30th Anniversary TNG Episode Discussion Marathon

[Nate the Great]

November 1st, 1993, "Dark Page"

No fiver

The Episode

Captain's log, stardate 47254.1. A delegation of the Cairn have just come on board. This telepathic species has no concept of spoken language, and is being instructed in its use by an old friend.

This premise falls apart at the slightest resistance.
1. If this species never had a need for spoken language until they entered the galactic community, how do they have vocal cords?
2. Why is Lwaxana here? We're never given any indication that she's trained in anything other than being a member of the aristocracy, so why is she able to teach anyone? Furthermore, why would she be able to comprehend the Cairn's thoughts if they don't use conventional words?
3. If the Universal Translator can translate the Companion, why can't it translate the Cairn?
4. Lwaxana will soon say that the Cairn don't think in words, but images. So how could they develop any technology at all, much less warp drive?

LWAXANA: Of course, they realise that they'll want to communicate verbally if they join the Federation.

I'm confused at this. Plenty of times we've seen Horta wear personal translators because they can't communicate verbally. And don't even try to tell me that the UT can't make a direct connection with the language center of the brain, because obviously they can!

LAFORGE: It's called a visor. It enables me to see.
HEDRIL: (a little girl) Like my vocal enhancer. It helps me make sounds.

The metaphor didn't make sense with Riva's chorus, and it doesn't make sense here.

LWAXANA: Aren't you going to mingle, Mister Woof?
WORF: I do not care for telepaths. They make me uneasy.

I've already said that it's far FAR too late to continue the Mr. Woof joke. Worf's feelings about telepaths could be a screed by themselves, I could speculate for a long time about the Romulan/Klingon alliance and so forth in relation to this idea.

MAQUES: Your mother told me of your need.
TROI: Need?
MAQUES: A moment. Husband. You need a husband. I need a wife.

Ugh. UGH. Putting aside Lwaxana's lack of tact and understanding, I'm offended at the notion that people have to be married to be happy. And frankly Lwaxana trying to get Deanna a husband is another plot that should've been dispensed with years ago.

LWAXANA: I just think it's time for you to settle down.

In an age when people routinely live to be over a hundred years old why is Lwaxana so dead set on Deanna having a child NOW? Furthermore, even she should see how self-sabotaging her efforts are by now. She shows up, Deanna is exasperated, Deanna continues to be single, rinse and repeat.

LWAXANA: You are so precious to me. You're all I've got. If something happened to you I don't know what I'd do.

I get that Lwaxana is being reminded of Kestra right now, but this idea that Lwaxana is only happy when living vicariously through Deanna and possible grandchildren is patently ridiculous. She's aristocracy back on Betazed and it's definitely implied that she has many friends back there.

MAQUES: Your mother is the first to learn our telepathy.
TROI: You mean you've never had telepathy with someone who wasn't Cairn?

What? Lwaxana wasn't part of the First Contact team, so how did Starfleet communicate with the Cairn until a powerful telepath could be contacted? Are Vulcan mind melds really not enough?

TROI: I was all set for another round of arguing when all of a sudden she just fell apart.
RIKER: She's under a lot of stress. She's preparing the Cairn to meet with the Federation Council.

The Federation Council? The Cairn are nowhere near ready to formally join the Federation, so shouldn't they still be working with the diplomatic delegation?

RIKER: Mrs Troi.
LWAXANA: Don't you Mrs Troi me.
TROI: Mother!
LWAXANA: Why don't you leave her alone? If it weren't for you she'd be married by now.

A loaded topic. She thinks that if Deanna had never met Will again she'd be dating more? Possible, I suppose, but very troublesome.

I suddenly wonder what Lwaxana would think of Tom Riker (before he defected to the Maquis, I mean).

(Maques pricks his finger on a rose thorn)
TROI: Flowers of all hue, and without thorn the rose. It's an old earth poem by John Milton.

From Paradise Lost, Book 4. Why is Deanna quoting poetry to people who only recently learned about words?

TROI: This is something I think you'll find interesting. It's a jewel plant from Folnar Three. The plant secretes a resin which is collected within the blossom. By the time the bloom has faded, the resin has hardened into a rare and beautiful gem.

An interesting idea, although there are only a few "gems" that can be beautiful without crystal facets.

LWAXANA: I remember the day I took this.
TROI: Mister Homn said he saved it in case someday you wanted to remember her.

