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Star Trek TNG - 5x11 - Hero Worship

Originally Aired: 1992-1-27

Synopsis:
A troubled young boy starts to emulate Data. [DVD]

My Rating - 3

Fan Rating Average - 4.87

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 13 6 3 25 22 17 19 15 15 14 0

Problems
None

Factoids
- In this episode, Data claims that the damage to the Vico might be indicative of Breen tactics. This is one of many times the Breen are mentioned before they are seen on screen.

Remarkable Scenes
- The special effects for the damaged Vico were well done.
- Data fastbuilding the sculpture.
- Timothy emulating Data's head movements.
- Data subtly convincing Timothy to slip out of his android fantasy.
- Picard, Troi, and Data confronting Timothy.
- Data ordering Picard to drop the shields. I love the look on Picard's face as he struggles to decide whether or not to trust Data.

My Review
A fine episode, albeit dull. It suffers from TNG attention deficit disorder; like many TNG eps, the guest character featured here is never seen again, and quickly forgotten making the whole episode inconsequential. As a stand alone episode it is successful, but frankly good television creates continuity and this episode simply doesn't. My rating is as such thusly.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From Pete Miller on 2006-04-16 at 12:30am:
    Overcoat appearance, I hate that damn thing. Also, it seems quite tactless of the producers to place two troubled-kid-that-doesn't-fit-in-at-school episodes back to back. It was a little irritating. Okay episode, though
  • From Orion Pimpdaddy on 2006-05-16 at 5:34pm:
    Two back-to-back children episodes -- that's odd. Two back-to-back children episodes where the kid gets stuck under ruble -- that's even more odd.

    Besides the obvious similarities, Hero Worship holds up do to yet another kid who acts in a believable way. Having the kid believe he blew up the ship was a brilliant idea from the writers.

    The science portion of this episode falls into the typical category. Once again, they crew must do the opposite to get out of a deadly situation.
    Besides that, this episode is well executed. It gets a 5 due to the fact that it is not one you get out and watch over and over again. Watching a "kid" episode is not something the average viewer strives to do, especially back-to-back.

  • From DSOmo on 2007-09-11 at 3:04am:
    - When Timothy asks Data about his lack of emotions, Data replies, "My positronic brain is not capable of generating those conditions." Dr. Noonian Soong must have thought it was, because he created a set of emotional subroutines for Data in "Brothers." And Lore proved a positronic brain is capable of generating those conditions in "Datalore."
    - The Vico must have a humongous computer core. While discussing the destruction of the Vico with Geordi, Picard punches up a side view of the Vico on a monitor. He indicates the midpoint of the saucer section with his finger and comments, "The boy was here." Geordi agrees, adding that Timothy was in the hallway outside the computer core. Geordi them points to the lower portion of the drive section to show Picard where the second away team found the body of Timothy's mother. He tells Picard she was in the computer core. Does the computer core on a research vessel stretch from the saucer section all the way through the yoke and all the way down to the bottom of the drive section?
    - To test the effectiveness of the phasers inside the black cluster, Picard orders Worf to fire them at maximum yield. Picard gives a firing direction of 0-0-1 mark 0-4-5. So the heading Picard gives should be directly in front of the ship and raised at an angle of 45 degrees. The next scene of the ship shows the phasers firing twice. The first time the phasers fire they shoot directly ahead, a heading that would be described as something like 0-0-1 mark 0-0-1. The second time, the phasers finally approximate the right heading. Does Worf need a practice shot to figure out how to fire the phasers in the right direction?
    - Under Troi's encouragement, Data visits Timothy. Of course, Timothy is alone in the room, but that's normal Starfleet procedure for a boy who's just lost his parents. (See comments for "The Bonding")
  • From KingElessar8 on 2009-03-20 at 12:43pm:
    "My positronic brain is not capable of generating those conditions."

    I don't see a real problem here - he meant his particular positronic brain isn't naturally capable of generating emotions, not positronic brains in general (although the later could still well be the case). Dr. Soong had to write a specific program for him to be able to experience emotions, and I assume Lore had something similar, or (more likely) Data's brain was designed differently to avoid the problems Dr. Soong encountered by the more "human" Lore.

    Overall, this is an ok episode. The scene that reveals that Data cannot taste food was taking Data as Inhuman Machine (which overall reached its bleakest point with "In Theory") a little too far. I thought the original idea was that Data would become more human as the series progressed, but that certainly isn't how it ended up working in practice.

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Star Trek TNG - 6x03 - Man of the People

Originally Aired: 1992-10-5

Synopsis:
A Lumerian ambassador uses Troi to achieve success. [DVD]

My Rating - 3

Fan Rating Average - 2.82

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 71 10 17 31 19 17 16 10 5 2 5

Problems
- How is Troi's aging magically reduced?

Factoids
- There's an "Ensign Janeway" in this episode. No relation, I'm sure... ;)

Remarkable Scenes
- Worf directing a martial arts class. Cool!
- The old woman: "Have you mated with him yet?!"
- Troi being life-force raped.
- Troi toying with Riker.
- Troi being mean to Ensign Janeway.
- Beverly performing an illegal autopsy.
- Beverly faking Troi's death.

My Review
I like the impunity the ambassador had throughout the episode. It shows us that sometimes people just get so famous and important that even haneous crimes they commit seem to be overlooked. The ambassador reminded me somewhat of OJ Simpson, except in this case getting what he deserved in the end. Despite the fine story idea, the execution was rather drab. The story was caught up in Beverly's medical mystery, the conclusion of which was obvious. The only interesting part was the climax, in which it's fun to watch Picard and Beverly manipulate the ambassador. His death was fitting, albeit a bit convenient. My main problem with this episode is the number of TNG cliches. A diplomatic mission, a mystery guest star with a secret, and more Troi suffering scenes. I've thus marked it down a bit.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From DSOmo on 2007-10-09 at 3:56am:
    - When Crusher proposes to kill Troi so Alcar will break his link, Riker reacts immediately. Crusher responds that she will be able to revive Troi as long as thirty minutes do not elapse before resuscitation. Why thirty minutes? In "The Neutral Zone," Crusher revived humans who had been frozen for hundreds of years.
    - After making a scene in Ten-Forward, Troi gets escorted out by Riker. They board a turbolift and the doors read "08 Turbolift." Ten-Forward is on deck 10, not deck 8.
    - At the end of the show, Picard predicts that Alcar will attempt to find another person as soon as Troi dies. To protect Alcar's intended victim, he contacts Transporter Room 2 and tells them to lock on to the female in Alcar's quarters. But when he wants to beam her out he says, "Picard to Transporter Room 3. Energize!" How does the transporter chief in Transporter Room 3 know what to do? Picard gave his instructions to Transporter Room 2.
  • From Rob on 2008-04-17 at 7:50pm:
    The only scene that is really worth watching more than once to me is Troi cutting down Ensign Janeway... I laugh every time.
  • From JRPoole on 2008-09-07 at 12:49pm:
    Mind rape in various forms is getting to be a little ho-hum aboard the Enterprise. It seems like something similar comes up at least once a season.

    What we get here is little more than another Troi-in-mental anguish episode. This one gets marked up a little because Marina Sirtis gets to walk around in sexy dresses and she does a great job acting, especially in the scene someone mentioned above where she breaks it off in Ensign Janeway, who probably needed to hear that anyway.

    This one loses a couple of points, however, when Troi transforms back in to her old self. I just can't buy that she's instantly back to her regular appearance as soon as the mind lock is severed. The tissue changes (wrinkles, discoloring, gray hair) aren't going to disappear instantly. I know this is minor and mostly cosmetic, but it irked me. Still, not a terrible episode. I give i a 3.
  • From Will on 2011-10-26 at 10:01pm:
    I just want to point out that OJ was not acquitted simply because he was famous, he was acquitted because he was black and famous.
  • From Dstyle on 2015-09-21 at 1:35pm:
    I just want to point out that OJ was not acquitted simply because he was famous, he was acquitted because the prosecution monumentally bungled the case, leaving A LOT of room for reasonable doubt. The only folks who think otherwise either didn't follow the trial or already wanted a guilty verdict before they heard any of the evidence presented. Our previous commentor--who I assume managed to post from an alternate universe--seems to be laboring under the misapprehension that being black is somehow a "get out of jail free" card in the American judicial system. Don't worry! America still puts a lot of black folks behind bars (or worse)!

    A much better comparison could be made between the ambassador and Bill Cosby, although Mr. Cosby's long string of crimes had not been widely publicized at the time this review was written.
  • From ChristopherA on 2019-05-24 at 9:45pm:
    Agreed, this episode has an interesting idea but the execution could have been better. I was perfectly satisfied watching the episode but it is just OK, not one of the memorable episodes.

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Star Trek TNG - 6x07 - Rascals

Originally Aired: 1992-11-2

Synopsis:
Several crew members are turned into children. [DVD]

My Rating - 3

Fan Rating Average - 4.41

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 59 12 16 15 13 20 23 18 34 14 15

Problems
- The science behind this episode is horrible. How did the transporter shrink their clothes? What happened to Picard's artificial heart? And how did the transporter unshrink everyone's clothes when they went back through?

Factoids
- Guinan's father is over 700 years old.
- The writers ended the episode without showing Ro revert back to adulthood because they considered leaving her that way permanently.

Remarkable Scenes
- The actors for the child versions of the characters were pretty good selections.
- Picard trying to ignore the limitations of his new form.
- O'Brien's reaction to Keiko.
- Troi: "You could return to the acadamy, take another degree, brush up on your Latin." Picard: "And be Wesly Crusher's room mate?"
- Troi: "A second childhood. Without the pain of growing up again."
- Guinan picking on Ro.
- Guinan's proposed solution to the takeover.
- The child's computer.
- Picard freaking out at the Ferengi about seeing his "father" Riker
- Picard pretending to be Riker's son.
- Riker bullshitting technobabble.
- The children "tagging" the Ferengi.

My Review
The Ferengi conquering the Enterprise so easily seemed a little absurd. And why did the Ferengi even bother trying to unlock the computer? They could have just tractored the ship to Romulan space. I'm sure the Romulans would have been more interested and more able to crack the computer lockout... This episode suffers greatly from both logical and technical problems. Forgiving them briefly, this episode bears great humor. It's great fun watching the crew as children and how they're treated by the rest of the cast. It's also great fun watching the children outsmart the Ferengi. Besides the humor, the idea that they could live to be twice the age of normal people was also intriguing, but disappointing that in the end no one decided to remain a child; not even Ro who would have been perfectly suited for that role. A fine idea for an episode, but very poorly executed.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From Pete Miller on 2006-05-06 at 11:03pm:
    I agree. How did two klingon birds of prey disable the enterprise immediately and then proceed to board it and commandeer it so easily? That was ridiculous. I hate the ferengi so much.
  • From DSOmo on 2007-10-12 at 3:58am:
    - Once again, the creators use the "just switch the DNA with the transporter so everything will be ok" plot trick to fix the problem of changing the crew back to adults. At least the creators are consistent. This is basically the same solution they used to resolve a crisis in "Unnatural Selection." (see "Unnatural Selection" Fan Commentary for more information on this subject.)
    - When asked by the Ferengi captain how many people are on board the Enterprise, Riker replies, "One thousand fourteen" (1,014). During the episode "Remember Me," Data claims there are 1,014 people on the Enterprise at that point. What are the chances - given transfers, promotions, childbirth, etc. - that there would be exactly the same number aboard the Enterprise during both these shows?
    - Worf needs to get back to the phaser practice range. When two Ferengi materialize on the bridge, Worf fires a shot and misses! The Ferengi can't be more than twenty feet away, and the chief of Security of the Enterprise misses?
    - When Picard first attempts to access the main computer from a school terminal, the top of the screen reads, "Classroom 7." When Picard meets with Riker, he asks Riker to turn on the computer in "schoolroom 8."
  • From djb on 2008-05-27 at 4:29am:
    This episode was fun, though it brings up two rather sticky subjects (aside from obvious ones, like, how their clothes shrunk and Picard magically had hair).

    One is how easily the Enterprise, the flagship of the Federation, was captured. By those god-awful Ferengi, no less. I mean, it's certainly possible for the ship to be captured, but I'd expect it to maybe be a bit more of a struggle. It was a cakewalk! And, wouldn't there be security measures, like some kind of automatic lockdown if the shields fail? Or something? I mean, come on. It could have been epic.

    The other is the "age reversal" problem, which was also an issue in "Unnatural Selection." If a transporter can accidentally convert adults into children, couldn't it be configured to do it intentionally? Wouldn't that basically make the transporter an immortality machine? Wouldn't that mean that anyone, once their bodies have aged past 50 or 60, or whenever, could just enter the transporter, be reverted to children (with adult minds) and live another several decades with a younger body, and repeat ad infinitum? Maybe it could be configured to revert someone to, say, 29, instead of 12, and then people could go in for an "age-reverting" every 5 or 10 years without going all the way back to 12? The social, economic, and medical ramifications are ludicrous. Talk about messing with nature!

    I thought the casting of young Guinan and young Ro were excellent; it happens that the actress who played young Guinan also played a young version of the character Whoopi Goldberg played in "Sister Act." Keiko didn't really look like herself, but it's hard to tell with aging. Also notice that young Picard's accent is just slightly different from regular Picard's? Hmmm.

    Some episodes, though, have "priceless" moments that are somewhat incidental but memorable. "Schisms" had Data's poetry, which was genius. This one's priceless moment is Riker feeding the Ferengi complete nonsense about the computer. Bilateral kelilactirals... Heisenfram terminals! Wonderful touch.
  • From JRPoole on 2008-09-11 at 12:08am:
    Ughh. This is perhaps the most ridiculous episode of the Next Generation. The O'Brien/Keiko stuff was creepy and interesting, but Colm Meany didn't act it very well, probably because the plot was dumb he couldn't take it seriously.

    On top of all this idiotic mess with the children, we have another incredibly stupid Ferengi episode. The Ferengi are the Jar Jar Binks of TNG and an embarrassing black eye on the series. They become more believable in DS9, but here they are always bad news. It's already been documented that children are a bad idea on Trek, and the combination of the two here is dreadful.

    Thank God the writers didn't go ahead and make this episode inarguably canonical by leaving Ro as a child. Therefore, I move that this episode be struck from the canon, as nothing significant arises from it, it's thankfully never mentioned again, the science is ludicrous, and the whole package is utter shite.
  • From The Crytter on 2009-06-07 at 10:50am:
    A hugely fun episode. I enjoyed it but for a few niggling details.....

    1) A case of mistaken identity:

    The Klingon Bird's of Prey are identified as "B'rel" class.

    The B'rel class Bird of Prey is well known to be a scout vessel, approximately 90 meters long and 130 metres wide. Whats more, the B'rel class has only a crew of 12, and could not carry very many troops in addition.

    The Birds of Prey that attack the Enterprise are clearly at least as wide as the Enterprise herself (467 metres). And they can cleary carry enough troops between them to overwhelm to Enterprise crew. These vessels are clearly of the "K'Vort" class cruiser variant of the Bird of Prey!

    2) Has Commander Riker become a wimp???

    2 vs 1 or not, the supposedly state-of-the-art Galaxy class Flagship-of-the-federation USS Enterprise goes down with barely a whimper! It fires just one shot in retaliation. Absolutely pathetic! Commander Riker is usually fairly gung-ho, and pretty handy in a fight. But here he simply lets the Enterprise take several minutes of pummeling before he orders Mr Worf to return fire, and even then with only a single phaser burst! With his hesitation and poor response to the attack, he basically gifts the Enterprise to the Ferengi!

    Commander Riker should have ordered Mr Worf to return fire as soon as they were attacked, and then concentrated fire on one of the Birds of Prey. The Enterprise is powerful enough to disable a K'Vort class cruiser in fairly short order with sustained fire, and once one was out of action the Ferengi crew of the other would no doubt have decided that discretion was the better part of valour, and retreated.

    So in short, the Enterprise seriously needs it's ship recognition files updating, and should have won the fight with it's attackers. This, of course, means that this whole episode should never have taken place.

    A shame really, considering the episode as a whole is such good fun! Enough fun, that i'll forgive the writers for the irritating errors.
  • From rpeh on 2010-06-14 at 6:33pm:
    You lot take this far too seriously.

    Yes, the science is rubbish. Yes, the ship was taken over too easily. Yes, there are other problems.

    But this episode is fun! The young versions do a brilliant job, young Guinan especially, and as long as you watch it all when you're in a good mood, it's a funny episode.

    Sheesh! Some people would even take Trouble with Tribbles seriously!
  • From baron on 2010-12-03 at 1:30pm:
    Riker didn't attack the ships because they were klingon ships. He didn't raised the shields because he would have had no reason to and that would be seen as a hostile gesture. He had no way of knowing that they were ferengi. He would have at least tried to hail them before he started firing. He wouldn't want to risk starting a war by firing at them first for no reason. Unfortunately, they had already attacked and disabled the enterprises sheilds at that point.
  • From Quando on 2011-08-24 at 8:40pm:
    The absolute best part of this episode was when the Ferengi caught little kid Picard calling Riker "Number One". The Ferengi looks at kid Picard kind of funny, and Picard quickly says "he's my number one Dad!" and gives Riker a big hug. My kids laughed about this for days.

    Also, what happened to the rest of the 1,014 people on the ship? The only people to try to do anything to stop the Ferengi are the people on the bridge and some little kids. Meanwhile several hundred fully-trained starfleet officers are sitting quietly somewhere twiddling their thumbs.
  • From Wes on 2012-03-22 at 9:27am:
    This marks the last episode the O'briens are on TNG. The next time we see Chief O'brien is on DS9 in Emissary.
  • From railohio on 2014-07-21 at 10:33pm:
    Overall I found the episode enjoyable, however there is one continueing point involving the Ferengi that I need to meet
    The bridge crew spends so much time spilling out statuses and sensor readings during the battle, that they only manage to actually fire once. Once!! If they really wanted to win, they would disable the enemy as quickly as possible (or at least try to) and worry about the damages and casualties after. They would avoid even more casualties in the process.

    Another thing I found a bit funny actually was during the shuttle mishap. While the shuttle is experiencing "turbulance," the shuttle does not seem to move at all, and it appears they are just dancing in there chairs. Quite entertaining if you catch it
  • From Mike on 2017-04-16 at 11:19pm:
    Whatever you think of this episode, you have to agree that the kid actors really nailed their performances. All four of them were great! Their scenes were the best parts of this episode: Guinan and Ro's interaction, The O'Briens' awkward time together, and young Picard's dealings with the crew.

    As for the Ferengi taking over the ship, I think this episode is mostly just for laughs. After all, whatever cunning the Ferengi may have had in their initial capture of the Enterprise was clearly used up and the crew was able to outsmart them with comical ease. You just can't take the Ferengi seriously in TNG, and the idea of involving them in an episode where some crew members are transformed into children seems to fit nicely.

    From a canon point of view, I can see why this episode pisses off some fans. Maybe we can just agree that this was a facepalm moment for Worf and his security team, after which they ran numerous drills to make sure they'd never be humiliated by losing the flagship to a gang of Ferengi ever again.
  • From Chris on 2018-02-16 at 11:06pm:
    Without looking at the episode... whatever... more stupid than Kirk and the boys getting old!

    Please!!!
  • From Chris on 2018-02-23 at 5:21pm:
    I must've been in a foul mood when I posted my irritation of this episode without watching it.
    Sometimes I just forget that this is, after all, not science, but science-FICTION!

    If one cannot tolerate a bit of whimsy now and then, then one needs to re-adjust their attitude maybe...

    Anyway, I did notice that they did make a half-assed attempt with the costuming on Ro and Guinan only...
    Riker's gibberish was awesome but it would have been funny if somehow he could have squeezed in, as a shout out to Kirk, something about Fizzbin! ;-)

    The interaction between Keiko and Miles was pretty poignant, I think.
  • From Chris on 2019-07-31 at 9:54pm:
    One last... comment. I think it might have been cool if Keiko's daughter recognized her for who she was regardless of how she looked! Miles would have freaked out and there would have been much less drama between them but the drama could then have been taken in ANY direction from there!
    Could've been more fun?
    Is it fun, funner, funnest?
    Is it dead, deader, deadest?

    These are questions that torment me...

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Star Trek TNG - 7x01 - Descent, Part II

Originally Aired: 1993-9-20

Synopsis:
Picard, Troi and Geordi are held prisoner by Data. [DVD]

My Rating - 3

Fan Rating Average - 4.46

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 45 5 30 12 17 18 18 33 19 15 11

Problems
- It seems unlikely that Hugh's individuality could have caused so much chaos in the collective and that a whole ship of Borg would just somehow all become individuals. It makes sense that the Borg would have severed the renegade Borg from the collective though. We can rationalize this by saying the whole thing was some kind of fluke. But it's a stretch.

Factoids
- This is the last Lore episode.

Remarkable Scenes
- Crusher in command of the Enterprise.
- Data trying to be funny amidst the torture.
- Beverly executing her tricky warp speed exit to get people off the planet.
- Beverly using metaphasic shielding to enter the sun's corona. Excellent continuity with TNG: Suspicions.
- Taitt destroying the Borg ship.
- Data's announcement that the emotion chip was damaged when Data fired on Lore.
- Data almost phasering the emotion chip.
- LaForge: "Maybe some day. When you're ready."

My Review
This episode provides the expected explanation for the Borg's seemingly silly behavior in the previous episode, along with Data's emotions. Lore, who believes himself perfect, happened to be in the right place at the right time when Picard returned Hugh to the Borg in TNG: I, Borg. Lore takes over the confused Borg and uses them to assemble an army. Also as expected, Dr. Crusher gets the nice screen time she deserves. She does an excellent job commanding the Enterprise. Unfortunately, despite these details, while the premise sets itself up weakly, the conclusion finishes the episode off even weaker than before. The only redeeming qualities are Beverly's performance commanding the ship and Data's final scenes with Geordi at the end. Beyond that, a disappointing plot.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From Orion Pimpdaddy on 2006-06-05 at 9:46pm:
    Whith the Borg powerful once again under Lore, what do they have to show for it? They have only one ship protecting thier leader, which gets fried by the sun. On the ground, they have a large gang of Borg living inside a building. Where is the army of Borg that assimilate whole planets?

  • From TashaFan on 2008-10-31 at 3:41am:
    One thing that bothered me about the premise is, if the Borg assimilate individuals, every one of those individuals lived a whole life as an individual with a sense of self. So why would Hugh developing a sense of self for a few days be so disruptive to the collective or even to a single cube?
  • From Zaphod on 2011-04-14 at 8:59am:
    How can Data feel the urge to develop emotions if he doesn't already have emotions? How can he show signs of withdrawal without emotions? He doesn't have unpleasant feelings so what's the problem? Physical symptoms? Again, why would he even bother if these symptoms don't lead to negative emotions?
    Why would he want to befriend anyone without emotions?
    How can a character as badly written as Data be part of a TV show? A lot of questions and no good answers. ^^
  • From ElGuapo on 2011-11-30 at 4:30pm:
    Problem: When Geordi is strapped down to the table, you see him move his hand almost completely out of the restraint with ease. He slips it back in as if nothing happened.

    A decent episode. It's good to see Hugh return, and I've always liked the Lore episodes.
  • From dan on 2012-04-20 at 12:07am:
    I loved this episode (both parts). It might not have been the deepest plot, but it was exciting in a way few Trek episodes are. Great continuity with Hugh, and Dr. Crusher using the metaphasic shield. The scenes with Geordi and Data were quite intense. Also loved seeing Data take out Lore one and for all.

