The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-07-01 at 12:32am:
  - How did the Bringloidi send a distress call in the first place? When the Enterprise arrives at the Bringloidi's planet, the sensors show no advanced communication network and no artificial power source. These people use spinning wheels and were still able to send a distress call all the way back to Earth?
  - Dr. Pulaski claims that the clones are "among the walking dead now. They just haven't been buried yet." If the clones are really that bad off, why would anyone want them to be part of the gene pool to repopulate a planet?
  - When Riker and Pulaski go to the cloning lab, a close-up shows the markings on the machines. The markings are some sort of alien calligraphy. These people are humans. Wouldn't it make more sense for the writing to be in English? True, the clones have been isolated for three hundred years, and language does evolve. However, three hundred years is not a very long time. Old English documents from three hundred years ago are still readable today. A few characters differ, but the majority are the same.
• From JRPoole on 2008-02-15 at 10:17pm:
  I'm in almost total agreement with the review here; this is an entertaining episode if you just take the bad science at face value. O'Dell's daughter is an entertaining character--as are all the Bringloidi, even if they're a little stereotypical. She's also exceptionally beautiful.
  
  I'm also enough of a dork to like any episode that shows us the inner workings of the Enterprise, like the fire containment field.
  
  I do have a few other quibbles with this episode. The first is fairly serious: I don't buy Riker's response to seeing the clones. Despite the fact that these beings were created without permission, they're still life forms. They seem virtually ready to be viable outside of their cloning chambers, and this is still murder. Even if we don't define it as murder, it's enough of a gray area that I can't imagine Picard and Star Fleet would approve of Riker's rash action.
  
  The other two are fairly minor. Geordi's lie detecting abilities are problematic. Does he cheat at poker? Wouldn't this have come into play earlier in some more serious situation?
  
  And finally, just what is a normal shift like onboard the Enterprise? Is Will free to go chasing tail in the middle of his duties? I always wonder about this when a bridge officer gets a summons to the bridge in the middle of a holodeck program or something, and this episode made me wonder what a normal workday on the Enterprise is like.
  
  
• From Eric on 2011-02-07 at 4:57pm:
  I think many TNG episodes are fraught with problems, but this one horribly so. As mentioned, Riker nonchalantly murdering the clones seems awfully unethical. A cloned human is a human.
  
  O'Dell's daughter commented on not being sure she wanted to be Eve. Isn't she already in that position? How many of their people are there? It didn't look like very many.
  
  Watching it this time around, I was really bothered at the crew's attitude toward the Bringloid. Those people didn't have much choice other than be fairly unsophisticated. Also, surely the crew would have interviewed them at the earliest opportunity to learn anything they could. They would have known about the other ship. Instead the Enterprise beamed them up,was repulsed by them rather than interested in them, and made no effort to learn anything!
  
  I like the premise if the episode could be 99% re-written.
  
  This time around I've also noticed that the writers were really trying to make Pulaski an important character. For at least a few episodes she was on the bridge a lot, for no apparent reason.
  
  
• From CAlexander on 2011-04-12 at 3:48pm:
  A mediocre episode at best, but amusing. There are a lot of things that are odd or out of character in this episode, but I didn't mind as much as usual because I chalked it off to being a humor episode.
  
  - When the Mariposans ask for 5 cell donors, Picards says no one on the Enterprise will agree, and acts like that is the end of it. This seems rather disingenuous on his part. The Mariposans won't die out for years; surely they could find somebody – somewhere – who would sell them some cell samples. I can only imagine that cloning is viewed by the Federation as either illegal, or so abhorrent that Picard will have no part in helping the Mariposans.
  - It is hard to figure out the ethics of disintegrating the clones, when the cloning technique makes no sense to me. At first I assume the Mariposans were making real life clones who start as babies. But no, we see they are making Hollywood clones that start as adults. But that kind of clone usually involves copying the mind of the clonee, and there is no indication of that. And Mariposan technology is too primitive for that anyway. So how are the clones given personalities? Are they raised like children, but in adult bodies? Seems strange, but the most likely possibility. In which case I guess they are total blanks when they are killed by Riker.
  - Speaking of ethics, it seems odd that there is no moral debate about killing the clones. But it does have some nice continuity with the Federation dislike of genetic engineering and computer-controlled starships and cyborgs. They seem to have a humanistic belief that people should live out their own potential and not change themselves into something else.
  - I'm not convinced replicative fade is totally unreasonable, but it is odd. The presumption has to be that the cloning technique only works on cells fresh from a living host. But I certainly couldn't say why. Especially when suspended animation was standard technology in the 1990's in the Star Trek universe.
  - I agree with the gene pool comment, I also thought that the Mariposans wouldn't have great genetic material. But I don't think we can complain, the DNA just has to be good enough, and more diversity is better, especially when the Mariposans' have an understandable desire to be included in their own gene pool. Maybe that is the reason for the three husbands concept.
  - I agree that Geordi's lie detection is problematic (and soon forgotten).
  
• From John on 2011-11-21 at 3:44am:
  @DSOmo: The Bringloidi didn't send the distress message, the other colony did -- the two planets were within half a light year of one another. The Enterprise just happened to enter that sector of the galaxy nearest to the Bringloidi planet and encountered them first.
• From Inga on 2012-01-06 at 11:26am:
  @John Then why were the crew surprised to learn that there were another colony?
  
  Also, why didn't the Mariposans take Geordi's DNA? They did ask for 5 donors, so why take only 2, when you can take at least 3?
• From Ed Flinn on 2012-03-31 at 12:49am:
  Stan Freberg used to claim that the Swiss were the last ethnic group against whom bigotry was safe. Star Trek claims that in the 24th Century it's the Irish, as long as its done with a smile.
• From John on 2012-12-03 at 3:48am:
  @Inga: they were surprised because they were under the impression that the one ship they found the record of only went to one destination. The only information about that ship was the cargo manifest, which said nothing about the mission itself.
  
  It's not shown, but I suspect a red flag went up when they discovered the Bringloidi had no communications equipment. A second colony was confirmed when the leader asked about the 'other colony'.
• From Arianwen on 2012-12-15 at 6:46pm:
  Cute? Fecking offensive would be my word for it. I'm not Irish, and I'm not hugely familiar with Irish stereotypes, but this is so unsubtle it sets even my alarms blaring. And hey, the only two speaking parts are given to English actors (good though they are) because there are clearly not enough actors in Ireland: aside from dialectisms, the accents sound very Scottish at times. And, of course, the accordion, the whisky and the sweary women who complain that the husbands do no work. See, when an Irish show does it it's self-parody, and it's funny. That's the difference.
  The other objection I have is the moral of the episode, or rather the lack of morals. The crew simultaneously preaches tolerance of other cultures while displaying an uncharacteristic revulsion towards both sets of colonists. Case in point, Riker kills the clones with no move to check whether they're alive yet. He's motivated solely by disgust and a sense of property (my DNA! mine!) and yet no-one calls him out on this. The "solution" to the population problem is to effectively press-gang a more primitive people into becoming breeding stock for a technologically advanced elite. Not a hint of dilemma throughout. WHAT.
  
  One point, for the
• From bodner on 2014-05-27 at 8:36am:
  Pretty troubling that they just murder their clones and there are no repercussions.
  But maybe Picard showed the way when he murdered the timeshifted version of himself some episodes before.
• From Rob UK on 2015-02-16 at 11:58pm:
  Beardy Bill the Enterprise's resident sex pest at it again
  
  "As first officer i feel it is my duty to smash your back door right in pet, legs get them dorty feet washed"
  
  Fun homour episode, i like the old hooch fiend trying to palm his mental henpecking daughter off on anyone he can he thinks has a few quid
• From Jadzia Guinan Smith on 2018-02-12 at 2:34am:
  I find myself agreeing with every criticism I’ve read here. This episode is morally and culturally offensive; logically and scientifically absurd.
  
  I would also ask: even if cloning was the primary way they grew their population, why would it have been been necessary to “suppress the natural sexual drive”? It’s not like sexual activity would get in the way of cloning! Also they could get a few new gene combinations, that could add some strength, it certainly wouldn’t do any harm.
  
  And... why would they not try to get LaForge’s tissue sample? Is it because he is blind? It’s not the sort of thing the audience should have to guess at.
  
  I do like the idea of 2 peoples who started out together being separated for centuries and then being the exact answer to each other’s problems. But beyond that generic notion, nothing about this episode is remotely tolerable. Even the so-called “humor” is nothing more than derision based on ethnic and gender stereotypes. I give it 1.
• From jeffenator98 on 2019-05-30 at 5:24pm:
  Picard had more fun in "Chain of command 1 and 2" than I did watching this episode. Embarrassing 176 out of 176.
• From Alex Malizia on 2020-08-28 at 3:02am:
  While a terrible episode, the bit with O'Dell and Worf and talking about the moment of fun/silence being paid for by his wife shrill yell in the background (err, daughter i guess) is hysterical.
  
  "Every moment of pleasure in life has to be purchased by an equal moment of pain."
  "FATHER!"
  "Remember what I said about the moment of pain? Well, 'tis about to begin!"
• From Poutine_On_The_Ritz on 2023-02-01 at 5:40am:
  O'Dell and his daughter definitely salvage the episode, as you say. Otherwise, I'd give it a 1 or 2.
  
  I do have one factoid on this one: there's a 1981 Broadway musical called Copperfield. It includes a song called "Up The Ladder" performed by a character named Uriah Heep. Heep is played by Barrie Ingham, who also plays O'Dell in this TNG episode. I have no idea if the writers of this episode named it after the song that O'Dell performs in Copperfield, but it seems like a crazy coincidence if they didn't.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-07-05 at 6:30am:
  - Shortly after discovering that his nanites are missing, Wesley begins setting traps around the ship. In Ten-Forward he sets two traps approximately six feet apart behind the bar. Using this spacing would require thousands and thousands of traps. Does Wesley have thousands of traps to put out, or does he think the nanites like to hang out in bars? ;)
  - When the nanites start pumping poisonous gas into the main bridge, Riker and Picard leave the ready room and join in the coughing with the rest of the bridge crew. Riker then walks up to the environmental controls. The atmosphere on the bridge returns to normal. Is Riker the only person who knew how to do this? Otherwise, everyone would just have sat in their chairs and coughed until they died.
  - Given the attacks on the Enterprise by the nanites, it is difficult to believe that Picard would allow them to take over a bridge officer, especially one with the strength and intelligence of Data. (Worf is the only one who protests)
• From djb on 2007-12-21 at 10:10am:
  While the science behind the idea of two little nanites created by a student replicating themselves into something capable of taking over a starship computer leaves something to be desired, the main thing that upset me about this episode was the "neutron star" explosion at the end. The astronomy in this episode is just appalling.
  
  First of all, it should have been called a white dwarf. A neutron star is, I believe, the remnant of a single star going supernova, and is very, very dense, and therefore small. Something like 50,000 times as small as our sun, in diameter. The type of situation in this episode is where a white dwarf is accreting material from a stellar companion. The result of such accretion is a periodic supernova.
  
  Material expelled by a supernova travels fast, but not as fast as it does in this episode. It might travel up to a tenth the speed of light- about 30,000 Km per second, but that's optimistic. Given the estimation that the white dwarf and its companion are, say, a million km apart, it would take the explosion at least 33 seconds to reach as far as the other star. Also, at its brightest it would be about 5 billion times as bright as the sun, which at that immediate closeness would probably overload the ship's sensors (and shields) and instantly blind anyone looking out a window. What to speak of the effect the emanating heat and radiation would have on the ship and the crew. Marshmallows anyone?
  
  They could have at least made the supernova look something like a supernova instead of a bomb explosion superimposed on the shot.
  
  And, of course, there should be no sound to go with it, but we reality sticklers gave up the "no sound in space" argument with Star Trek a long time ago.
  
  I know it's just a show, but I figure they could have made it look at least somewhat realistic.
• From JRPoole on 2008-03-12 at 9:35pm:
  Finally a good Wesley episode. I rather like this episode; the scientist is interesting and acted fairly well, Wesley finally gets an episode in which his wunderkind aesthetic sort of falls apart, and the whole package is done well.
  
  My only beef with this episode is Picard's non-reaction to Wesley's delay in telling him about the nanites. By trying to capture them on his own when he'd already theorized they were causing the problem with the computers, he put the crew and the mission in jeopardy. Picard should have put the smack down on him then and there.
• From KStrock on 2009-01-31 at 5:30pm:
  When he comes to the bridge, Wes relieves a guy wearing the old style uniform from Seasons 1 & 2.
  
• From thaibites on 2010-09-25 at 1:32am:
  This episode could've been really good if they would've focused more on interacting with the nanites and less on the visiting scientist. I think this episode has helped me focus on why I have a problem with TNG - the episodes are more about people and their emotions and less about scifi. It's kind of like "Soap Opera Trek" instead of Star Trek. The name of the episode is "Evolution", so why concentrate so much on the doctor and so little on the nanites? The nanites are the ones who have evolved so quickly into sentient life. Most of the show should've been the nanites talking through Data, instead of the scientist talking and talking and talking...
  Another disappointing episode out of many disappointing episodes so far. I was hoping for big things from this season 3 opener.
• From CAlexander on 2011-03-29 at 7:06pm:
  This episode didn't impress me. Nothing I can pinpoint, it just seemed unsatisfying.
  