This is odd, because we were given the implication that Mr. Homn started working for Lwaxana fairly recently because his predecessor Mr. Xelo became obsessed with her. So was Xelo just an interim manservant, or did Xelo give the picture to Homn on his way out?

Memory Alpha

* The page brings up the Xelo/Homn thing and agrees that Xelo gave Homn the picture.
* Only one of three episodes that there isn't a scene on the bridge.
* Only episode in TNG where Lwaxana appears without Homn. The actor was unavailable.

Nitpicker's Guide

* Worf doesn't try to correct the "Mr. Woof". One of Phil's readers pointed this out.
* Given the Betazoid's telepathy, is it really possible that none of Lwaxana's friends mentioned Kestra to Deanna?
* For that matter, wouldn't Kestra be in Ian's Starfleet record?
* The stardates given in this episode don't even try to adhere to 1000 units=1 year.
* Phil wonders how Homn can speak with Deanna when we've only heard him say "thank you for the drinks". Well, the answer is obvious. Homn only speaks with his employers, which Deanna would count as. He only said "thank you for the drinks" because he was tipsy. In the novel "Imzadi" when Lwaxana is dying he says "She's waiting for you" to Will.
* Wouldn't Lwaxana have a telepathic link with Kestra and notice that she had wandered off?
* Phil wonders where Deanna got her accent when neither Lwaxana and Ian sound like her. Did Deanna go to a boarding school where she was forced to use an archaic accent?

[Nate the Great]

November 8th, 1993, "Attached"

Fiver by Marc

The Episode

Captain's log, stardate 47304.2. The Enterprise has arrived at Kesprytt Three in order to evaluate an unusual request on the part of the Kes for associate membership in the Federation.

Given that they were working on Voyager by now, I wonder why they recycled the name "Kes."

CRUSHER: Are you worried about this mission with the Kes?
PICARD: Not worried exactly. This notion of admitting half of their planet to the Federation while leaving the other half out.
CRUSHER: First of all, the Kes are not half the planet, they're nearly three quarters of it. And the Prytt are not being left out. They themselves simply don't want to have contact with anyone from the outside. not the Federation or anyone else.
PICARD: Every member of the Federation entered as a unified world, and that unity said something about them. That they had resolved certain social and political differences and they were now ready to become part of a larger community.

SF Debris raised some good questions about this issue. While I can see the idea of requiring united world governments, I don't think that it should be an ironclad requirement. I do wonder why the Federation can't move the Kes to another planet.

CRUSHER: Well, think about Earth. What if one of the old nation states, say Australia, had decided not to join the World Government in twenty one fifty? Would that have disqualified us as a Federation member?

The interesting thing about this whole thing is that the World Government didn't exist until well after first contact, and the Vulcans obviously don't have this hangup about unified governments.

CRUSHER: The last thing I remember we were beginning to transport.
PICARD: I would assume we must be on Kesprytt. We're in some kind of prison cell.

I'm a bit confused about how either the Kes or the Prytt learned enough about Federation transporter systems to reroute the signal.

CRUSHER: It looks like an implant. It seems to be connected directly to the brainstem.

How does she know this? She doesn't have her tricorder right now!

LORIN: You are being held under the authority of the Prytt Security Ministry. The charges are conspiring with the enemy.

I don't see how the term "conspiring" applies. The Prytt don't want to interact with aliens, but that doesn't give them the right to stop the Kes from doing so.

WORF: Commander. The Transporter sensor log shows an unusual concentration of antigraviton particles in the emitter coil.
DATA: A concentration of antigraviton particles suggests a tractor beam. It might have deflected the transporter beam to a different set of coordinates.

Yeah, that's nonsense.

PICARD: There may be a structural flaw that would allow us to escape.
CRUSHER: Right.

If you can't see the flaw with your eyes, there's no chance that it's large enough to allow for the bars to be bent. Picard is just staying busy.

PICARD: There is a way out of every box, there is a solution to every puzzle. It's just a matter of finding it.

I could've sworn this quote was from "Allegiance", but I guess not.

PICARD: Do you mind thinking of something else. You're making me hungry.
CRUSHER: What do you want me to think about?
PICARD: Something other than a large bowl of vegetable soup.
CRUSHER: My grandmother used to make it, with peas, carrots and
PICARD: Beverly!
CRUSHER: I'm sorry.