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Star Trek TNG - 7x18 - Eye of the Beholder

Originally Aired: 1994-2-28

Synopsis:
Troi and Worf become romantically involved. [DVD]

My Rating - 3

Fan Rating Average - 4.62

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 25 4 6 17 15 18 21 11 10 10 8

Problems
- Another reference to that horrible episode Force of Nature, Picard says they've been given authorization to exceed the warp speed limit.

Factoids
- This episode establishes that the Enterprise was built at the Utopia Planitia Mars colony, eight years ago.
- There were thousands of people involvled in building the Enterprise, according to Troi.

Remarkable Scenes
- Seeing the inside of a warp nacelle.
- Worf "asking permission" of Riker to date Troi.
- Riker: "Worf, you sound like a man asking his friend permission to date his sister."

My Review
Some form of mental attack is causing people aboard ship to become suicidal. It's not very credible that people would immediately think of jumping into a warp nacelle to commit suicide; what's wrong a with a phaser set to kill? It's certainly easier to get ahold of a phaser to kill oneself than it is to jump into a warp nacelle without someone stopping you. The time in this episode is largely wasted on trying to discover the source of all this; not enough time is spent on the developing relationship between Troi and Worf which is what the episode was supposed to have been about.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From Dave on 2006-10-13 at 9:24pm:
    Wasn't the reason they jumped into the warp core is that the dead guy was buried nearby in a bulkhead? They didn't experience the urge to jump until they were on the deck overlooking the core.
  • From Rob on 2008-04-24 at 6:50pm:
    I have to say that your review kind of missed the point. This wasn't about Worf and Troi in the conventional sense... their whole courtship was part of a delusion suffered by Troi (except for Worf's first tentative exploration of starting a relationship with Riker). They never actually got together. And Troi wanted to follow Kwan into the plasma stream because that's where the "empathic echo" was located due to Pierce having committed suicide there after killing the two lovers.
  • From 7 Of 14 on 2008-10-09 at 9:47am:
    To me this episode is a mess; the distinction between reality and the hallucinations was incredibly badly handled and kills the story. I had to read a detailed episode synopsis online to clear the confusion in my mind, a sign the episode fails to work coherently.

    The whole issue of the bones found in the bulkhead doesn’t make any sense as it was all a hallucination anyway. Why would Troi hallucinate such irrelevant details? What a mess; "Sub Rosa" is a thousand times better.
  • From Dave on 2009-01-21 at 9:03pm:
    Bit of a geeky thing this - but hey. I paused this on Lt Kwan's crew record to read what it said. It appears he was posted to the Enterprise and two other starships on the same stardate - not to mention making Lieuteneant on the same date. It also makes no reference to when he served at Utopia Planitia - which Troi says it does. If they're going to go to the effort of creating the computer screen detail, they might as well make it right. Still, digital TV and live pause weren't around at the time....
  • From ElGuapo on 2011-12-12 at 4:22pm:
    If the only reason Troi tried to commit suicide was because her empathic abilities tied into the empathic echo, why did Kwan commit suicide? He wasn't telepathic, so the empathic echo shouldn't have affected him.

    A poorly executed plot line that should have had more focus on Troi and Worf. 3/10
  • From Marvin on 2012-09-08 at 9:48am:
    Plot holes you could fly a starship through.
    As mentioned by Dave, utterly inconsistent data on Lt Kwan.

    Troi makes a big deal of "not seeing these" (pointing to a solar cell!) during her experience, yet they are all over the place during her vision.

    And then we learn that Troi and Worf's liaison, the only piece of real content in the whole episode, takes place during her mind-trip?

    Feeble!
  • From Axel on 2018-05-31 at 12:32am:
    ElGuapo, Troi mentioned earlier in the episode that Kwan is half Napean, apparently a species with some emphatic ability.

    I get a little annoyed by the last few minutes of an episode being just a bunch of exposition that explains everything you've been watching for the other 40 minutes. But, I've never had the challenge of writing a script for a show that will be watched by millions of people. The empathic echo is a bit silly even by sci-fi standards, but not even close to the silliest thing we've seen in Season 7 so far (I reserve that honor for Sub Rosa).

    It was nice to see Worf as something other than the stoic, grumpy warrior he usually is. I give this episode a rating of "meh" which puts it in the 3-5 range.

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Star Trek TNG - 1x04 - Code of Honor

Originally Aired: 1987-10-12

Synopsis:
Tasha is kidnapped. [DVD]

My Rating - 2

Fan Rating Average - 2.84

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 68 23 41 22 31 14 16 10 5 4 8

Filler Quotient: 3, bad filler, totally skippable.
- There is some stuff here which foreshadows Wesley's more prominent role as a member of the crew later, but none of it is essential viewing.

Problems
None

Factoids
- It is heavily implied that the Ligonians use the same transporters as TOS. Even the effects are similar.

Remarkable Scenes
- Data correcting Picard regarding what century the gift originates from.
- Picard's irritation with Beverly wanting to discuss Wesley.
- Picard giving Wesley a chance. "Sir?" then, "Sir?" then Picard says, "Is the whole ship deaf?"
- Data offending Picard when discussing the French language.
- Riker being carefully talked into agreeing that Picard should lead the away team.
- Picard rambling on "about something everybody already knows."

My Review
There is a decent idea for a story about diplomacy here, but it's buried beneath a lot of bad stylistic choices. It's pretty hard not to see the Ligonians as racist stereotyping and the conflict surrounding Yar as sexist stereotyping, particularly the scene where Data described the weapons as so light that even women could use them. Some smaller stylistic choices were awkward too, such as Data of all people tripping over his words with the "includling" line; a vocal mistake that is hard to suspend disbelief on, Beverly's unprofessional panicking about the vaccine, and a series of scenes with stilted dialog that the actors were clearly stumbling over. While the episode does have a few nice details and a few amusing scenes, what we have here is unfortunately mostly cringeworthy.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From DSOmo on 2007-05-27 at 3:49am:
    - While presenting Lutan with the horse statue, Picard says that he is aware of the Ligonian culture's unique similarity to an ancient Earth culture that he "admires." However, later in the episode, Picard states that the customs of the Ligonian culture are the "same kind of pompous strutting charades that endangered our own species a few centuries ago."
    - Just before the battle to the death, we are told: "The rules are known. Let combat continue until there is a victory. It will not be interrupted." But during the battle, when Yareena loses her weapon, Lutan stops the fight. I thought the battle would not be interrupted!! And why is Lutan stopping the fight to return the weapon to Yareena? Doesn't he want Yar to kill his wife so he can inherit her wealth?
  • From Bernard on 2007-09-21 at 6:31pm:
    Another good early effort, that holds up to repeat viewings well. Maybe I'm one of the few that agree with you there!

    Probably one of two episodes where yar is brought to the fore.. she was an interesting enough character with a good background story just a shame denise crosby didn't hang in there for longer

    one aside here, tng at this point is still very much working on the OS premise of 'planet of the week' episodes (coupled with the aliens that look identical to humans)
  • From CAlexander on 2011-03-06 at 5:25pm:
    I'm one who never liked this episode, but it doesn't seem quite as awful now as it did the first time I watched it. The basic concept is not that bad. I think my problems are twofold:
    1. The acting from everyone is painful at the beginning of the episode. It felt like they hadn't gotten the hang of how to do TNG yet and were overreacting to everything in a way reminiscent of TOS, and this didn't work in the context of TNG.
    2. The episode led up to the fight scene at the end, which I found to be quite underwhelming. When rewatching this I had no expectations for the fight scene so it didn't bother me.
  • From Axel on 2018-06-08 at 10:55pm:
    The only way the portrayal of the Ligonians could've been more racist is if the actors had been white people in blackface. Whenever I re-watch TNG's first couple seasons and see aliens in hilariously dumb costumes, I think of these guys and realize it only went uphill.

    Data refers to French as an "obscure language" which of course sets off Picard. This is a bit weird since Data, having the crew's personnel records, would no doubt be aware that Picard has French ancestry and is presumably familiar with the language. But Picard's response must've had some effect, because in "Time's Arrow" we see that Data now speaks fluent French.

    During the fight, Yareena's spikey glove flies off her hand and strikes a spectator. A few seconds later, he keels over, dies, and is carried away by other Ligonians almost as if they were expecting it. Is it also considered honorable in Ligonian society to die from watching honorable combat? Otherwise, poor bastard didn't get the benefits of the Enterprise medical treatment.
  • From Harrison on 2020-01-26 at 1:02pm:
    Political correctness has long demanded that this episode be viewed as an offensive aberration. That's nonsense, of course. Sure, the episode has some typical early TNG plot foibles (eg, the Ligonians were able to develop transport technology?) and the combat scene is a little silly, but overall it is actually a solid effort that explores some interesting themes. Stewart and Crosby are both in great form. It's far more engaging than many early TNG clunkers (like the episode that follows, "The Last Outpost".)
  • From Azalea Jane on 2021-07-03 at 3:23am:
    I basically agree this episode is terrible, but for me, watching it again for the first time in years, it's ventured into "so bad it's good" territory. While I agree it's pretty skippable, I'd say if you're a newbie to TNG, do watch this episode at least once and revel in the cringe. (Protip: you don't have to be sober.)

    A few things I think make it worth a watch:
    - Wes sitting at ops for the first time. Significant, and hilariously awkward. The way it's handled, I can't tell if the producers were *going* for the awkwardness, or not.
    - Has a bit of iconic dialogue that made it into the famous "Picard song" where Troi answers "you're the captain, sir; you're entitled."
    - focus on Yar, which is unfortunately scarce in TNG.
    - the over -the-top cheesy music. It's almost TOS-level campy.
    - Data's attempts at humor. Or rather, the writers' and Brent Spiner's attempts to get a bead on Data's relationship to humor.
    - "Troi, I'm your friend, and you tricked me!

    Problem: Where was Worf? They could have made a lot of use of his character, being from a culture that also places a high emphasis on honor. Very disappointing they didn't work Worf into the plot somehow. (Maybe, just as in "Starship Mine," he called dibs on not having to show up in this episode.)

    It's a strange feeling, watching an episode centered around "the vaccine!" now in mid-2021. Knowing a bit more now about how vaccines are developed and how they work, it seems kind of silly for this episode's MacGuffin to be a vaccine, considering the people on this planet are a different species, and thus would not be able to develop, test, or manufacture a vaccine for any offworld species, let alone manufacture millions of them. They could have had some plant or rare compound used in an antidote, or something. A nitpick, sure, but it's damn lazy writing!

    negative 5/7.
  • From Chuck the Canuck on 2023-05-19 at 9:17am:
    Yes, yes, this episode holds up extremely poorly especially with our post-2020 hindsight. That said, I don't believe in judging it by modern standards; I think even in 1987 it was a bit much, especially when you look back at The Original Series twenty years earlier. Kind of a slap in the face to the progress TOS had made with Uhura.

    I agree this episode is worth watching mainly to see how the actors and writers were working to figure out the show and characters. Spiner and the writing team didn't just create the beloved Data we know from the beginning. It took some trial and error mainly in the first season to sort it out. Same with Picard, who is very, noticeably different in the first season in terms of dialogue and temperament. That exchange with Troi that Azalea Jane mentioned is also a flash of later Picard.

    On a side note, Garrett Wang routinely roasts this episode when he appears at conventions. Apparently, it was the first and only episode of TNG he saw prior to getting cast as Ensign Kim on VOY. So, he came into that show thinking TNG had set a pretty low bar. It wasn't until later that he watched more TNG and became a fan.

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Star Trek TNG - 1x11 - Haven

Originally Aired: 1987-11-30

Synopsis:
Lwaxana Troi tells Deanna of her arranged marriage. [DVD]

My Rating - 2

Fan Rating Average - 3.71

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 18 12 84 13 19 44 12 16 11 6 5

Filler Quotient: 1, partial filler, but has important continuity. I recommend against skipping this one.
- Lwaxana is a recurring character on TNG and DS9 but her appearances are more nice to haves than essential. Watch this episode if you want to follow the Lwaxana arc, but technically no single episode Lwaxana appears in is unskippable.

Problems
None

Factoids
- Majel Barrett plays Lwaxana Troi in this episode. She was Gene Roddenberry's wife and previously appeared as Number One on TOS: The Cage. She also voices the computer.
- Armin Shimmerman, the gift box in this episode, also played one of the Ferengi in TNG: The Last Outpost and eventually goes on to play a regular Ferengi character on DS9 named Quark. He also guest stars as Quark in both a later episode of TNG and Voyager making him one of very few characters/actors to play in at least one episode in all three series.
- This episode was nominated for an Emmy in Outstanding Achievement in Hairstyling for a Series.

Remarkable Scenes
- Lwaxana is so wonderfully arrogant.
- Wyatt and Troi discussing Betazoid marriage ceremony compromise.

My Review
This episode has bland plotting that seems to have been strung together from a series of totally unrelated threads. The episode's name is "Haven" and yet we see virtually nothing of the planet nor do we learn anything about its people beyond the fact that they're friends of the Federation. Then we have the Tarellians, an intriguing concept for what could happen to a civilization that employs biological weaponry and can't control the fallout, but we don't get any depth beyond surface details.

The worst and unfortunately most prominent feature of the story is Wyatt being summoned across the vastness of space due to some sort of psychic connection to Ariana. Aside from being yet another lame use of quasi-religious mumbo jumbo as a lazy sci-fi plot device, there is some additional oddness in the story caused by the fact that the only reason Wyatt could confuse the woman of his dreams with a Betazoid to begin with was due to the fact that Betazoids and Tarellians look identical to each other and also once again identical to humans as well.

By now it is quite odd that nobody seems to find it at all strange that so many alien species look exactly like humans. TOS had this problem too, but TNG's continual compounding of it adds layers of ridiculousness. The height of absurdity here is the fact that we can't actually conclude one way or the other whether or not the inhabitants of Haven are human. Is it a human colony not under the jurisdiction of the Federation? Are they a recurrence of one of the countless previous human-like aliens we've seen from past episodes of TOS and now on TNG too? Are they some new alien that also looks exactly like humans? Who knows! There's no way to know.

What does work well here is the drama surrounding Troi's relationship with Riker and Wyatt. Their scenes are all reasonably compelling and it was also nice to see Betazoid culture fleshed out more. Likewise, Troi's mother Lwaxana was certainly a memorable character for better or worse. Had their story been told against a less horribly lazy alien threat backdrop, it would've turned out better.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From DSOmo on 2007-05-28 at 9:47pm:
    Data: "Could you please continue the 'petty bickering'?" :)

    - The slow approach of the Tarellian ship ... as the vessel draws closer, the tension increases. Picard calmly waits for the plague ship while the Haven government is going crazy. He even allows the ship to get within transporter range. Why doesn't Picard take the Enterprise out of orbit and meet the incoming ship?
    - For a chameleon rose, it doesn't change colors very much. During the time Troi is holding the rose, she becomes visibly upset and embarrassed, the rose stays white.
    - When we first get to see Ariana on the viewscreen, there is a man to her right, sitting in a chair. The chair is made of several spheres. In future episodes, this chair will be seen in Worf's quarters.
  • From Joey Poole on 2007-07-12 at 10:41am:
    While I agree with many of the concerns listed in the main review, I have a real soft spot for this episode. Lwaxana Troi is a great character, and this is a good introduction to her. As pure entertainment, this episode works, due mostly to the interaction between Troi, her mother, and Picard. I also like Riker's reaction to the whole marriage business. I view it as one of the "humor" episodes, and one of the best of those at that.

    My only real problem with this episode is the lame, seemingly random connection between Wyatt (who's a bit of douchebag, by the way) and Ariana. Plus, for the dying remanants of a people killed off by an incurable plague, the Tarellians don't seem very sick.
  • From Bernard on 2008-01-19 at 1:20pm:
    I don't treat this episode with too much scorn, it is to me... average.

    The main problem for me is that I do not care about the terellians or wyatt. If you do not care about either of those by the climax of the story then to me the whole build up has been pointless.

    I do however love majel barrett as lwaxana, and also Mr. Homm. Some really funny bits in this one too as Datas role in comedy is used to good effect here as the perfect straight man.
  • From djb on 2008-01-24 at 10:05pm:
    It's true that this episode is not one of the best, but what I find absolutely remarkable about it is this dialog:

    Lwaxana: "Now the answer to the puzzle of Arianna and you is so simple, it's too simple for most humans to understand."
    Wyatt: "Too simple."
    Lwaxana: "Of course. It's something they all know instinctively yet go to great effort to reject or build complicated superstitions about. All life, Wyatt, all consciousness, is indissolubly bound together, indeed, it's all part of the same thing."

    I was amazed and extremely pleased to find such a fundamental mystical truth exposed in a relatively agnostic TV show!
  • From thaibites on 2009-08-13 at 10:37pm:
    This is one of the worst TNGs I've ever seen. It's one of those episodes where they need to take a break and save some money. Lwaxana is the most unlikeable character in the ST universe. As an American, I've gotten enough bossy, ignorant, demanding white women to last me a lifetime. I certainly don't need it when I just want to be entertained!
  • From CAlexander on 2011-02-20 at 1:18am:
    This episode suffers from a common problem - two plots, one of which you wish they had left out completely. I had no real problem with the wedding plot, it is OK. But the Terellian plot is quite inadequately developed.
    - Totally agree with DSOmo that Picard should have tractored the Terellians long before they reached Haven.
    - No reasonable explanation given for the central point of the episode, the connection between Wyatt and Ariana.
    - No explanation given for why the Terellians appear perfectly healthy. I can explain this (the virus lies dormant until it kills you), but I shouldn't have to, the episode should have done so.
    - It is unclear what the Terellian motivations really were. They make a point of rejecting all communication as they come to infect Haven, then when they are stopped, they start chatting as if they are pleasant people who had done nothing suspicious.
  • From Omcn7 on 2012-01-28 at 1:58pm:
    Ariana? Please stop the hair. I have nightmares about the hair. Wyatt is a moron to want to go with this freak hairdo women. I thought this episode was great for the character development. However, as many have said the plot was sub-par in the least.
  • From Azalea Jane on 2021-07-07 at 3:23am:
    This time, I found this episode oddly entertaining and more interesting than I had anticipated.

    Boy oh boy, has my mind changed on some things, though. I commented here as "djb" (old initials) in 2008 and now I completely disagree with myself. It's not a "mystical truth," it's quasi-spiritual mumbo jumbo! But, then again, the Star Trek universe does have tons of mumbo jumbo in it, so... it's not untrue in-universe, I suppose.

    Putting on my "killjoy feminist" hat for a second: Overall this show is refreshingly not-sexist for the 80s. Hell, there are much later shows that are unwatchable because of the sexism (BBT anyone?). But I like noticing the tiny things that sneak through--not as a "show bad" sort of thing, more of a curiosity. A study of evolving cultural norms, if you will.

    Take Wyatt's commenting more than once on Troi's looks instead of her intelligence, accomplishments, maturity, depth, etc. Or the ridiculous outfit worn by Ariana. Like, don't get me wrong, my lesbian brain is like PRETTY LADY!!1! but her outfit is such obvious pandering and so strikingly unrealistic that it kinda harshes my mellow, as weird as that may seem. Or makes me laugh, depending on my mood. ... Then again, maybe she wanted to look extra nice for the man of her dreams, so she put on her most alluring outfit for him. I'd buy that.
    <takes hat off>

    Data's emotion-spotting: During the reception where the parents fight, Data looks positively amused. Given his "please keep bickering" comment (maybe the best line in the episode), Data seems to be programmed with a rapt interest in petty humanoid conflicts!

    This episode is a must-watch for anyone interested in Riker/Troi's relationship. Here we hear "imzadi" for the first time since the pilot, and find out what it means. I do enjoy their relationship throughout the series. You don't see relationships like theirs on every show, and I think it's handled pretty well.

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Star Trek TNG - 1x16 - Too Short a Season

Originally Aired: 1988-2-8

Synopsis:
The crew encounters legendary negotiator Mark Jameson. [DVD]

My Rating - 2

Fan Rating Average - 4.05

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 14 23 20 12 15 7 13 15 8 10 4

Problems
- Why didn't Riker object to Picard going down with the Admiral? At least he seemed moody about it... And at least he almost barely kinda tried to question it the second time Picard beamed down...

Factoids
None

Remarkable Scenes
- The Admiral's wife's Jealousy yet her contradictory desire NOT to acquire her husband's newfound youth is so perfect.
- The Admiral's "interpretation" of the Prime Directive is great.
- Data: "Their phasers sir, they're set to kill." Picard: "Thank you Mr. Data, I have heard that sound before."

My Review
A most unremarkable and dull episode. The one-two combo of an annoying guest and the total lack of a secondary plot makes the episode seem to drag. In much the same way of many bad original series episodes, this episode takes itself way too seriously which further makes it unpalatable. I feel like the whole time I'm watching the episode, I'm supposed to care about it far more than I do, which detracts from the experience even more. Beyond that, the usual round of cliches. An alien race that looks exactly like humans and a high ranking starfleet official does something stupid. Quite a stinker.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From DSOmo on 2007-06-02 at 2:42pm:
    - A bridge crew can relieve the captain if they unanimously agree that the captain is acting oddly. Also, a doctor can relieve the captain if the doctor thinks the captain is medically unfit for command. Shouldn't the same thing apply to mission commanders? Picard finds out that Jameson: 1) took double the recommended dosage of an alien drug 2) confesses to a direct violation of the Prime Directive (giving weapons) 3) proposes a raid that Picard thinks is questionable. Yet, Picard acts like he has no other recourse but to obey.
    - the drug is "radically changing the cellular structure of his body and rewriting his DNA." Doesn't it seem likely that the drug would also wipe out the scar tissue in Jameson's body?
    - The transporter pad certainly isn't wheelchair-accessible. Jameson, who is confined to a futuristic wheelchair, is beemed on to the transporter pad. How does he get off the pad?
    - When Picard and Riker leaves the bridge to greet Jameson, look very carefully, Picard contorts his entire face just before he enters the turbolift (an outtake??)
  • From Jeff Browning on 2011-09-20 at 2:10pm:
    The Admiral's wife (we never learn her name) had some of the worst acting and most annoying dialog in Star Trek history. The Admiral is plagued with advanced Iverson's disease, a degenerative, incurable and terminal disease that rob it's victim of quality of life before it kills him. The Admiral finds a potential cure that incidental makes him young while saving his life. Is his wife pleased? Not at all. Why? Because she wants to spend more time with husband (while watching him die horribly). It stretches credulity.
  • From Inga on 2011-12-21 at 6:12am:
    Jeff, the Admiral's wife's name is Anne. She was called by her name a couple of times in the episode and at the very end, just before he died, the Admiral called her "Annie with the golden hair"
  • From John on 2012-03-04 at 11:03pm:
    I think maybe what Jeff meant was that we learn her name, but we don't care enough to remember it, because this episode sucks.

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Star Trek TNG - 2x10 - The Dauphin

Originally Aired: 1989-2-20

Synopsis:
Wesley falls for a mysterious young girl. [DVD]

My Rating - 2

Fan Rating Average - 4.03

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 17 15 26 20 21 16 43 6 8 3 4

Problems
- Why is the computer voice different (male) when LaForge asks it for the energy depletion level?
- When Pulaski calls for security, a full team including the captain of the ship (!) walks in a second later. Sorry, that's just not possible. Not even for Hollywood.
- When Wesley and Selia are standing on the asteroid on the holodeck, a big point is made about the sound they're hearing. Uhh, hello? No sound in space?

Factoids
- The Federation at this time has charted 19% of the galaxy.

Remarkable Scenes
- Picard: "Mr Worf, have our passengers accommodations met with their approval?" Worf: "I doubt if anything ever meets with that woman's approval... sir."
- Worf's description of the Klingon mating ritual.
- Riker seducing Guinan.
- Anya: "I cannot rely on your primitive technologies! Kill the patient."
- Worf and Anya coming to blows.
- Mutual respect gestures from Anya and Worf in the ending.

