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Old 05-08-2022, 05:55 PM
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May 4th, 1992, "Imaginary Friend"

Let's get this out of the way up front; the creators do their best to present both sides of the imaginary friend debate, but they fell short. Troi and Guinan act like imaginary friends are just a phase that kids will eventually grow out of, but that's not the whole story. If a child feels the psychological need to have an imaginary friend, find out why and deal with the issue so they don't have the need anymore.

I never had a traditional imaginary friend. That is, someone my own age that I could talk to. Instead I had (and still have) a cast of characters that I would send on adventures like in fanfiction, narrating their actions. I could tell you such stories about them, but you're not THAT interested, I'm sure.

No fiver

The Episode

CLARA: I have to go plant the nasturtiums now. I'm Keiko's helper in the arboretum today.

"Nasturtium" sounds like an alien plant, but they're real. They're small orange/red flowers. You can eat them in a salad or stir fry, and the herbs have medicinal properties.

TROI: I can understand your concern, Ensign Sutter, but really you have nothing to worry about. It's a normal, healthy activity for children to engage in imaginary play.
SUTTER: I'm just afraid she's not making any real friends. She spends all of her time with Isabella.
TROI: You've been moving from starship to starship since Clara was two years old. Maybe Isabella provides a constant companion. She knows this is one friend she won't have to leave behind.

I understand Starfleet's new program of integrating families with the crew, but there are two big problems:
1. After the Borg invasion this program should've been abandoned for any ship not actually in deep space. It's way way WAY too late to still have so many children on board.
2. Stability is important for small children. Even IF the Borg weren't a factor, you shouldn't be moving them around without good reason. Furthermore, her father is an ordinary engineer, not a job that requires a lot of transfers. You shouldn't be forcing children to say goodbye all the time without good reason, and I'm not hearing one.

DATA: In order for the lateral sensors to complete their scheduled observations, additional processing time will be required.
LAFORGE: We could steal a couple of hours from the Engineering team while they're recalibrating the thermal interferometery scanner.

All standard engineering computer processing should be handled by the stardrive computer core. Long range sensors can be slaved to one of the saucer cores. If you're going to write technobabble to kill time until a plot-relevant thing happens, put more thought into it, writers!

OGAWA: He has shore leave next month. He asked me to go to Risa with him.
CRUSHER: No problem. Nurse McClukidge can cover for you.
OGAWA: I don't think I'm going, Doctor. I hear it's a very uninhibited atmosphere. Personally, I don't think I'm ready for that kind of fun.
CRUSHER: Try to talk him into Tavena Minor. They have a cruise down the Jokri River. The iridescent currents are beautiful.

This boyfriend is not her eventual husband Andrew Powell. In fact Andrew is the THIRD boyfriend mentioned for Ogawa over the years. It's always nice to see the minor characters fleshed out, especially when compared to the later series.

LAFORGE: So what are we going to name this nebula? FGC forty seven just doesn't have the proper ring to it.
SUTTER: Why don't we call it Sutter's Cloud?
...
LAFORGE: I was thinking about something more along the lines of the La Forge Nebula. It's got sort of a majestic sound, don't you think?

A nebula is a smaller, denser kind of interstellar cloud. If this thing qualifies as a nebula you should call it a nebula. Also, obvious 47 is obvious.

CLARA: Why do you keep disappearing like that?
ISABELLA: The grown-ups don't believe I'm real. When they're around, I have to be invisible.

Well, duh. If they can't see you they won't believe you're real. Is Isabella supposed to have the intelligence of a child?

ISABELLA: What's in here?
CLARA: That's the door to the cargo bay. We can't go in there.

THE cargo bay? There are at least twelve on board, and probably many more than that. Even Clara should know that there's more than one. Furthermore, the door shouldn't even open unless you have a commbadge. And if you really want to be pedantic, there should be distinct differences in bulkhead colors, etc. between the civilian sections of the ship and the officers-only sections. The kids should've triggered a security alert on Worf's board.