I missed this additional reference to Felicia Howard.

PICARD: You're right. We can't react to every random thought that crosses the other person's mind. Isn't astonishing, though, how much clutter there is in a consciousness. Odd memories coming to the surface. Bits of half-remembered songs.
CRUSHER: Stray day dreams, scattered minutiae. I wonder how true telepaths sift through it all. How can they really get to what someone's thinking if the minds keeps churning all this flotsam to the surface?

Oh yeah, do I get this. My thoughts can wander quite far if given the chance.

CRUSHER: I mean, you're acting like you know exactly which way to go, but you're only guessing. Do you do this all the time?
PICARD: No, but there are times when it is necessary for a captain to give the appearance of confidence.

Ha ha. I bet Kirk did this way more often than Picard ever did.

PICARD: I'm beginning to realise that you seem to always have some acerbic remark on the tip of your tongue.
CRUSHER: Well at least I've trained myself not to say it anymore.

Acerbic means sharp or forthright. Brusquely honest. This doesn't seem to fit with Beverly's personality, it sounds more like a Torres thing.

MAURIC: Of course not. How could you know if your Captain and Doctor were meeting secretly with the Prytt? Meeting in order to set up a military alliance with the Federation.

I'm having trouble believing this. The Prytt don't just hate the Kes, they're isolationist to a fault. They don't want to talk to aliens. Furthermore, why would the Federation want to make an alliance with the minority faction instead of the majority one?

MAURIC: It was a clever scheme. First, you pretend to lose your officers during transport, then you ask us for help and get us to expose several of our undercover operatives in the process.

Hey, you offered the help of Kes security! I'm reminded of "The Voyager Conspiracy" here...

[Nate the Great]

CRUSHER: I'm beginning to think there's not a single thing on this planet we can eat.

I hate this notion. It was one thing when it happened in "The Apple" on a planet that had no animals, it's a different situation here. It stands to reason that Kesprytt was also seeded by the Projenitors, so why would they do so on a planet that can't support humanoid life?

PICARD: You see, I think that breakfast should be a simple meal and recently you've been ordering these elaborate things.
CRUSHER: Coffee and croissants, that's all you really want, isn't it? Coffee and croissants. Well why didn't you just say so?

This seems a little too simple for breakfast.

CRUSHER: No, I usually prefer something simple myself but I thought you might enjoy more variety.

I'm having trouble equating "variety" with "complicated".

CRUSHER: I guess I always knew that there was an attraction between us right from the start, but I never knew how strongly you felt. Why didn't you ever tell me you were in love with me?

Given the events of "We'll Always Have Paris" and "Allegiance", this seems rather disingenuous.

CRUSHER: And when Jack died you felt guilty.
PICARD: I felt guilty before he died. Having feelings like that for my best friend's wife. And then later, after the accident, I promised myself that I would never tell you know how I felt. It would be like betraying my friend
CRUSHER: That's why you didn't want me on the Enterprise seven years ago.

I recommend the novel "Q-Squared" for a different take on this scenario. In an alternate universe it was Wesley who died instead of Jack. It led to the breakup of their marriage, and by the time he takes command of the E-D (the Battle of Maxia went very differently) with Picard as first officer Picard and Beverly were already a couple, but they failed to hide it from Jack.

PICARD: I didn't know how I would react. And then, little by little, I realised that I didn't have those feelings any more.

One assumes that Beverly is choosing to go along with this blatant lie.

RIKER: Now, the matter of our missing officers.
LORIN: They are still charged with spying, Commander. I have heard nothing here which would alter that.
RIKER: Then maybe you should consider this. If anything happens to them, Starfleet is going to want a full investigation, which means more starships will be coming to Kesprytt and those ships are going to want answers which puts your country under a very large and very uncomfortable microscope. Remember how unhappy you were when we contacted just one of your people without authorisation? Well, just think of what it'll be like. Ten starships asking questions, contacting hundreds of your people. Massive sensor sweeps. They may even start sending down away teams. All because you wouldn't help me find my missing officers.

Exactly. Starfleet will not let Picard and Crusher stay prisoners.

PICARD: Now that we know how each of us feels, perhaps we should not be afraid to explore those feelings.
(she kisses his cheek)
CRUSHER: Or perhaps we should be afraid.

One big problem with this is that they explored Picard's feelings so much that Beverly didn't have the chance to work through her feelings. You'll note that all she admitted to was being attracted to Picard when they met.