My Review
If you don't find the idea of shape shifters pretending to be human or a love story centered around Wesley very entertaining, then this is most definitely not the episode for you. There are aspects of this episode that are quite entertaining generally, but by and large the episode is quite routine with very little contention and intrigue.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From DSOmo on 2007-06-24 at 12:15am:
    - At the beginning of the show, Wesley is helping Geordi in Engineering. At this time, Picard is talking with Anya. Before beaming aboard, Anya asks what species they are. From events later in the episode, it is obvious why Anya asked this question. Wesley realizes this fact in one of his last conversations with Salia. But how did Wesley know that Anya asked the question of species in the first place? He was in Engineering at the time, and the question itself is seemingly pointless, not the type of thing to be repeated readily.
    - As Picard escorts Anya and Salia to their quarters, Wesley steps off a turbolift, carrying the SCM Model 3, and sees Salia for the time. The numbers on the turbolift doors are "22." What is Wesley doing on deck 22? He already has the SCM, shouldn't he be headed back to Engineering on deck 36?
    - Why is Wesley so offended to learn that Salia could change her shape? I think it would be fun, "Let's try blonde today, maybe a little taller, how about some bigger ...." ;)
    - During the episode "Where No One Has Gone Before," Kozinski states that in the past three hundred years, humanity has charted only 11 percent of the galaxy. Wesley tells Salia that they have charted 19 percent of the galaxy. The Federation has been busy!! (or someone is wrong)
    - When the Enterprise arrives at Daled IV, the atmosphere of the planet interferes with their communications. The Enterprise can't even talk to these people, and they can still transport Salia down? Isn't the transporter usually the first thing to go? It seems reasonable that transporting living beings would be a lot more difficult to accomplish than communication.
  • From JRPoole on 2008-01-25 at 12:58pm:
    I gave this episode a 1.

    "The Dauphin" offends my sensibilities for a couple of reasons. First, virtually all Wesley-centered episodes (especially the earlier ones) are terrible and this is no exception. I realize that Wesley is an adolescent, but his actions in this episode are ridiculous. He loves this girl? Please. They've known each other for about, what 3 days? Why doesn't Geordi snatch a knot in Wesley's ass for not having his head in the game when they're performing maintence on the engines? Again, I realize Wesley's an adolescent, but he's also a serving ensign on the ship, and he can worry about poontang when the work's done. Isn't that the very kind of thing he's supposed to be learning? It seems he already knows everything there is to know about the Enterprise.

    The Wesley episodes always leave me cold because they're a waste of a character. Instead of doing something worthwhile with the character, they churn out shlock. His wide-eyed boy wonder sthick gets old really fast, and this episode is an prime example.

    In additon to the problems already mentioned, I submit the following:

    --I don't buy the sickbay scene. If these shape-shifter beings are really some sort of "light energy" beings, are they really in danger from a virus?

    --Why is the crew incredulous that shape-shifting beings exist? They act like they've got the Loch Ness monster or Sasquatch on their hands, but this has been established before. Iman's character in Star Trek III is a shapeshifter, and there are a few more examples as well.

    --The teddy bear incarnation of Anya is incredibly stupid.

    --This isn't necessarily a problem, but it's underdeveloped. At one point, Picard (I think it was Picard, anyway) hopes that the Federation can establish "formal relations" with Daled IV. Isn't ferrying their new leader around the galaxy something that should qualify as "formal relations"? How is it that the flagship of the Federation comes to be the personal taxi service of a planet they don't seem to know anything about at all?

    --Is it just me, or does the scene between Guinan and Riker just not jive with Guinan's character somehow?

    --Worf's final exchange with Anya is painful to watch.
  • From rpeh on 2010-08-25 at 7:52am:
    For some reason, I quite like this episode. There's a decent amount of technobabble like "In a moment, the harmonic resonance from the neutrino clouds will become synchronous"(!!!!!). There are basic mistakes - you already mentioned the sound in space, but how about you can see the planet rotating? It would fly apart if it was spinning that fast. There are bad alien costumes.

    But... it works. For some reason I don't find Wesley objectionable in this one, and the love story is quite believable. I like the interaction between Anya and Worf. I'm not claiming it's brilliant, but I'll give it a 6.
  • From Jeff Browning on 2011-09-22 at 7:54pm:
    Some of the worst special effects in the history of Star Trek. Even much of TOS was better than this! The shape shifting scenes were embarrassing.
  • From Inga on 2011-12-30 at 5:34pm:
    Salia's true form somehow reminds me of the Companion from the TOS episode "Metamorphosis".

    Also, I agree with JRPoole - Worf's final exchange with Anya WAS painful to watch :/
  • From One Moon Circles eyes in the dark on 2012-02-27 at 12:40am:
    Falling in love your first time as an adolescent actually does happen when not even knowing each other and it can happen in just 2 days. I can testify to this from personal experience. :) Other than that this episode is just so wrong in so many ways I don't even know where to start. I gave this one a 1. The last episode was a hard one to follow but this one didn't even make an attempt.
  • From Azalea Jane on 2021-07-15 at 10:12pm:
    Ah, young love. It's true, adolescent experiences of "love" can seem trivial through the mists of time, but for them it's pretty damn powerful. And yes, it's possible to get *very* attached to someone over just a few days! Even at 39, I'm not too jaded to watch the scenes between Wes and Salia and feel a little bit of it myself. I think the two actors did quite well together. I even teared up when Wes came to say goodbye, but I'm a sap and I accept that. Kudos to Geordi for realizing Wes was gonna be useless for a little while and validating to Wes how intense puberty is.

    I have a soft spot for this ep for a couple reasons, and NONE of them have anything to do with having a huge crush on Salia, nope! How dare you even suggest that!

    - Worf's rather licentious description of Klingon sex.
    "what does the man do?"
    "he reads love poetry. ... he ducks a lot."
    Cracks me up every time.

    - Guinan's and Riker's (mock?) flirting. Fantastic. Almost sounds like they're reciting a famous play or something. Guinan: "shut up, kid." Thirsty Guinan, rare form!

    - Guinan's insight to Wes at the end. I've always loved it. "Each one feels different" may sound like a basic lesson in love, but it's one worth hearing anyway. Wes won't feel the same way again, and that's OK. Salia will be unique to him in that way.

    It's not a great episode, but I don't think it tries to be. For me it's enjoyable for what it is.

    Worf: "do not be fooled by her looks. The body is just a shell." Indeed.

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Star Trek TNG - 2x19 - Manhunt

Originally Aired: 1989-6-19

Synopsis:
Picard is subjected to Lwaxana's amorous advances. [DVD]

My Rating - 2

Fan Rating Average - 3.23

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 41 11 15 16 24 8 12 6 6 6 4

Problems
- Lwaxana speaking during transport at the end is a little ridiculous.

Factoids
- Mick Fleetwood, the drummer for the band Fleetwood Mac, played the Antedean dignitary in this episode after requesting a cameo role on Star Trek TNG

Remarkable Scenes
- O'Brien appearance.
- Worf admiring the comatose aliens.
- Lwaxana's reaction to the transporter / comatose aliens.
- Mister Homn drinks the whole bottle Picard brought in one swig.
- Picard using Data to get revenge on Lwaxana for her deception.
- Picard relaxing whilst the hologram wants to kill him.
- Picard with a cigarette.
- Lwaxana being tricked by the holodeck.
- Lwaxana discovering the assassins.

My Review
Lwaxana's "amorous advances" in this episode took obnoxious to a new level. As is the way she always treats Troi like a child. All in all this episode focuses on Lwaxana's non-issue of attempting to find a mate and not on anything that matters. There were some nice moments though, so not a total waste of time.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From DSOmo on 2007-07-01 at 2:49am:
    - Given Lwaxana's dislike and distrust for transporters, why are they beaming her aboard the ship? She is traveling in a "small transport craft." A shuttle craft? Why not just dock the craft in one of the shuttle bays and let her walk off. But then we wouldn't have had the "Legs, where are the legs?" scene.
    - Doesn't Troi have a dress uniform? Every time the delegates come or go, Captain Picard gets in his dress uniform, but Troi wears the same outfit for the whole show.
    - Troi takes her mother out into the hall to have an intimate conversation about her mother's condition (because Mr. Homm is in Lwaxana's quarters). On top of that, they have the conversation out loud when they could communicate telepathically. Not a very private conversation!
    - After exposing the Antedian assassins, Lwaxana states that it was quite easy for her to read their minds. If it was so easy, why wasn't Troi at least able to get a sense that the Antedians were up to no good?
    - In "The Big Good-bye," Picard begins coughing immediately after lighting up a cigarette. In this episode, Picard just starts puffing away.
    - Also, in "The Big Good-bye" Picard wore his uniform into the holodeck the first time he entered. Several holodeck creations commented that he looked like a bellboy. In this episode, Riker wears his uniform into Rex's bar and no one gives it a second look.
  • From JRPoole on 2008-02-15 at 10:20am:
    I agree with the overall sentiment on this episode, but it makes me smile, so I can't hate it altogether.

    I have a hard time believing that Lwaxana doesn't know what a holodeck is, but the bit with she and Picard in her quarters is priceless. The alien-of-the-week here was ridiculous as well.
  • From Orion Pimpdaddy on 2009-05-04 at 11:11am:
    The first half of the show has a lot of funny moments that are fun to rewatch. The seconf half, after Picard steps onto the holodeck for some Dixon Hill, is very boring.
  • From Rob Herbert on 2010-06-22 at 10:11am:
    It's worth noting that Robert O'Reilly, who plays the wide-eyed villain who grabs Dix/Picard's lapels in the Holodeck returns in the future, still with wild, staring eyes, as Gowron.
  • From Ry-Fi on 2010-08-14 at 5:39am:
    After Lwaxana passes on choosing Worf as a mate, saying "Pity, you'd have made a fine choice", the shot switches to Worf for a second, then back to her. Is it just me, or does she look down at his crotch for a split second and smile before looking back up and turning around?

    I burst out laughing when I saw that! It would in no way surprise me if that was an intentioned little flair that Majel threw in there. What an AMAZING woman she is! Her acting nuances are sublime!

    :-D
  • From CAlexander on 2011-04-15 at 11:12am:
    There are a couple of cute scenes, but basically this episode is pointless. Not to mention that I find Lwaxana painful to watch.
  • From Jeff Browning on 2011-10-20 at 3:48pm:
    Everyone is always hating' on Lwaxana,when I love her! I suppose she is an acquired taste, though.

    This girl has an organizing principle to her life: She just wants to get laid. She is so deliciously ranchy and blatant in her sexual appetites.

    The problem is: With her level of nobility, sex must be accompanied by marriage. (I love it when she recites her titles: "daughter of the seventh house, holder of the sacred chalice of reeks, heir to the rings of Betazed". It's particularly great when Deanna points out that the sacred chalice of reeks is just "an old clay pot with mold growing in it".)

    You get the imoression that she would love it if she could just blow all of that off and go shag someone.
  • From John on 2012-03-08 at 10:59am:
    re-watching this episode and I just noticed something: when Riker is on the bridge telling Wesley and Data about Ms. Troi complimenting the captain about his legs, Data is shown laughing.

    I repeat: DATA IS LAUGHING. At this point he doesn't have an emotion chip and Q isn't helping him, so why is this not a big deal to any of the other crew members. I'm guessing Spiner just maybe adlibbed it or something? Still, it's very odd that it's not a big deal, given that one of Data's goals is to learn to laugh.
  • From Dstyle on 2013-08-21 at 4:48pm:
    Maybe I missed a similar interaction in the first Lwaxana episode, but I love the moment when she interacts with the ship's computer. Majel Barrett acting opposite Majel Barrett!
  • From Arianwen on 2018-07-26 at 9:38am:
    @John re. Data laughing: in an earlier episode this season Data is shown practicing laughter, so I think this is only continuity. It sounds quite unnatural, too ("Ha ha ha ha!") and you can even see the moment where he goes "ah, this is a place where laughter is socially appropriate".

    ...oh god, this is my life now.
  • From Azalea Jane on 2021-07-22 at 2:33am:
    Egads, Lwaxana is over the top. This "phase" she's supposedly in doesn't just make her horny; it makes her *stupid.* (Protip to the writers: those are different things!)

    Data emotionspotting: do you see how excited he is to get into character and get back on the holodeck? He's like a little kid! It's rather cute.

    Those fish-like aliens are fascinating to look at.

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Star Trek TNG - 4x08 - Future Imperfect

Originally Aired: 1990-11-12

Synopsis:
Riker awakens to find that 16 years have passed. [DVD]

My Rating - 2

Fan Rating Average - 6.15

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 18 4 14 7 12 10 32 59 51 18 15

Problems
None

Factoids
- Riker's "wife" Minuet is actually the holographic woman from TNG: 11001001.
- Andreas Katsulas, who plays Tomalak in this episode later went on to play G'Kar on Babylon 5.

Remarkable Scenes
- It's fun trying to notice all the small differences in the pseudo future. Beverly's hair, the communicators, a Ferengi helmsman, and more.
- The computer being slow.
- Geordi without his visor.
- Data in red.
- Riker's son... Jean-Luc
- Riker getting on everybody's case when he found out the deception.
- Riker telling Picard to shut up.

My Review
This episode is simply put, cute. I like the funny looking alien at the end and the innocence of the whole thing. It made for a fun episode, but the circumstances leave much to be desired. All this buildup about a Romulan conspiracy left me hoping for a Romulan ending. We didn't get it. Maybe the Romulans were the invaders that obliterated Ethan's people? But we're never told. As a result of these circumstances, I found this episode largely disappointing.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From DSOmo on 2007-08-19 at 2:03pm:
    - In Riker's future, Troi has left the Enterprise to work at Starfleet command. Was he lying when he tells her, "I can't imagine you ever leaving the Enterprise"? Evidently he could image her leaving, since Riker's thoughts are driving the holographic generators!
    - Troi says Riker will sign the new treaty between the Federation and the Romulan Empire. Riker will sign the treaty? He's just a captain of a starship. Leaders and diplomats sign treaties, not captains.
    - Everyone shows signs of age in the "imperfect future." Everyone, except for Ogawa. She looks unchanged.
    - When the boy takes Riker to his secret hiding place, he pulls out plans that he made of the tunnels. In the long shot, the plans are made out of a transparent plastic. In the close-up, the plans are on a thick white paper (not transparent.)
  • From CAlexander on 2011-03-20 at 9:25pm:
    I generally liked watching this episode, it was interesting and suspenseful until the ending. The ending itself, however, was quite disappointing. A good plot twist should make the preceding events make perfect sense. But the second plot twist doesn't any sense out of the events before the first plot twist. If the alien boy just wanted a companion, why the convoluted future which seemed to be trying to get Riker to trust the Romulans and betray the location of Outpost 23? It seemed like the writers built up an episode that would require a really clever ending to make sense of, then couldn't think of a clever ending.
  • From tigertooth on 2011-05-30 at 8:48pm:
    I really liked the double-twist of the ending. To answer CAlexander, perhaps the kid knew that Riker would sense that this wasn't real, so he concocted a double-twist figuring that Riker would see through the first one, but not realize there was a second layer of deception.

    Also, it was a kid. Maybe he wasn't the most cunning adversary Riker has ever faced.
  • From rwe on 2011-08-17 at 4:14am:
    The only real shortcoming of this episode is the true appearance of the alien at the very end. It is ridiculous. It's like one of the aliens from Close Encounter of the Third Kind, complete with large bug eyes and long, twitchy fingers, but even more ludicrous.

    The episode itself was very well done, even though it doesn't really tie into any ongoing arcs or story lines (so it's essentially what the reviewer would call filler).

    I like the new look of the uniforms and seeing people in new positions - "Admiral" Picard for instance. The very concept of having the entire star trek TNG universe instantly moved forward 16 years was great (even though fraudulent).

    The revelations and plot twists were excellent. Just the first one about it all being a Romulan deception would've been satisfactory, but the writers up the ante and twist it all one more time in the end. Really quite fantastic.

    I like the clues about it all being a hologram - how the ship's computer was lagged and how Troi couldn't come up with a fully convincing reason for leaving the Enterprise... I do take some issue with the main clue, the one about Minuet...

    ...it's a bit fuzzy how the holographic process (whether it's Ethan doing it, or the equipment itself, or some mixture of the two, it's not clear) could recreate everything and cast the Enterprise crew so perfectly, and yet screw up on Minuet.

    But maybe it makes sense, I don't even know. In any case, this is a fun episode.
  • From Jeff Browning on 2011-09-30 at 7:09pm:
    A couple of issues:

    1. At the beginning of the episode, Geordi says he is detecting traces of "organic gases, including nitrous oxide, hydrogen sulfide, and methane". Of these three, only methane is organic. The other two are inorganic.

    2. The ability of the alien to scan Riker's thoughts and construct a false reality was only partially explained. The alien shows Riker the devices ( similar to holoemitters ) that allow the alternate reality to be created. But the ability to scan Riker's thoughts is never explained.
  • From Jason on 2011-10-14 at 5:02pm:
    Great overall episode, but the last 30 seconds with the reveal of the alien is one of the most unintentionally hilarious things I've ever witnessed.
  • From Axel on 2018-05-31 at 10:33pm:
    Yes, the alien looked ridiculous, but keep in mind this episode was produced in 1990. People had been watching Spielberg movies for years, and were used to seeing aliens like this. Digital animation was still a long way off, and TV shows with limited budgets usually had to dress up their aliens in costume. I don't really knock this episode much for the true appearance of the alien, although I did laugh as well when I first saw it. Or maybe it was when I heard it speak using its natural voice.

    Anyway, the ending is a disappointment but it was an interesting concept and had a fairly gripping plot for about 95% of the episode. The part where Riker first discovers that he's in a fantasy was really well done, and featured some nice continuity with 11001001. I give it a 6.
  • From CAlexander on 2019-04-01 at 12:13am:
    I re-watched the episode carefully and realized another factor that makes no sense. If Ethan's goal is to spend more time with Riker, adding the Romulan plot to the fantasy is counter-productive, as it causes Riker to spend more time dealing with the "negotiations" and less time with his "family".

    Nevertheless, I do quite enjoy the first 75% of the episode and the whole idea of waking up in the future.

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Star Trek TNG - 4x17 - Night Terrors

Originally Aired: 1991-3-18

Synopsis:
The crew is threatened by hallucinations and panic. [DVD]

My Rating - 2

Fan Rating Average - 5.11

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 20 9 16 14 12 28 19 18 17 12 18

Problems
None

Factoids
None

Remarkable Scenes
- O'Brien freaking out at Keiko for no good reason.
- Picard hearing his door chime in his head even though it wasn't there.
- Picard freaking out in the turbolift.
- Good continuity with TNG: The Best of Both Worlds with Data's mentioning of their attempted (but failed) technique using the deflector dish as a possible means of escape from this situation.
- Beverly trying to convince herself that she was hallucinating when all the bodies sat up.
- People starting to slur their speech.
- Worf attempting suicide.
- Troi discovering that emitting hydrogen is the solution.
- Guinan breaking out her gun.
- Data becoming acting captain.

My Review
Wondeful, we get to watch everyone go insane! And we get to watch Troi have nightmares! By the end of this episode, I was becoming as sleepy as our main characters were. The plot was horribly slow and even repetitive. While the conclusion wasn't obvious per se, it was not all that surprising. O'Brien and Keiko's appearance was a plus, but it does little to improve a rather dismal episode, especially since O'Brien was acting like such a prick. The overall low point had to be the brawl in ten forward, which Guinan handled quite nicely. It was nice to see Data take charge as well, but overall I found this episode somewhat offensive.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From Orion Pimpdaddy on 2006-05-11 at 10:02pm:
    Problem:
    In some of the scences where Troi is "flying" you can clearly see strings attached to her butt.
  • From DSOmo on 2007-08-24 at 7:31pm:
    - When the crew looks for a way to create a massive explosion and escape the rift, no one mentions setting the Brattain to self-destruct. Wouldn't an uncontrolled overload of a warp drive system cause a pretty good bang?
    - When looking for a message to send the aliens, Data scans through the available elements on the Enterprise. One shot shows the elements zipping by, from bottom to top. When Troi spots hydrogen, she tells Data to stop and go back. The next shot shows the elements scrolling slower, but they are still scrolling from bottom to top. It would confuse the hell out of me, going forward or backward through information and having it move in the same direction.
  • From Mark McC on 2008-12-30 at 11:42am:
    At one point we're told the ship doesn't have enough power left to replicate any explosive elements. Maybe if they shut down all those replicators producing synthahol in Ten-Forward they might have had more power and saved themselves the embarassment of a bar-room brawl.

    It was convenient that Data decided to visually review the elements available on the offchance that Troi would look over his shoulder and spot something that correlated with her dream. Normally he would have just accessed his memory banks for the information instead of slowly (by his speed) scrolling through them on a terminal.
  • From CAlexander on 2011-04-29 at 12:16am:
    The plot of the episode is good in the abstract. But I agree that it progresses rather slowly and without a lot of interesting things happening. And Troi's silly-looking dream sequences are definitely not the high point of the episode.
  • From ok@ok.ok on 2011-08-26 at 4:32am:
    This was a fairly decent episode. I like the explanation behind what was happening, and I like how we never actually see the aliens or get a clear shot of their ship... all we get is some indication that they were in the exact same quandary, and could only communicate briefly and indirectly, hoping on a whim that someone will figure out what's needed...

    Seeing Data as acting captain was awesome.

    Seeing Guinan pull out some crazy plasma rifle from behind the counter was amusing.

    As for everyone going more or less insane, well I feel like there were a few missed opportunities here... but at the same time there were some nice subtleties, for instance Crusher trying to tap her com badge and missing the first time (there were a few of these very subtle, easily missed things). Also Wharf being late to a meeting. Things like that which vaguely hint that something just isn't right.

    So, maybe not great but certainly not awful, and the premise and explanation hold up and are surprising and interesting enough.
  • From Jeff Browning on 2011-09-30 at 4:52pm:
    This episode had two basic problems, in my view:

    1. The plot was too simplistic. There just wasn't enough here. Almost all good star trek episodes consist of two story lines woven together. For example, in TNG: Family you have the threads of Picard on Earth with his brother's family, and Worf on the Enterprise with his adoptive parents. (In that episode you even get a bit of a third with Wesley and his father's holorecording.) Another great example is TNG: Galaxy's Child where you have the two threads of the space creature and Geordi's relationship with the holographic Dr. Leah Brahms. In this episode we have just a tiny bit of that with the crew's struggle with lack of REM sleep and Troi's issue with nightmares. But effectively these issues are one and the same. Thus, there is just not enough storyline here to sustain a one hour episode. Effectively, the plot summary becomes:

    A. Enterprise gets stuck.
    B. The crew's condition deteriorates.
    C. Trio has bad dreams in which she flies around in a very unflattering outfit.
    D. Repeat steps B and C a truly mind numbing number of times.
    E. Enterprise gets unstuck.

    2. The music sucks. Not only was it very consistent ( reinforcing the repetitive nature of the episode itself ), but it consists almost entirely of this depressing dirge. It certainly did not help to improve the episode.
  • From Bronn on 2013-11-07 at 8:04pm:
    The Troi flying stuff is what really ruined this for me. It's not that I hate every episode in which she's featured, it's just that when she's featured, the writers often had her saying stuff repeatedly, with highest level possible of melodrama. "I have to find you! I have to tell you...!" That was a terrible climax for this episode. Face of the Enemy was a great episode in which she was featured because she wasn't constantly repeating herself, or using a melodramatic delivery.