LAFORGE: Okay, I've configured the magnetic coil to collect samples of gaseous matter from the nebula. Go ahead and activate the beam emitter.

Shouldn't the ship already have equipment to collect samples of what's outside? Plus it sounds like they're collecting nebular matter using the Bussard collectors. How can something designed to only collect hydrogen collect more complicated molecules?

SUTTER: I'm setting the fractionater to a continuous cycle.

"Fractionator" sounds like a fictional device, but it's real. It separates a mixture into its components based on their different physical properties. However, it seems to be used as random technobabble here.

LAFORGE: Well, I suppose there were aspects of my childhood that were less than ideal, but to me it was just one long adventure. Children are a lot stronger than you think. As long as they know you love them, they can handle just about anything life throws at them, you know.

Some kids are tougher than others, and applying a single model to all of them often leads to disaster.

GUINAN: It's a Samarian coral fish with its fin unfolded.
DATA: I believe what you are seeing is the effect of the fluid dynamic processes inherent in the large scale motion of highly rarified gas.
GUINAN: No, no. First it was a fish, and now it's a Mintonian sailing ship.
DATA: Where?
GUINAN: Right there. Don't you see the two swirls coming together to form the mast?
DATA: I do not see it. It is interesting that people try to find meaningful patterns in things that are essentially random. I have noticed that the images they perceive sometimes suggest what they are thinking about at that particular moment. Besides, it is clearly a bunny rabbit.

Seeing patterns where there is none is called "pareidolia." Data's punchline is noncharacteristic, though.

GUINAN: Now, how about two Papalla juices with extra bubbles.
CLARA: Just one, please. Isabella isn't thirsty.

Like Kanar and other Trek beverages, Papalla juice doesn't have a single appearance. It could be transparent purple or opaque orange.

TROI: Clara, you haven't been on this she very long, so maybe you don't know, but Ten Forward is usually for grown-ups.

It makes you wonder if there's a children's equivalent on board. It would be a good idea.

ISABELLA: Let's go to Engineering, Clara. Just for a little while. No one will know. It'll be our secret. And if they find us, we'll tell them we got lost.

Isabella is pressing her luck. While there's no question that there are civilian areas near Ten Forward, there shouldn't be any near Engineering. In fact, why would civilians be allowed in the stardrive section at all? Except for authorized civilian scientists like Keiko, of course.

LAFORGE: No, but if we run the warp field generators through the deflector grid, we could radiate a field outside the ship.

The warp field already goes outside the ship! And a lot farther than the deflector shields by the way!

ISABELLA: You should be destroyed. You are cruel, uncaring creatures.
PICARD: What makes you say that?
ISABELLA: The way you treat Clara.
PICARD: In what way have we mistreated her?
ISABELLA: You wouldn't let her do what she wanted to, or go where she wanted to.
...
PICARD: I understand. You are seeing this ship, all of us, from a unique perspective. From a child's point of view. It must seem terribly unfair and restrictive to you. As adults, we don't always stop to consider how everything we say and do shapes the impressions of young people. But if you're judging us as a people by the way we treat our children, and I think there can be better criterion, then you must understand how deeply we care for them. When our children are young, they don't understand what might be dangerous. Our rules are to keep them from harm, real or imagined, and that's part of the continuity of our human species.

This is one of the more hamfisted Picard speeches, but I can't blame him, it's the episode's fault.

Memory Alpha

* Guinan wasn't originally intended to be a part of this episode. I feel that she was necessary in this case, just like in "Rascals."

Nitpicker's Guide

* Clara's mother is never mentioned. Is she on assignment somewhere else as her child keeps getting relocated?
* Clara says that Isabella has pierced ears, but the imposter doesn't. You'd think an editor would've noticed that one.
* How did Clara get to Main Engineering? Wouldn't the computer notice her turbolift destination and stop her? (Maybe there are civilian areas elsewhere on Deck 36, but would the computer do the wall panel arrows to direct her there?)
* Guinan says that the papalla juice has extra bubbles, but the prop doesn't. Oops.
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