And of course an unaddressed problem is that she's just as much his subordinate as Neela Darren. So the problems from "Lessons" are even bigger here.

The Fiver

Data: My analysis shows the Captain and Doctor did not have travel insurance.
Riker: Makes sense. Transporting is supposed to be safe and foolproof.
Worf: That is what Lieutenant Barclay keeps claiming.

This seems like a stretch for the sake of a punchline.

Riker: The Captain and Doctor were kidnapped by the Prytt?
Mauric: Yes. They're fanatic isolationists who accuse us of being paranoid.
Riker: Why would the Prytt say that about the Kes?
Mauric: Because they're all out to get us!

This doesn't work because the Prytt ARE out to get the Kes. Any paranoia is justified.

Crusher: Over the years, I've learned not to say every stupid thing that pops into my mind.
Picard: You mean that there's still hope for Deanna?

This joke might've worked in Season One, but in Season Seven it's just insulting to Deanna.

Crusher: You were in love with me? Why didn't you ever tell me or my husband?
Picard: It's wrong for two Starfleet officers to be involved with the same shipmate.
Crusher: I guess you're right. Deanna's lucky she's never had that problem.

This one is too much of a stretch. The Riker/Troi/Worf thing, while stupid beyond belief (I refer you to the novel Imzadi II), never included a married couple.

Picard: Should we explore the feelings we've discovered for each other?
Crusher: We'd better not. I'm worried we'll end up like Will and Deanna.
Picard: Call me an optimist if you want, but I still have hopes for those two.
Crusher: Show me a wedding invitation from them and I'll believe you.

"Sure, but you're going to have to wait nine years!"

Memory Alpha

* Last appearance of Picard's black yoke jacket, possibly because he left it in the cave on Kesprytt.

Nitpicker's Guide

* Why didn't Worf stay in the transporter room to confirm Picard and Crusher's safe arrival?
* Phil bashes Picard for discarding his jacket because it has many uses when trying to survive in the wilderness.
* He's also confused as to why they'd stop and build a fire instead of continuing to the border (and using the jacket to keep warm).
* He has a problem with Picard saying that he doesn't have those feelings anymore when obviously he does. I'm willing to chalk this up to covering his back because Beverly hasn't said how SHE feels yet.
* The Tech Manual says that a tricorder can act as a communicator, so why didn't they try to contact the Enterprise. I'm willing to say that the Prytt can scramble communication signals (relying on cables, of course).
* The "nausea radius" of the implants changes several times.

[Nate the Great]

November 15th, 1993, "Force of Nature"

Oh boy, is this going to hurt...

Fiver by Marc

The Episode

DATA: Has Spot been misbehaving?
LAFORGE: So far she's broken a vase, a teapot, she's ruined one of my chairs using it as a scratch post, and she's coughing hairballs up all over my carpet.

Ever since the revelation of transparent aluminum I have to question how anything not explicitly an antique can be breakable in the Trek future. I don't see Geordi having breakable stuff. Furthermore I have to ask why Spot has usable claws if she will NEVER have to hunt anything. As for hairballs, where is she getting the stuff to form those? I thought the ship cleaned itself, including hair!

LAFORGE: She won't come when you call her? Data, have you ever considered training this cat?
DATA: I never found it to be necessary.

Why not? Surely Data encountered the concept when absorbing all of human knowledge on the subject of cat ownership.

DATA: The unusually intense tetryon fields in this sector pose a severe navigational hazard to warp driven vessels. The Hekaras Corridor is the only route through the area which is free of tetryon fields. Ships travelling at warp must use the Corridor to ensure safe passage through the region.
PICARD: How long will it take to complete a level one search?
DATA: At least two days, sir. The Corridor is over twelve light years long, and the surrounding tetryon interference will limit our sensor range.

Why are people using the Corridor for anything other than local travel? Not to be a jerk, but twelve light years is NOTHING in terms of warp travel. The detour would be less than a hundred light years. Frankly the planets here should've been evacuated decades ago so the whole area can be avoided.

TROI: Hekaras Two is inhabited, isn't it? Maybe they've had contact with the Fleming.
RIKER: They haven't. I've already spoken to the Hekaran government.

Ugh. Subspace communications use the same paths as warp travel. And if there was a series of relays set up to allow communications, they would want to load the things up with sensors while they were added.