  Amazing how Federation scientists are still struggling to replicate the work of Dr. Soong, but Wesley creates a sentient life form accidentally. But then, the same thing happened with the holodeck. Apparently Federation technology has reached a point where sentience will self-generate if just given a chance.
  
• From Jeff browning on 2011-09-26 at 5:44pm:
  It is exceedingly strange that you show Problems: None. The scientific problems of the nanites are legion. Just a few:
  
  1. How they communicate with each other? Data is infected with nanites, yet they continue to communicate with the collective mind. How? Radio? Subspace? Either way, how do devices with components the size of atoms develop transmitters and receivers?
  
  2. What is the power source? Much is made on star trek concerning power, yet it ignored here? To pull off what the nanites do here would require a great deal of power.
  
  3. The nanites effectively consume much of Enterprise's computer core. The problems created by this seem minor compared to what would happen in one of our current computers.
  
  4. Evolution requires mutation. There must be a mechanism for this. Biological reproduction is sufficiently buggy to accommodate evolution. Copying a very simple device would provide no such mechanism.
  
  5. Evolution also requires a life or death struggle to weed out the fit from the unfit. There is no apparent competition among the nanites to allow for an intelligent selection process, like that provided by biological evolution.
  
  6. Somehow the nanites repair the Enterprise computer core. How? What raw materials were used? Given that the bulk of the Enterprise's computer has been converted into nanites, do they scrifice themselves to accomplish this?
• From Ggen on 2012-03-06 at 8:34am:
  Although I didn't much care for the scene in Nanites - and found their identification and targeting of the scientist unrealistic - I thought this episode was rather neat.
  
  The scientist is an interesting and somewhat complex character - he's both likeable and irritating, arrogant and, with a little help, willing to admit mistakes...and I like the way he's dressed and how he carries himself... it's all appropriately scholarly, somehow...
  
  More importantly, I like the basic premise. The idea behind the Nanites is deceptively original...the Nanites aren't just an artificial life form, but they are also *self-evolving* - self-creating, in a sense - and microscopic to boot. Any one of those on its own might not be all that interesting, but put them all together and it's sufficiently creative.
  
  - - -
  
  Not without a few problems, but with plenty of redeeming features to warrant the fan 6.
• From Ggen on 2012-03-08 at 1:18am:
  PS
  
  Problem: Early in the episode Data says "there has not been a systems-wide technological failure on a starship in 79 years..." What about the Season 2 Iconian probe-related problems on board the Yamato? Especially given the outcome, I think that would certainly qualify... Maybe Data meant "spontaneous" technological failure, without identifiable external causes?
• From Maurice Randle on 2015-12-02 at 2:31am:
  I thought this was a solid episode, but my main gripe with this particular episode is that of the nanites. I know this is an old show, so iI cut the writers some slack, but considering the current trajectory of modern science/technology, one would think that they would have implemented nanotechnology centuries before the time period of the show and that it would be much more developed than just some school science experiment, but I digress.
• From lordcheeto on 2017-08-02 at 5:36am:
  Data is no Vulcan, but it is...illogical to conclude that the nanites were intelligent because life support had been attacked.
• From Azalea Jane on 2021-07-27 at 5:32pm:
  Dr. Stubbs: "I will share the feelings I wish to share." -- Full agreement. I don't like how Troi is written such that she just speaks out loud what others are feeling in front of third parties. It's one thing for her to do it one-on-one; then it's part of her job. But outside the counselor's office, people's thoughts--and feelings--are their own. Neither of the Trois seem to understand this, since with Betazoids there is no reason or way for people to hide their inner lives.
  
  Glad they didn't do like in "Home Soil" and have the universal translator create some weird-sounding voice.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-07-09 at 12:27am:
  - From the time Troi senses trouble to the moment Dr. Crusher declares Aster dead, only about thirty seconds have passed. There are no resuscitation attempts and no efforts to get Aster stabilized. Was Aster not worth the effort?
  - It's no wonder that the energy beings think Jeremy won't be cared for. Shortly after Picard tells him about his mother's death, we watch Jeremy in his quarters. He is there alone, watching old movies of his mom. This concept of Jeremy being alone continues throughout the episode. Does this seem right? This kid has lost his only surviving parent, and everyone stays away. He is only twelve. Shouldn't someone be staying close by to help him through this time?
  - Who shot the old home movies Jeremy watches? It couldn't be his father. If it was, Jeremy hasn't aged in five years.
  - At the end of the episode, Worf says a Klingon phrase. Jeremy asks what it means, and Worf explains. Then Jeremy repeats the complete phrase! Jeremy must be quite a linguist. Do you really think a twelve-year-old boy could repeat that phrase after hearing it only once?
• From CAlexander on 2011-04-28 at 12:20pm:
  The idea of showing what happens when a crewmember dies is interesting. And I like Picard's discussion with the entity at the very end. Otherwise, this episode is adequate but not particularly inspired.
• From Rydeen on 2011-08-20 at 8:40pm:
  I really liked this episode, it was quite touching. I gave it a seven, I really liked that the alien lifeform didn't turn out to be malicious, just very different. On the other hand, I think I will never get to like engergy lifeforms and their "powers", they're just so contrived.
  One thing that puzzles me is that Geordi mentioned that the explosives were just recently put there "to be found". But there's no follow up to this whatsoever and it goes unexplained. So why do it in the first place? That seems like really shoddy writing.
  
  I'd also like to address DSOmo's points:
  1. It's not that she "wasn't worth the effort", it's just that her injuries were to severe and they had to proclaim her dead. Not a flaw at all.
  2. You have to give children some space in such a situation. I'm sure he wasn't alone all the time, but it would also be a mistake to have someone there all the time. Not a flaw either.
  3. Well, that's a little movie mistake really. Though you could reason that it was a friend of the family, an uncle, etc. However, in the end, it was a movie mistake ;)
• From AnalogyShark on 2011-09-20 at 6:43pm:
  In response to Rydeen's comment about the explosives being dug up, I took that as the energy lifeforms dug them out of the ground and disarmed them. They didn't want any more harm to come from the old war, and were probably upset that the mines had harmed someone. As to why the waited, energy lifeforms probably don't fear explosive devices, so it hadn't occurred to them to disarm them till they saw the enterprise crew harmed by them.
• From Inga on 2012-01-14 at 1:12pm:
  When Geordi increased the power of the shield and the contact with the energy being was lost for the fist time, why didn't Picard order to leave the planet right away? Didn't he think the energy being would make another attempt to reach them?
• From Alex on 2020-08-22 at 8:52am:
  There is one small problem, it's just cosmetic. When they scan the planet upon detecting an energy signature (~18:30 mark), you can see it is very obviously Mars and its Valles Marineris.
  
  https://sun9-58.userapi.com/gJHnwSvwi2AK3DlHHw-8XorTtGALKBbPmXN3Bw/tI5y3j3eF1w.jpg
  
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mars_Valles_Marineris.jpeg
  
• From Azalea Jane on 2021-07-28 at 10:10pm:
  "Maybe if we felt any loss as keenly as we felt the death of one close to us, human history would be a lot less bloody." I love how Data's questions prompt humans into self-reflection.
  
  The episode was a little bit of a slog until the confrontation between Picard and the energy being. That whole scene was quite moving. One thing I love about Star Trek is that, even though it's part sci-fi space adventures, it's also human drama. This scene served as character development for several of the show's leads, and would not have been as powerful if we had not already learned a good deal about Worf, Picard, and both Crushers. This (second-to) last scene almost makes up for the weird pacing of the rest of the episode. Unfortunately, a la Trek, we never hear from Jeremy again, even though he's supposedly now in Worf's family. It's possible the kid actor didn't want to come back, or had other work. I was quite impressed with his acting in this episode.
  
  I like that Troi had something solid to do in this episode. It occurred to me watching Troi's and Picard's conversations this episode that I like their relationship. They're both introverts, or so it seems to me. Picard trusts Troi in a way he doesn't trust anyone else. She understands his inward and contemplative nature much more than the others do.
  
  Why were Troi and Worf meeting in the computer core?
  
  Data emotion-spotting: "I do not sense the same feelings of absence that I associate with Lieutenant Yar." You're learning, Data!
  
  I also caught what Alex above did. Valles Marineris is unmistakable.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-07-23 at 9:52am:
  - Krag claims that Riker fired a phaser just as he beamed out. No one on the Enterprise disputes this. Yet in "The Most Toys," O'Brien can tell that Data has fired a weapon just as O'Brien beamed him off Fajo's ship. If O'Brien can read Data's weapon, why can't he read Riker's weapon? And if O'Brien didn't read a weapon in discharge, wouldn't that constitute evidence that Riker didn't fire a weapon?
  - If the sensors could tell that an energy beam went from Riker's position to the science station's generator, why couldn't the sensor's register the first energy beam coming from the generator to Riker's position?
  - Every scene showing the Enterprise orbiting Tanuga IV has the ship moving across the face of the planet while the planet turns in the other direction! So how did the Enterprise manage to be above the generator at precisely the right time to intercept the lambda field (every five hours, twenty minutes, three seconds)?
• From Shashank Mayya on 2007-08-11 at 4:21am:
  How come the 24th Century does not have something akin to a Closed Circuit Monitor/Camera. Even my local grocer has two.
• From tur1n on 2010-02-15 at 2:31pm:
  I don't get why Riker would have been armed in the first place. The mission certainly didn't require one.
  Plus we never see that thing in one of the other scenes.
  
  
• From MJ on 2011-01-05 at 6:08pm:
  I agree this is an average episode. I still don't understand why Troi would perceive that Apgar's wife is being honest when her account is so very different from Riker's. I can understand innocently forgetting a detail or two, but she seems to be deliberately framing Riker and yet there is no deception from her at all?
  
  Still, for some reason, I like this episode. Maybe it's the interesting concept of a society where hearsay is considered valid testimony and where innocence must be proven in court. I'm not sure, but I enjoy what the episode is trying to do.
• From thaibites on 2011-01-10 at 1:02am:
  Hey MJ,
  Are you sure she is trying to "frame" Riker? Remember the name of the episode, "A Matter of Perspective". From HER perspective, that is what really happened. From HER perspective, she is not lying and that is why Troi doesn't sense deception. Truth is relative, my friend.
  The problem I had was the fact that all 3 accounts show Riker and Space-MILF touching in an inappropriate way. That means it happened. Somebody had to initiate the contact. Who was it? Since they're all telling the "truth", one of them must be completely insane. Couldn't be our dear Riker, could it...?
• From MJ on 2011-02-13 at 3:52pm:
  I don't necessarily think she's trying to frame Riker, only that her account of the events is so drastically different from his that I find it hard to believe there isn't deception on some level. Two people can give different versions of the same story, and as you say that's what this episode is all about. But I think it was a bit mishandled here because everything, from the behavior to the actions, is so different that neither account really resembles the other. They could've had a more slight variation in details and still made the point about perspective.
• From CAlexander on 2011-04-21 at 1:32am:
  I'm a sucker for a good gimmick episode, and this is a good gimmick episode. I tend to agree with some of the technical complaints DSOmo and MJ bring up. I don't think these points are impossible to explain, but they did make me scratch my head as I watched the episode. Nevertheless, I found the episode memorable, and generally fun to watch.
• From Jeff Browning on 2011-10-21 at 12:51pm:
  I agree with MJ in that there had to be some deception somewhere, especially on the issue of sexual seduction. In the three versions shown, Riker claims that Mrs Apgar seduced him, Mrs. Apgar claims that Riker seduced her, and the aide recounting Dr. Apgar's version clais that Riker attempted to rape Mrs. Apgar. These cannot all be true, even from a perception point of view. Sexual relations don't just happen. Someone has to be the initiator. Unless Mrs. Apgar is a master of rationalization and self deception, we must conclude she is lying. Unless, of course, Riker is lying. But Troi would never let him get away with that. So we are left with a logical fallacy, as MJ says.
• From Arianwen on 2012-12-17 at 11:58am:
  I agree with CAlexander. The technobabble was used remarkably well in this episode, especially given the usual standards (the biological nightmare of Picard's heart operation is still fresh in my mind). The waves bouncing off at different angles actually made sense! Probably only superficial sense, true, but it passed my willing suspension of disbelief and it works with the plot.
  Re. DSOmo, if the generator broadcasts in all directions the Enterprise would receive the signal so long as it was within 90º or more of the generator. The waves only hit the Enterprise twice, so even in a low orbit it'd likely still be within range. After all, what matters isn't the risk of a third attack but the unique time difference between emissions.
  