    The funny thing is, that was a beautifully creepy dream sequence if they didn't have her take off flying. The effects were fairly nice-greenish clouds with the moon circling, always in her line of sight. Having her constantly walking through it with that music playing actually WORKS as a nightmarish dream sequence. Having her flying around in that leotard turns it on its head. It's also ridiculous that it took them all the way until season six to realize that they needed to give her a uniform.
  • From Axel on 2015-03-23 at 11:28pm:
    Great concept for an episode, but poorly executed. This had the makings of a really good Troi moment. Instead of always saying things that are blindingly obvious or telling the captain she senses...something...from some aliens, Troi is the key to solving a dilemma that the ship is facing. It's a situation for which her Betazoid powers are perfectly suited.

    Unfortunately, she puts too much drama into the role. There are also scripting problems. Her telepathic dialogue with the other Betazoid and aliens stuck in the rift sounds awkward and child-like.

    Overall I like the story for this one. But this is a rare case where the cast's acting just doesn't seem on point. They do this eery sci-fi type of stuff quite well in other episodes, but here it's fumbled.

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Star Trek TNG - 5x06 - The Game

Originally Aired: 1991-10-28

Synopsis:
Wesley returns to find the crew addicted to a game. [DVD]

My Rating - 2

Fan Rating Average - 4.13

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 57 16 29 9 14 18 20 35 17 13 13

Problems
None

Factoids
- Boothby's second mentioning, by Wesley.

Remarkable Scenes
- Wesley and Data discussing the acadamy.
- Data mentioning Beverly's dancing skills. A connection with TNG: Data's Day.
- Geordi: "Tell'm to flip a coin!" Data: "A coin. Very good. I will replicate one immediately."
- Wesley mentioning Boothby.
- Beverly pushing the game on Wesley.
- Wesley and Lefler tinkering with the game trying to figure out how it works.
- Wesley in the turbolift with an addict.
- Data unbrainwashing everyone.

My Review
This episode has a number of problems at the basic level. Firstly, we never see Lefler again. Second, if brainwashing people is this easy, why isn't it done all the time? Third, who the hell are the Ktarians and why do they want to take over Federation starships? Fortunately we get to learn a little bit more about the Ktarians later, mostly thanks to Voyager. But still, this episode seemed wholly random and without much purpose.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From Pete Miller on 2006-04-15 at 7:10pm:
    This episode just plain sucks, and a 2 is way too generous. First of all, Wesley coming back from Starfleet academy to discover that his mother and everyone else he loves are basically heroin addicts is just ridiculously cruel. What a horrific welcome back episode. Secondly, the Lefler character is so charismatic, beautiful, and just damn likeable and they NEVER bring her back. She had the potential to be one of the best minor characters ever. Thanks Rick.

    Thirdly, the premise is stupid. A game is just sooo addictive that everyone on the whole enterprise is seduced by it. I can buy Riker getting addicted, and maybe even Picard (although probably not), but WORF??? No way in hell Worf would ever play the game. For the sake of justification, perhaps Picard ordered him to play it. Either way, it's just stupid beyond reason.

    Lastly, no one ever apologizes. Yes, I know that they weren't "themselves", but they seemed to remember what they did. Therefore, the idea that Wesley would leave without so much as an apology from anyone is completely absurd. Then again, this episode is completely absurd, and it pisses me off every time I watch it. The only thing saving it from a zero is that at least it doesn't break canon, and Lefler is a thoroughly enjoyable character.
  • From DSOmo on 2007-09-06 at 4:47am:
    - When Riker wants to introduce the game to Troi, he finds her in Ten-Forward. He finds her enjoying a bowl of chocolate ice cream. She proceeds to describe for him the ritual of eating chocolate. Isn't it a little late in the series for new expositional material between Troi and Riker? Riker acts like he's never seen Troi eat a bowl of chocolate ice cream before. She is doing it in Ten-Forward. Obviously this isn't a ritual she observes only in private. This is the fifth season, and Troi and Riker supposedly knew and dated each other before either joined the Enterprise. How could he never have seen this before?
    - Picard tells Riker that Wesley will arrive by shuttle. Yet when Wesley does arrive, he beams in from a science vessel.
    - When Robin tells Wesley he needs to calibrate the sensors manually, he balks. He then tells Robin that the computer must do it. Of course, she proves him wrong by marching over and demonstrating. Has Starfleet Academy ruined Wesley? This is the same guy who turned a tractor beam into a repulser beam in his head when everyone said it was impossible. This is also the guy who helped the engineers reroute power when an alien entity took over the ship. He did both of these things when merely a child, and now that he's in Starfleet Academy he doesn't know how to calibrate a sensor manually?
    - Does it strike anyone else as odd that Picard will play the game but Wesley won't?
    - When Crusher and Worf come looking for Wesley, they find Wesley and Robin on Wesley's bed, simulating the game-playing using mock-ups. Crusher and Worf leave satisfied. Wesley never puts the mock-up on again. Wouldn't it make more sense for him and Robin to continue to wear the game and fake the pleasure?
    - While Wesley prepares to elude the crew, he tells Robin that he programmed a site-to-site transport program. This all makes sense because it would allow Wesley to beam from anywhere to anywhere on the ship. In the actual beaming, Wesley beams from a hallway to a transporter pad! That's not site-to-site, that's normal transport. In fact, because Wesley uses normal transport, Geordi can locate him, telling Picard that Wesley ended up on deck 6.
  • From djb on 2008-03-26 at 3:43am:
    For some reason, this is one of my favorite episodes. Probably has something to do with childhood memories.

    The premise and ramifications of such a simple brainwashing device are a bit scary. I think they could have made it more believable with a few modifications. Also, it's good to see Wesley back for an ep, but sadly it's yet another installment in the "Wesley and/or Data save the day" vein, of which there have been far too many. Lefler is a great character (and Ashley Judd's looks certainly don't hurt), but it's a shame we don't see that character again. I guess we can add her to the long list of guest stars we'd love to see more of but we never hear from again, of which, there are, again, far too many. (Probably a budget thing.)

    That being said, this episode has a lot of good moments. Riker's face when he first gets a hit from the game is great. Wesley flirting with Robin is great, but then again, I'm a romantic. Seeing all the characters brainwashed is a freaky sight! People we know and love and trust week after week, all turned into evil zombies. Contrived, but fun. Watching our cute couple figure out what the "Game" really does, figuring out what's wrong with Data, and pretending to be brainwashed, is fun and entirely believable, given how brilliant both of them are. I also liked the chase scene. It reminded me of The Hunted from season 3.

    Data's coming on the bridge and snapping everyone out of it is a pretty badass moment. Even though Data saving the ship (yet again) is an old plot device, it is still believable, and fun to watch.

    One little nitpicky thing-- when Worf and Riker force Wesley's eyes open. He blinks, indicating they haven't really got his eyes forced open. That's a pretty difficult thing to do; you pretty much need a speculum if you want to do it without actually touching/hurting the person's eyes (as in "A Clockwork Orange"). But they could at least have used a take where he didn't blink.

    I'd have to agree with the problems in plot/execution that others have mentioned; taking all that into account I'd normally give it a 4, but tilt it up to 5 or 6 because... well, I liked it. Flawed in concept, but well-executed, and memorable.
  • From Rob UK on 2014-02-02 at 11:47pm:
    Sad to say i am also a hater of this episode but no surprise here it is for completely unusual reasons.

    Firstly, the potential for drugs(or technology that alters the chemicals of the brain responsible for perception) that alter the mind in sci-fi is phenomenal (just look at farscape), it is totally wasted here with a lackluster effort, the crazy leaps that the viewer must make to understand how each character other than beardy Bill the sex fiend got tricked into playing long enough to get hooked, Bill was getting booty when he got hooked, be honest who hasn't been there in life more times than they care to remember, deviant sexual interest with a big bag of naughty that you promised yourself you were not going to have any of and definitely go to work monday morning?

    I think you could call that a sidetrack, anyway where was i?

    For me what made this episode the most painful was all the orgasms faces we had to endure as our crew 'score goals' in the game, Dr Krushers were particularly excruciating but i literally thanked the powers that be when we were spared Picard's 'jizzface' when he put the game on just after Wes tried to get a shipwide investigation going, just thank the heavens and the hells that he wasn't very good at it I say. Sadly i was not saved as i have a visceral imagination that has a mind of it's own and as the scene cuts away with Picard looking like he is gonna take a shit with concentration the minds eye continues the scene on until he gets his release, i apologise profusely to anyone reading this who also has a vivid imagination that can run away with itself visually and did with that imagery.
  • From Mike on 2016-10-27 at 3:39am:
    I was hoping that the ending of this episode would be Wesley waking up and realizing that this game business was just a horrifying nightmare, as it was for us, the fans. Only in a dream could the entire crew be reduced to worthless imbeciles while Wesley and a young Ashley Judd save the day.

    This is the first of two episodes (the other being "Rascals") in which the Enterprise is easily taken over by buffoonery. Not proud moments for the Federation flagship.
  • From Keefaz on 2017-01-07 at 7:31pm:
    My girlfriend and I are watching through all the TNG on Netflix, and I think this is the first episode we really struggled to sit all the way through. 2 or 3 times we almost turned it off.

    It is so bad, and all the creepy close-ups and orgasm faces are painful to watch. The Troi ice-cream scene is especially eye-numbingly terrible. The only saving grace is the cute romance between Wes and Lefler, and you're really clutching at straws when that could be a highlight.
  • From ChristopherA on 2019-04-30 at 10:22am:
    I noticed many of the issues others have complained about with this episode, but I liked it anyway. I thought Wesley and Robin were likeable, the possessed Enterprise crew were creepy, and the episode was exciting to watch. Not my favorite, it does have a lot of issues, but a fine average episode.
  • From jeffenator 98 on 2019-09-06 at 1:19pm:
    Law #103 All Wesley saves the ship episodes suck. 2/10
  • From Chuck the Canuck on 2023-05-12 at 1:38pm:
    "I'd like to know more about it before I try it," says Wesley. I guess aside from Lefler, none of the 1000+ other people aboard the ship thought of that.

    I think the biggest plot hole here is that Crusher and Riker call Geordi to look at Data before they get him addicted to the game. Wouldn't he have done the exact same thing Wesley does later in order to figure out what's wrong with Data? Wesley even says he's one of the experts on Data.

    The most entertaining parts of this episode are the looks and sounds people make as they play the game.

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Star Trek TNG - 5x14 - Conundrum

Originally Aired: 1992-2-17

Synopsis:
Mass amnesia strikes the Enterprise crew. [DVD]

My Rating - 2

Fan Rating Average - 6.23

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 19 3 6 7 21 10 14 40 35 29 19

Problems
- How could Data lose at chess? To Troi? I mean come on...

Factoids
None

Remarkable Scenes
- Worf proclaiming himself captain.
- Data the bartender.
- Worf humbling himself.
- Ro Laren and Troi both pursuing Riker.
- Data speculating on his origins.
- Riker being confronted by his women in the end.

My Review
This episode doesn't make a whole lot of sense. If the alien memory eraser guy had such control over which information the crew could remember, had forgotten, and could retrieve, why didn't he just make himself captain? Or replace the entire bridge crew? Not that this story is technically impossible in the world of Trek, it's just absurd. I only give zeros to stories so impossible that they have to be dropped from canon. This story isn't anywhere near that bad, so it gets one point by default and an extra point for the excellent humor.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From Pete Miller on 2006-04-22 at 8:50pm:
    I didn't care for this one. I agree that it is absurd. And with all due respect to the writers, it's extremely predictable to the average trek fan. Once I saw the MacDuff character, I thought for a moment that it was some redshirt, but then the three pips on the collar, and the whole plot came into focus.

    Also, it's very cheap that Guinan just happens to be absent from this episode. Judging from previous episodes, she would undoubtably know exactly what is going on. But then I guess there would be no episode :)

    The one thing I did enjoy was worf and riker kicking that guy's ass at the end.
  • From Orion Pimpdaddy on 2006-05-15 at 6:32pm:
    Conundrum is classic Star Trek. The characters get to explore themselves in a way that has never been done. The enemy is powerful, smart, and desperate. There is fun too, as the crew tries to figure out who is in charge.

    Unlike other episodes, it is hard to find problems with the science in this one. Everything seems plausible to an extent.

    The only down part is that Riker comes across as a male pig. Regardless, this episode is a definite 9.
  • From Wolfgang on 2006-07-11 at 8:28am:
    It is unbelievable, that Data loses his memories as well and no single alien aboard the ship could retain its memories.
  • From DSOmo on 2007-09-27 at 4:17am:
    After the first encounter with the Lysians, Picard tells MacDuff his doubts about their mission. The fact that the Federation greatly outmatches the Lysians troubles Picard. Then, at the end of the episode, Picard seems to indicate that the Lysians and the Sartaaran have approximately the same level of weapons technology. If the Sartaaran are at that level, how could MacDuff so easily overcome the shields of the Enterprise? The entire episode gives us several hints that the Sartaaran are very powerful. At the end of the show, Riker expresses it best when he says, "With all the power that MacDuff had to alter our brain chemistry and manipulate the computer, it's hard to believe he needed the Enterprise." Very well said!
  • From djb on 2008-04-06 at 10:23pm:
    My reaction to this episode is twofold.

    First, the scifi. It's not the best I've seen, and that's an understatement. Somehow a race who can't muster a photon torpedo can get around a starship's shields and cause its crew to lose their memories? AND falsify the ship's records? AND plant a spy on the ship, perfectly disguised as a human? I don't buy it. I also thought the resolution was rather abrupt; after the climactic scene on the bridge with "MacDuff" going nuts, all of a sudden everything's back to normal! That being said, I did like how MacDuff was introduced: no menacing music or evil glares (as in "Violations". Just another officer on the bridge, with (!) three pips? Hmm. I do like how the erroneous war plot kind of sneaks in on you; first we're just trying to recover from amnesia, then ! Who's this guy MacDuff? The federation is at war??! Slow down!

    The other aspect of this episode, which I enjoyed immensely, was the character-driven aspect. As was first explored a bit in "Clues" (which also had some gaping holes in the plot), how do we act when we lose our memory? In this case, every memory of who we are or who others are?

    This episode had so many interesting moments: Ro figures out she's the pilot, but I like how Picard doesn't assume command. True to how he acts normally, he accepts authority and wields it well, but doesn't crave it or flaunt it. Here, he doesn't assume authority until the computer tells them he's the captain. Worf, on the other hand, seems to have a desire for leadership, but also a strong sense of duty. He assumes command but immediately relinquishes it when he finds he's in error. He also is loyal to the captain even though MacDuff attempts to play on his warrior sensibilities. I found myself wondering which way he was going to go, which is consistent with his character. It turns out Riker and Ro have some attraction for each other under the "battle of wills" facade! Troi's "emotional memory" of her relationship with Riker is fitting, and the drastic difference in how she and Ro approach Riker is quite interesting. Poor Riker feels like an idiot at the end: Ro is amused, and Troi is pissed off (Sirtis plays that "pissed-off smile" extremely well), and it will always be the elephant in the room when the three of them are around each other again.

    I can't help but wonder what I would do in such a situation; it would surely give me some insight as to what parts of my personality are more conditioned and happen naturally, without the aid of previous memories; and what parts are learned and kept in place by memories. Ideally, of course, the more desirable traits I try to engender in myself eventually become rote and would survive amnesia, but it's impossible to accurately tell unless amnesia or something like it actually occurs.

    So, good character development, so-so scifi. I think the basic premise, mass amnesia, is plausible, so it's somewhat redeemed by that. I'd give it a 5 or 6.
  • From JRPoole on 2008-08-06 at 11:06am:
    Uggh. There are some redeeming points here. The Riker/Ro/Troi stuff is funny, Data's turn at bartending was cool, and the silent reactions of the bridge crew finally learning their names and ranks is well-acted and in character for everyone.

    This is yet another episode in which Riker is revealed to be the complete douchebag that he really is.
  • From 2 Of 14 on 2008-08-21 at 12:48pm:
    Addressing the criticism that MacDuff could just have made himself captain, he might have thought it would look a bit silly having such a young person in command whilst the much older Picard was a lesser rank. More importantly, he would need to have removed Picard’s uniform or removed a circle from Picard’s collar to make it look convincing. As nobody was unconscious during the memory loss, this was not possible.

  • From mem@who on 2011-09-19 at 12:13am:
    Wow, I was surprised to see how low the reviewer scored this episode, but not surprised by the high fan rating.

    I think the episode explores an interesting concept and does a fairly good job, with plenty of good humor, as mentioned. It's interesting how different some of the interpersonal dynamics were simply because of a different context - no established history, no prejudices, and only vague, tentative acceptance of rank and status. An interesting study, from a psychological/philosophical perspective.

    On the other hand, the whole thing is definitely full of absurd elements. That the alien didn't make himself captain is the first and most serious, as the reviewer mentioned. The problems with Data are another. Besides losing at chess, which certainly raised an eyebrow, Data's probability calculations should've probably deduced exactly what the heck was going on. Everyone started getting suspicious when it was revealed just how selective the memory loss and computer failures were. Data should've been much more than suspicious - he should've presented the Captain with the low probabilities of this being a random bi-product of an alien attack, versus the high probability that they were being intentionally manipulated.

    At this point it would've been reasonable to "break radio silence" and contact Starfleet, especially given the low level of resistance they encountered and the lack of any credible threat.

    Those are the main flaws, and they are pretty serious.

    I think it would've also been interesting to see the hidden desires of some of the other crew members. Ro Laren and Riker had a steamy affair. Data mused about belonging to a race and culture of artificial lifeforms. Troi pursued Riker. Wolf tried to assume command. Those were all interesting to watch. What about Geordi, Picard, Crusher...O'Brien? Would've been cool to see them act differently or express some latent desires.

    So, not without its faults, some serious, but with plenty of redeeming elements. I'd give it like a 6 or 7, which is about the fan average.
  • From philthy animal on 2011-10-17 at 7:03pm:
    I really like this episode. There's some great character stuff in there that was allowed to be ecplored in a unique way due to the circumstances of the premise; for instance, Picard maintaining an air of quiet authority even as he seems to relinquish control to Worf. It's very true to his character in general and the point that the probe leaves the abiity to discharge one's duties in tact. In Picard's case, his leadership qualities.

    Also the chemistry between Riker and Ro once their mutual animosity was removed was enjoyable to watch. And let's face it, we can all diss Riker as much as we like but who can honestly say they wouldn't relish two highly attractive women competing for their attention? Plus it's pretty well established if not ever directly stated, that Trek takes place in a future of great sexual liberation, free of the stigma of 'pigs' and 'sluts'.

    Finally, and at the risk of being labelled a male pig, it would take a far better man than me to resist Ro's offer of a sleepless night...
  • From Daniel on 2014-01-27 at 1:28pm:
    First of all, to address your statement that Data could not lose at chess - to Troi - that is explained correctly by Troi when she says "chess isn't just a game of ploys and gambits, it's a game of intuition." As an empathic Betazoid, Troi must have a highly evolved intuition, whereas Data has not mastered human intuition. While I like the premise of placing the crew in a crisis situation after being stripped of their identities and memory to see how they might respond, I see a certain flaw in the story logic - aside from the many flaws already pointed out by other comments herein. The problem I see in this episode is the opening set-up; first, the green scanning beam affects Data, but not Troi or anyone else in Ten Forward. Troi can clearly see the scan and its effect, therefore, she should have immediately warned Picard. Then, another green scan sweeps over the whole bridge crew, and only then does Commander MacDuff appear on the bridge. Even if the ship's computer was affected by the scan, where it had no "voice interface", it still had the necessary data to manage all shipboard operations. Therefore, wouldn't the ship's computer have immediately recognized the presence of an alien crew member (MacDuff) and report it with some kind of warning? Even so, we know that, at least, Troi was not scanned or affected immediately. Perhaps, she could have warned the others of this scan, and she might have known MacDuff was not human (with her empathic abilities). But, the storyline dismissed her (and Data) from the rest of the story, focusing instead on only the bridge crew. If the computer could not display crew information, how did Worf (after assuming command) know to address Dr. Crusher as "doctor" when she came onto the bridge from the turbo lift the first time? Then, there's the whole premise of MacDuff... As pointed out in another comment here, it does tend to bring about the old premise that the crew member in the red suit is the one to die or be the alien. So, it was no surprise to any viewer that MacDuff was out of place... Especially if you noticed that his appearance on the bridge only occurs after the scan. It may have been a better episode if they had instead used a regular crew member and made the alien presence take over that crew member, similar to the episode in which the Romulans reprogram Geordi to act as an assassin, or in any other episode when an alien presence possesses the mind and body of a crew member. Though alien possession of a crew member has been done many times in Star Trek stories, it is a premise that works well, if written well. The trick is not to use a new and never-seen-before crew member... And not have that new crew member actually be the alien.
  • From Kethinov on 2014-01-28 at 6:45pm:
    Chess isn't about intuition. It's about math. That's why computers are now capable of defeating even the best chess players in the world. Data shouldn't be able to lose to Troi, period.
  • From Axel on 2015-03-29 at 1:14pm:
    I don't think it's that implausible the Sartaarans would be so advanced in manipulating brain chemistry but lack the technology to make a powerful starship. Technology is driven by a lot of factors. The Inca built one of the most advanced systems of agriculture in world history, but never came to invent the wheel. We think of the wheel as a simple invention, but the Inca simply never had the need for it to the extent others did. The medieval Japanese first acquired and then later abandoned gunpowder because it just didn't take hold. There are all kinds of reasons why a society might have huge gaps in levels of technology. This TNG episode is a bit of a stretch but I don't think it makes the episode unbelievable.

    The premise still made for an exciting plot, and some humor thrown in as well. The main problem was the addition of another senior officer, which did make things a little obvious. I agree it would've been more interesting to see what would've happened if he made himself captain.
  • From ChristopherA on 2020-01-15 at 1:27am:
    I quite like this episode, I like the concept of losing your memory and being told you are on a mission to kill enemies you can’t even remember having any reason to fight. The setup is a little hard to believe but the exploration of the concept is cool.

    I may be biased, though, as I was quite lucky in the way I first watched this episode. By some fluke, this was the first episode I watched after having skipped many previous episodes, so I actually wasn’t sure whether MacDuff was a real crewmember or not, which added a lot to the mystery.
  • From Ensign Ro bummer on 2021-08-08 at 11:25am:
    Was the space station at the end the guardian of the Edo?

    The Ro-Riker thing was not surprising, he likes strong women who take what they want! The only one he ever turned down was that submissive servant girl.

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Star Trek TNG - 5x22 - Imaginary Friend

Originally Aired: 1992-5-4

Synopsis:
A little girl's imaginary friend threatens the ship. [DVD]

My Rating - 2

Fan Rating Average - 3.06

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 43 26 23 14 26 17 10 6 1 9 6

Problems
None

Factoids
- We're told in this episode that Geordi's parents are both starfleet officers. His mother a command officer and his father an exobioligist.

Remarkable Scenes
- Watching the red dot thinger travel around through things. A nice bit of graphics work.
- Data and Guinan debating the image in the clouds.
- Guinan describing her Tarkassian Razorbeast imaginary friend.
- Isabella striking down Troi.

My Review
It's always nice to see Troi doing her counsellor job, which she does well in this episode. Beyond that this episode is largely unremarkable except in that it is the final episode of the season to deal heavily with children, a trend which was prominent in this season. In some ways I say good riddance. In other ways I think it was productive. In the first episode, Picard informed Riker to make certain that he was kept away from all matters that dealt with children as much as possible. In this season and especially this episode he seems to have finally lightened up from that.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From DSOmo on 2007-10-02 at 2:42am:
    At the beginning of the episode, Clara states that Isabella has pierced ears. When Isabella materializes, her appearance exactly matches Clara's description, except Isabella doesn't have pierced ears.
  • From djb on 2008-04-19 at 8:03pm:
    This episode was largely a waste, except for a couple things:

    Data says the "clouds" look distinctly like a bunny rabbit!