CRUSHER: The Fleming was carrying a supply of rare biomimetic gel, which is very valuable.

First appearance of biomemetic gel. This raises more questions about how the Federation can be moneyless while surrounded by governments that use money. For that matter, why isn't this stuff being carried by a larger ship?

LAFORGE: You know the Intrepid?
DATA: Yes.

Assuming that this Intrepid is the first of the class, it's extremely coincidental if the variable pylons deal with the damage discovered in this episode. Have I mentioned how much I hate the variable pylons lately?

LAFORGE: This is the flagship. We should be better than everybody else.

I get the sentiment, but it's a bit short-sighted. No one ship can be the best at everything. The flagships are designed to be the best all-around ship, but other classes will always be better at specific things because they were designed at different times and under different circumstances.

Even back in the TOS days the expanded universe was full of ships who had better speed, better weapons, better sensors, etc. than the Enterprise, but never all at the same time.

DATA: I began with simple conditioned response exercises and followed with environmental enhancement. Next I plan to explore bioconditioning devices.
LAFORGE: Devices?
DATA: Such as sensor nets for behaviour modification or biofeedback motivators.

I'm not a fan of wiring sensors and tasers to pets. It really makes Data look lazy. I would respect him more if he sent Spot to the ship's animal trainer.

LAFORGE: I've got an idea. How about a phaser? A low stun setting at just the right moment might do the trick.
DATA: Geordi. I cannot stun my cat.

I fail to see the difference between a low stun and a "biofeedback motivator". Furthermore, you want pets to respect you, not fear you.

DATA: Phase alignment is stabilised. However, sensor efficiency has increased by only an additional one point three percent.
LAFORGE: It's not much, but every little bit going to help.

And the subplot is over. I refer you to the SF Debris review for how stupid this whole thing is.

WORF: It is a Ferengi transport ship, D'Kora class.

And yet they use the standard Ferengi marauder model. I don't think Ferengi would use "transports", either for people or cargo. They'd hire other people for both of these to free up their own ships for more profitable tasks.

DATA: Life support systems are also functioning at low levels. There are approximately four hundred fifty Ferengi on board.

This seems excessive. We know that they don't travel with their civilians, so I woud imagine that Ferengi would automate everything possible to save on costs.

LAFORGE: Captain, Ferengi sensors are still online. I could modify one of our deflector emitters to transmit old style delta waves. If I modulate that with a comm. signal, the Ferengi should be able to pick that up.

You'd think ordinary radio would be adequate for this purpose.

PRAK [on viewscreen]: Do not toy with me, Picard. We are obviously at your mercy, but know this. When the Ferengi Council learns of your actions, they will consider this an act of war.

Ferengi Council? I'd imagine that the Ferengi have something akin to a constitutional monarchy. A Parliment, not a Council.

DATA: Spot. Spot. Spot, down. Spot, down. Down. Spot. (lifting the cat off the desk) Down. This is down. Down is good. This is up. Up is no.
(doorbell)

Data may have infinite patience, but Spot does not. He should call in a professional for this job.

(Spot meows, and Data goes to the replicator)
...
(Spot meows again and Data fetches her a toy)
LAFORGE: I don't know about Spot, but it seems to me your training is coming along just fine.

Hehe.

LAFORGE: I just received this from Commander Kaplan, subspace.
(Data reads from a PADD)
DATA: La Forge, I got the Intrepid's power conversion levels up to ninety seven point one percent. Maybe you should try cleaning your plasma grid once in a while.

Plasma grid? This sounds like something in the nacelles. And that should be someone else's job to maintain. But maybe the maintenance staff is spooked by the remains baked into the wall.

LAFORGE: What do you want?
RABAL: (male) We're trying to make you listen.
SEROVA: (female) You're killing us.

I still think this is one of the most infuriating precommercial break crises in all of Trek, up there with that monster that "ate" Lisa Cusak.

PICARD: If you wanted us to review your research, you should have made a request through the Science Council.
RABAL: Their resources are limited. It would have taken over a year before they dispatched a science ship to come and evaluate our work.

Really? I doubt that the Science Council works via a strict queue system. Surely there's SOME leeway on which order requests are done in.

But let's make it perfectly clear, this is terrorism. Period. Both of these schmucks should be in the brig right now.

RABAL: We dispersed verteron probes in the Corridor merely to disable warp-driven ships. Nothing more.