  Re. the "seduction": anyone telling an embarrassing story will unconsciously cast themselves in a better light. Riker and Mrs. Apgar weren't being deliberately dishonest, so Troi wouldn't detect deception - and in both cases it was the other one who started things! Since the personality of the rape projection was so unlike Riker, and since Riker is... well, put it this way, Riker must be at least distantly related to Jim Kirk, I think they probably both seduced each other.
  In other news, watching Dr Apgar punch out Riker was hilarious.
• From Dstyle on 2013-09-18 at 3:29am:
  The most unbelievable part of this episode: the fact that the Enterprise crew all seem to think it would be completely impossible for Riker to mack on some foxy alien lady while on duty. Umm, you guys have met William T. Riker, right?
• From Rick on 2014-03-05 at 6:34pm:
  I agree completely with MJ. The wife is lying and its a plot hole that Troi doesnt recognize it. The whole "matter of perspective" theme only goes so far. Where it doesnt go, is attempted rape. Next, where does everyone get off saying it would be in character for Riker to seduce and take advantage of this lady? Riker will no doubt go for the young, single alien females but since when is it Riker's practice to seduce older married women in front of their husbands?
• From Epsilon Obummer 5 on 2021-07-24 at 4:58pm:
  Guilty until proven innocent, huh?
  They should have just accused the prosecution witnesses of lying. That would automatically "prove" Riker innocent, since the witnesses would be guilty.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-07-30 at 1:44am:
  - This episode opens with Geordi and Worf in Ten-Forward at the bar. Geordi points out a woman at a nearby table. He questions Worf as to what he should say to her. The conversation makes it sound like they've never met. In fact, Geordi has already taken her out at least once. He programmed an entire holodeck sequence for her at the beginning of "Booby Trap," and all she said was she didn't think of Geordi in "that way." Now here she is making eyes at Geordi and acting like she wants to get something started. What changed? Why is Christie Henshaw so interested in Geordi all of a sudden?
  - After Dr. Crusher beams John Doe up to the "Enterprise, she puts him in full "biosupport." One shot shows the panel that displays his current physical status. All the triangle indicators are white and around the middle of their ranges. Later, Crusher says in a voice-over that she has removed John Doe from biosupport and that his major organ systems can now function on their own. So why are the triangle indicators in this shot red and at the extreme left side of their scales? Don't red triangles all the way to the left indicate that a patient is dying?
  - In one scene, Riker waits outside a turbolift. The door opens and reveals Geordi embracing Christie Henshaw. As she leaves the turbolift, Riker enters. Riker says, "Bridge," to state his destination. Geordi adds, "Deck 6," and the turbolift takes off. Why did Geordi have to state where he is going? He was already on the turbolift, it should already know where to take him.
  - Shuttle Craft 5 is once again the object of renumbering or renaming. In the episode "Times Squared," Shuttle Craft "05" was named El-Baz. In the episode "The Ensigns Of Command," it became the Onizuka. Finally, in this episode, Shuttle Craft 5 returns to El-Baz.
• From Rob on 2008-04-13 at 10:54pm:
  I mostly find this episode boring, but the reason I'm commenting is on your complaint of "never hearing from the Zalkonians again". This is true of many, many ST guest alien species so I'm not sure why it stuck in your craw here, but aren't the Zalkonians described as "Xenophobic". I could be wrong here. Again, it's been a long while since I've seen the episode. If they are Xenophobic, it's likely they keep to themselves and only become "aggressive" when their territory is trespassed in. Starfleet would surely avoid intentional trespass against such an aggressive race who is not interested in diplomatic dialog (now if Kirk were in charge of the Federation, that'd be different... how many times did that guy totally ignore warning beacons saying "Go Away").
• From JRPoole on 2008-04-16 at 6:03pm:
  Re: DSOmo's first comment about Christie Henshaw's apparent changing attitudes toward Geordi. This didn't bother me. It seemed pretty in character for a woman. She isn't interested per se, but wants to keep him on the hook. I guess Geordi's new found confidence left with the alien of the week, as I don't think we see Ms. Henshaw again.
  
  I agree with most of the critiques of this episode found here, but I rather like this one. I think the idea of a species on the verge of evolution to a higher plane of existence is interesting, and I like that it's happening on a biological rather than a metaphysical level.
  
  My main problem here is the choking scene. Is the Zalconioan commander doing that with his mind? Or is it some sort of weapon? It's unexplained and rather annoying.
• From Ted on 2011-07-29 at 10:54am:
  Ugh, this episode is a perfect storm of wrong. I probably said, "ugh" at least 10 times in this episode. The story itself and the dialog is ridiculous. The dialog is, I'm sure, the cause of some especially bad acting by almost all of the members of the main cast; notably, the interaction of the Crushers talking about the dreamy alien. The direction is also off in this episode with odd angles, cuts, and continuity (oh, I guess a month just went by). I don't even feel that I need to criticize the character of the near messianic alien.
  Oddly enough, the sick bay and the shuttle bay have never looked better. Did they think that dropping a ton of cash on sick bay props would fix this episode?
  
  Clearly, this is only my opinion as other seem much less critical, but this is surely one of my least favorite in the series. 1 star for the humorous interactions of Geordi and Worf in 10 forward.
• From archibald on 2011-09-27 at 3:42am:
  Why is Data seen contorting on the floor of the bridge with all the breathing humans during the Zalkonian attack? Was he copying their agony for the human experience?
  
  Also, why does Worf think he is such an authority on women? He has spent almost all of his life in Federation space, surrounded mostly by humans. And up to this point in the series he has repeatedly said that he is not exactly sexually compatible with human women. It sounds as if the poor man's sex life is rather limited by his surroundings....
• From Jeff Browning on 2011-10-21 at 1:01pm:
  As I have pointed out before, TNG has a funny, unscientific concept of evolution. As any student of biology knows, evolution is not pretty. It is dog-eat-dog, kill or be killed. There is no way that a sentient species somehow "evolves" into this higher semi-divine state, absent a struggle to survive.
  
  Frank Hebert and Isaac Azimov both understood this. Gene Roddenberry was undoubtedly influenced by the Bahai faith, of which he was a member. Like many New Age religions, Bahai teaches that humanity is evolving into divinity. Comforting, yes, but not terribly scientific.
• From Mike Chambers on 2013-11-16 at 8:29am:
  Great episode. I noticed the webmaster tends to really (in my opinion) unfairly detract from episodes sometimes just because what happens is never referenced in the future. Just take an episode for what it is! Could TNG have benefited from a little bit more continuity? Sure, but it wasn't written that way. Doesn't make the individual episodes any worse on their own.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-08-05 at 4:57am:
  - Dr. Crusher's skills must be improving. In this episode, Jono stabs Picard with a knife, and in a very short time, Picard seems to be fine. Crusher says the blade glanced off the sternum (a bone in the center of the chest.) In "Who Watches the Watchers," a Mintakan shoots Picard in the shoulder with an arrow, and even after Dr. Crusher fixes him up, Picard wears a sling to support his arm.
  - At the end of the episode, the transporter chief must have read the script to know when to transport Jono back to the Talarian ship. After Picard escorts Jono to the transporter room, Jono steps up on the platform and Picard says good-bye. Then they both pause for almost four seconds. (If I were the transporter chief, I would have hit the button at this point.) Thankfully, the transporter chief doesn't, because Jono wanted to have one final, tender moment with Picard. After this, Jono gets back on the platform, waits less than three seconds, and the chief transports him to Endar's ship. (In case you are wondering, no one says "Energize.")
• From djb on 2008-01-31 at 1:14am:
  I have a hard time believing that the Captain's quarters are left unlocked, especially when he's sleeping! Jono just waltzes in there and stabs him, and no one says a word about how he got in there in the first place. You'd think there would be at least a minimum amount of security on his door!
• From JRPoole on 2008-04-29 at 12:20am:
  Actually, Jono had moved into Picard's quarters.
• From Axel on 2018-08-16 at 12:50am:
  Ah, you said it. Jono's grandmother is going to be *pissed*. Maybe. Or maybe she'll understand. We never get the chance to find out. All we know is that, clearly, she was under the impression that he'd be returning to her and his grandfather. So now they have to digest the fact that he's staying with the Talarians, that he chose to do so, and that in light of what happened, they'll probably never see him. Kind of a large sticking point to an otherwise interesting episode. I suppose Picard could make their break with Jono cleaner by saying in his report, "when I told the boy that he'd be returning to his human grandparents, to you, he stabbed me in the chest and I almost died. Sorry, Admiral...I, uh, I did this for your own protection."
  
  But as you say, it's the obvious moral choice. So I think the grandmother's only role was to give the viewer a small bit of doubt that returning the boy to Endar is the right thing to do. When the episode ends, and the decision is reached, she's quietly forgotten. Maybe I'm making a bigger deal of this than need be, but I it lowers my rating of the episode from a 7 to about a 5.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

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

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-08-05 at 11:35pm:
  - After the first away team visits the colony, the leader of the Coalition tells a subordinate to find out everything "there is to know about the starship Enterprise." Evidently his search turned up the fact that Tasha Yar left the colony many years ago, joined Starfleet, and eventually served on the Enterprise, because, a short time later, he produces Ishara Yar and offers her services to Picard. Yet, earlier, Picard says that the colony severed relationships with the Federation fifteen years ago, and Data indicates the last contact came six years ago, when the Potemkin orbited Turkana IV. Also, Riker claims that the colony hasn't maintained reliable communications since the government fell apart fifteen years ago. Here is a colony, isolated from the Federation for at least six years, and the leader of the Coalition manages to extract a personnel list for a ship that wasn't even in service during the last contact? To explain this, the writers have Dr. Crusher say, "All [the leader] had to do was to search through their data base on Starfleet to find Tasha's name." Is it Starfleet's policy to continue to supply detailed information on crew rosters to colonies that no longer have relations with the Federation? Since the Federation has enemies, isn't it doubtful that Starfleet would leave this type of information floating around?
  - Ishara feigns an interest in joining Starfleet. Wesley's efforts to get into Starfleet seemed to indicate that only the best and brightest could get into Starfleet. Ishara has grown up in a colony in turmoil. Is it likely her education has prepared her for Starfleet Academy? And what about Tasha? Wouldn't she have had the same problems?
  - On the planet, the members of the Coalition, both male and female, wear the same type of loose-fitting, functional outfit. Yet once Ishara gets to the Enterprise, the crew makes all haste to get her changed into this really tight body suit. No one else in Star Trek - aside from Troi and Seven of Nine from Voyager - has to wear this type of outfit. Why does Ishara? Seems a bit sexist, doesn't it? At least the crew made sure that Ishara's little belt and holster for her phaser were color-coordinated with her outfit ;)
  - At one point in the episode, Geordi talks about the location of the hostages. A blinking dot indicates where the hostages are held. Geordi then suggests that they use the phaser to bore a hole in the granite and transport an away team into a storage area. When Geordi points to the storage area on the display, he indicates a spot on the other side of the city, nowhere near the hostages!
  - Of course, the larger question here is: Why send an away team down at all? Why didn't the Enterprise just bore a hole down to the hostages and beam them up?
• From CAlexander on 2011-03-14 at 3:26am:
  In response to DSOmo:
  - It would be consistent with Star Trek philosophy for Star Fleet to be looking for the most exceptional individuals, not the necessarily the best educated. After all, they want to have officers from a wide variety of cultures and races, not just Vulcan Science Academy graduates. I imagine Tasha would have needed a period of intense eductional training to get her up to speed, but that episode with the children learning calculus suggests they have advanced educational techniques. Still, to have learned so much, gone through Starfleet Academy, and risen to be security chief on the Federation flagship, she must have been pretty hot stuff!
  - Presumably they couldn't bore down to free the hostages because that would require them to bore through the complex, which they would not be willing to do. They could only bore down to a point on the exterior of the base, beam in, then work inwards.
  
  The positive side of this episode was that I found Ishara's story interesting and was wondering throughout the episode exactly how she would betray them and to what extent. But there wasn't much substance to the episode, and it I got tired of all the scenes with her and the crew after a while. And the way that the crew acted totally blindsided by her betrayal didn't make much sense. The episode would have had the same plot, but been more logical, had they known she would betray them, had no choice but to work with her, hoped that she would "turn to the light side", and been disappointed that she didn't.
  