    The girl who plays "Isabella" is delightfully freaky. She gives me the creeps!
  • From curt on 2010-04-07 at 4:57pm:
    DSOmo is that supposed to a plothole or something? Everything you identify as a problem is so ridiculously unimportant or not a plothole at all. You say it as if you've uncovered something amazing, and crucial to the episode.
  • From CAlexander on 2011-03-26 at 12:43am:
    The only part of this episode I liked was the end, where Picard figures out how to pacify the aliens and makes his little speech. I thought the idea of aliens judging humanity through children could have been the plot of an interesting episode." But not this episode, which was more of a children's story about how an evil ghost, who grownups don't believe in, gets you into trouble.
  • From Bronn on 2012-12-01 at 2:21am:
    Actually think there's some unintended hilarity in this. We know how Picard hates children (though this comes after episodes like "Disaster" where he starts dealing with them more prevalently).

    When he hails Worf over the comm, asking for security to be on the lookout for a dangerous alien masquerading as an 11 year old blond girl, Worf seems to take it completely in stride. I had to laugh and imagine that it's not the first time that the Captain has asked for security to detain children that he didn't want to deal with.
  • From Mike on 2017-04-23 at 3:13pm:
    Well, hopefully Clara doesn't need too much therapy after this. I'm sure Ensign Sutter is happy that psychological treatment is free on a 24th Century Federation starship.

    I'd put this one at about a 3. It suffers from the same problem as several of the more mediocre Trek episodes. The crew encounters an intriguing new phenomenon, alien, or problem of some kind which takes up about 45 minutes of the episode. It reaches the denouement and tries to wrap it all up in about 3-5 minutes, usually poorly. I liked Picard's confrontation with "Isabella" but it would've been nice to learn a little more about these life forms rather than spending so much time on Clara's imaginary friend issue. I get it, though. TNG did try at times to cater to the younger age group, so they occasionally have these messages directed toward kids. That's the only explanation I could come up with for why we have multiple scenes where Guinan talks about her own imaginary friend.

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Star Trek TNG - 7x03 - Interface

Originally Aired: 1993-10-4

Synopsis:
Geordi defies Picard's commands in a rescue attempt. [DVD]

My Rating - 2

Fan Rating Average - 3.65

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 35 7 25 20 14 19 19 16 5 7 2

Problems
None

Factoids
- Captain LaForge's ship contained mostly Vulcans.

Remarkable Scenes
- I like the teaser, with Geordi's interface.
- Geordi phasering the door with his hand while he's the probe. Nice!
- Data attempting to appreciate poetry.

My Review
This episode is annoying in that I think the cast was too quick to dismiss Geordi's plan to find out if his mother was really down on that planet. Sure, he was wrong, but he really did have to try. Additionally, his try saved the lives of some aliens, yet this is not considered at all when Picard yells at him in the end! How insensitive! This episode really makes you feel sorry for Geordi. He loses his mother and he gets yelled at all episode! Finally, why do we never see this interface used ever, ever again?

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From L on 2013-04-27 at 6:02am:
    Did they ever show or explain the probe that Geordi was virtually operating? Was it a humanoid robot? Remote contolled mecha? Ball of energy?
  • From OmicronThetaDeltaPhi on 2013-05-14 at 9:44am:
    It's a metallic probe in the shape of a cylinder, about 3 feet high and one foot in diameter. We know, because there is a scene in the episode where Geordi sees "his" reflection while using the interface, and it is actually the probe shown in the reflection. Geordi then jokes about it and says "I'm seeing my reflection in a panel. I forgot what a handsome guy I am". :-)
  • From Daniel on 2014-01-11 at 6:40am:
    An interesting side note: Ben Vareen plays Geordi's father in this episode. And Levar Burton (Geordi) played young Kunta Kinte, the father of Chicken George (played by Ben Vareen) in Roots.
  • From Doug on 2016-08-30 at 11:51am:
    Actually, Ben Vereen played Kunta's grandson in "Roots". however, Madge Sinclair (who played Geordi's mother) was also in "Roots". She was Bell, the wife of older Kunta (played by John Amos).
  • From ChristopherA on 2019-04-30 at 4:59pm:
    I agree that this episode is annoying. The idea of exploring with the probe was neat, but instead of focusing the episode on the mystery of the alien messages, which could have made a good episode, instead it made the crew more obtuse than usual to create conflict, so it could focus on that. It isn't the worst episode but it isn't that great.

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Star Trek TNG - 7x22 - Bloodlines

Originally Aired: 1994-5-2

Synopsis:
Picard learns he has a son. [DVD]

My Rating - 2

Fan Rating Average - 4.08

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 16 5 15 16 9 16 14 7 8 5 2

Problems
- The Enterprise travels at maximum warp in this episode. I guess we're all very quick to forget about the events TNG: Force of Nature, eh? Not that I care too much, I rather like the fact that that dreadful episode is being ignored.

Factoids
- A very similar technology to this subspace transporter used by Bok will be used in Ent: Daedalus. It seems just as unstable in this century as it was in Archer's!

Remarkable Scenes
- Riker: "The Ferengi government is debating an amendment to the Rules of Acquisition. It could be a while until we hear from them."
- Picard: "You'll never look at your hairline again in the same way!"

My Review
This episode would have been much more effective this supposed "son" of Picard's actually ended up being for real. Instead, we get a TOS style reset button, for our characters are not allowed to incur lasting consequences! *rolls eyes* This episode bears decent continuity with TNG: The Battle, for Bok has returned. It's convincing that Bok would pull such a ridiculous scheme, but watching it all play out is frankly a little boring. Since Picard does indeed have no son, all the character development between Picard and his new son is thus wasted, and the episode itslelf comes off largely as a waste of time. Normally I wouldn't count off much for that, but in the late final season of a show, there shouldn't be filler episodes!

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From JRPoole on 2008-10-30 at 3:03pm:
    Ughh. Ferengi are almost always terribly executed on TNG. Ughh. Picard's son turns out not to be. Ughh. How the hell did Bok a) find out about a two-week affair of Picard's from a quarter century ago, b) find the kid, c) manipulate his genes without his knowing about it, and d) know the Enterprise would be near Caymore in the first place. On top of all this, we have an interesting idea for a planet--a colony in collapse following the Cardassian war--and we never even set foot on it.

    Science alert: if you change someone's genes, the cells will be different when they reproduce. In a few cell cycles, you'd have a completely different person.

    This is terrible. Utterly, utterly, unwatchably terrible. The son is a complete douche, and not in an interesting way. His acting is terrible, he's badly written, and his reaction to being transported unexpectedly is completely unbelievable. The first episode with Bok wasn't that great in the first place, so it's not the best episode to return to here. I can't believe this is one of the pentultimate TNG episodes. I vaguely remembered it from the first run, and I figured it was lost in the middle of the series somewhere, not featured prominently at the end.
  • From John Smith on 2011-10-23 at 12:28pm:
    Not a very good episode by any means but it does contain one of my favorite scenes in all of TNG: someone finally telling the ever presumptuous Troi to buzz off. She has never met this person before but she, unsolicited, takes it upon herself to see if he wants to open up her about his whole life. His response was quite appropriate and refreshing in that the always sanctimonious Troi was put in her place.
  • From Shani on 2014-12-16 at 4:47am:
    From memory alpha: "Sagan noted that the original premise ("Fugue") was a lot darker than the aired episode. "The idea was that Bok had genetically engineered this kid from birth and advanced his growth and had been giving him memories of Picard abandoning him on the Stargazer. Then Bok was using one of the mind balls to give Picard these vague flashes of false memories, making him think that it was possible he had this sort of fugue-like experience where he basically abandoned his son on the Stargazer and blocked it out of his mind. I don't know if it would have ever worked or not, but it was kind of a really interesting, dark aspect and it gave you a sense of abandonment and trying to recapture this sense of a son he never had. Then it turns out that it's not that at all." (Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages)"

    Why did they not make that episode? That would have actually been brilliant and interesting to watch. I can see them trying to argue that it would be too dark for TNG but it would have been brilliant
  • From tigertooth on 2017-02-10 at 10:04pm:
    The first question Picard would have asked was "Why is Bok warning me about the fact that he's going after my son? Why wouldn't he get my son first?" The warning was the obvious signal that this was Bok's trap. Completely ridiculous that Picard and crew fell for it.

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Star Trek TNG - 1x17 - When The Bough Breaks

Originally Aired: 1988-2-15

Synopsis:
Wesley and the other Enterprise children are kidnapped. [DVD]

My Rating - 1

Fan Rating Average - 3.2

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 43 18 12 18 9 17 24 4 4 6 3

Problems
None

Factoids
- Little kids are expected to have a "basic understanding of Calculus" in the 24th century.

Remarkable Scenes
- Picard making up regulations on the spot and Data realizing it.
- Picard: "Data, find a way to defeat that shield." Data: "That may be impossible, sir." Picard: "Things are only impossible until they're not!" Data: "Yes sir." Then data gets this wonderfully puzzled look on his face.
- The various Picard-being-tortured-by-contact-with-children scenes.

My Review
Another identical-to-humans race. Somehow the children the Aldeans stole are going to continue their society. Obviously not genetically. So Aldea is to become a paradise for humans then in a few generations? The guest cast parents were overacting badly. Thankfully their screen time was short. And Raschala demands to keep the little girl? So much for their species being humble and non-greedy. Also, usually Wil Wheaton was great at playing Wesley, but he didn't do so well in this episode. Who knows, maybe the directing sucked or the guest cast/children were causing him issues. Wesley is actually pretty good usually. Some of the logic behind how the ozone atmosphere layer connects to the cloaking shield is a bit fuzzy, but acceptable with some liberal interpretation. My problem with this episode is mostly due to the premise. The method by which the premise played out was simply the nail in the coffin. Cliches, bad guest acting, idiotic aliens, and even a regular character did a bad job.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From DSOmo on 2007-06-02 at 4:03pm:
    - The Aldeans take only seven children. Will seven children be enough to continue a society?
    - How come everybody's got a cloaking device except the Federation? The Klingons, the Romulans, and now the Aldeans.
    - The Aldeans shield is capable of protecting and cloaking their planet. This isn't a spaceship. This is a planet. What about the gravitational displacement caused by the planet's mass? Scientists should have been able to calculate the existence of Aldea based on the gravitation disturbances caused by its orbit around its sun.
  • From The Professor on 2007-09-08 at 2:05pm:
    Seven people is certainly enough to maintain a society. Skipper, Gilligan, Professor, Mr. & Mrs. Howell, Ginger, and Mary Ann. The only other things you need are some monkeys, coconuts, bananas and the occasional visitor with a boat or an aircraft.
  • From Orion Pimpdaddy on 2008-09-20 at 12:45am:
    This is one of the better "children" episodes in Trek. Just watch Miri from the original series and you'll see what I mean. Which episode would you want to live out in real life?

    As far as the comment about the Federation not having a cloaking device, that is because the Federation refuses to use one. They see cloaking devices as being most useful for sneak attacks, not exactly part of the Federation's mission. They also want to appear with openess open, not hidden and deceptful, to other planets. Of course, there are exceptions.
  • From thaibites on 2009-09-12 at 10:14pm:
    I thought this was one of the better episodes. If you have kids, you'll be able to identify with it.
    As far as this being "another identical-to-humans race", what do you want? How about a bunch of Star Wars muppets that look silly and detract from the seriousness of this episode? Maybe they could've been like the lizard man in the TOS episode THE ARENA. Then the kids could just run around terrified and screaming. If you can't relate to someone's child being stolen, then you mustn't have much humanity. Maybe a little less computer time and more time interacting face-to-face with real humans would help...
  • From geld verdienen on 2009-09-20 at 12:31pm:
    what annoyed me most about this episode is that I was screaming the whole time GET THEM SOME OTHER KIDS, dont they have foster kids or poor people in the galaxy anymore? Tasha said otherwise. The must be millions you would embrace living it up on that planet.
  • From Cal on 2017-02-06 at 6:24am:
    The peace Treaty with the Romulans (Treaty of Alegeron) forbids the use and development of cloaking devices by the Federation.
  • From Maggi on 2020-01-16 at 9:19am:
    Strongly disagree with this one, this is one of the best episodes of S1 for me. I thoroughly enjoyed nearly all of it.
    Just as another reader already commented, it seems like utter nonsense that they don't even mention the idea of asking foster children if they would want to live there. Picard was way too "absolutely denying" and ultimately caused this to escalate since the Aldeans felt like they had no other options.

    Also I get that all the alien species looking like humans is bleh but c'mon its easy to accept under budget restrictions, etc. Feels like you have a base negative attitude towards every episode that has human looking alien.

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Star Trek TNG - 2x12 - The Royale

Originally Aired: 1989-3-27

Synopsis:
The crew is trapped in an alien casino. [DVD]

My Rating - 1

Fan Rating Average - 4.36

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 27 25 17 14 18 35 28 14 20 7 10

Problems
- LaForge claims the temperature is -291C. That's below absolute zero, which is impossible. Also, if the temperature is below absolute zero, how can you have wind? Much less 312 meters per second of wind?
- Picard is attempting to solve Fermat's last theorem. Whoops! Little did the writers know that the years 1983 through 1986 remarkable progress had already been made trying to solve it. In fact, by the time this episode was written in 1989 it had already been proven that Fermat's last theorem was 1. solvable and 2. would yield an elliptical curve. The theorem was ultimately solved 6 years after this episode was written by Andrew Wiles and Richard Taylor. The writers must have been very pessimistic about the progress of finding the solution, or they were just uninformed that it was progressing at all.

Factoids
- There are 52 stars on the American flags in this episode.

Remarkable Scenes
- Riker: "Yes. We're from the United Federation of Planets." Clerk: "Of course you are. Welcome to the Hotel Royale."
- Riker: "He means this planet. What do you call it?" Clerk: "Earth. What do you call it?" Worf: "We call it Theta 8." Clerk: "Quite charming."
- Data: "What sort of bu'iness do you suppose he's getting down to?" Mimicking the slang.
- Data playing Blackjack.
- Worf refers to the elevator as a turbolift.
- Worf: "Terrible way to die." Regarding dying in one's sleep.
- Data reading the book at lightning speed.
- I love the insults thrown at this book in the episode.
- Worf answering the phone.
- Data cheating in the game.

My Review
Really quite a dreadful episode. Between the technical problems and the juxtaposition of a book with a horrendous story as this episode's main plot, there is little to redeem this episode besides the occasional well placed humorous scenes. Even those however are difficult to appreciate with all the various cliches and lameness spread about. Most of this episode's single point comes from my appreciation of the characters too complaining about the book. It's almost as if the characters also despise the episode. ;)

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From DSOmo on 2007-06-24 at 1:36pm:
    - Just before beginning his attempt to win the funds needed to buy the Royale, Data explains the rules of craps to Riker. Doesn't it seem odd that Data has to explain the rules of craps to Riker? Riker is one of the best poker players on the Enterprise. If Riker has such a deep interest in poker, wouldn't that translate to at least a passing familiarity with other games of chance?
    - I've read that the scene with Data at the craps table is a knock-off from a scene in a movie called "The Questor Tapes." A two-hour TV pilot in 1974 created by Gene Roddenberry.
  • From CAlexander on 2011-04-04 at 12:24am:
    I liked this episode, despite the lack of any real meaning. It was just fun to watch the crew discover what is going on and execute their escape. A relatively simple, light-hearted episode.

    In response to DSOmo:
    - It is quite likely that Riker would be ignorant of craps despite knowing Poker. They are very different games. Poker is a game of skill and psychology with an element of chance. Craps is purely a game of chance, a simple-minded gambling game quite likely to have vanished utterly by the 24th century. And the average poker player today knows nothing about many of the games played in the 17th century.
  • From Jeff Browning on 2011-10-20 at 12:30pm:
    Wind speed of 312 meters per second would translate to:

    312 x 3,600 / 1,000 = ~1,000 KPH

    That's pretty %#%^ fast! Maybe too fast. Certainly too fast to survive without some elaborate protective gear. Possibly even faster than escape velocity for a planet this small.
  • From Abigail Chappell on 2012-08-12 at 5:25pm:
    Fermat's Last Theorem: My friend Lucas (who went to ESU but transferred there after you left) was watching this episode and caught the problem with Fermat's Last Theorem. He emailed me about it, and I just showed him this website so we could post it under "problems" and look smart. Darn, you're ahead of us!
  • From Arianwen on 2012-12-14 at 10:43pm:
    If this episode had a theme, it would be "apathy". The entire crew appear to be suffering from depression, such is their disinterest in events. The away team shows no curiosity, the Enterprise crew no urgency. When your premise is shallow, your plot revolves around a cliché and your atmosphere is nonexistent - this is the result. It's a shame, because it could have been so much more. Picard's agony as he reads The Royale is relatable and very real: clearly they just taped the script to the set without warning Patrick Stewart. One point for emotional honesty and Data hamming it up with the dice.

    Re. Fermat's Last Theorem, Wiles worked on the proof in complete secrecy for seven years and when the the time came to proofread the proof (ha) he only told one person. The final publication hit the mathematical world like a falling piano, so at least the writing team cannot be faulted for their research. My headcanon is that Picard was referring to Fermat's claimed "wondrous proof" rather than Wiles' monster of a solution. People still hope to find that mythical elegant proof, though I believe most mathematicians now agree that Fermat had likely made a mistake somewhere. It's likely people will still be keen on finding it three centuries from now.
    (Sorry for the infodump, but Fermat's Last Theorem is fascinating.)
  • From Harrison on 2013-07-14 at 5:50pm:
    Undoubtedly one of the most poorly executed Trek episodes ever, replete with narrative sloppiness, stilted acting, bad science and irritating plot flaws. It is certainly Patrick Stewart's most lightweight performance ever.

    Too bad, because the original script may have had some potential. All that time wasted on unconvincing dialogue could have been used to give the "future Picard" character a little substance. The time paradox, while hardly novel, could have been woven into something rich enough to at least pique the imagination.

    At the very least, this episode more than any other probably put the final nails in the coffin for the irksome "Dr. Katherine Pulaski" character. Silver lining, I think, because she exemplifies the worst Season 2 had to offer.
  • From Harrison on 2013-07-31 at 1:21pm:
    OK, it's a weak (and super low-budget) episode with a lot of flawed science & unsubstantiated plot assumptions.

    Nonetheless, it's not entirely a waste of time. Lots of very amusing interplay between Data and the (holographic?) denizens of the Hotel Royal. The Texan and the airhead bimbo are both highly watchable.

    It's a lightweight, forgettable vignette. Don't expect a whole lot. But for a filler episode made on a shoe-string, it's not bad. Quality, relaxed performances from just about everyone.
  • From Mike Chambers on 2013-10-20 at 8:08pm:
    Very underrated episode. A 1? Come on, it's not THAT bad. It may not be the most engaging story or have any real relevance, but it was a fun little episode. The long-dead NASA astronaut found in the hotel room and his note was interesting to me. That was a very unique plot point. Try to imagine being in his shoes!
  • From Mike Chambers on 2013-11-12 at 3:31pm:
    Just to expand on my last comment...

    I also enjoyed watching Worf deal with the situation, a lot of laughs from him in this one. I especially loved Data interacting with the characters in the casino. Funny stuff, and overall an episode that I enjoy watching every now and then. Not every episode has to be dark, serious, and relevant. It was a nice change of pace.
  • From Ryan on 2015-08-05 at 10:54pm:
    Data says that the odds favor "standing pat" on 13 when dealer is showing 10, but in any variation of blackjack I know of the odds would actually favor hitting.
  • From Quando on 2017-02-06 at 8:54pm:
    Call me crazy, but I kind of like this episode. It is goofy and kind of silly, but I like how baffled the away team is about the whole thing (like not knowing how elevators work). I think the best line in the episode goes to Worf. When they find the old astronaut in bed and mention that he appears to have died in his sleep, Worf says, "what a horrible way to die."
  • From lordcheeto on 2017-07-23 at 12:59am:
    Perhaps the near extinction of humanity following WWIII in the 21st century resulted in the loss of the solution to Fermat's Last Theorem.
  • From Jamie on 2018-09-19 at 7:21pm:
    Kethinov's review of all Twilight Zone episodes: 1. Cliches and lameness abound.
  • From Azalea Jane on 2021-07-19 at 6:25pm:
    So bad, it's good! The cheesy soundtrack, the halfhearted writing... This episode is special. A bit like "Move Along Home" in DS9. Sort of enjoyable if you treat it like a joke.

    "None of these people are emitting life signs."
    "You mean they're not alive?"

    Problem: Troi can sense Riker's emotions from that far away? Wouldn't that sense be subject to the inverse square law, or something? I heard it pointed out that one of the big problems with Troi's character, and one reason she's constantly underutilized, is that nobody could seem to pin down exactly how her empathetic abilities worked. Case in point: what is the range? Does it work by proximity, or by sight?

    Data emotionspotting: he looks quite satisfied after winning that hand of 21, then very obviously lights up when he gets into character playing craps!
  • From Pipanni on 2021-09-07 at 10:35am:
    I too liked this episode. It's very creepy and sad what happened to the lost astronaut. If you just skip ahead all the book-story parts (which suck bigtime) it turns into a rather enjoyable episode.

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Star Trek TNG - 2x22 - Shades of Gray

Originally Aired: 1989-7-17

Synopsis:
An alien organism invades Riker's brain. [DVD]

My Rating - 1

Fan Rating Average - 1.03

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 231 53 13 11 8 2 4 2 4 4 9

Problems
- Riker "remembered" some things he wasn't actually there to see.

Factoids
- This was an extremely low budget episode.

Remarkable Scenes
- The joking scene at the end when Riker is cured is neat.
- Some of the scenes in Riker's dream are fun to watch again.

My Review
The problem this episode suffers from is severe lack of plot. This was due to budget problems. They didn't have enough money to do the big action packed season finale they planned for. So instead they made a clip show. What confuses me the most about this situation is why they bothered to make this episode at all. The previous episode (TNG: Peak Performance) would have made for a far better season finale.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From DSOmo on 2007-07-04 at 6:05pm:
    - Pulaski recognizes that the microbes respond to brain endorphins. She then proceeds to jolt Riker with a machine so his brain can produce them. Yet, she worries that the stress may kill him. In "The Battle," Dr. Crusher claims that twenty-fourth century medical science has "mapped the brain." If they have, doesn't it seem reasonable that they would understand the endorphins the brain produces under different circumstances? Shouldn't they be able to manufacture these brain endorphins in a replicator and inject them in Riker? Then again, if Pulaski could make the endorphins, we would miss all there wonderful flashbacks! (Sorry, fighting to control my hatred for flashback shows)
    - As Pulaski uses a machine to stimulate Riker's brain, she looks in a pair of eyepieces and presses buttons. She seems to hit the right buttons without even looking. Considering that all the control surfaces on the Enterprise are flat, that's quite a feat!
  • From JRPoole on 2008-02-21 at 9:58am:
    This is not a comment on this episode--what is there to say about this one, really?--but on the second season as a whole.

    The second season is superior to the first, mostly because the characters started coming into their own, the seeds of coming plot arcs are sown, and the writers stopped rehashing TOS plots (with the exception of "Unnatural Selection"). On my slow process of re-watching the series for the first time in years, I was surprised to see that some of the episodes I remembered most fondly--"Contagion," "Up the Long Ladder," "The Emissary," "A Matter of Honor," "Q Who"--are all this early in the series. I distinctly remember it getting better as it went along, so I'm looking forward to the upcoming seasons.

