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Old 03-09-2018, 12:40 PM
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TNG Companion, "The Naked Now"

This episode sparked the first of many waves of early criticism from fans who felt that too many TNG plots were being lifted from original-series stories. In this case, however, that was exactly what Gene Roddenberry wanted: a story, like "The Naked Time" of 1966, in which the wants and needs of new characters could be quickly revealed to a waiting audience.

There's a way to achieve that goal without blatantly copying "The Naked Time", Gene. Rick Berman tries to claim that it's a homage, not a copy. Nice try, Rick.

"Code of Honor"

Tracy Torme, an eventual writing staffer, later said he was embarrassed by the shows "1940s tribal Africa" view of blacks and by the fight's uncanny resemblance to the win-or-die battle between Kirk and Spock in "Amok Time".

"Uncanny resemblance"? If you say so, Tracy...

"Haven"

The Companion claims that this is the only time Troi uses "Bill." We've already covered the second time. "Imzadi" won't be used again until "Shades of Gray", a surprise to me.

"Where No One Has Gone Before"

In the original teleplay, Kosinski was responsible for both the warp effects and the accident; he also had a son who felt he spent more time on his career than with him. The crew was in awe of Kosinski in the original script, and the hallucinations were even more bizarre, including the image of Jack Crusher appearing to both Picard and Beverly.

I don't know where you could've fit Kosinki's son into the story, although it would've done a good job of fleshing him out. I wonder what a Jack Crusher hallucination would talk to Picard and Beverly about: giving Beverly permission to date again and telling Picard to stop feeling guilty?

"The Last Outpost"

According to Zimmerman, the Ferengi's poor eyesight accounts for their beady eyes and brightly lit ship's interiors; their huge ears help to compensate by providing them with better hearing.

So that's why the lights were so glaring. I always thought it was to save on the cost of building a Ferengi bridge set!

"Lonely Among Us"

The diplomatic conference was added by Fontana, as in her 1967 original-series script, "Journey to Babel."

If that was Fontana's intent, she didn't do very well. As I mentioned in my original coverage of the episode, exactly what the crew was supposed to be doing was unclear, and having cannibal ambassadors sort of killed the mood.

Apparently O'Brien was in Security this time around. I'm reminded of Leslie back in TOS.

"Justice"

In an earlier draft (before Roddenberry sexed up the locals) there was a rebellion in progress, complete with an execution of the rebel leader. I question how this could've worked if there was a god hovering above the ready to stop any such violence.

"The Battle"

The Ferengi do better in their second appearance, but the "silliness quotient", as Rick Berman put it, made them a "disappointment as a major adversary."

Yeah, and who's fault is that?

No mention has ever been made of the nine years in Picard's life between the Stargazer abandonment and his taking command of the Enterprise, although several incidents are mentioned as having occurred in that era: in "The Measure of a Man" and "The Wounded", including Jack Crusher's death "Family."

"The Measure of a Man" refers to the Stargazer inquiry, but that couldn't have taken that entire time. "The Wounded" and "Family" refer to events during Picard's Stargazer era, not after it (Jack died in 2353, the Battle of Maxia was in 2355).

Memory Alpha makes clear the fact that we know nothing about the nine year gap after the inquiry ended, except for the following:

* He must've been in command of a ship when he met Tasha as referenced in "Legacy". Tasha was saving colonists from a minefield and impressed Picard.
* The novel "The Buried Age" says that he took a sabbatical after the inquiry to pursue archaeology for awhile.

Apparently this episode has the first appearance of the shirt-tugging variant of the Picard Manuver.
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Last edited by Nate the Great; 06-04-2018 at 11:28 PM.
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