• From Jeff Browning on 2011-10-02 at 6:17pm:
  Regarding DSOmo's comment on Ishara's change in dress, it is interesting to me that TNG is no different from other Star Trek series in exploiting the physical attributes of extremely attractive women. Beth Toussaint who played Ishara Yar was certainly one of these. The use of a tight, form-fitting "onesie" as I have heard it referred to is definitely a feature of both TNG (with Troi) and Voyager (with Seven). Ishara's well-coordinated onesie is simply along the same vein. Certainly, the camera spends lots of time on Ishara's attractive body during this episode. I believe DSOmo is entirely accurate that the creators of the episode are pandering here. (Not that that made it any less enjoyable.)
• From Jamie on 2018-09-29 at 1:33am:
  Regarding the all-revealing guest-of-the-week jump-suit being sexist, I have one word to debunk: Transfigurations.
• From oh great president! on 2021-07-30 at 8:57am:
  That doesn't debunk it, that reaffirms it! The guest in transfigurations also wore a onesie and was very attractive!
• From Azalea Jane on 2021-09-06 at 7:07am:
  Yes, DSOmo, it's sexist. Or at least, it's a symptom of overall societal (and Hollywood) sexism. Excessive and inappropriate pandering to horny straight dudes. It's the same with Troi, Seven, and T'Pol. (DS9 seems mercifully spared from this trope in the main cast.) I'm permanently salty about all of these women's objectifying outfits and how it undermines the seriousness of their characters. As DSOmo also points out in his comment on "Chain of Command", finally seeing Troi in a real uniform is an incredible relief, and it makes me grieve for how long she was overtly objectified up to then with her outfits (as if her character wasn't already constantly poorly handled). It'd be different if we routinely saw people of different body shapes, ages, and genders wearing similar catsuits, but they're almost all young, very fit and thin, and usually female (John Doe from Transfigurations being a worthy exception with gender). Even as someone *very* attracted to the female form in all its wonderful variations, I get quite put off by outfits like Ishara's here. In these cases my feminist brain outweighs my lesbian brain, lol.
  
  (I'll grant the in-universe possibility that Ishara welcomed a change of clothes, and chose a form-fitting outfit because she wanted to. Hell, if I had her body, I'd wear that shit too! That's valid and realistic, of course. But at the end of the day, outfits are real-world production choices made by TBTB, most of whom are men.)
  
  This episode drags a bit, but I feel it redeems itself somewhat by the end. Even though, having seen all of TNG before, I knew that Ishara was going to betray the crew, I still found it emotionally engaging. I like the point of how everyone is still so grieved about Tasha and _wants_ Ishara to be like her sister, that they are totally blindsided by her not being like her sister at all. Even Data is caught unawares. It's sad, and quite realistic.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-08-25 at 7:34pm:
  - Normally, when Geordi transfers engineering control to the bridge, he walks off the turbolift, presses a button on the Engineering station, and the station lights up. At the beginning of this episode, Geordi walks on and the station lights up before he reaches it or says anything.
  - This is the only time a shuttle is used to gather information in the series. In all other cases, the sensor arrays on the Enterprise have always proved sufficient. Of course, if Geordi and Barclay don't get in a shuttle and fly out to the probe, Barclay can't get flashed.
  - Shuttle Craft 5 has changed again (see comments from "The Ensigns Of Command" and "Transfigurations.") In all previous episodes, it was a two-passenger, angular-looking, subcompact craft. In this episode, it becomes a sleek, rounded-edged, multiple-passenger unit.
• From JTL on 2008-03-29 at 6:52am:
  I enjoyed this episode, though the lack of information at the end of this story is frustrating and opens up many realms of conjecture. Is it possible that the prisoner entity revealed in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier is a Cytherian? Unlikely, but a pet theory of mine nonetheless.
• From thaibites on 2011-09-08 at 12:46am:
  I absolutely love this episode. This is TNG at its absolute best! The fact that bumbling, weirdo Barclay is the one that will take the Starship Enterprise "where no one has gone before" is just icing on the cake.
  How about the slow reveal in the holodeck where we see Barclay's brain interfacing with the computer - it's a very dramatic, cold, and creepy scene that conveys very strongly that Barclay is losing touch with his humanity, and underscores the fear and uncertainty that the rest of the crew is feeling.
  The ending is an awesome sci-fi concept (and very surprising the 1st time you watch it). Aliens that explore the universe by bringing others to them - I love it!
• From Mike on 2017-04-25 at 3:31am:
  Yeah the ending bugged me a bit, too. That's like Neil Armstrong giving an incredibly detailed report on the Apollo 11 launch sequence, and then ending his report by saying "...and after about a week in space during which we landed on the surface of the moon, we returned to Earth with mineral samples."
  
  That being said, I love every damn Barclay episode in the series. The episodes are always great sci-fi involving unique dilemmas that in some way are enhanced by having him and his personality take center stage. If Star Trek is trying to promote diversity, then Barclay shows that its diversity is not only about ethnicity, gender and national origin. He is every person with some form of social anxiety or struggle with confidence or even hypochondria. Definitely an enjoyable episode in every way.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

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

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Pete Miller on 2006-04-14 at 9:01pm:
  The Bajorans. In my opinion a blatant manifestation of Israel in Star Trek. Forced off their homeland by the evil cardassians who actually have a legal claim to it. The federation is sympathetic to them, but there's nothing they can do to help even though they dislike the cardassians. It is so blatant it's almost corny. Bajorans=Jews, Cardassians=Arabs, Federation=America
• From Orion Pimpdaddy on 2006-05-07 at 11:36pm:
  The high points of this episode are the excellent dialog between Guinan and Ro. In many ways, Guinan is a better psychologist than Troi, at least from what we see on the screen. Guinan's extra screen time in this episode was fun to watch.
  
  Ro is a fresh character to bring into the mix, and a much more believable character than Wesley. The groundwork is also laid for future storylines on DS9. Nothing else regarding this episode is worth mentioning, which is why I gave it a 6.
  
• From ben on 2006-12-06 at 5:02am:
  I disagree with the notion of a Jew/Arab metaphor as the situation appears to have more in common with a post WWII Jewish reconstruction, with Germany as the Cardacians.
  
  I should point out further that while some of the continuity issues are laughable in retrospect, IMO this seminal Bejoran episode at least presented a decent human interest story having to do with the species, in contrast to nearly every Bejoran-oriented episode of DS9, in which the "epic" is unveiled. Not a clear favorite as a solitary episode, but still a solid link in the chain of events that make season 5.
• From benq on 2006-12-10 at 7:41am:
  Cardassians are not Arabs, IMO, because the story is a metaphor for a post-WWII reconstruction, where Bajor is kind of like Israel, even if the Bajorans aren't exactly like Jews.
• From DSOmo on 2007-09-05 at 5:26am:
  - Near the beginning of the show, Picard offers the admiral his aunt's cure for the common cold. The admiral replies that he doesn't have a cold, he has a Cardassian virus. Picard must have forgotten that people no longer suffer from the common cold in the twenty-fourth century. His chief medical officer, Dr. Crusher, said so in "The Battle."
  - The graphics at the beginning of the episode - showing the Enterprise arriving at Lya Station Alpha - are used once again. It is the same sequence used for Starbase 133 in "Remember Me" as well as Starbase 74 in "11001001." (See comments for "Remember Me.") Wouldn't it have made more sense just to call them all Starbase 74?
  - When Picard sees Orta's ships he realizes Orta couldn't have attacked the Federation colony. He tells the admiral that Orta's ships don't have warp capability and therefore cannot reach any other star systems. The star system he inhabits is outside Cardassian territory. Without warp drive capability, it would take his terrorists "forever" to get to a Cardassian planet and attack it. So why are the Cardassians so worried about Orta?
• From JRPoole on 2008-07-05 at 8:14pm:
  This is one of my pet episodes, mostly because Ro is an interesting character and the Bajoran storyline, one of the best Trek ever did, gets started here.
• From Mark McC on 2009-01-06 at 8:22am:
  I enjoy some aspects of this episode such as Ensign Ro's slightly rebellious attitude to authority, and the groundwork laid for future Bajoran stories.
  
  I don't like the resolution at the end. No doubt the Cardassians had scanned the Bajoran ship for life signs and found none. They'd also been tracking the Enterprise's movement for some time and Picard had flown directly from the moon where the Bajorans were encamped. The Cardassians would have had no trouble tracking the Bajorans down and killing them.
  
  Although since the Bajorans only had sub-light travel, restricting them to attacking targets within the solar system in which they were hiding, I can't understand how they managed to evade the Cardassians for so long.
  
  Some good ideas, but poorly executed.
  
  
• From J Reffin on 2009-05-11 at 6:40pm:
  The Bejora appear (in this episode at least) to be modelled on the Roma/Romany people (aka Gypsies). The dress, style and approach are also very similar to this group.
• From Mrugesh on 2009-09-14 at 12:36pm:
  Actually, I find the Bajoran situation much akin to India's due to the British occupation. Much if not most of it matches. The slavery, torture, underground movements dubbed as terrorists...
• From Yaspaa on 2010-06-08 at 11:06am:
  Picard refers to the Bajorans as Bajarans twice in this episode and I'm sure the Cardassian Gul refers to his own race as Cardacian.
• From tigertooth on 2010-10-23 at 4:26am:
  I think it's a mistake to try to look at the Bajoran/Cardassian thing as a perfect parallel to one situation in human history. The beauty is in finding various (imperfect) parallels to various situations.
  
  I think the great thing to get out of this episode is how they made the Bajorans -- the terrorists -- the more sympathetic group here.
  
  That's not to say that terrorism is a noble act. We all know it's quite the opposite. But it gives us an opportunity to see how good people could be motivated to do very bad things when they're put in very bad circumstances.
  
  I suspect this kind of treatment of terrorism could not be made post 9/11, so it's nice that TNG beat the curve on it.
  
  Another random thought (which involves a SPOILER for events that occur later in TNG): is it possible that one reason Picard embraced Ro was not only because he saw her value as an officer, but that he wanted to keep her out of the Bajoran terrorist movement? Surely after he heard Ro tell the story about witnessing her father's torture we can imagine that he would have feared that she was a prime candidate. And he was impressed by her, so that gives him all the more motivation to want to see her talents used for the proper purposes. We all know that's where she ended up (Picard failed to keep her from joining with the Bajoran terrorists), but maybe Picard was hoping to get her on the straight and narrow Federation path.
• From p@arallels on 2011-09-07 at 5:11am:
  There is a much better parallel to be made between Bajorans and Palestinians than I think any of the other examples cited (good episode, BTW). Of course, the circumstances aren't identical, but I think it's a better parallel than the others.
  
  The Palestinians were the ones expelled from their homeland almost 70 years ago, and they are the ones who live in poverty and in diaspora, many in refugee camps. The Palestinians are the ones who find themselves within the territorial borders of another sovereign state (Israel), and since their conflict is legally an "internal state matter" they have difficulties appealing for help. The Palestinians are the ones who have been forced, or at least compelled by circumstances into violence and terrorism. The Palestinians are the ones who are collectively humiliated, and have a troublesome national heritage (though of course the European Jews who founded Israel share this history as well).
  
  It's the Palestinians who find themselves in the middle, worrying about "blankets," while other relevant parties - Israel, the U.S., Turkey, Iran, Persian Gulf countries, other Arab countries, Russia, etc - operate in a world of diplomacy, politics, stratagems, addressing the issue in their own ways and for their own purposes.
  
  And finally, Israel behaves most like the Cardassians, doing everything it can to convince powerful "bystanders," like America, that its enemies are the world's enemies. I'm not sure that Israel would go so far as to carry out a false flag operation to drag someone else into their conflict and "do their dirty work for them,
  but I wouldn't be surprised if there were some historical examples of just this sort of behavior, or at least proposals for such missions that perhaps were never carried out.
  
  That's my two cents on the matter. Check your history if you strongly disagree. The Jews have their own history of exile, homelessness, and victimization, and their own real and present security issues, but Israel itself has gone berserk with a hard-line, far-right nationalist government that is aggressive, repressive, cynical, and deceptive.
  
  I wish it wasn't true (my own family is Jewish, from the same Eastern European stock that founded Israel), but this conclusion is simply undeniable if you look into it.
• From Jeff Browning on 2011-10-22 at 8:01am:
  I don't find the comparison of Bajor with the Jews and the modern state of Israel very persuasive, personally.
  
  First of all, the Bajoran religion has pretty much nothing in common with Judaism. First of all, it's polytheistic. As the first truly monotheistic religion, I think most Jews would bristle at having their religion compared with one so obviously pagan as Bajorism. I mean, the Bajoran "prophets" are manifestly not even divine! They are limited in their location in space, for one thing. See my comment on DS9: Emmisary for more of my thoughts on the nature of the prophets or "wormhole aliens" (WHA). For whatever else you can say about it, Judaism is definitely monotheistic and the God of the Jews is (assuming you believe He exists) the God of the universe.
  
  For another thing: Judaism, like Christianity and Islam, is firmly based upon a scriptural basis, the Canon of which is very well developed and established. We see none of this in Bajorism. They have a mystery religion very similar to Greek or Roman paganism. There religion is characterized by traditional practices combined with a continuously revealed set of prophecy, similar to the Oracle of Delphi, who was of course a "prophet" (in her case of the god Apollo).
  
  I think the creators of Star Trek are too literate to ignore or miss these issues. In the end the Bajorans are simply a fictional people, with no parallels in our own history.
  