    I'm watching the series via Netflix, and the last disc I received contained the final two season 2 episodes and a smattering of special features. One of the special features was called "Memorable Missions" and consisted of the actors, producers, writers, and other behind-the-scenes types discussing their favorite episodes. I was surprised to see that the people behind the show seem to love "The Dauphin," which I consider to be among the worst episodes in existence.

    Anyway, on to season 3....
  • From JR on 2008-10-27 at 11:02pm:
    DSOmo commented:

    "If they have, doesn't it seem reasonable that they would understand the endorphins the brain produces under different circumstances? Shouldn't they be able to manufacture these brain endorphins in a replicator and inject them in Riker?"

    Neurotransmitters released in the bloodstream can't reach the brain because of the blood-brain barrier. So this wouldn't have the same effect as stimulating the natural production of endorphin.
  • From Wayne on 2009-07-16 at 1:36pm:
    No one seems to remember that this episode and "peak performance" were made at the beginning of a writers strike. that why the seconds season only has 22 episode instead of the usual 26. This was a clip show that was made as filler to finish the season.
  • From curt on 2010-04-15 at 2:19pm:
    Its a clip show show, so I don't hate it! it is what it is. Im not really a fan of it, Id not even give it a rating.
  • From thaibites on 2010-09-18 at 8:21pm:
    This episode is a microcosm of the 2nd season - crap. It's all probably due to the writer's strike, but it's still crap and you can't polish a turd. The only memorable episode was "Q Who". The rest were OK to forgettable. I like action, tension, and big stories. Season 2 was a collection of little stories that allowed us to get to know the characters better, which is nice, but there needed to be more "on the line" - more stories where you felt they were pushing the limits of space and may not survive. Also, Pulaski was a complete disaster. Thank God she didn't survive season 2.
    Bring on season 3 - give me Klingons, Romulans, Borg, ANYTHING - just give me some action and suspense!
  • From CAlexander on 2011-04-18 at 12:42pm:
    This episode is a fraud perpetrated upon the innocent viewing public. It should come with a label – "Warning – we didn't have the money or the script to make a genuine Star Trek episode. Proceed at your own risk."

    I watched it not knowing what it was. The first 15 minutes seemed promising. Then the clip show starts. So pointless! So random! But if that isn't bad enough, when they return to the main plot, it starts to get melodramatic. And the acting gets more and more painfully awful, the clips more and more random, until I was begging for the episode to end.
    - The one good point is the final scene. It made me laugh.
  • From Dstyle on 2015-11-09 at 9:19am:
    Pulaski (melodramatically): "We need to access intense, negative emotions to drive this infection away!"

    Troi (even more melodramtically): "Well, how about the time his mother died when he was a child? That was a major trauma! Or how about when his father abandoned him when he was fifteen? Or the time he had to fight his way off The Pegasus when the crew mutinied against the captain, even though his actions went against his principles? I mean, his early years are a goldmine of negative emotions!"

    Pulaski (desperately melodramatic, somehow topping Troi's melodrama): "No! For some reason I can only access negative memories from the last two years!"

    Clip shows, eh? What can you do? I feel bad for cast members like Brent Spiner and Michael Dorn who had to sit in the makeup chair for hours so they could be a part of this. (Wait, was Worf in this episode? Maybe in the beginning? No, I don't remember him in it at all, probably for exactly this reason.)
  • From Mark Boris on 2016-08-27 at 12:02am:
    Finally got around to watching this one. Only one I hadn't seen, can you believe it? I saved the worst for last it seems.


    Away teams ought to beam down in biohazard suits. Just sayin'.

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Star Trek TNG - 4x14 - Clues

Originally Aired: 1991-2-11

Synopsis:
Data lies to the crew. [DVD]

My Rating - 1

Fan Rating Average - 6.86

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 20 9 5 5 15 13 14 36 61 58 36

Problems
- The premise, see my comments. Not necessarily unbelievable, but a bit absurd.

Factoids
None

Remarkable Scenes
- Guinan on the holodeck, trying to play along.
- Data using "less obtrusive" methods of contacting Picard.
- Data carefully persuading everyone to leave the star system.
- Beverly suspecting Data a liar.
- Picard getting rid of Data in the briefing room so they can speculate about him.
- Beverly digging up more evidence against Data using the transporter.
- Data's "I cannot confirm nor deny that" attitude.
- Worf: "There are very few people on board who could have broken my wrist. Commander Data is one of those individuals."
- Troi being possessed and speaking in an eerily flanged bass augmented register.
- Possessed Troi breaking Worf's wrist.

My Review
This episode's premise doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Wouldn't it have been easier to just claim the wormhole knocked everyone unconscious for a day instead of trying to rig the ship to make it appear as only 30 seconds had passed? That way all the "clues" that were left behind would seem to be nothing but a normal consequence of a wormhole knocking you into bio chemical stasis for a day. Of course, then we wouldn't have an episode now would we...

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From DSOmo on 2007-08-24 at 2:44am:
    - The computer apparently doesn't know that dead people don't move their eyes. When Picard and Guinan are in the holodeck at the very start of the episode, a holodeck character gets machine-gunned down. When Picard turns the man's head to face them, his eyes move around.
    - At the end of the episode, Data narrates a flashback to the first encounter with the Paxans. During his narration, the episode shows Data waking everyone while the Paxans attempt to override the shields. The Paxans penetrate the shields and take control of Troi. After she breaks Worf'd wrist, Picard asks, "Who are you?" The Paxans, speaking through Troi, do not answer. They simply maintain that they must destroy the ship. The dialogue continues until Picard and the Paxans reach a compromise. Then Picard turns to Data and orders him never to reveal what has happened, to conceal his knowledge of the Paxans for as long as he exists. How did Picard know they were called the Paxans? The Paxans never mentioned their name.
  • From JRPoole on 2008-05-08 at 10:46am:
    I agree with the general absurdity of the premise of this episode. How was Data supposed to cover up a whole day? If it was, say, Tuesday, and they woke up on Wednesday, how is that concealable? Even if the crew goes on thinking that only 30 have passed, won't there still be an unaccountable lag when they get back to a star base and it isn't the day they thought it was?

    Also, the direction and staging is poor in this episode. For instance, Geordi comes to the bridge, asks Troi to give him a moment with the captain in private, and they proceed to stroll around the bridge chatting about Data's deception. It seems like something they should discuss in the ready room.

    Still, there are some things to like about this episode, mainly Data's refusal to reveal the truth to the crew, so this one is a 2.
  • From JRPoole on 2008-05-08 at 7:35pm:
    I'm bewildered by the fan rating on this one. This one is more significantly higher than the host's rating than virtually any other episode. Is this one usually considered a fan favorite, or is this an anomaly?
  • From Bernard on 2008-05-14 at 7:23pm:
    Just to add to the above in the general berating of this episode...

    Take Picards preposterous reaction to Data's evident deceipt. He threatens poor Data with the suggestion that starfleet will dissect him to find out what has gone wrong with him! Considering the events of the episode 'measure of a man' this is not a possible course of action... Data could be court martialled etc. but not taken apart (without his consent anyway)

    Some really fundamental flaws with this episode that I agree with low marks as there is nothing else redeeming to save it
  • From Orion Pimpdaddy on 2008-10-20 at 12:31pm:
    I always look forward to watching this episode again. Seeing Data lie and lose credibility among the crew is facinating to watch. Also, the revelation that the crew has lost a whole day's worth of memory always amazes me, even though I have seen it many times.

    I love the ending where Picard ALMOST turns the ship back to the planet again. If they had come back a third time, then aliens would have destroyed the Enterprise.
  • From trekstar on 2011-01-03 at 10:02am:
    I've always liked this episode. I was always under the impression that the aliens didn't just wipe out their memory for a day, but also placed them back in time. Which means although they had "clues" of life going on a whole day, in the time frame outside the ship, only 30 seconds had passed. That makes more sense...I think:)
  • From level@level.net on 2011-08-22 at 2:39am:
    I think the negative reviews are a little unfair. The holodeck sequence sucks, and the premise is kind of outlandish, but I think it falls short of being absurd. In fact, it's got some redeeming qualities. The sheer uncertainty in the first 3/4 of the episode is quite exquisite. Data is protecting the crew by concealing the events of the past 24 hours... Wtf? This was downright creepy at times. I was trying to picture what kind of horrible, traumatizing, life-altering things might've transpired...

    The real problem with this episode is not the premise, it's that the revelation is rushed to the point of ridiculousness. It runs like a Charlie Chaplin film, just a few steps too fast. (I like the episode but I'll be the first to admit it has some serious flaws) Here's a small one: what is up with Wharf getting all trigger happy on counselor Troi? All she did was get up kind of sudden, and he's ready to shoot/physically apprehend her? And then Picard says, "Who are you?" (Maybe it's Starfleet protocol to assume that anyone who gets up and quietly approaches you has been possessed by another lifeform?)

    Not very believable.

    Speaking of which, it just seems unrealistic how quickly everyone arrives at the "stalemate" position/solution. Captain Picard seems to lose all nerve whatsoever - it is expected that he would be diplomatic and conciliatory, especially when facing superior technology, but here he comes off as just downright spineless or something. It's not unreasonable that he would come to this kind of decision and suggest they all just "forget" the whole thing, literally, but I would imagine it would take some kind of process, dialogue, consultation, etc. Not quite, "Wait! Don't kill us! Just make us forget and we'll be on our way."

    Since that part of the story is revealed as a flashback, narrated by Data, we are perhaps meant to infer that there were other events that took place off screen... but this hardly changes the viewer's experience. The real problem, as I mentioned, is that the producers simply didn't have the space to do what they needed and make it seem believable. They just couldn't cram it in the 45 minutes, it seems, or made the wrong decisions about how to manage that space.

    So, interesting episode - not an outright disaster or absolutely absurd, just with a rushed, abbreviated, unconvincing conclusion, like a few other episodes. I'd give it maybe a 5/6.
  • From level@level.net on 2011-08-22 at 3:13am:
    (For a special treat, watch this episode right before or right after watching "TOS: The Menagerie." There are some great parallels between Spock's deception and Data's obfuscation, and their respective captains' reactions. One interesting observation - it seems a starfleet crew is much more likely to trust an oddly behaving Vulcan (even a half-Vulcan) than an android under suspicious circumstances.

    There's probably some kind an innate distrust of technology at work, which isn't entirely misplaced. "TNG: Brothers" comes to mind, specifically the scene when Data became completely subservient to his creator's homing beacon. And of course Data's brother became more or less insane, so there is some precedent for that as well...
  • From Rick on 2013-02-10 at 10:46pm:
    Reviewer:

    How is Data supposed to convince Picard that it took him a full day to revive them but in actuality it only took Data a few seconds? Wouldnt that be a big "Clue" that Picard may investigate further......

    Of course you could come up with a response to this but the point is that Picard may not believe whatever excuse Data would give.
  • From Daniel on 2014-05-24 at 3:03am:
    I like this episode, though I agree it is a flawed premise. I just want to point out one other odd detail I noticed. The oddity occurs at the moment when the Enterprise is once again facing the Paxans (the second time), and the green energy stream takes over Troi, causing her to become a zombie and act as a Paxan. According to the timeline of the story, Troi is possessed by the Paxans (the second time) immediately before confronting Data. Yet, at the moment of her possession, Troi is in bed in a nightgown. But, a moment later, she confronts Data in full uniform. Now, why would the Paxan that possesses her need her to get dressed, or would they have any need to dress her while possessing her? Just wondering.
  • From Axel on 2015-02-21 at 12:18am:
    Maybe I'm missing something here. Those of you suggesting that Data could've claimed the crew was out for a full day, thus avoiding the problems of a 30-second deception: how do you then explain the male crew's lack of beard growth? That was a major factor in the crew second-guessing whether they really were out a full day, until they learned they'd been placed in stasis. The lack of outward physical change, like beard growth, could only be passed off if the crew believed they were out for a very short time.

    Perhaps the Paxans are highly skilled as both barbers and mind erasers?
  • From Rick on 2015-10-15 at 1:59pm:
    To the people questioning the premise of the episode, and more specifically the time difference problem (i.e. how would they explain the difference in their chronometer with the next star base they encounter), you are forgetting that they think they passed through a wormhole. I believe it is reasonable to surmise that time passes differently inside a wormhole. Hence Data saying after they wake up that he will reset the chronometer with the nearest star base signal.

    This episode is difficult to understand but I think they did a pretty darn good job of covering all the bases.
  • From tigertooth on 2017-05-29 at 11:50pm:
    I liked the episode overall. But to add to the problems:

    *It seems hard for me to imagine that Picard would blithely be okay with an alien race erasing memories of his entire crew.

    *I get why they put the Dixon Hill holodeck sequence in there to underscore the theme, but if you're going to introduce Guinan at the beginning of an episode that involves weird time anomalies, it's disappointing that she never reappears.

    *While I can see how the chronometers on the ship might be screwed up by the wormhole, how would you explain the lack of any official, personal, or data logs during the missing days?

    So while I wish they had found ways to plug some of these holes, I still found the positives of the plot arc and characterizations to be enjoyable enough to give it a 7.

    Data's struggle to fill in the gaps was great, and resonates nicely with his efforts to become a better actor. I kind of wish there had been a Data/Picard scene where he asked about the flaws in his performance, but it wouldn't have really made sense given that it would have had to have taken place after the second Paxan reveal -- it would have gummed up the momentum right near the end of the episode.

    But a great Data/Picard scene -- presumably while Picard was still in the dark -- would have really pushed this to the next level. Maybe Picard knows they could pull the information from Data's memory files, but feels that's too invasive to be a morally acceptable choice? Anyway, they didn't figure out how to make that happen, and that's a missed opportunity.

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Star Trek TNG - 4x21 - The Drumhead

Originally Aired: 1991-4-29

Synopsis:
A Starfleet investigation becomes a witch hunt. [DVD]

My Rating - 1

Fan Rating Average - 7.07

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 9 5 5 16 12 36 15 34 46 62 52

Problems
None

Factoids
- According to Satie, Picard has violated the Prime Directive 9 times since he took command of the Enterprise.

Remarkable Scenes
- Worf's reaction to being bribed.
- Sabin mentions Worf's father a traitor. I like that detail. As far as he's concerned, that's true, as he wouldn't know the secret the high command is maintaining.
- The revelation that the engine explosion was an accident.
- The revelation that Tarses is part Romulan, not Vulcan.
- Good contintuity, mentioning the Romulan spy from TNG: Data's Day. As well as the mentioning of Picard being assimilated in TNG: Best of Both Worlds.
- Picard getting Satie all wound up.

My Review
This episode examines a very real moral dilemma, but I found the way in which it did so utterly offensive. Nobody seemed to be in character until the end, except for Picard, and the paranoia exhibited throughout this episode just seemed ridiculous. The various plot threads didn't seem to connect very well, and loose threads are left behind. What happened to Tarses? How and why did a Romulan enter the Federation and take a human wife 100 years ago? All the interesting things about this story were neglected while it concentrated on fear, uncertainty, doubt, and paranoia.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From Pete Miller on 2006-03-31 at 9:41pm:
    This episode is one of the few times I disagree with Mr. Kethinov. To me, this episode is what Star Trek is all about.

    Negative : What's up with all the 70 year old Grandma Admirals in Starfleet? I do agree that some of the characters were out of character. And the episode lacks, shall we say, action. As silly as it may seem, a 10-rated episode for me has to have SOME action. So -1 for those things.

    Positive : This episode builds a very intriguing and nicely done story right from the beginning with the Klingon spy. I liked how the grandma admiral gradually transformed from a typical bureaucrat into a ruthless monster. I would not say that the paranoia seen in the episode is at all ridiculous. It is quite real, as was seen partly in the McCarthy trials, but most prominently in the Salem witch trials. The mob rule sentiment makes your blood boil, yet it is extememly applicable to the world today.

    "Witch hunting" in the sense exhibited in this episode is something that has occurred throughout human history. It is important to have episodes like this that remind us of problems within our culture. This episode is a manifestation of Gene Roddenberry's intentions at their finest, and as I said earlier they are what Star trek is all about. Makes you want to read the Crucible by Arthur Miller. Great Episode, I'd give it a 9, perhaps even a 10.
  • From Orion Pimpdaddy on 2006-05-07 at 2:26pm:
    "Trial" episodes of Trek have never been disappointing, but most fall along a predictable plot line. The trial always gets out of hand with the protagonist about to win, but the defendant pulls off a remarkable comeback in the end.

    It is always great to see Picard's moral conscience react to the things going on around him. This episode brings that out a lot. Worf, on the other hand, seems to be easily influenced by what is happening. This becomes out of line with his character as we know it. He may kill a person every now and then, but it is unlikely for him to conduct an unhonorable witch hunt.

    Although the Drumhead immediately relates to some of the issues of the modern world, such as the interrogation of suspected terrorists, I just find this episode forgettable just hours after I watched it.
  • From DSOmo on 2007-08-26 at 5:15am:
    A Klingon exobiologist? Not a "normal" occupation for a Klingon. Doesn't seem like a very "warrior-like" line of work to me.
  • From Firewater on 2008-03-03 at 7:47am:
    I have admired many of your TNG reviews although I will, respectfully, disagree with your comments on this one.

    I believe making the characters "out-of-character" until the end propelled this episode's story. At it's essence, it *was* about fear, uncertainty, doubt and paranoia. It was an example of how even the best of men/women can fall to the influence of such things, despite their intentions.

    All of the Romulan/Tarses shenanigans were red herrings. In the end, it was all a witch hunt with no verifiable ties to anything at all. To be honest, I see this as a very TOS episode, hinting at the way our society could easily shift back into McCarthyism even though (when this episode was aired) it was the 1990s.

    In fact, I would even go so far to say that this would be relevant today post-9/11. So I would just suggest looking at this episode from a slightly different viewpoint.. I think it's highly underrated and worth another shot.
  • From JRPoole on 2008-06-25 at 11:53pm:
    I'm in almost total agreement with the review here. I don't find this offensive really, but I do find it dreadfully dull, didactic, and obvious.

    On the subject of Tarses' Romulan heritage, I think the most reasonable explanation is that his grandfather was a defector who lived his life posing as a Vulcan to avoid trouble. Probably only his family knew the truth.
  • From Flot on 2010-09-24 at 7:40pm:
    I agree with your view, and think this episode could have easily been fantastic if it didn't feel like it came out of nowhere, nor end with no real consequences.

    I found it frustrating to watch because you could see that they were trying to take advantage of a lot of good content and continuity, but to no avail.
  • From MJ on 2011-01-07 at 5:27pm:
    I also agree with the vast majority of the webmaster’s ratings, but I would give this one a 7. The lack of explanation of Tarses fate doesn’t ruin it for me, nor does the lack of sufficient explanation for what exactly he did wrong (was it falsifying the application or the fact that his grandparent is Romulan?).

    The drama of the episode is irresistible, and the issues it grapples with are both complex and timely; it would’ve been interesting to see how differently this might have been written in a post-9/11 world. I also don’t think everyone is quite out of character. Worf’s paranoia at the prospect of having a Romulan spy on board seems very fitting, for example.

    The only other snag which knocks the episode down somewhat is that it seems strange that Admiral Satie would’ve been able to use tactics like this in all her investigations without throwing up any red flags. Sometimes it seems everyone at Starfleet are blind, despicable fools compared to Picard and crew.

    But overall, I really enjoyed it!
  • From Robert Koenn on 2011-03-16 at 8:43am:
    I personally found this to be a very good episode which I rated 8. I suppose a big part of that for me was the way it applies to our present Muslim fear mongering which is actually going on as I write with Rep. King's Muslim witch hunt in congress. It was so pertinent the way a powerful politician can gain fame by preying on the fears of the populace and undercutting our fundamental principles using this fear. It of course also reinforces that persons personae for personal gain. It was so great to see Picard handle this is such a moral and principled way that is portrays what one rationale individual can do to put these glory seekers in their place. I did not find the characterizations out of place and Worf has always been a character to jump off the deep end at a moments notice, not an inaccurate portrayal of his Klingon genetics at all. So for me using this alliterative to present day and historical events was quite good and I rated this episode quite high.
  • From ChristopherA on 2012-06-18 at 9:13pm:
    This is an excellent morality play, though a little clunky a times. While it is true that the characters seem to fall into the witch hunt mentality somewhat too easily, morality episodes like this usually have to play rather aggressively with characterization in order to get to the point and fit the episode within the time available. Also, it can be hard to set stories in a utopia. Measure of a Man has exactly the same issues as this – it makes the Federation justice system seem awfully unfair – but it works if you just accept the premises and go with the episode.
    - They never explain why Tarses lied on his application at all. So what if he is part-Romulan. Is the Federation racist? I thought it had been established that they had gotten over that. Perhaps the Federation is only racist when it comes to races that are currently enemies of the Federation.
    - DSOmo: Although the Klingons love thinking of themselves as warriors in spirit, that doesn't mean they have no other occupations. Somebody has to fill all those support roles.
  • From Quando on 2013-07-31 at 1:13am:
    This episode raises a question I often ask about Star Trek TNG: why is there no lawyer assigned to the Enterprise? This is the flagship of the Federation, and it's not like this is the first time that having a lawyer around would have really come in handy (see, e.g., Data's trial in the Measure of a Man, or the episode where Picard is analyzing the really complicated treaty with the Sheliac Corporate looking for a loophole). I mean, the Enterprise seems to have everything else. They have a botanist, a bartender, several waiters in Ten Forward, a barber, and even an expert on 20th century earth history (Wyatt what's-his-name on The Long Goodbye episode). But the best they can do for poor old Simon Tarses, with his career and maybe even his freedom hanging in the balance, is appointing Will Riker as his "counsel" (practicing law without a license). Remember when they stopped at that planet where everyone was half-naked and peaceful for shore leave? They asked Lt. Yar (who, I assume, has no legal training at all) to review the planet's legal system, and she concludes that there is "nothing unusual". Except, as it turns out, that they have the death penalty for EVERYTHING - including stepping on the flowers. Nice job Yar (although, you almost got Wesley killed, and in the words of Galron, I consider that "no small favor"). Come on. The Enterprise needs a lawyer. I'd be glad to volunteer!
  • From Troy on 2015-06-08 at 2:28pm:
    Yes a lawyer for the Enterprise...make him an ambulance chasing Ferengi!
  • From Chantarelle on 2015-12-23 at 1:07am:
    Like other commenters, I mostly agree with the reviews on this website, however, I disagree with most of this one. I’ll agree that the premise of the episode, and the witch hunt involved was kind of clumsy and forceful, however, if that had been handled better, then I think the Enterprise’s reaction, and their being ‘out of character’, would have been completely believable. That’s the whole point of causing that kind of fear and paranoia. I especially liked Worf’s embarrassment at being swayed so easily.
    Interesting to see that comments going back to 2006 talk about how relevant this episode is in ‘today’s’ world. Sadly, it seems to be even more relevant today than it was 10 years ago. Can only hope that people won’t still be saying that in 2026.
    Eric, if you read this, I’d be curious to know whether you have reviewed your opinion on this one since posting the review, and whether your opinion may have changed at all either due to some of the comments here, or a rewatch? Not that I’m implying it *should* change. Just curious :-)
  • From tigertooth on 2017-06-07 at 11:37pm:
    I remember really liking this one, and I was excited to re-watch it. I still liked it, but I certainly see some of the criticisms here. It's a bit obvious -- perhaps the tropes are more fully entrenched now than they were in 1991.

