Shouldn't everything have been pitch black and everybody blind?
• From Axel on 2015-02-28 at 4:39pm:
  I love how Worf is always so surprised when a Romulan ship decloaks and hails the Enterprise. The idea that the Romulans would talk instead of fight never seems likely to him :)
  
  This episode made me curious about Starfleet's chain of command protocol and arrest procedures. When Pressman was commanding the Pegasus, the crew had to resort to mutiny to go against his treaty violation. But on the Enterprise, Picard, a junior officer to Pressman, formally charges a higher-ranking officer and takes him into custody for that. It's confusing unless Starfleet has delegated that kind of authority out to the ships; in the U.S. Navy, for example, I don't think it's possible for a junior-officer to charge and arrest a senior officer without permission from a higher authority. If you are given an unlawful order or deal with unlawful command influence, I believe you refuse to carry it out and when you have the chance, bring it to the attention of someone.
  
  In Starfleet, if you have a rogue captain or admiral like Pressman, what exactly do you do since mutiny is clearly not the proper alternative? The First Officer of the Pegasus couldn't have charged and arrested Pressman like Picard did, so it's not clear how this kind of thing gets handled.

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

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

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

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From 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 2007-06-22 at 6:31am:
  - When Pulaski decides to test her theory that the genetically perfect boy is harmless, she has Data pilot the shuttle. Why can't they pilot the shuttle by remote or have Data beam back to the Enterprise before they beam the boy over to the shuttle? That way, if something goes wrong, they will lose only one senior staff member, not two.
  - Because this cure with the transporters filtering Pulaski's DNA worked, everyone in the Federation can now remain eternally young. All they have to do is take a sample of their DNA when they are young. When a person approaches death, they can have the transporter redo their DNA. At this point, they should become young again.
  - When the Enterprise reaches the Lantree, Data reports that all systems seem functional. This seems reasonable. The problem with the Lantree wasn't the ship, it was the people. So why was the first transmission from the Lantree full of static and the voices garbled?
• From CAlexander on 2011-03-23 at 2:54pm:
  I agree with your points. I especially liked the efficient way they investigated the Lantree disaster and the respectful sendoff at the end. But the technical flaws were really noticeable. The genetic engineering is a huge discontinuity with both Space Seed earlier and DS9 later, where it is made clear that even subtle forms of genetic engineering are illegal and heavy discouraged. In this episode they proudly announce that they are creating fast-growing superbeings with flying hunter-killer biological defenses, and the crew doesn't seem bothered in the slightest. Then there is the cure. Let me paraphrase the scene where Picard comes up with the cure:
  
  Picard: "Chief O'Brien, I just had an idea. Could we modify the transporter into a magical plot device that can modify the molecules in the target in any way we choose?"
  
  O'Brien: "Sure, Captain, but I'll have to make a few modifications."
  
  I'll imagine what must have happened after that scene:
  
  Data: "Fascinating that no one ever thought of that before. A 10 second conversation has resulted in a discovery that will have massive repercussions throughout the galaxy."
  
  Picard: "No, Mr. Data, I'm a modest man. Let's forget about my little invention and never use it again."
  
• From Inga on 2011-12-29 at 11:59am:
  The planet, Gagarin IV, was named after Yuri Gagarin (???? ???????) - the first human in space
• From One Moonie Pants on 2012-02-22 at 8:49am:
  Rename: In which Pulaski makes a complete ass of herself. Once again she is quite rude to Data and then complements him later. She is outright nasty to Picard. Many medical officers learn to pilot a shuttle craft, I can only guess that she never learned cause she thought that particular skill would never come in handy on a starship?! Where is Crusher, I dislike this lady very strongly.
  OK done ranting about Pulaski, the positive points of this episode were the introduction of O’Brian who is an excellent actor (unlike Pulaski). The techno babble in this ep. I think is just to show that this new guy knows his stuff and therefore is awesome and worthy of hundreds of hours of screen time in future. Up until now he was just some dude standing where so many others have stood before (like the good looking women who the "rouge" hits on in 2x4.
  I thought the transporter cure was very far fetched and brought up to many questions, it was too much like cloning an earlier version of her. If that were the case why did she retain memories from her time over on the station. Also if she is in some way a clone then this would solve the death of every crew member…… ever. Just make a new copy from a hair when they get really old, human aging problem solved...?
  Early in the ep. The computer takes control of the ship and shows view screen of the bridge, trick was pretty cool. I wonder how many times that could have been used to solve problems on other episodes? :)
  All around this ep was just, put up with annoying character that we have to live with this whole season. As well as intro of new awesome character. The plot of this one is pretty dull and the philosophical eye brow raising was nonexistent.
  
• From idiotek on 2012-09-04 at 6:10am:
  I want to believe you're trolling with the Pulaski love-in, seeing as she's the worst recurring character out of any TV show ever (never mind the trek franchise). Don't think you are though. McCoy 2.0 is probably the biggest blasphemy you could have gone for. Picard facepalm.
• From McCoy on 2017-11-13 at 8:24pm:
  Sorry, Idiotek. Pulaski is my favourite character from TNG:) What a shame she was only for one season. I'm serious, really.
  And this was nice episode with good interactions between her and Picard.
• From jeffenator98 on 2019-10-02 at 5:04pm:
  They did use this technique before in TAS episode the Lorelei signal. I also like Pulaski.
• From Azalea Jane on 2021-07-15 at 6:56am:
  The treknobabble in this episode is just .... mwa! *chef's kiss*
  
  "Well, I'd have to get into the bio-filter bus and patch in a molecular matrix reader. That's no problem. But the waveform modulator will be overloaded without the regeneration limiter in the first stage circuit." ... Makes me wonder if the Trek writers read their own scripts sometimes.
  
  Amazing job that transporter did on Pulaski's makeup!
  
  I don't dislike Pulaski as much as I dislike Crusher's absence. Nice to see her learning to be a little less of a jerk to Data.
  
  Data emotion-spotting: he smiles a little bit when Pulaski says he has a way with computers. He's clearly programmed to crave human approval and display signs of vindication when he gets it.
• From The USS Obamtry on 2023-04-23 at 4:13pm:
  Pulaski is great, she is more interesting, fun interactions with some of the crew, finally someone who rembers that Data is an android, and she was in TOS a few times!
  And to that guy who says she is a bad actress, ridiculous! Unlike for most of the usual trek cast, including the Crushers, she had a multifaceted acting career besides Trek.