  
• From ChristopherA on 2012-07-01 at 9:21pm:
  I like the basic concept that Ensign Ro has such a gigantic chip on her shoulder that she creates the very distrust and misunderstanding that she is bitter about. She gives other people no good reason to trust her – yet the hyper-perceptive Guinan senses that if you can trust her anyway, you will find she is a good person. And, of course, this introduces the whole Bajoran/Cardassian story arc.
  - It was interesting how Ro reacts as if humans are so provincial that they couldn't conceive of a culture putting family name first. Of course, that is common with humans, at least in our time. Perhaps the point is that she is so obsessed with her persecution complex that she would rather get satisfaction resenting people for saying her name in the wrong order than tell them what the correct order is.
  - Yes, another corrupt admiral – sigh.
  - There is some weird stuff going on with the geometry of space. From the dialog in the episode, it sounds like the Cardassian border is 50 million kilometers from the moon, and thus runs right through the middle of the star system. This makes no sense, the distance is way too small. Planets would be crossing the border as they revolve around their sun. Any sensible border would be drawn through interstellar space, to make clear which star systems are on which side of the border.
  - Guinan's role on the show, aside from counseling the main characters, is to tell them when they are misjudging people and clear away mistrust. It makes me wonder, does she ever do the opposite – warn the crew about people who look friendly but are actually malevolent?
  
• From Dstyle on 2013-08-23 at 3:11pm:
  This episode does not refer to the Bajoran people as the Bajora; the Bajora is the name of the terrorist group.
• From Bruce Smith on 2023-09-13 at 2:37am:
  Wow, I just learned that the Palestinians have been “forced” into terrorism. Good Star Trek reviews and comments here, poor geopolitical analysis.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

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

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Orion Pimpdaddy on 2006-05-18 at 9:44pm:
  The only flaw in this episode is the obvious recasting of the captain who dies in Yesterday's Enterprise. Couldn't she have used a different voice? Dr. Evil and Austin Powers had different voices. Other than that this episode represents all the things that Star Trek is about: the human condition.
  
  The B plot about the shuttle stuck in a pocket in space was way off to the side in this episode. It should be, because it allows more depth for the rest of the show. There is also a very emotional ending where you really feel for Riker. Everything works really well. This episode gets a 9.
• From MGinevra on 2007-05-09 at 9:49pm:
  This may sound melodramatic, but this is the only piece of television that I can say changed my world-view. I was a Mormon teenager when this episode aired, all I had ever been told was that gays were evil and unnatural. This was the first time I could look at the issue of homosexuality from a sympathetic viewpoint. I'm glad that this episode helped me to see the other side of things, which definitely helped me accept some dear friends who came out in the following years. Thanks to Star Trek for teaching a bit of tolerance.
• From James on 2007-06-29 at 8:26pm:
  "On a planet full of butch lesbians, Riker falls for the femmist one."
• From DSOmo on 2007-09-30 at 5:35am:
  Picard knew Riker would try to rescue Soren. Picard knew that was a violation of Starfleet code, but he quietly lets Riker proceed. Picard makes no effort to stop Riker. On the other hand, Picard severely reprimands Worf in the episode "Reunion" when Worf - acting within the bounds of Klingon culture - departs from the Enterprise and kills Duras. Doesn't this seem backward?
• From Fenix on 2010-10-17 at 7:41pm:
  To respond to DSOmo, Picard might have similarly reprimanded Riker if Riker had succeeded in bringing Soren back to the Enterprise. As Riker left his meeting, Picard warned him not to risk his career.
  
  Picard's respect for Riker allowed him to give Riker the space to make the decision for himself. If Riker had successfully chosen Soren over Starfleet Code I think Picard would be hard pressed to ignore it.
• From gopher on 2011-03-21 at 9:58pm:
  Riker would never fall in love with a hermaphrodite. That he would is simply embarrassing, not to mention extremely contrived. Soren had no personality, no spark that Riker always finds attractive. They might as well have written an episode in which he falls in love with a penguin. Plus I doubt she had a vag. Did he do her in the butt or something?
• From CAlexander on 2011-03-30 at 9:46am:
  This episode is basically 100% morality play, it has no substance beyond that. But I think it is a pretty good morality play, for the most part.
  - You are absolutely right that the episode should have ended when Soren was taken away. I thought that when I was watching it.
  
• From tigertooth on 2011-08-19 at 3:36am:
  @DSOmo: Not sure why it would be backward that Picard would be more lenient towards an officer who is motivated by love than one who is motivated by hate.
  
  Anyway, along the lines of what MGinevra said above, the following was posted on Andrew Sullivan's blog:
  
  http://andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com/2011/08/star-treks-sexual-equality.html
  
  +*+*+*+*+*+*+
  The episode is about a species without gender, that views gender expression as an abomination and an illness to be cured. It's powerful because there's nothing foreign about it. I was raised in a conservative, devout evangelical home with pretty standard anti-gay attitudes (hate the sin, love the sinner). I saw this at a young age. What I saw was Riker, a manly guy I respected and could relate to, falling in love with a woman (no learned moral outrage alarm bells there!) and losing her to the tragedy of an intolerant society.
  
  I absorbed it as a tragedy, but didn't understand why a society would do that, even as I went to a church that behaved that way. The episode wasn't one of my favorites, and it perplexed me deeply. It was years before I made the obvious connection to homophobia and the ex-gay movement. That realization was profound, and it changed my life. My ability to judge and exclude and cast people out was cast down so completely I'm embarrassed to even talk about it in this anonymous email. The change was so complete and sudden, I almost literally felt as though scales fell off my eyes.
  
  To this day, I don't think my parents have any idea the shape or size of the impact Star Trek had on my moral compass and political choices in this area and others. That's all to the good; they'd never forgive themselves for letting me watch it.
  +*+*+*+*+*+*+
  
  I found the episode kind of ham-fisted and unconvincing, but I'm glad that the episode moved some folks to think more deeply about an important topic.
• From Michael Jackson on 2020-05-22 at 1:03am:
  Picard: "Data, what happened?"
  
  Data: "At the last moment I speculated that 'three' might refer to the number of female crew members with whom Commander Riker shared carnal relations this week. That indicated to me that his solution might be the correct course of action."
  
  Troi: "What the fu--"
  
  Picard: "Well, it seems your promiscuity has finally paid off for the ship, Number One."
  
  Riker: "Data, how do you know about that?"
  
  So the point of my ridiculous alternative script is that I, too, was puzzled why they simply chose to say "3". If it does have to be a single digit, which they never specified, then it's lucky Riker did his Captain Morgan lean on Data's console so he could look over and see the pips on his collar. They could've just as easily chosen "1" since Picard calls Riker "Number One" or since Riker's solution was the first offered.
  
  But that aside, they did a fantastic job of making this episode intriguing and not boring, considering it has so much repetition.
• From Mark on 2021-02-23 at 1:56am:
  Cons: *The idea that would find Soren attractive is ludicrous. She appears as a pale, plain Jane, with a bowl haircut, dressed in a onesie. Soren talks in a monotone and is devoid of any exuberance. Compare Soren to the females Riker usually pursues. Soren and Data would at least be believable.
  *Episode was created to preach not to entertain. Sci Fi writers please stop the perpetual search for alleged victims.
  *One of the worst episodes of TNG.
  Pro: *Worf punching out J’Naii security guards.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-10-04 at 7:04am:
  -I can "live with" the fact that the floors are solid. Of course, there would be no show - or at least a much more expensive show - if the floors weren't solid. There were several "problems" concerning Geordi and Ro's ability to pass through normal matter that were avoidable: Geordi sits on a transporter pad; Ro touches her navigator's chair and terminal on the bridge; Geordi and Ro sit on benches in a shuttle as it travels to the Romulan ship; the phased Romulan sits in a chair; when the phased Romulan shoots Ro in the leg, she falls down, and a plant in front of her jiggles; Geordi and Ro dive behind a couch, and a bunch of balloons move from the air disturbance. If Geordi and Ro can really pass through normal matter, why did these events happen?
  - Let's take this one step further. There are some other problems of being truly out of phase with normal matter. Geordi comments that he hasn't eaten in two days. That makes sense, he couldn't pick up any food. Along the same line, how can his lungs absorb normal oxygen? And how can they hear the conversations of the other crew members? Hearing comes from the impact of waves of air on the eardrum. Wouldn't the normal air molecules pass right through their eardrums, leaving them deaf?
• From Lyric on 2011-03-03 at 5:31am:
  There is a scene in this episode that has bothered me since before I was able to pick up on the whole not falling through the floors problem - I was quite young when it first aired. That scene is the one in engineering where Geordi keeps putting his hand in one of the terminals in random places and then gets annoyed with Data, who was scanning the terminal for the anomalies that Geordi was creating, for not realizing that what he was scanning wasn't a random occurrence. Why wasn't Geordi trying to make signs in the terminal that didn't seem random like writing his name or initials or "drawing" with his hand? I suppose that was just too hard to show on t.v., but it still bothers me.
• From CAlexander on 2011-03-26 at 12:03pm:
  I love these science fiction episodes that take an idea and explore it. I found this episode really interesting to watch, to see how things progress. Not perhaps one of the very best episodes, but high up there in my mind.
  - I was just as puzzled by the issues of not falling through the floor, but then I noticed the same issues DSOmo raised about other instants of not passing through objects, and I realized that actually solves the problem. It is clear that the out-of-phase individuals can choose to rest their hands, feet, or bodies on other objects. They just cannot move those objects, or resist being moved through. Apparently it takes a little extra force to move through solid objects, and the extra-thick tritanium floors may be even harder. It is unfortunate they do not explain this, but the instances of this happening are so clearly shown in multiple cases. Especially the way Ro very clearly places her hand on the instrument panel, and the way Geordi says it is "getter harder" to move his hand through the instrument panel after the anyon radiation, as if it was a matter of degree rather than an absolute. Cases where they move through solid objects, then, are either when they intend to, or when they accidentally try to apply force to the object and end up pushing through it instead.
  - The issue with breathing oxygen and hearing sound, on the other hand, can't easily be excused. But that is so universal to so many depictions of intangibility in so many mediums that I don't really count it against the show. I just consider it part of the suspension of disbelief when watching a "soft" science fiction program.
  - With respect to Lyric's comment, I totally thought the same thing while watching. I assumed the instrument Data was using wasn't calibrated precisely enough to recognize writing. But surely Geordi could have tried something clever by creating some pattern in the choice of items he was touching.
  
• From Robert Koenn on 2011-04-26 at 2:40pm:
  Well being an engineer for NASA I do like to see the science being at least fairly realistic. That is why I gave this episode only a three rating. There were simply too many inconsistencies and conflicts with the scenario. They can walk through walls but don't fall through the floor? They can hear and breathe. On and on with these type conflicts digresses rapidly into the writers simply writing a plot scenario as they felt like it creating a fantasy actually. The TOS episode where they went into a high frequency mode was more realistic. The characterization was good though but hardly near the top for episodes. I liked Data's reaction and Ro wanting to know what Riker was going to say about her. I guess I felt too much of the story was contrived and ventured far into the realm of fantasy.
• From Daniel on 2014-05-01 at 5:54pm:
  I like this episode for many reasons. My only question is one of a technical detail; isn't the phase inverter system used to phase and cloak in this episode similar or the same as the mechanism used in the episode The Pegasus, in which the ship had a phased cloaking device? The devices in both episodes seem to have the same purpose and effect. I just wonder if the writers of the show created them as intentionally the same device or just coincidentally similar, since both devices were created by Romulan technology.
• From Kenneth Kiyoshi Sasaki-Loya on 2017-10-09 at 11:30pm:
  Daniel Stewart (born 1967) is the actor who played Batai in the Star Trek: The Next Generation fifth season episode "The Inner Light" in 1992. He is the son of Patrick Stewart, who also played his on-screen father Kamin in this episode. Stewart received special thanks in the end credits of the 2011 Star Trek documentary The Captains.
  From Fandom powered by Wikia - Memory Alpha
• From McCoy on 2018-01-03 at 12:06pm:
  I know we have logical problems here (stated above - how they could walk on the floor or breathe?), but... This is probably the most enjoyable TNG episode to watch. I absolutely love it. And that scene, when Ro shoots in Riker's head was a cherry on top:) Btw. I really like her, she's one of the best Trek characters and probably best of TNG characters (she's not dull like others happy nice friends on the ship). I like Kira too, but I still regret that Michelle Forbes didn't wanted to play in DS9.
• From Axel on 2020-05-15 at 1:21am:
  This episode is a good example of my own personal belief about Star Trek: it's ok if the science isn't good, as long as the story is compelling in some way.
  
  That may irritate some fans, but come on. This is science-fiction. It combines real science with imaginary science. I get irritated sometimes by how many people seem to lose sight of that. If you're going to argue the validity of the science in a show that, to start with, portrays telepathy as being real, then I think you're missing the bigger picture.
  
  The bigger picture here is a story about two people who get to observe the reactions of their crewmates and friends to what is believed to be their deaths. It also shows how differently the two of them react based on their beliefs and views of life. Finally, it's an interesting series of twists as to how they get seen again.
  
  Overall I think the criticisms of this episode are too harsh. I'm happy to see most people give it a 6 or above. I put it in the 6-8 range. If nothing else, it was a good Geordi episode, which doesn't happen all that often.
• From Ensign Ro Bummer on 2023-05-14 at 10:35am:
  This is a great episode, Romulans, Mystery, the entire crew involved, and how great is that scene when they finally appear to Data and Picard?
  Easy 9 or 10!