And what if a "Brothers"-like scenario was happening? A death would be on your heads!

RIKER: The fact remains you deliberately disguised your probes. You made them look like signal markers. You hid them in debris field. You mined the Corridor.

Exactly!

PICARD: Because of the seriousness of your claim, I'm willing to listen to your case. But let there be no mistake. Our priority here is the recovery of the Fleming. Now I expect you to help us restore our engines and deactivate all of the remaining probes in the Corridor. If you do not, you will both be taken to the brig and from there to the nearest Starbase, where you will answer charges for what you have done.

No! You let them help, THEN you throw them in the brig. Cleaning up their own mess shoud never negate their jail time, just decrease it a bit.

SEROVA: Rabal, don't. The probes are the only leverage we have. If we--

So you want to cross from misunderstood terrorism to REAL terrorism. Gotcha. Mr. Worf, you don't need to be picky about putting the key where you can find it...

LAFORGE: What if the Fleming had been transporting perishable supplies or was on an emergency mission? Your little plan might have cost a lot of lives.
SEROVA: That didn't happen, Commander.

Oh no, you don't get to claim the moral high ground here. "I got lucky" is not an adequate defense against committing acts of terror.

SEROVA: There's no point in trying to talk to you. You've already decided not to listen.

Why should he, Serova? You damaged his ship and put lives at risk!

RABAL: But please, try to understand. She believes profoundly in this cause. She has sworn to dedicate her life to exposing the dangers of warp drive.

How does any of that justify terrorism?

LAFORGE: Warp drive has been around for three centuries. It's a proven technology.

Of course it's a proven technology, you two are talking to each other when it would be impossible without warp drive. You should've said "safe technology!"

[Nate the Great]

RABAL: Well I hope so, because once we persuade Starfleet to stop warp travel through the Corridor, we're going to have to convince our own people to give up warp drive completely.
LAFORGE: Hekaras Two is the only inhabited world in this region. Without warp drive, you'd be completely isolated from the rest of the Federation. Are you really willing to take that step?

And they can't evacuate the planet...because? It's stuff like this that makes the power conversion ratio stuff even more pointless and infuriating! It took time away from the actual plot and the actual issues!

PICARD: It's like pacing up and down on the same piece of carpet. Eventually you wear it out.
DATA: That analogy is essentially correct, sir.

So route traffic around the area like I suggested earlier!

SEROVA: That's your response? More research? More delays. I suppose I shouldn't have expected anything different.

Okay, what's your alternative? You want to completely cut off your planet from the rest of the galaxy based solely on your own opinion, without even consulting your own government? WHY are we supposed to like this woman?

DATA: Captain, the Hekaran ship's engines are beginning to overload. I believe Serova's attempting to create a warp core breach.

We've seen over and over again that there are easier ways to create a warp core breach. A phaser will do it.

For that matter, how is overloading the engines supposed to make the core explode? Surely there are built-in failsafes to stop the plasma flow to the engines!

DATA: I suggest we coast into the rift.
RIKER: Coast?
DATA: We can initiate a brief, high intensity warp pulse from our current position. We should be able to attain sufficient velocity to enter the rift, beam the crew off the Fleming and exit without using our warp engines.

Yeah, this is nonsense. The nacelles aren't rockets pushing out plasma, they're literally warping space. No warp, no push, period.

DATA: If we field saturate the nacelles, we should be able to sustain warp speed for approximately two minutes.

More nonsense. My answer would be to change the frequency of the plasma and the warp field enough to "tiptoe" through the rift. Yeah, it'll damage the engines, but at least they'd actually be turned on as opposed to this "coasting" nonsense.

RABAL: I don't think we can look at space travel the same way anymore. We're going to have to change.
LAFORGE: I've been in Starfleet for a long time. We depend on warp drive. I just don't know how easy it's going to be to change.
RABAL: It won't be easy at all.

A key problem with this entire premise is the notion that ANY warp travel ANYWHERE will open a rift, which is nonsense. The carpet was worn down in this area, it is not worn down everywhere.

Which makes the idea that Voyager's variable geometry nacelles negates this effect ridiculous. In the Delta Quadrant there are no "warp highways", there are no worn areas of carpet.

DATA: Captain, warp pulse calculations are complete. We will be firing the engines at maximum intensity for six point three seconds before disengaging.