    Also, as someone pointed out, there's really no action and I'd add there's no real sci-fi either. Sure, there's hypospray-this and dilithium-that, but there's nothing that you couldn't easily put in a modern setting -- or even a few centuries pre-modern. Not a huge criticism, but it's interesting.

    Maybe even a bigger flaw than a lack of resolution on Tarses is the lack of resolution on Satie. What happened to her after this? It seems like she just went on to her next case. Yikes, no repercussions? I'd almost be tempted to check her for one of the aliens from Conspiracy (1x25).

    But more than that, the question I would have liked to have seen explored is: Why did Satie get so hellbent on finding traitors where they didn't exist? Without an answer to that, her motivation is a complete mystery, thus hurting the drama.

    Another problem is J'Dan. So there was a Klingon spying for the Romulans who was aboard the Enterprise?!!? Whoa! That's huge! And they only caught him by sheer luck that the new dilithium chamber hatch happened to be faulty in such a way that it happened to fail at just the right time and in just the right way that it looked at first like sabotage. Man, they got super duper lucky! What information did J'Dan transmit? How did he get turned by the Romulans? There's a lot of big stuff there that never gets discussed, and I think that's way bigger than all the talk about Tarses' grandfather. I get why the dropped the J'Dan story when they did, but it's a huge thread to just let go of.

    So while I still give this a thumbs up for the main story arc -- the nice Picard-Satie enemy-to-friend-to-enemy cycle -- nearly all the surrounding stuff with Tarses, Worf, and J'Dan
    is neutral at best. Even Genestra seemed like he'd be more interesting than he turned out to be. A ton of potential for an amazing episode (even without much action or sci-fi), but it didn't really come together.


  • From McCoy on 2017-12-10 at 4:29am:
    10/10.
    About lack of action - watch "Twelve angry men":)
    It's a great episode and even paradoxally good sf. Because it remind us that witch hunt is always possible, even in technologically advanced society. Human is always human and we need to watch our morality, no matter how "advanced" we think we are. People may think, that witch hunt were all about religion, but it's not true. Episodes like this makes me wonder - all that Federation stuff is to good to be true, and their confidence in "starfleet values" sometimes reminds me of totalitarism. Just a bit, of course, but still...
  • From Admiral Oh bummer! on 2021-08-03 at 3:58pm:
    A 1?? This is the episode I think of when I contemplate how great the Picard character and Patrick Stewart is.

    And to the guy who wonders about Grandma admirals...admirals are old, I mean we mostly see Grandma/Grandpa Admirals in Star Trek and even the great Admiral Nacheyev will be a Grandma Admiral in 10 years.

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Star Trek TNG - 5x09 - A Matter of Time

Originally Aired: 1991-11-18

Synopsis:
The Enterprise plays host to a visitor from the future. [DVD]

My Rating - 1

Fan Rating Average - 5.05

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 24 19 15 16 12 20 19 22 41 16 9

Problems
- Worf: "There were no phasers in the 22nd century." Uh, sure there were. Humans didn't have phasers, but Vulcans did, and so did Klingons. I guess Worf considers himself more human than he does Klingon!
- Why didn't the time travelers from the future just travel back in time and get their time ship back?

Factoids
None

Remarkable Scenes
- Rasmussen's sudden appearance on the bridge.
- Data attempting to weasel information about whether or not he's still alive in the 26th century out of Rasmussen.
- Rasmussen to Geordi regarding his visor: "How do you like it?" Geordi: "It allows me to see. I like it just fine."
- Beverly's response to being seduced by Rasmussen.
- Picard asking Rasmussen to divulge the correct choice of action.
- The Enterprise being a lightning rod...
- Data: "I assume your handprint will open this door whether you're conscious or not.
- Picard to Rasmussen: "Welcome to the 24th century."

My Review
A man from the 2100s encounters a time traveler, steals his ship, and travels to the 24th century where he attempts to steal technology then return. Assumedly for the purpose of profit. We can assume this guy was in this business in the early 2100s before Archer's Enterprise was launched. There would have been much more motivation back then. Besides the obvious logical problem of how a 26th century time traveler could lose his vessel to such a primitive human or why the 26th century time travlers didn't seek the return of their vessel, Picard argues himself into a hypocrite in this episode. Granted an impression is given that retracts his argument (after he makes his "choice"), the hypocrisy is still there. Rasmussen was trying to do exactly what Picard was trying to do when their positions were reversed. Funny how the whole perspective changes when Picard's suddenly in the more advanced timeline position.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From Pete Miller on 2006-04-15 at 10:10pm:
    Worf: "I hate questionnaires"

    I rather enjoyed Picard telling Rasmussen that he doesn't give a damn about his past.

    I also enjoyed the end. "Oh professor: welcome to the twenty FOURTH century." Oh yeah. That's what's up, professor. You just got served. Picard style. Fun episode that I liked quite a bit.
  • From Jeff on 2006-06-02 at 11:17pm:
    Problem:
    After arriving on the Enterprise, Rasmussen informs the crew that he is from the late 26th century and has traveled some "300 years" into the past to visit the Enterprise. Well, if he traveled from the late 26th century back to the late 24th century, that's a span of only 200 years.
  • From Sherlock on 2006-10-11 at 10:11pm:
    This is another of those episodes were the logic of the plot is bizarre, as Kethinov points out in the comments, but I have to say that I liked Matt Frewer's performance. He's so goofy that it makes the episode fun to watch. And I love in the beginning how he tells Picard to move over! Classic!
  • From DSOmo on 2007-09-09 at 3:17pm:
    - Troi says that she only feels Rasmussen is hiding something. Why can't Troi sense Rasmussen's deception? In "The Battle," Troi sensed "considerable deception" from the Ferengi captain. Troi should be able to sense Rasmussen's deception, but if she did, there would be no show! Then again, why can't Geordi sense Rasmussen's deception? In "Up The Long Ladder," Geordi immediately spotted the deception from the prime minister of the colony of clones. In that episode, Geordi claimed that his visor allowed him to see the physiological changes that accompany lying. He said it didn't always work on other races, but when it came to humans, he had them "pegged." Rasmussen is human.
    - During a conversation with Picard, Rasmussen continues to act out the part of a historian by measuring the width of the captain's ready room. He backs up against the door and methodically paces off the distance to the window. So how did the door know not to open? Rasmussen backs right up to it and it remains closed.
    - During the drilling, Worf tells Picard, "Target fourteen complete, sir." This means there are at least fourteen drill sites. Later, on one of the workstations, Riker shows Picard a graphic of all the drill sites. There are only eight drill sites in the picture. What happened to the other ones?
    - Rasmussen tells Data he intends to take the items he stole from the Enterprise back to the twenty-second century and "invent" them one at a time. Rasmussen's plan simply will not work. Suppose an inventor from the nineteenth century appears in our time and steals a laptop computer. He returns to his century - certain that fame and fortune await him when he "invents" this incredible contraption and markets it to the public. Let's say the "inventor" quickly learns how to operate it. Next, he disassembles the computer and confronts a very big problem. To him, the inside of the computer would be "magic." For the sake of argument, let's say that he figures out how the insides of the computer work. Now the "inventor" confronts an even worse problem. He has no way to manufacture the computer. An invention won't make you any sunstantial money unless you can mass-produce it. The infrastructure of manufacturing technology that allowed the creation of the laptop computer doesn't exist in the nineteenth century. The inventor has nothing more than an interesting artifact.
    - One of the items Rasmussen stole was a Klingon dagger. Don't they have knives in the twenty-second century? ;)
    - At the end of the episode, when Rasmussen begs to return to his own time in the twenty-second century, Picard won't let him. In fact, Picard asks Rasmussen a very peculiar question as Rasmussen continues pleading. Picard says, "Now, what possible incentive could anyone offer me to allow that?" Maybe Rasmussen is the great-great-great-great-great-grandfather of Riker. Maybe he helped Cochrane with a few conceptual ideas in the early stages of development of warp drive. Maybe he inspired a whole generation of leaders with his "fictitious tales" of life in the future. No one can know the impact of a single life. Yet Picard, with all his supposed knowledge of temporal logic, rips Rasmussen from the past by refusing to allow him to return.
  • From Remco on 2007-11-10 at 2:37pm:
    I'm not natively English speaking, so I could be wrong, but before the title sequence, Data says: "The odds are extremely unlikely." That's strange, because it's a contamination of "The odds are extremely against it" and "It's extremely unlikely". An android that doesn't produce contractions certainly shouldn't get creative with other parts of the English language.
  • From JRPoole on 2008-07-31 at 4:14pm:
    This one is entertaining if you don't think too hard about the ridiculous plot. Are we to believe that a 22nd century con man plans to steal items from the future by happening by the flagship of federation? Surely there's a better way to smuggle contraband back in time than screwing around with a starship. The post above that mentions the impossibility of "inventing" these types of items out of context is also right on, but maybe he just wasn't a very smart con man.

    This one gets a couple of points for me because Troi is pretty badass for a change, and the humor actually works here. Matt Frewer plays Rasmussen well as well.

    The thing that makes this ridiculous to me, and the reason I don't generally like temporal plots is that it's impossible to figure out the right course of action to keep history intact. What if, in the "real" timeline, many of the innovations common to the 24th century came about as a result of Rasmussen bringing them back?

    Bottom line: utterly ridiculous, but thoroughly entertaining. This is a 3.
  • From nirutha on 2010-09-29 at 12:11pm:
    I think your too hard on Picard in what I consider to be the only redeeming scene of this episode.
    The argument between Rasmussen and Picard spotlights the moral dilemma rather nicely and Patrick Steward delivers it very well.
    He has broken the Prime Directive when the ends justified it, and he's also willing to use information from the future to save lives and possibly change the course of history - but to him, it's the future, and it has yet to be written.
    I don't think it's hypocrisy at all, but it's up to the individual viewer to make a judgement. And I like that even more.

    Apart from that, I found Rasmussen utterly annoying. Would anyone really believe that's how a historian from the future would act?

    And then there's sloppy writing: All Troy can read is that Rasmussen is holding something back. And she really can't tell the difference between holding something back and outright deception - how convenient.
    Then they try to fix the planet's cimate with a procedure that could instantly kill the whole population in a terrible firestorm? And the colony leaders are o.k. with that? Of course, everything works just fine and the huge risk Picard is taking is not really felt.
    In the last scenes, Rasmussen is back in his ship, has taken Data prisoner and is about to return to his time - oh boy, how do we get out of this mess? Luckily, the Enterprise's computer could detect and disable all the equipment in Rasmussen's ship the second he opened the door, including the phaser he was pointing at Data.
    A very, very poor deus ex machina ending, even for ST:TNG.
  • From Doddzy on 2012-07-10 at 6:39pm:
    wat about at the end, his time ships destination was 22nd centuary new jersy, woulnd'nt someone else find it and use it?
  • From ChristopherA on 2019-04-30 at 11:22am:
    The plot twist (guy from 26th century is actually from 22nd) is clever and I didn't see it coming, but otherwise I agree this episode is bad. Episode spent watching Rasmussen be annoying, then it turns out his plan was poorly executed (there were much easier ways to make a profit with the time machine!) and is solved with a deus ex machina.

    I can come up with some hand waving justifications after the fact. Maybe he chose the flagship of the federation (of all places) to try his con because he is a poor time pilot with a lot less control of the time capsule than he pretends to have. And the ending could have made more sense if they had set it up with Geordi rigging some sort of radiation pulse directed at the time capsule to fry the electronics as soon as the door was opened.
  • From Chuck the Canuck on 2023-07-03 at 4:03pm:
    Rasmussen's behavior is just too intrusively obnoxious while trying to pass himself off as a future historian. He says he just wants to observe, and yet the crew is well aware and annoyed by his continuous comments and interruptions. I have a hard time believing they didn't challenge him sooner. Several of them suspected something was up with him, so it's frustrating to see them all play along.

    I did enjoy Picard's discussion with him when trying to get insight on his decision about the planet. He made some great points, and clearly Rasmussen was not prepared to have a philosophical challenge to his ruse.

    I give this a 3. Pretty silly but at the very least, entertaining.

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Star Trek TNG - 6x13 - Aquiel

Originally Aired: 1993-2-1

Synopsis:
Geordi falls in love with an alien murder suspect. [DVD]

My Rating - 1

Fan Rating Average - 4.11

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 23 11 15 20 22 26 46 9 5 5 1

Problems
None

Factoids
None

Remarkable Scenes
- Picard intimidating Morag with his influence over Gowron.
- Aquiel showing up on the Enterprise.
- Crusher's hand showing up in the gunk.
- Geordi phasering the shape shifting life form.

My Review
An absolutely dull episode and sad in a way. Another tragic LaForge romance in which we watch him spend virtually the whole episode trying to land a girl only to be turned down in the end. The murder plot is confusing right up until the last moment at which point LaForge employs Texas justice, murdering the murderer. It's a little absurd that he never once called for security despite the fact that he had plenty of time to, and could easily outrun the shape shifting blob. I'm a big fan of LaForge and all, but frankly, this has got to be one of his worst episodes.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From DSOmo on 2007-12-01 at 2:27am:
    - In one of her personal logs, Unari yearns for a glass of real muskin seed punch, the kind her mother used to make. She doesn't think the replicator does a very good job. Later, Geordi brings her a glass of muskin seed punch in Ten-Forward and Unari acts like it is wonderful. Is Unari just trying to make Geordi feel good or did Geordi get into Guinan's personal supply?
    - This coalescent being is either not very smart or it made a bad mistake. Crusher states that it probably has to change bodies every few days. The episode supports this by saying that the coalesced officer arrived at the relay station several days before the incident with Unari. Supposedly he attacked Unari because he needed the food. But the episode's dialogue indicates that the station assignment lasts for a year. What was the being going to do after it consumed Unari and her dog? The station is out in the middle of nowhere. If the being absorbed the officer before he arrived at the station, why would he go somewhere with such a limited supply of nutrition?
    - Someone made a mistake in the sound effects department. During the last scene between Geordi and Unari, they sit together in Ten-Forward. At one point, the "boop" sound effect for a companel page momentarily interrupts their conversation. Strangely, no one pages Geordi or Unari, and the scene continues as if nothing happened!
  • From sarah on 2008-07-20 at 7:45pm:
    was the dog a berger picard (dog breed) ?
  • From JRPoole on 2008-09-19 at 11:03am:
    I agree. This one is "absolutely dull and sad." Geordi can't get a break with the ladies to save his life. What is it about Engineers and women? Scottie had this kind of luck as well.

    Apart from that, the saddest thing is that a pretty cool idea gets completely wasted here. I love the idea of the coalescent being, but the way it's executed here is just boring. The plot just sort of plods along and then explodes at the very end with the dog attaching LaForge.

    Think for a second how shitty an assignment Aquiel has in the first place. She's stuck on a remote outpost for at least a year with only one other person for company, but she's listening to everybody's communication. It would have driven her crazy even if her new partner hadn't been a homicidal blob of ectoplasm. Now that's something that could have been explored a little better. But, alas, this episode squanders it all. I bump it up a point for at least having an interesting premise, so it's a 2.
  • From Jeremy Reffin on 2009-08-03 at 1:20am:
    I'm having problems recreating the murder scene here. Rocha/Blob attacks Uhnari in order to absorb her. Does it succeed a bit (Geordi suggests an initiation of coalescence may have been responsible for her loss of memory) ? Uhnari phasers the blob down to scrap DNA - interfering with the absorption process ?? Uhnari flees to shuttlecraft having interrupted absorption ??? Bits of blob (missed by the phaser meltdown of Rocha ????) then absorb the pooch ????? Or something. Sheesh what a mess.

    I know - who cares, get a life.
  • From thaibites on 2012-07-04 at 9:53pm:
    Hey, at least this chick was real and not some computer generated fantasy.
  • From Arianwen on 2013-01-02 at 7:40am:
    The episode isn't just dull, it's idiotic as well.
    - Uhnari confesses to Geordi that she deleted the logs because she "was afraid that if they found the letter they'd blame [her] for the murder". This directly contradicts her earlier statement: if she had no memory of a murder, then she had no reason to get rid of the evidence! Or memory of having removed the logs at all, for that matter. Did she delete the logs AFTER she came to the Enterprise? If so, what kind of incompetence would allow a bloody murder suspect to teleport off the damn ship?
    - Crusher, Picard, Riker and Worf are all aware of the shape-shifting organism. Not ONE of them thinks of the dog. Riker even has a conversation with Geordi while PETTING it - even the Red Dwarf crew would have noticed!
    Everyone's holding the Stupid ball today. One can only assume the senior staff are still concussed from their previous adventure.
  • From Mike on 2017-04-23 at 6:30pm:
    By far the worst episode of Season 6. I agree that Aquiel's story never adds up even after her "memory drain" is explained and her fight with Lieutenant Blobcha. The entire Klingon thing turns out to be a red herring. La Forge spends a big chunk of the episode getting to know this woman only to have it go absolutely nowhere. And, after all of that, his skirmish with the coalescent being is painful to watch.

    At least they brought Leah Brahms-the real one-back for some continuity and development of Geordi's character. Aquiel gets an episode named after her, makes quite an impression on the Chief Engineer, and then disappears for good.

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Star Trek TNG - 7x14 - Sub Rosa

Originally Aired: 1994-1-31

Synopsis:
Crusher falls under the spell of a ghost lover. [DVD]

My Rating - 1

Fan Rating Average - 2.67

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 52 41 13 14 11 7 0 4 4 12 9

Problems
- In one scene, the Enterprise was in standard orbit during the power transfer, which seems like an impossible situation to maintain, as eventually the Enterprise would be on the other side of planet, unable to maintain a moving beam on a fixed target. In another scene they were motionless, as they should have been in the previous scene. In another scene, they were in standard orbit again!

Factoids
- This episode establishes that it is a trivial matter to change the color of one's eyes in the 24th century.

Remarkable Scenes
- The foggy Enterprise.

My Review
This episode is severely boring and cheap ghost story horror all set in a 24th century old Scotland clone colony. Quite trite. Have the writers not learned to how to write science fiction in the last few decades? Essentially the story amounts to Beverly quitting starfleet to sit alone in her house with a candle waiting for her phantom man to sweep her off her feet and Picard and crew becoming ghost hunters. Finally, the episode reeks of tastelessness when Beverly's grandmother is briefly and spontaneously resurrected by Ronin for absolutely no reason. In the end, Beverly kills the energy life form of the week out of anger; completing the circle of cliches.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From Wolfgang on 2008-05-20 at 6:58pm:
    Why did they make this episode? It's not even science-fiction, and certainly not Star Trek. Just a waste of time. If they wanted to put some spotlight on Crusher, why not give her a good episode...
  • From Paul on 2010-08-18 at 8:43am:
    I am Scottish so yet again I am forced to listen to the worst american versions of Scottish accents I've ever heard

    Also if they were trying to recreate the Scottish highlands why did they use stones from Glasgow and Edinburgh?
  • From Tallifer on 2011-03-13 at 5:36am:
    I like stories where the ghosts are shown to be tricks, hallucinations, dreams, mere legends or hoaxes. That is the triumph of rationality which is fitting in a science fiction universe.

    I hate stories where ghosts are explained by nonsensical pseudo-science. Which is more rational? The spirits of dead people haunting the world and possessing the living, or "anaphasic" aliens using "plasma" candles as foci and inhabiting people with green energy? Neither is rational of course, and the latter is just as stupid as television psychics and alien abductions.
  • From thaibites on 2013-01-04 at 9:50pm:
    Another one for the ladies. I think Dr. Beverly actually had a couple orgasms during this episode, which is pretty daring for TNG.
    At least this one was better than the episode where where Dr. Beverly fell in love with a big intestinal sea cucumber.
  • From L on 2013-05-01 at 10:26pm:
    Beverly's performance was quite, um, erotic. It was clear what form the energy alien's 'gift' to her took. Her aura of post-coital bliss/addict with a fix was quite convincing.

    There was nothing particularly wrong with the relationship as it seemed quite symbiotic, it could have worked quite fine in other circumstances. It did however make Beverly act like an irrational addict and cut ties to her friends.
    But really this was just an excuse for a gothic genre episode. Worth it for Beverly's performance.
  • From Sloganlogo on 2014-04-30 at 4:22pm:
    small trivia…In the first Scene after the titles between Troi and Beverly you can clearly see a grave stone with the name McFly…The scene ends with Beverly asking Troi to walk with her to visit a house and off the go.

    In the next scene Picard is chatting to a Colony local and in the background you can clearly see Troi in the background walking right to left. She ends up in the same position she was in the the last scene. I suspect they swapped the two scenes about.
  • From rendraG on 2015-01-08 at 2:32pm:
    Great ghosty fun with lots of olde world sets. Nice to see Picards almost death for love to overcome passion and the spell Ronin had casted over Beverly and her unfortunate but clearly sexually exhausted ancestors.

    Ronins emotional and sexual domination of Beverly combined with the sensual acting of Gates McFadden make this the naughtiest episode in all of Star Trek. Woof.


  • From Keefaz on 2017-02-18 at 6:45pm:
    Amazingly rotten episode. Absolute guff from start to finish. The bizarre Scottish colony which has 25th century power and weather stabilisation facilities but also candles, open fires, dusty books and so on. Weird accents. Ghost sex. The creepy revelation the ghost has been preying on every female ancestor of Beverley.

    A terrible episode, then, but one that is so odd and singular that it doesn't diminish the series as you couldn't even consider it a Star Trek episode.

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Star Trek TNG - 7x17 - Masks

Originally Aired: 1994-2-21

Synopsis:
Data is taken over by personalities from an extinct civilization. [DVD]

My Rating - 1

Fan Rating Average - 4.07

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 32 27 13 13 13 18 10 10 11 13 14

Problems
- Troi says the two alien personalities are like the sun and the moon; that only one can be in control of Data at any given time. Has she never heard of a solar or lunar eclipse? In fact, on Earth, there are cases when both the sun and the moon are visible at the same time. What a terrible analogy. They should have just used night and day instead.

Factoids
None

Remarkable Scenes
- Data: "What does it feel like to lose one's mind?"

My Review
I'm not fond of this one. Brent Spiner's usual excellent acting is wasted on a silly android multiple personalities plot. The biggest problem with the overall plot is that it seems to go nowhere and make no point. It wanders aimlessly to the inevitable reset button conclusion. There is no character development because Data is out of character virtually the entire episode. Only Picard is interesting in the episode, because he's so fascinated by ancient cultures. Overall the idea behind the episode is a good one, but this particular implementation just came off as silly.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From Orion Pimpdaddy on 2006-06-25 at 2:24pm:
    This is what happens when the writing staff takes LSD before creating the script. This is an absolute off the wall episode that differs from anything that has ever been produced in the Trek universe. Usually, having an off the wall episode brings vitality to a show, but Masks fails on many levels.

    It is hard to believe that while the ship is being converted to an alien landscape, that no vital systems would disappear, causing destruction. By the way, where was the rest of the crew in this episode. Did they send everyone to their quarters?

    On top of all that, this episode is just boring. The plot develops at a snail's pace as the crew tries to discover what the solution is. It feels like a bad three-hour movie. The dialog between Picard, Worf, Riker, and Troi is drab. There are attempts at humor ("the observation lounge is a swamp"), but nobody is laughing as they watch this episode.

    The shameful thing is, the idea behind this episode is fantastic. It probably would have worked if the alien device did not possess Data. I would have rather seen the actual aliens appearing on the ship. The episode does not fail in the art department, however. It seems like they spent a lot of time and money to produce the set pieces.