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Pete Miller on 2006-05-12 at 4:49am:
  The whole holodeck inside the holodeck thing was confusing. If picard told the computer to "end program" at the end, shouldn't both programs have ended at the same time?
  
  I did find that whole concept of "we might be inside some simulation right now" intriguing. Who knows? Maybe the wachowski brothers ripped off Rick Berman when they made the Matrix ;)
• From Dean on 2007-06-28 at 10:49am:
  Couldn't Data reverse voice control back to Picard with simullating Moriartys voice?
• From DSOmo on 2007-11-13 at 10:36am:
  - In case there was any doubt about the disposition of holodeck matter, this episode absolutely confirms that it cannot exist outside the holodeck. The dialogue again and again pounds this point home. For example, Picard says, "Although objects appear solid on the holodeck, in the real world they have no substance." To prove it, he picks up a book and tosses it through the holodeck entrance. The book immediately vaporizes (much quicker, by the way, than the villians did in "The Big Good-Bye"). True, this scene occurs within Moriarty's simulation of the Enterprise, but Picard acts like the book behaved exactly as he expected. If holodeck matter cannot exist outside the holodeck, the following anomalies exist. Wesley, drenched in holodeck water, walks off the holodeck and remains wet ("Encounter At Farpoint"). Picard, kissed by a 1940s holodeck woman, leaves the holodeck with her lipstick intact on his cheek ("The Big Good-Bye"). A snowball flies out of the holodeck and hits Picard ("Angel One"). And finally, Data carries a piece of holodeck-created paper to a meeting of the senior staff ("Elementary, Dear Data").
  - In the opening scene of the episode, Data and Geordi enjoy a Sherlock Holmes adventure. At one point, Geordi tells the computer to "freeze program." While the character quits moving, the clock keeps ticking and the fire keeps burning. Shouldn't these freeze also?
• From Rob on 2008-04-18 at 12:34am:
  I don't think some of the anomolies are really problems. I always got the impression that the Holodeck uses standard replicator technology to augment the illusions of the environment it creates. Ergo - food, water, even objects specified by the user can be "really created" out of standard replicator materials, the same as ordering tea in Picard's ready room. These things would exist beyond the holodeck and even within a simulation after it is ended.
• From Remco on 2008-08-06 at 1:20pm:
  I think this is a brilliant episode. Is this episode the first demonstration of phishing? Creating an environment in which someone will inadvertently release their authentication key surely does seem similar to the problems we face on the web today.
• From Ggen on 2012-04-15 at 9:02pm:
  Brilliant episode with a good balance of intrigue, suspense, and metaphysical musing. Moriarti is great as usual (glad they took the concept one step further and made this sequel).
  
  I love the concept and the execution, with all its twists. Of course, I kind of thought the whole thing might've still been on the holodeck, but pretty much forgot about that idea by the time it was actually revealed. And the final twist was even more surprising, and chock full of irony to boot.
  
  This episode very effectively preempted the movie Inception by a full 17 years.
  
  Goes straight into my personal Trek Hall of Fame.
• From Mikael on 2014-05-29 at 11:20pm:
  Two planets colliding, creating a star? WTF???

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Pete Miller on 2006-05-16 at 3:55am:
  Worf finding the idea of a Romulan mating with a Klingon "an obscenity" was hilarious
  
  I liked this episode alot, but I found the ending largely inconclusive
• From JRPoole on 2008-09-22 at 5:27pm:
  This episode is a bit of a dud despite an intriguing premise.
  
  For one thing, it's constructed badly, as Data's issue with his father and the dreams is wrapped up in part I, while Worf's issue with his father and the Klingon prisoners takes up both episodes. Data's exploration of his dreams is intriguing, but the execution was pretty lame and new age-y.
  
  I thought the whole idea of the Klingon prison was great, and Tovak's character was interesting, a mix of idealism and control; he was willing to become a jailer in order to preserve the peace he's created. The scene where Worf's disciple comes in with the freshly killed meat is cool (are the Romulans vegetarians like their cousins the Vulcans?) but it quickly descends into cliche when the song and the speech begin to mimic the civil rights movement and African-American spirituals. Still, the idea is solid enough to carry through, and this one is decent if you overlook some of its problems.
• From McCoy on 2018-01-27 at 12:56pm:
  Another Klingon theme, which - in my opinion - stands against everything Star Trek should be about. Romulan achieved impossible - created peaceful asylum with Roms and Klings living together. But it's bad. Let's destroy it. Because Klingons are honorable and won't tolerate compromises and such disgusting things like peace with enemies. Ugh... We can learn only one thing here - there is no peace with culture based on warrior ethos. So you can only shoot them, because peace is impossible and "dishonorable" for true warriors.
• From QuasiGiani on 2018-06-27 at 11:55pm:
  I am with you, McCoy.
  
  I've never had a Trek character I had good reason to dislike...
  
  But here, now I find Worf acting like a fucking fool.
  
  Yeah, Worf, there was no prison. The dumb-assed "warrior" aspects of Klingon culture was what kept those original Klingon cowards from walking to freedom. There was no prison, indeed. And not because of the lie you told; but in fact.
  
  What a mess of specious, stinking shit this all this "honor" sets itself upon only to sink into. No principle at all.
  
  A persistent _hour_ of this! Worf, FFS, you had better redeem yourself! (~I'm pretty pissed-off at the moment, but do realize, in truth, that I'm watching Worf only maybe half-way through his entire arc... so I still love him, of course, overall... it's just jezbisinfuriating, this episode!)
• From Cthulu on 2023-02-06 at 5:31am:
  Some of these comments miss the point. Worf's goal wasn't to ruin this "utopia". He originally wanted to find his father. He found other survivors. Tokath then forced him to stay to keep the community a secret. Worf didn't want to stay, but if forced, he wanted to at least live like a Klingon. The young people saw his lifestyle, became curious, and wanted to leave. So he helped them. Tokath tried to stop it.
  
  I think Tokath had very good reasons for wanting to preserve the community, and didn't anticipate someone would stumble into town sparking interest among the young Klingons in their culture. But I also don't think you can knock Worf for his actions here.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

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

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Orion Pimpdaddy on 2006-06-14 at 12:09am:
  I consider this episode to be the sequel to Shades of Grey. If I was going to try to get a friend to watch Trek, I would hide this episode's disc under my couch.
  
  Once again, we are watching a dream sequence, which is exactly what the previous episode was about. It is rare for me to become bored while watching TNG, but this one did it. I really had to strain to pay attention. The story unravels too slowly. It all leads up to a hidden secret at the end, but once you know that, there's no reason to watch it again. I give it a rare 1.
  
  
• From Brian on 2008-01-02 at 10:55pm:
  A young Kirsten Dunst (from the Spiderman movies) plays Hedril in this episode.
• From Dio on 2009-01-18 at 10:55pm:
  I agree with Orion, I just wasn't interested in this one. I gave it a 2, one point for getting to see the arboretum and one for having Kirsten Dunst in it :)
• From tigertooth on 2011-01-10 at 5:31pm:
  The scenes where the alien is creating the link between Troi and Lwaxana are hilarious. So many stares and camera zooms... and they do this exact sequence twice!
  
  And the scene where the wolf lazily lopes after Troi is also laugh-worthy. I can see why it would be hard to shoot a scene where a wolf looks like it's actually chasing Troi down a hallway, but that means that they should have used something other than a wolf for that scene. Really, why a wolf? Was it a reference to the fact that a dog was indirectly involved in the daughter's death?
  
  It was also funny that Troi's childhood home looked so much like personal quarters on the Enterprise. Not a huge deal - there's only so much money to spend on building new sets, I'm sure - but odd.
  
  It was quite clear that they were stretching for time on this episode. Maybe they should have added a subplot -- like the aliens being confused by interacting with Data since they can't read his mind. Perhaps tie it in somehow with the fact that Data, like Lwaxana, once lost a young daughter.
  
  Finally, I hate to say it since everybody (myself included) loves Majel Barrett, but the climactic scene just didn't come off that great. Barrett is great at playing imperious Lwaxana, but her "grief-stricken" didn't come off so well.
• From Arta on 2011-11-28 at 8:40pm:
  I liked the aliens at the beginning as well, but overall, I thought this episode was really terrible. The last few scenes where Lwaxana "dreams" about meeting the dead daughter were just embarrassingly bad. They made me cringe.
• From L on 2013-04-27 at 9:09am:
  This episode made feel sexist for wondering if it was written by a woman. It was.
  Please tell me women wrote some episodes that weren't just mushy emotional psuedo-psychoanalysis.
  
  At least Lwaxana wasn't as irritating as she usually is. For a supposed telepathic ambassador, she is remarkably oblivious to the discomfort she invokes in those around her. Good for comic effect, but not series logic.
• From Rob UK on 2015-02-26 at 12:10am:
  Am i the only Trekky who hates the character Lwaxana Troi? Talk about providing the wife a free paycheck, Majel should have stuck to her regular character as the voice of the computer surely that was enough regular revenue, thank the Gods of mice and men that she spent the majority of this episode in a coma.
  
  The character Lwaxana is for me the worst character in all of the Trekiverse, if i had to choose to spend an evening with Lwaxana or Barclay i'd choose Barclay every time, don't get me started on how much i hate Barclay.
• From CAlexander on 2019-04-08 at 5:03am:
  I think this review really hits it on the nose. The episode really does run out of steam once it becomes clear that Lwaxana is suffering from events in her past. And while the idea of Troi's lost sister seems like it ought to have potential, this story feels drawn out and unsatisfying.
• From JD on 2021-01-12 at 12:17pm:
  Hmmm, given that this is Lwaxana episode, its not one I ever really re-watched and had largely forgotten.
  
  However, I just watched it now and was surprised by how much I enjoyed it and how emotional I found the ending. I became a father 2 years ago and I can totally relate to how the grief of losing a child could be unbearable. I think it was actually quite well done and Sirtis's acting was top drawer.
  
  Still, the alien of the week had a really creepy grin and a laughably intense stare!

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Sherlock on 2006-10-28 at 3:53pm:
  I liked this episode. Granted, the whole premise with the Kes and the Prytt was a little bizarre, especially given that the Kes were totally paranoid and irrational. But I thought that the subplot with Picard and Beverly was great and long over-due. Beveryly usually annoys me as a character, but I really enjoyed her in this episode.
• From djb on 2009-01-07 at 3:55am:
  I liked this episode a lot. Aside from the Crusher/Picard story, it was interesting to see a world where the people hadn't unified under a single government. Most federation and allied worlds, by definition, are going to be unified, but they are going to be far outnumbered like planets like Kesprytt, or for that matter, ours, which are not.
  
  The Picard/Crusher story was great. The romantic tension between them was a little over the top in the first season, but they wisely toned it down and made it subtle but consistent. It's great to finally have it directly addressed.
  
  This episode shows a good example of something great coming out of a seemingly unfortunate situation: Picard and Crusher are captured and implanted with strange devices, but in the end they finally come to terms with the elephant in the room between them, which they might never have done had it not been for that experience.
  
  The scene at the end was also well-done. We can't be exactly sure why Beverly turns him down (why?); in fact, I was surprised he even suggested pursuing something in the first place, considering it would be a conflict of interest (as illustrated nicely in "Lessons"). But it was poignant, and of course well-acted.
  
  Factoid: This episode establishes that Earth was unified under a single government in 2150.
• From L on 2013-04-27 at 11:06am:
  How are the Prytt allowed to get away with kidnapping Picard and Crusher without consequence? That was maddening. They should have been severely bitch-slapped.
  I get that the Federation is supposedly above such things as petty retaliation, but that doesn't mean you have to let yourself be walked all over - they still have laws don't they? And self-respect?

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

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

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

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

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

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

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

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

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-06-10 at 8:07am:
  When Hesterdel comes on the Enterprise he inspects the containment field for hours before allowing transport. Yet when the Enterprise reaches the destination for the samples, the Enterprise begins beaming them down immediately. Shouldn't Hesterdel be inspecting the containment field at the destination also?
• From Evan on 2008-05-26 at 1:14pm:
  Regarding DSOmo's first comment, see "Thine Own Self". Crusher took the bridge officers' test a year before the first season (8 years before Thine Own Self) because she felt like challenging herself, not because it was needed for her carrier path. Pulaski probably didn't feel the same need.
• From thaibites on 2009-12-03 at 4:55am:
  If you haven't watched this episode yet - grab some tissues, some chocolates, and a box of tampons because this one is a total chick flick!
• From Anna Lisa on 2010-12-16 at 11:38pm:
  You'll need the tampons to throw at the screen when Pulaski is ragging on Data.
• From John on 2010-12-23 at 4:41am:
  I'd suggest as another remarkable moment the way Picard instantly silences the debate once Troi states that she intends to have the baby.
  
  I'm all like "Hell yeah, Jean-Luc!"
• From CAlexander on 2011-03-21 at 3:20am:
  This felt like they filmed the first half of a good two-part episode, then never filmed the second half. I'm watching the episode, it seems promising, then suddenly it's all over, and nothing happened! Also, Troi seems to be filled with strong feelings, it is unfortunate that she never explains to the audience what she is thinking during the episode.
  
  In response to radiation making the virus grow: This doesn't seem strange for an alien virus. Radiation contains energy, living things can turn energy into growth. Plants grow when exposed to radiation (light). Even humans can grow when exposed to radiation (in that cancer is uncontrolled tissue growth).
  
• From DanMcCoy on 2011-06-29 at 2:20pm:
  Problems: What about O'brien's pips? Why is he a lieutenant?
  So true about Guinan being a better counselor than Troi! lol
• From Omcn on 2012-02-20 at 7:40am:
  Wouldn't it have been more interesting if the energy thingy (looking for someone to grow inside of) chose the hairy man instead of Troi?
  
  Bunch of men talking about what Troi should do with her baby, classic!
  
  The way our new doctor speaks about/to Data makes me want to smack her. Data's questions to Troi during delivery are to awesome for words.
  Tv birth scenes are always far to G rated, what silliness.
  
  I think the best part of this episode was not the plot or the actors of anything strange like that. The best part for me was how much of the ship was shown and that we get to see for the first time some of the functions of the ship. Blinds going down. The window in ten forward etc.
• From Arianwen on 2012-12-14 at 3:23am:
  Re. "radiation makes it grow", photosynthesis is based on just that (energy from solar radiation is absorbed by a specialised molecule which sets off a reaction chain: basically, light energy is converted to chemical energy and stored by the organism). Whether this could work with something as simple as a virus is a whole other kettle of fish.
  </infodump>
  
  BORING. Troy is mysteriously impregnated: possible threat. Highly dangerous viral strains must be taken onboard: definite threat. Troy has baby. Virus fed by radiation from child inevitably threatens to escape. Baby-now-child dies, neatly disposing of both threats. Troi explains everything in a ten-second infodump which the audience is too comatose with boredom to listen to. Oh, and Wesley's leaving. Wait, no, he isn't. Yaaaay.
  
  I've no doubt this was all very intriguing and exciting for the characters actually living it, in the same way your aunt's Barcelona holiday isn't accurately represented by her 1.12GB of photos of Gaudí's Casa Batlló. Fifty minutes of your life looking at someone else's holiday photos.
  
  You're welcome.
• From tigertooth on 2017-03-20 at 4:04pm:
  Too bad nobody thought to send Troi and the kid out in a shuttle craft a safe distance from the Enterprise. After they offload the cargo, both can come back to the Enterprise, and the kid can stay/grow as long as he wants.
  
  Maybe they should have had the kid's energy "infecting" the warp plasma or something so that it would make more sense that he'd have to leave and never return.
• From jeffenator98 on 2019-10-17 at 5:09pm:
  Only Worfs comment at the end "I will assume that duty." saves this one from being a zero 1/10.
• From the obampresident on 2021-07-15 at 9:09am:
  I like how the new and improved doc treats Data. Aside from a few remarks from Riker in the first episode nobody on the crew ever seems to care that they are working with the only sentient machine in star fleet!

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

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

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-06-27 at 8:34am:
  - Picard and Riker are both fascinated with the fact that the first officer of the Aries can speak forty languages (and it is an amazing feat). But who really needs to speak multiple languages anymore? The Universal Translator takes care of that, right?
  - At the very end of the episode, Wesley says, "Breaking synchronous orbit." But the shot of the Enterprise just before, shows the ship moving in one direction and the planet in an other.
• From Rob on 2008-04-13 at 8:40pm:
  I would disagree only with your placing the statement that Riker's father wrongly states this is Will's first offer of command under "Problems". Rather, I think it could be placed under "Factoids" as we already know that Will hasn't spoken to his father in quite some time. The point that Kyle doesn't know that Will has already turned down a command promotion by this point speaks to this estrangement (not that I think this wasn't just a writer's error, but still....)
• From Keen on 2009-07-17 at 7:50pm:
  It was also mentioned in the episode: "Time Squared" that the Federation shuttle craft does not have warp drive.
• From rpeh on 2010-08-25 at 4:41pm:
  Your review hits the nail on the head here. Riker vs Riker was boring, although Anbo-jyutsu is worth mentioning as one of the three most stupid ideas any TNG writer had. The Worf B-story was much more interesting, and it was nicely done. I'd have preferred it if his friends had been wielding the pain sticks themselves, but I suppose that wasn't likely given how shocking it was.
  
  I'll give the Riker plot 2 and the Worf plot 7. Minus 1 for Anbo-jyutsu and averaged, makes a 4.
• From James on 2011-03-27 at 5:57pm:
  Almost nothing happens in the episode. It's extremely boring. Probably the funniest part is the joust game: the outfits and set design are unbelievably bad, and I love the way it's introduced as "the ultimate evolution in the martial arts". It's funny that this aired just a few months before American Gladiator started.
• From CAlexander on 2011-04-05 at 1:54pm:
  Oh God, not Anbo-jutsu! It wouldn't be so bad if they didn't have to declare it to be "the ultimate evolution of the martial arts". I still feel compelled to mock that every time I see it.
  
  In general, the main plot about Riker and his father had its heart in the right place, but I thought the execution was too hokey to take seriously. I liked the little B plot about Worf, though.
  
• From Inga on 2012-01-02 at 1:52pm:
  I agree with others so I won't repeat the points mentioned.
  
  I'd like to add a point of my own that I don't like the conversation between Troi and Pulaski. "Despite human evolution there are still some traits that are endemic to gender." Then the bit about father-son relationship, and lastly "It's almost as if they never really grow up at all." What? Am I the only one who finds this insulting to men? I thought people of the 24th century got over the 'men are hunters and women are homemakers' idea.
• From Bronn on 2015-03-13 at 5:57am:
  Eh, I actually like this episode for the most part. Though your point about the resolution for Riker is well-said-he just decides, off screen, that he's not going to accept the command. Then boom, off we go.
  
  The Anbu-Jitsu game was unintentionally hilarious. Riker's dad calls it "The ultimate evolution in Martial Arts," which is something that you'd only hear in a farce. Yet it's played completely seriously in a way only Star Trek can. But there's a hint of subtlety tied in: during Worf's ceremony, Data mentioned that it's important for warriors to state their deepest emotions under extreme duress. Then Riker and his father start shouting their deepest emotions during their match, which connects the resolution of the two plots.
  
  Things I really liked:
  -The connection between the two plots, and how the family issues of Worf and Riker share similarities, despite their extremely different backgrounds
  -I love seeing early O'Brien, just as a reminder that the writers maintained a quality B-cast. Colm Meany just shines in any little scene he's in.
  -I actually liked the conversation between Pulaski and Troi. There was a subtle connection between Crusher and Troi since they each shared a history with the Captain and First Officer, respectively, but it was seldom remarked. This helped establish a connection between Pulaski and Troi that really helped Pulaski's character. However...
  
  Things I didn't like
  -The gender-bashing during said conversation. Though if you look at Troi's relationship with her mother, it really echoes many of the things she says about fathers (always seeing their children as young, trying to control too much-does that sound like Lwaxana at all?)
  -The interpretation of events at the beginning. Wesley is babbling away at someone who is clearly thinking about something else, and the fact that Worf tells him to go away is taken as a sign that Worf has a problem. To me, the way Wesley was chattering DEMANDED someone tell him to shut up, but of course, it's Wesley Wonder-Boy, so he was right. Speaking of which, with all this talk of family, how come the fact that Wesley is separated from his mother and also lost his father not even an element this episode? It would have made for a nice subtext, but seems a missed opportunity.
  -The cause of the rift between father and son. Will says, "It should have been you who died!" but he didn't ever know his mother. We never learn how she died. His father says that Will was all that kept him going, but then he apparently abandoned Will when he was 15-how do those two ideas connect? There is some information missing, which is regrettable because this season offered a lot of teasers about Riker's relationship with his father (in "A matter of Honor" and in "Time Squared.")
• From Azalea Jane on 2021-07-18 at 8:28pm:
  I enjoyed this episode more than I expected to this time. There's nothing huge in terms of major plot points, conflicts, or life-threatening danger, but instead we get a sort-of cross section into the personal lives of the crew and more mundane ship operation. It's nice to have these lower-stakes episodes to give some breathing room and character development. And of course, character development is what helps make us care what happens to these people in the first place. A plot is only as good as its characters, and if you don't care about the people, you generally don't care about the plot. I think Riker's relationship with his old man explains lot about him, and Pulaski's relationship with his father adds depth to their relationship, as well as between Pulaski and Troi.
  
  I agree with some of the other commenters that the ending was rushed. That is often the case with TNG. At least we got some O'Brien!
  
  I like Troi in the scene with Kyle Riker, calling him down. It's a great example of her ability to be incisive, firm, and yet gentle. Troi is so tragic in how often she's underutilized or poorly written. But to me she's in great form here.
  
  I'd totally forgotten the plot point of Pulaski's history with the elder Riker. I'll admit, I kind of like Pulaski in this episode. It's all a bit soap opera-y, but she still has something unique to do, a unique take. She doesn't feel shoehorned in, as with so many other episodes in season 2.
  
  Though they don't use the term, I like the "chosen family" theme. A lot of the main cast have fraught relationships to family. Worf is an orphan, with only his human adoptive parents on earth, who know next to nothing of Klingon culture. Data, as far as he can tell, is effectively orphaned as well (his brother quite estranged), and Wes' father is dead. And of course, as we see, some others on the crew have fraught relationships with their family. Many folks are forced to find new family, and that is a valid kind of family to have.
  
  As others have pointed out, Troi's and Pulaski's conversation about gender felt rather reductive, especially for the 24th century. Pulaski's comment about the Klingon rite being barbaric is pretty culturally insensitive of her too. I also disagree with both women in this scene about "barbarism." The Riker boys needed a way to dig down to what they were feeling, and sometimes a good spar is exactly what you need. (For what it's worth, the screenwriters of this episode were men. Who knows why they wrote such an unflattering conversation about their own gender.)
  
  "Perhaps that's part of their charm, and why we find them so attractive." Speak for yourself, Deanna! Some of us ladies don't find men appealing at all. :) And plenty of straight or bi women are NOT attracted to the same qualities in men.
  
  Final thought... who was that cute bartender in Ten Forward????? ????

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-07-19 at 7:02pm:
  - In this episode, Worf makes the comment about bathing more often to the ambushers. But in "Conspiracy," he says, "swimming is too much like ... bathing." I guess being with humans has changed Worf ;)
  - Riker stuns Yuta twice and then kills her!! I know he warned her twice, but did he have to kill her? The second time he stuns Yuta, she barely manages to get up. Stun her a few more times, or get the guards to grab her, or transport her back to the Enterprise, but don't kill her!
• From thaibites on 2010-12-15 at 12:08am:
  So...Riker spends most of the episode trying to charm little blondie. Then, when she comes to his room and wants to give him pleasure, he stops her and says I want you as an equal!?! Yeah, right... Oprah and Phil Donohue were probably high-fiving each other when they saw that. Sometimes TNG is so unrealistically lame and pro-social, it makes me sick.
• From MJ on 2011-02-23 at 12:06am:
  I think it's generally agreed the ending of this episode was a horrible waste of a potentially good story. I was very interested in the idea of a clan based society setting aside its differences and making peace, but not before some of its members wandered off to become intergalactic nomads. That peaceful society is now trying to incorporate the nomads, who obviously live very different lives. And the intrigue involved in the Acamarian ruler's personal aide secretly seeking a vendetta made for a superb twist.
  
  But in the end, it leads to a scene in which everybody is standing around while Yuta tries to kill Chorgan, and Riker repeatedly stuns and then kills her. I can think of several better endings, and I'm not a paid, professional writer. Have a bunch of people subdue Yuta and take her away. Or, if her death is to be a significant part of the plot, have Chorgan or one of his band of warriors kill Yuta, thus endangering the peace process and ending the episode on a question of whether the Gatherers will ever return to Acamar in light of what's happened. Something...anything...but what actually happened.
• From CAlexander on 2011-04-14 at 4:01am:
  Mostly I thought the episode was entertaining, though not exactly inspired. But the secret revelation at the end was very odd. I was expecting Yuta to have been raised in the tradition of revenge, that would make sense. Where did this weird "genetic modification" thing come from? Somehow, in order to exact an exotic revenge scheme, they have discovered a way to greatly extend lifespan. Forget revenge, wouldn't everyone want that? It is like inventing time travel just to restart the warp engines! And I totally agree with DSOmo that there was no reason for Riker to kill her. Apparently the writers wanted her dead, and no one was going to stop them.
• From Percivale on 2011-09-03 at 3:50am:
  This episode had a vaguely interesting plot but the execution was dismal. I thought the Gatherer characters were obnoxious - no matter what their role was in the story at any given time, I just did not like seeing them on screen.
  