    I would give this episode a 0, but I'll give it a 1 because of its artistic quality.
  • From David Murray on 2011-04-01 at 3:48pm:
    I recently aquired the entire series of TNG and decided to watch them all from beginning to end. I was very pleased to discover that there were about 4 episodes that somehow I had never seen on TV before and so it was cool to get to watch "new" episodes of TNG. However, the last of these "new" episodes for me was Masks. I must admit I could barely make it through this episodes. I was cringing constantly at how horrible it was. Not only was it down right dumb, but it was also boring. Take the TOS episode "Spock's Brain" which people say is really bad. Well, it is bad. But despite out dumb it is, it is actually fun to watch. Masks is not entertaining in the least. In fact I'd probably have fallen asleep except for the cringing of bad scenes keeping me awake. I would probably rate this as the worst episode of all time.
  • From MJ on 2011-04-26 at 2:10pm:
    I guess I'm one of the few who didn't find this one so bad. Average, yes, but not horrible.

    The main problem I have is how long it takes the crew to recognize that Korgano is the moon. Picard should have figured that out almost immediately. Instead, they stretch the problem out beyond believability. This is what makes a potentially solid episode average, in my view.

    As for vital ship systems not falling victim to transformation, I suppose it could be explained that this archive is so advanced and sophisticated that it could recognize which aspects of the ship are safe to transform...after all, this thing apparently interfaced with Data and uploaded thousands of personalities into his system. Clearly the technology is beyond that of the Federation in some regards.

    It does seem strange that such an advanced culture would be so superstitious as to believe in sun-goddesses and moon-gods. However, it could be that the creators of this archive were actually showcasing their own ancient history, rather than the way their culture was at the time the archive was built.

    So I think some loose ends can be tied up here but I agree it's very dull at some points. With Spiner's acting, the set design, and at least a somewhat plausible story, I give it a 5.
  • From Bronn on 2011-10-05 at 5:02pm:
    I have to agree with the above commenter. It's by no means a classic episode, and the premise is silly, with a lot of nonsense science. But Spiner and Stewart are excellent actors who really want to make this high-concept (shudder whenever Brennan Braga ever uses that phrase) story work. What I love about Brent Spiner is that he really commits-they ask him to play a series of different mythological personalities that are taking over Data's programming, and he absolutely runs with it. Watching him provides the only moments when this episode is not completely absurd. I'd give it a 4, just based on how much I like Brent Spiner.
  • From Arbit on 2012-05-01 at 5:03pm:
    Just awful. Some "highlights":

    - Picard getting impatient and deciding to just melt the comet (!??!?)
    - Ancient civilization capable of creating a gigantic space temple many times the size of the enterprise living in fear of a sun god
    - The crew struggling to identify the crescent-shaped companion symbol of the sun symbol (perhaps... they are antlers?)
    - Alien communication device accidentally transmutes spaceship parts into crappy looking concrete blocks and random jungle foliage (I can see it causing power surges and other weird phenomenon, but what sort of communications tech screws up so bad it starts transmuting matter? Maybe I'll try to plug a USB flashdrive into an old PS2 port and see if my computer will transmute my couch into gold bricks)
    - Picard literally talking the sun god to sleep
    - Etc etc

    Maybe the worst part about this episode is it was a waste of a totally awesome premise. An ancient 87+ million year old comet/temple, traveling in deep space to nowhere, starts to interfere with the ship's systems, projecting strange runes on readouts and materializing strange totems everywhere! What sort of Cthulian interdimensional horror have the crew uncovered? The crew, belonging to an intergalactic hippie empire, immediately assume it's an ancient repository of information. "Yeah right" you think. "And the creators chucked into deep space where no one had any reasonable chance of finding it? Set course for INSANITY, warp ten billion!!!"

    No, it's really just an archive and it accidentally started projecting its boring sun/moon god mythology onto the ship.
  • From L on 2013-05-04 at 5:36am:
    A proto-Egyptian/Sumerian civilisation's equivalent of the afterlife; they've somehow recorded the personalities and experiences of key citizens, stuck that record in a starship, inside a comet, and they replay themselves through any available medium once activated, ie, Data and the Enterprise's computer system.
    Interesting and silly at the same time. What was so important about this scenario that a civilisation developed technology that only rational minds could produce, to replay something that only irrational superstition could produce?
    An ironic public service announcement?
    I like the idea of exploring the intersection between myth and high-tech ability, but was not convinced.
  • From Daniel on 2014-01-25 at 3:01am:
    My biggest complaint about this episode is that Picard - despite his extensive studies of mythology and ancient cultures - could not figure out that the crescent moon symbol he kept seeing was the moon. As many cultures use similar symbols, and he already knew the other symbol was the sun, it was an obvious correlation.

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Star Trek TNG - 7x09 - Force of Nature

Originally Aired: 1993-11-15

Synopsis:
Warp drive may be destroying the universe. [DVD]

My Rating - 0

Fan Rating Average - 3.2

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 48 29 10 20 12 19 14 7 3 7 10

Problems
- Much of this episode drowns in technobabble, but Data's idea to "warp coast" through the rift is simply ridiculous. Warp speed without a warp field? WTF is that? If it were possible, every ship would already be doing this. Furthermore, how was Data planning to beam away the entire crew at warp anyway?

Factoids
- This episode is the winner of my "Worst Episode of TNG Award" and is therefore a candidate for my "Worst Episode Ever Award."

Remarkable Scenes
- Geordi describing his little "contest" with the Intrepid.
- Data attempting to train his cat.
- Serova killing herself to prove her theory.

My Review
This episode is very annoying. The idea that warp drive destroys the universe is simply ridiculous. Even if the Federation agreed to throw away warp drive altogether, what incentive is there for the Klingons, the Romulans, or any other race ignorant or uncaring of the danger from continuing to use it? The resolution in this episode is simply ridiculous too. A warp speed limit does not solve the problem, and nobody obeys the speed limit anyway. The implications of this episode are largely forgotten in future episodes, by necessity of course. Sure, a few episodes reference this one slapping the fans in the face that it's still canon, but I just can't accept it. There are rationalizations floating around about how new engine designs such as that used by Voyager allow ships to use warp "safely," but again, what about old ships still in service? What about ships used by other races? This episode just unleashes far too many cans of worms to be considered acceptable.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From Pete Miller on 2006-05-27 at 11:36pm:
    I felt really stupid when I JUST noticed in THIS episode that you can pull chairs out of the science and engineering stations on the bridge. I had seen people sitting there before, but never really thought about where the chairs came from. You learn something new every day....

    I give this episode a zero not because of its non-canonness, but rather because of its purely political agenda. The fact that it is not taken into consideration in future episodes only proves the point that it is a standalone episode meant to promote a liberal environmental agenda. The warp drive is a metaphor for cars putting out exhaust, and the "rift" is a metaphor for the hole in the ozone layer. Putting restrictions on warp speed is like putting emission restrictions on cars. I would think star trek would be above trying to give Al Gore a pat on the back in the early nineties, but I guess I overestimated them.
  • From Orion Pimpdaddy on 2006-06-16 at 12:57am:
    In response to the other comment. I hope that environmental concerns someday become less political. The automatic knee jerk reaction of placing all environmental movements on the "left" is rooted in bogus thinking. There are religious organizations that are organizing themselves into environmental groups. They believe that we are all caretakers. I advise that people take this under consideration before they post political rants on Star Trek websites.
  • From Wing Fat on 2007-10-02 at 12:24am:
    I agree that this episode is terrible and completely motivated by political agenda. The whole basis of Star Trek is the exploration of space. Why would you want to suddenly say that the technology that allows that to happen is bad and has to stop? You wouldn't, that's ridiculous. I kept expecting them to discover something they overlooked and find the whole theory was wrong after all, but they didn't, and when it gets to the end and Picard gives his "I was destroying the very thing that I loved" speech I felt, as a Star Trek fan, that I had been slapped in the face.

    Star Trek has always tackled social issues, but if you want to point out the evils of polution do it in a more direct manner by having a mission to a planet that's poluted. You don't say "space flight is bad and needs to be stopped" when your show has always been about what a wonderous adventure space flight is.
  • From JRPoole on 2008-10-29 at 10:50am:
    I don't want to defend this horrible episode, but I do want to cast my lot with the person above who lamented that environmental issues are always political. The fate of the planet is (or at least should be) bigger than any political agenda. If you're interested in this kind of debate, I suggest E.O. Wilson's execeptional book "Creation." It's basically an open letter to a hypothetical Southern Baptist minister. Wilson, who, as an evolutionary biologist, is an agnostic, argues that conservation and taking care of the planet are issues that should be shared by both Christians and atheists alike. I like it because it'a an attempt to bridge the gap and stake common ground, something that people on either side of the political divide have seemingly lost the ability to do.

    As for this episode, I agree that it deserves a zero. There is a lame attempt in a handful of later episodes to make in canonical, but it just doesn't stick. The agenda is heavy-handed, especially Picard's moralizing at the end, the whole thing is just plain dull. Trek has always been on the forefront of social commentary, and, as a general rule, it does a good job. Episodes like this one, though, are so thinly-veiled that they become annoying, much like the TOS episode featuring the half black/half white mime makeup aliens. I know that's a fan favorite, but I've always thought it was a really lame, overly obvious comment on race relations, much like this dreadful episode is a really lame, overly obvious comment on fossil fuels.
  • From Orion Pimpdaddy on 2010-01-14 at 9:20am:
    Regardless of my response from years ago, I think that both sides can agree on one thing: this episode sucked. I think the wrting staff wanted to do an environmental episode, but didn't have a lot of good ideas. In the series, space travel was always made out to be a wonderous thing that helped humanity grow. Now it's a bad thing?

    There was another episode where there was a planet with huge amount of air pollution. The race living on this planet created technology to take the pollution out of the air, but it could hardly keep up. It didn't go into any more detail than that. I can't think of what episode that is, but I think it could have been an "environmental episode" if the had fleshed it out more.
  • From Paul on 2010-08-19 at 7:54am:
    It would have been better if it was only in this small region of space there was a problem (as opposed to the whole universe). Initially I did think this was the case, that the rifts were limited to the vicinity of the alien planet, but then at the end of the episode they start talking about universal warp drive limitations. Shame
  • From Florian on 2011-01-09 at 6:40am:
    I don't see why there is so much hatred against this episode. Basically, I think the central idea is quite witty; it is another real-world problem transferred to a futuristic setting as seen in many successful episodes before. It is not uncommon in our world that many decades after the initial enthusiasm, a new technology turns out to be not that beneficial to our health or environment at all. Reacting to the newly discovered problem takes its time, particularly when the technology is meanwhile perceived as indispensable. Obviously, this always leads to a certain amount of denial before habits are changing. After the initial skepticism, this episode complies with the spirit of TNG's more enlightened mankind that the crew quite quickly accepts that habits must indeed be changed, a process that would probably not happen within the same generation in our current world. As an example, some 50 years ago highways were being extended and increasing car numbers seen as a sign of progress, while environmental concerns were considered the opinion of radical minorities. As opposed to that, only nowadays hardly anyone in their sane mind would actually doubt that car emissions do some harm and must be reduced or avoided in the future; emission restrictions for motorized vehicles, speed restrictions along environmental protection compounds and reducing/rerouting highways so as to preserve or regrow forests are commonplace and it has become totally natural to leave your car in the garage if you can reach your destination by bus or train, unless there are any heavy goods to transport.
    Along the same lines, it is interesting how exactly the fundamental concept that makes the whole Star Trek universe possible as it is is questioned. After all, nature is not an intelligent being (unless we want to consider some esoteric claims) and cannot be reasoned with. No matter what other benefits space travel might bring, this will not reduce the problems caused by warp engines. Thus, reducing the deteriorating effects by imposing a warp speed limit is a straightforward step, even if not all warp-capable species will obey to those rules right away (after all, some third-world countries still polluting the air is not an argument against reducing pollution in the own country - somewhere, a start has to be made). Unfortunately, this is where the episode starts to turn irrelevant, as the speed limit is mentioned a few times later, and that's it. As stated in the episode, the speed limit may be ignored in the precise event that there's an emergency, which is exactly the one situation that we usually see when Enterprise is running out of time. So, the speed limit mostly affects all the off-screen vessels. Another, similar problem is that warp speeds and travel times have always been the archetype of a plot device on Star Trek, so realistically, the speed limit cannot have any deeper impact than being mentioned every now and then. For that reason, it might have been better to make another technology rather used as a tool than as the base of the adventures the culprit, such as phasers, tricorders or the transporter (which could all be replaced with more environmental-friendly, but more cumbersome alternatives).
    Plot-wise, the episode somewhat trickles down and fails to really build up much suspense. Particularly for a problem of this scale, it might have been beneficial to build up the story over several episodes (which was of course not yet usual in the days of TNG). As it is, all we have seen about the problem is a new colorful anomaly. The alien scientists refer to geological problems on their homeworld, but as we don't even get to see the homeworld, we have to take their word for it. Therefore, I'd give this episode a score of 3/10 points.
  • From Robert Koenn on 2011-06-27 at 9:39am:
    Well I rated it a 2 mainly because of technical inconsistencies. It was obviously a blatant plot line written to express an analogy with pollution in our world. But the worst part for me was that the plot line was basically ridiculous and only used for this episode while not be followed up with on future episodes or series in the Trek universe. I thought initially it only applied to this region of space as well and that might have made it more palatable but in the end it seemed that it was for the universe. There have been other episodes that stressed morale significance and I found some interesting as applied to our countries reaction to 9/11 with a much more enlightened view but this was a very poor plot line to express environmental concerns. I wonder if it was simply a vain search for a plot line or the writers coming up with an absurd plot line to stress a point.
  • From Dstyle on 2013-09-09 at 4:45pm:
    The Enterprise spent quite a bit of this episode being bumped and jarred through subspace rifts and whatnot, which reminded me of an obvious yet easy to forget fact: the set is not moving, the camera is. So when the Enterprise gets hit by enemy fire or a subspace distortion wave or is just having a bumpy ride, all of the actors are sitting there bouncing in their seats, which is a pretty funny mental image to have. You're welcome. :)
  • From Bronn on 2015-08-02 at 12:53am:
    I have a tough time with this one. I'm sympathetic to environmental issues, and I get Trek wanting to create an environment aesop. I like that there isn't a cheap solution because that would diminish the struggle of environmental concerns in the real world: we can't just invent a magical device that solves all our energy problems without any side effects.

    What harms this episode is that it's picking on one of the necessary plot devices that underly the series. We like Star Trek, so we obviously just want to enjoy our entertainment without thinking that we're contributing to the destruction of reality just wanting to see our heroes go on adventures. We're not going to receptive to saying, "Well...guess they should all stop exploring and go home, then." It'd be like an episode of the Dukes of Hazard where someone tells the Dukes that they should trade the General Lee in for something more fuel-efficient. Viewers of the show aren't receptive to that message.

    Moreover, the Enterprise itself is a pillar of eco-friendly ideas. Recycling on a starship is taking to its greatest extreme. I mean, Geordi is talking about energy efficiency of 97.2% on the ship: If we had a process that could do that, we'd solve so many real-world problems!

    A better message would have been to say it's a problem with the anti-matter, which is the real source of energy on the Enterprise, and go with Geordi's plot of efficient energy use which is part of the subplot. If you say that Anti-matter reactions are producing small amounts of radiation, you can call the Enterprise crew out on the little ways they can save energy so they're using less, which is a MUCH better real-world environmental message. Have someone wonder if their ship really needs to be so big that they have these lush individual quarters as nice as small apartments. Turn the lights off when they leave a room. Save cups and plates instead of producing new flatware everytime you replicate a meal. It would have been EASY to make little continuity nods to that sort of thing in DS9 and Voyager. And then, it wouldn't be the magic tech creating a magic problem that's contrived to be very important here but will never matter again.
  • From Mike on 2017-04-23 at 11:01am:
    I think where this episode went wrong was in attempting to suddenly make this a problem for the entire galaxy. Initially, it sounded like something that was affecting subspace in the corridor and therefore any warp restrictions would just be in that one sector. Had they stuck with that, they could've gotten the environmental message across and been able to avoid any problems with canon. As the episode itself points out, there's no indication other warp-capable species will all abide by this or even agree with the findings. And, like I say, why this affects Federation warp travel everywhere and not just in the Hekarans' own sector is never made clear.

    I get the sense it was Picard's reaction at the end that really soured a lot of people on this one. He basically makes it sound like the entire Star Trek endeavor is destroying the universe, which is a true overreaction. La Forge's reaction fitted the episode a bit better. He's confronted with warp engines-a think he's been working on his whole life-being responsible for destabilizing a particular area of space purely by doing what they do.
  • From Captain Obumico on 2021-08-22 at 12:05pm:
    Agreed, I like episodes that annoy conservatives (who strangely never want to conserve the environment) as much as the next guy, but they should have done it without the lame warpspeed limit.
    I see the whole thing not as a climate change analogy, but about the CFC ozone layer thing in the 90s.
    That also got resolved despite conservative resistance and without speed limits :D

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Star Trek TNG - 7x23 - Emergence

Originally Aired: 1994-5-9

Synopsis:
The Enterprise develops its own intelligence. [DVD]

My Rating - 0

Fan Rating Average - 4.14

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 34 18 15 7 11 15 7 12 12 8 16

Problems
- Uhh... so... the Enterprise develops an intelligence and even reproduces! And then suddenly just stops? For no reason?

Factoids
- This episode is a candidate for my "Worst Episode of TNG Award".

Remarkable Scenes
- The Enterprise starting to freak out.
- Data holding back a car.

My Review
More filler, this time worse because we've got bad sci fi to go along with it. Throw in the stock holodeck malfunction along with a no consequences plot, among many other things, and we've got ourselves one hell of a cliched episode. Besides the cliche, the science in this episode is really, really bad. I just find it hard to believe the Enterprise could come alive and reproduce, then never do it again, all of which for no reason.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From RichD on 2006-05-03 at 5:23pm:
    What an atrocious, abysmal episode. Lazy writing, uninspired acting, and erratic pacing. The Enterprise gives birth? What is going on? At this point in time in the series, in the 7th season, we should have never, ever been subjected to such a complete waste of time. My goodness. I can only think of one other episode that was worse, Shades of Gray.
  • From -ezm- on 2010-06-02 at 3:25pm:
    Absolutely terrible episode. Bottom 5 for sure. To think that All Good Things would only be 3 episodes later.
  • From Paul on 2010-08-19 at 10:40am:
    I felt violently sick while watching this episode. Not sure if that was related to its intense badness.

    Also interesting to note is the guy that plays the train conductor is also Jeffery Lebowski in 'The Big Lebowski'. I recognised his voice and couldn't work it out for ages ^^
  • From ElGuapo on 2011-12-14 at 2:14pm:
    Another computer turned intelligent episode... At least this one wasn't as bad as the one with the little repair robots that turned self-aware. Still, an awful episode. The only saving grace is the.. wait... I can't think of anything.

    Oh wait.. I know.. maybe the new lifeform will look cool when TNG hi-def comes out in 2012! Right now it looks like the pipe screensaver from Windows 95.

  • From L on 2013-05-09 at 2:27am:
    Very irritating.

    Using a mixed historical holodeck scenario to explore the ship's 'mind' seemed like cheating and cheap production values. I guess they made it justifiable, but it was pretty cheesy as a metaphor.

    Picard saying they have a responsibility to respect the ship as any other living being is just stupid.
    It's a highly crucial tool and a mobile environment that supports the crew's life; its developing intelligence is a serious problem as its desire for individual freedom is in immediate conflict with a desire to keep your environment supporting you and your crew's life. It demonstrated it was willing to kill them all when it started to use life support energy to reach the second star.
    This is no time to be a hippie, an immediate lobotomy is called for!

    I did like how in the end he said that the Enterprise's consciousness was the sum of their experiences and adventures over the years, so in a sense the crew was also the parent of the new life-form. A nice way to think about it.
    But it was still a pretty unrealistic reaction to a ridiculous situation.

    Good parts -
    The analysis of Prospero and Shakespeare in the first scene.
    Data out of the holodeck still with crazy hair and moustache.
    Introducing the concept of consciousness as an emergent function of complexity. If only they had explored it in a better plot.

    I'm sure there's been some ridiculous lines in seven years of The Next Generation, but Troi's
    "I think we should follow that man, that brick might be an important clue.",
    has to be one of the greatest.
  • From Emily on 2014-02-10 at 6:50pm:
    I think for you to truly understand this episode it would be beneficial to have a deeper understanding of The Tempest.

    In some ways I think that the ship’s intelligence, trying to break away from the confines of the ship in to a higher state of being is in many ways comparable to Ariel in The Tempest, a spirit who we are told is imprisoned within a tree (a thing of the earth in which a spirit of the air does not belong).

    Ariel is freed from this chamber by Prospero and in return he obeys him as a servant. Prospero uses Ariel to control the forces of nature (it is worth noting here that the term ‘magick’ in Shakespeare’s time could be used to mean wisdom about natural forces/elements) in order to complete his mission of diplomacy. This is undeniably similar to the relationship between Captain Picard and The Enterprise.

    As the play progresses, Ariel itches more and more for complete freedom from his earthly tasks. Prospero is a man of his word, and eventually releases Ariel once he has done everything Prospero has asked of him.

    Another interesting thing to note about this episode, is that it is very close to the end of TNG. The Tempest was Shakespeare’s last (and arguably best) solo work and a lot of the play parallels Prospero’s magic art to Shakespeare’s art as a play write. At the end of the play (this is the scene shown at the beginning of the episode) Prospero says goodbye to his magic, and indeed the epilogue to the play can be interpreted as Shakespeare’s heart-warming goodbye to the theatre. Perhaps the use of this play is a nod to the fact that the writers would shortly be saying goodbye to TNG.

    I could probably continue to research and write for days about the symbolism in this episode, the use of opposites, the exploration of the psyche, the ‘Brave new world’ and how this all relates to The Tempest and further to humanity.

    However as this is and old article on an old webpage I’m guessing my efforts would amount to very little. I think what I’m saying is that this episode has a lot more to it than what you have taken prima facie and if anyone reading this has decided to just take a look at this episode and The Tempest in maybe a little more depth they will be greatly rewarded by what they find, and furthermore what I have written would have been worthwhile.
  • From Daniel Antil on 2014-08-31 at 5:18am:
    I agree this is one of the worst episodes. It's almost a guarantee that any episode which relies on the holo deck for its storyline is generally insubstantial. There are so many things wrong with this episode:
    1. The holo deck becomes the vehicle for the ship's computer to take over the ship??? It just can't happen!
    2. Data, despite his strength, cannot stop a car from moving forward if he is merely squatting on the ground - it is simple physics - he would need proper leverage and weight balance.
    3. The man who takes the gold brick and puts it into an empty slot in a wall... What does it mean??? There is obviously something symbolic about it, but they don't explain it at all!
    4. The ship creates a life form in the cargo bay??? So many things wrong with that!
    5. When the life form is complete, it simply passes through the ship's hull and flies off into space... Why? Where did it go? And why the heck doesn't the Enterprise follow it??? That should be the primary mission - investigate and keep tabs on a life form the ship created!
    6. After the holo deck turns off, Data, Troy and Worf are still holding drinks in their hands... Drinks they got from the holo deck train.

    That's just a basic list... There are dozens of other flaws in this episode. It's a stinker!
  • From Carolyn on 2015-08-28 at 1:45pm:
    This is one of my favorite episodes. Very creative, funny and thoughtful. I can't believe the reviews I am reading here!
  • From GVT on 2016-08-02 at 3:28am:
    I found Emily's comment very helpful in understanding this episode...thank you Emily. This episode does require a more metaphorical interpretation since, as L mentioned, having starships running around becoming self-aware and doing whatever they choose would spell disaster for the crews of those vessels. I find entertainment in the absurd so I rate this episode a 6...but with insight gained from Emily's post a 7.

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