  The chemistry (or lack thereof) between Riker and Yuta was really awkward and unconvincing.
  
  I think 2 is more appropriate.
• From John on 2012-12-05 at 6:23am:
  This episode isn't all that bad. The plot itself is somewhat formulaic, but the dialogue and character development are pretty good, so I give it a 7/10. It's certainly not an eye-roller, like some of the more terrible TNG episodes.
  
  That said, this is another one of those 'world divided' episodes where two groups of people from the same planet are completely different, except that one group no longer lives on the planet.
  
  The 'leaders' of both factions are portrayed quite well -- Nancy Parsons, in particular, does a good job as the Sovereign of the more 'civilized' sect, and Joey Aresco's Brull is interesting and fairly well-developed (for a one hour show).
  
  It's certainly entertaining, at any rate, even if you've seen it before. The dialogue is snappy enough to keep you interested.
• From Azalea Jane on 2021-08-04 at 8:19am:
  This watch-through, I found this ep pretty dull. The character of Yuta was wasted. She had potential. Agreed that Yuta's death was abrupt and unnecessary. They probably could have cut a bunch of the Yuta/Riker scenes and had a more satisfying ending. Knowing how it turns out, it's pretty weird watching them interact throughout the episode knowing he ends up killing her!
  
  I like that once Riker saw how ... let's just say, girl got issues, he stopped pursuing her sexually and just hugged her. That was nice. I, too, would be pretty instantly turned off finding out a potential lover was just trying to please me but wasn't actually into it herself. Ick. I do kinda feel sorry for Yuta. She probably does feel powerless to change her destiny. She's clearly not happy.
  
  I will continue to be salty at Trek weapons being able to vaporize a whole person in seconds. The amount of energy that would have to release all at once would practically leave a crater. But here: no remains, no ashes, no smoke, no bright light, no wave of heat, no meat vapor cloud, no nothing. Just poof! 60 or so kilograms of hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, calcium, etc, whisked out of existence. This isn't specific to this episode, but it's doubly annoying given how pointless the death was. Grr!
  
  Sometimes this show feels like it holds up decently three decades later; sometimes it feels *very* 80s. The whole getup of the Gatherers felt *very* 80s. Not that that's a bad thing! ;)

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

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

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-08-20 at 1:56am:
  - When Troi experiences intense pain caused by the colony, she needs to call Dr. Crusher. She reaches up, taps her badge, talks to Crusher, and taps her badge to end the conversation. Isn't this proof that individuals must tap their badges to begin conversations? NO ONE in intense pain takes extra steps to call for help.
  - During the staff meeting about the existence of the two-dimensional colony, there are several different camera angles of the viewscreen. The colony's motion on the viewscreen changes from shot to shot (not always moving in the same direction.)
• From djb on 2008-02-18 at 10:48pm:
  I liked this episode, but only part of it. The plot about the 2-d life forms unwittingly dragging the enterprise kind of gets lost amongst other (and often better) "losing control of the ship" scenarios like those found in The Last Outpost, Booby Trap, Contagion, Time Squared, etc. Also the "rescued at the last minute" thing is getting old.
  
  What I really liked about this episode was the character development for Troi.
  
  We've seen a lot of good character development for other characters so far. I can think of many high-quality episodes developing many of the main characters, but not so many, so far, for Troi.
  
  Unlike in "The Survivors," the whole "Troi in agony" bit was kept to a minimum, and unlike many other Troi-centered episodes, this one had nothing to do with her obnoxious mother.
  
  Instead, it makes the viewer acutely aware of how different Troi's experience is from those of her crewmates. Her empathic ability is literally another sense, and her losing that sense and only being able to experience others on the surface would be very similar, I suppose, to a full-blooded human losing their sense of hearing: much of our experience of others is not only what they look like, but their voice, which conveys much more personality than looks do. I imagine for an empathic person, a person's emotions are even more personal, and suddenly being unable to sense them in that way would make one feel extremely lonely and cut off, much the way I imagine I would feel if I was deaf.
  
  Troi's process of distress and her moving towards acceptance of it are very well-executed, and deepen the character. (Often, it is noted, people discover much about themselves when they lose something they take for granted.) It's quite interesting, as Riker points out, to see her not "in control". So often she is sensing and relating others' emotions, but we do not often get to hear about her own. Her transition from totally composed and regal, as usual, to a drastic lack of composure is pronounced yet believable, and her finally letting go and crying in Riker's arms brought a tear to my eye. (We know from Nemesis that they will eventually marry each other, but back in Season 4, we are still unsure, and it's nice to see tender moments between them in light of that uncertainty.)
  
  Guinan's presence is always welcome, and you can always rely on Guinan to say just the right thing. I don't recall a previous incident of Guinan counseling Troi, but it's a great scene. The way that Troi's process of discovering her human side (intuition, instinct) helped solve the puzzle of the 2-d beings was also quite nice.
  
  So: Ho-hum from a sci-fi perspective, but excellent from a character perspective.
• From JRPoole on 2008-05-05 at 3:43pm:
  The Troi-in-mental-agony plot staple reaches its nadir here. I am intrigued by the 2-D lifeforms, but this episode is pretty lackluster in execution.
• From wepeel on 2008-06-02 at 5:52pm:
  Amazing, I was about to skip this episode due to all the other comments on here regarding Troi's suffering cliche. Granted, the season one episodes of "pain...intense, PAIN!" were bad, but this episode was great, and the comparisons regarding Troi's emphatic expressions were unfair.
  
  I decided to watch the episode again, muting the volume once Troi lost her powers. This idea came about after I read djb's comments on the episode, where he specified his analogy of losing empathic powers to becoming deaf. Honestly, I had never really connected with Troi centered episodes (other than Face of the Enemy) until I did this. I really connected with the message of losing a sense, and I would recommend others to give this episode its due credit via a second viewing.
  
  Plus, she saved the ship in a method that was quite convincing and innovative. I loved that she totally captured Data's attention as well as mine during her brainstorming =)
• From CAlexander on 2011-04-22 at 3:57pm:
  The primary plot about Troi was jumbled and confused. But I think I liked that; it gave the impression that she was jumbled and confused and acting inconsistently because she was so distraught. I guess therapists really do make the worst patients.
  
  The plot about the two-dimensional life forms was mostly mundane, but did have some good points. I like when Picard, faced with a difficult moral dilemma, decides he has to attack the creatures, then is relieved when he doesn't kill them.
  
• From 2d@d2.com on 2011-08-17 at 8:49am:
  This is a fair or even good episode.
  
  It's kind of interesting to see Troi act differently. And kind of interesting to consider why that might be so, the difference empathic abilities can make in your experience and in your personality. I was just mulling about this earlier today... If I *knew* without a shadow of a doubt, actually *felt* how others felt about me, in real time, I probably would be more at ease and more confident, just like Troi is normally. Much of our anxiety and insecurity rotates around what we think others think of ourselves, and much of it is unfounded...
  
  It's also interesting to consider that because Troi relies on her Betazoid abilities, her ordinary skills of perception, observation, and intuition are underdeveloped. The empathic powers have been like a kind of crutch, and she is kind of helpless without them, at least at first...
  
  - - -
  
  One problem:
  
  How the heck did the "forward sensors" miss the 2D beings? The explanation Data gives is utterly simplistic and nonsensical. For this to work, the forward sensors must be truly 2-directional! Like, fundamentally so - the sensors must be point sources with no height at all, not even a micron, and detect only what is directly in front them, not a micron or two above or below. Not only would they be quite useless on a starship, they would be quite bizarre and anomalous things in themselves. How would 3D engineers with 3D equipment build and maintain something like that? And why in the world would they?
  
  I might be wrong, but I don't think it makes any sense at all.
  
  As far as I can tell, actual forward sensors must detect what is in front of them, but not literally so. To be useful, they must operate in three dimensions, although within a limited "forward" range.
• From McCoy on 2017-12-04 at 8:22pm:
  God, how I hate this woman... She's an incarnation of probably all negative traits of psychologist. And this episode is indeed very good in showing this.
• From Chuck the Canuck on 2023-05-12 at 6:44pm:
  Having seen interviews and convention appearances with Marina Sirtis, I’m guessing this is the closest Troi’s character ever came to her real personality. I’m not saying she’s a mean person, but she’s definitely blunt and edgy.
  
  I liked it, though. You can tell that Troi is really shaken by this experience and it causes her to lash out. Having her be nice and pleasant to everyone like she usually is would’ve been fake. I like the concept of the two-dimensional life forms and the overall plot to fix the problem. I’d give this one a 6.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-09-05 at 6:36am:
  - When Dr. Marr comes on board, Riker escorts her to a turbolift. When they reach it, Riker touches a control panel on the exterior doors and they wait for the turbolift to arrive. I believe this is the first time this happens in this series. For four years, no one has had to wait for a turbolift to arrive.
  - In this episode, the Enterprise must use a pulsed graviton beam to investigate the "possibility of communication" with the crystal entity. In "Datalore," Yar opened a communications channel, and Lore simply spoke to the entity and it responded.
  - At one point, Data and Dr. Marr head for a turbolift. Once in the turbolift, Dr. Marr asks for the bridge. When they reach their destination, the doors pop open and they walk out. The shot shows a section of hallway through the open doors of the turbolift. Didn't Dr. Marr say "bridge"? None of the turbolift entrances on the bridge has a section of hallway like the one shown.
  - When Dr. Marr locks the graviton stream into a continuous mode, both Data and Geordi claim they can't stop her program. Why not just cut the power to the graviton emitters?
• From djb on 2008-03-23 at 8:54pm:
  - The episode opens with Riker hitting on a woman-- by now hardly a rare sight. But what I like about this one was the twist that the woman gets killed within moments. This is sad, but it kind of makes Riker's seduction attempts seem childish and trivial in retrospect. I like, though, how Riker wants to include a personal message to her her parents.
  
  - In response to our trusty resident fault-finder DSOmo, we definitely have seen people wait for the turbolift before, BUT, never have I seen someone have to push a button to summon it. Also, while they seem to exit the turbolift in a hallway, the next scene shows them on the bridge.
  
  - I liked this episode's continuity with other episodes, but I was slightly disappointed that we didn't see Lore. I kind of assumed that if we see the Crystalline Entity, we'd see Lore too, but I suppose that's a foolish assumption.
  
  - I love Dr. Marr's spectrum of emotion, especially her 180-degree attitude towards Data. First she distrusts him, then accepts him, then starts treating him as if he were her son! The progression from fascinated scientist to bereaved mother is also quite well done.
  
  -"Avatar" comes from the Sanskrit "Avatara", meaning literally "descent of a deity in incarnate form". It has come to mean embodiment, incarnation, or personification. Here, clearly, the title refers to Marr's son being "incarnated," so to speak, in Data, who is composed of, among other things, silicon. Interesting title...
• From JRPoole on 2008-07-06 at 6:03am:
  This one is a real stinker for me. While I share the disgust with just killing the thing, I also buy Marr's and Riker's justification. The news Data gives Dr. Marr at the end of the episode seems overly cruel and pointless as well.
• From KStrock on 2009-07-22 at 1:54pm:
  I really love Picard in this episode. It's great consistency with the character's respect for all forms of life.
• From Tallifer on 2011-02-21 at 10:46pm:
  I could not fathom the reaction of Picard et alia to Mar's destruction of the Crystalline Entity: yes, it would have been nicer to learn more and even communicate, but it had murdered thousands of human beings: its death was deserved and necessary in the end.
• From Jeff Browning on 2011-10-02 at 6:56pm:
  Sorry to be disagreeable, but I found Ellen Geer's performance terrible. It left me cringing at times.
• From Will on 2011-10-29 at 1:08am:
  Nothing about the review suggests a rating of 3. Could you explain that part further?
• From Kethinov on 2011-10-30 at 1:53am:
  Will,
  
  In the review I mention finding the episode distasteful due to the plot's callous treatment of the crystalline entity. I felt like its murder was unnecessary and cheap storytelling. However, I do understand your desire for a more substantive analysis. Longer, more detailed reviews are coming. Revamped reviews are slowly trickling in, starting with TOS. Have a look at TOS seasons 1 and 2 to see what the new review format will be.
• From Jason on 2014-05-18 at 5:38am:
  Problem: while in the cave conversing with data Dr. Marr's tricorder is upside down.
• From QuasiGiani on 2018-04-26 at 12:13pm:
  Murder. Vengful, spiteful murder. Marr murdered the being just as channels of hope for co-existence began.
  
  The crystal cannot be said to have murdered a single thing; but Marr surely murdered it.
  
  Marr certainly needed it _pointed_ out to her that what _she_ had done was entirely _pointless_. It was not cruel to try and give her the understanding that understanding is the way and vengeance is not.
  
  Excellent episode. Message conveyed.
• From Obampresidentialine entity on 2021-08-06 at 12:01pm:
  Hmm not sure about this one, this is not a whale eating plankton, let us not forget that this lifeform conspired with Lore to consume sentient beings.