You'll be firing WHAT at maximum intensity for 6.3 seconds? Are we talking about inflating the warp field like a balloon to many times its usual size and hoping that it doesn't deflate before we get out? Treknology doesn't work like that!

DATA: Hull stress is increasing. Eighty three percent of maximum tolerance and rising.

Increasing from what? The deflating warp field?

RIKER: Data, what if we forced an EPS discharge through the impulse reactor. Would that be enough to get us out of here?

What do the impulse engines have to do with warp travel?

DATA: I do not believe so, sir, and the resulting explosion would likely destroy the saucer section in the process.

You mean the entire ship, right Data?

LAFORGE: If can phase match our deflector shield to the EM variance of the distortion wave, when the next one hits we'll be pulled along with it.

What? First of all, I'm pretty sure the distortion wave is a consequence of subspace physics and has nothing to do with the EM spectrum. Second of all, sailing in space requires large surface area and small mass.

DATA: Captain, I suggest we take the ship to full impulse. If we can attain sufficient speed, it will lessen the shock when the wave hits.

I'm pretty sure the difference between 0c and 0.25c compared to 1c in these circumstances is pretty negligible.

Which raises an interesting question. No doubt 0.25c was chosen as full impulse as a balance between useful speed and minimizing time differentials in communications and scans, etc. But can you overclock the engines to get to 0.5c in emergency situations like this?

PICARD: Ah. We've received new directives from the Federation Council on this matter. Until we can find a way to counteract the warp field effect, the Council feels our best course is to slow the damage as much as possible. Therefore, areas of space found susceptible to warp fields will be restricted to essential travel only, and effective immediately all Federation vessels will be limited to a speed of warp five, except in cases of extreme emergency.

Complete nonsense. If you treat modern highways like they're just as susceptible to wearing damage as brick roads, nobody will be able to get anywhere.

PICARD: Very well. You know, Geordi, I spent the better part of my life exploring space. I've charted new worlds, I've met dozens of new species. And I believe that these were all valuable ends in themselves. Now it seems that all this while, I was helping to damage the thing that I hold most dear.
LAFORGE: It's won't turn out that way, Captain. We still have time to make it better.

The message would carry better if it wasn't so hamfisted and shortsighted.

The Fiver

Picard: Starfleet wants us to find the missing medical ship Fleming.
Data: It was last seen entering a region of space containing a dangerous tetryon field, and in which the Ferengi have recently been observed.
Riker: And Starfleet wonders why they've lost contact with this ship?

Is there a joke here?

La Forge: Sure. The biggest hole is in the top layer of the "O" zone -- can you see the main part for it anywhere?
Data: Yes, I believe this green piece is what we need.

Ugh. A key problem with the ozone layer analogy is that the contaminants in the ozone layer had a natural way to collect into one place that can get damaged more easily. That's not so in this episode, subspace was already weak here.

Riker: Besides, what do the Ferengi know about how mine warfare is waged?
Prak: Are you kidding? As an acquisitive society, we take the word "mine" very seriously!

Ha ha ha.

Rabal: Our research shows that warp drive is damaging the fabric of space near our planet. Its use in this region must be abandoned.
Serova: We've shown our data to the Federation Science Council, but they refuse to listen. They've even rejected our proposal to call this phenomenon "The Omega Effect."
Picard: Did they say why?
Serova: All they told us was that the name was already copyrighted.

Omega Phenomenon. And I don't think "copyright" is the right word to use here.

Picard: Can their theory be verified?
Data: Not without more research. Perhaps they should conduct an experiment in which a warp-driven ship would travel back and forth across this area millions of times.
Serova: That's unacceptable! It would take much too long!
Rabal: And getting a research grant application approved would take even longer!

Now that's a joke. What a shock, I like academia jokes...

Rabal: I'm sure she wants to do something more dramatic -- like handcuff herself to the nearest area of subspace instability.

That's a gag that's sadly fallen out of style. I still remember when Corey got his first kiss when handcuffed to a locker....

Transport Technician: (over the comm) Energizing.
Riker: Well? Is the first group aboard?
Technician: The instruments say yes, but for some reason they're all invisible.

How is this situation like "The Next Phase"?

Picard: In order to prevent further damage to subspace, the Federation Council has restricted all starships to a maximum of Warp Five from now on.
Riker: But at that rate we'll never get anywhere!
Picard: Actually, we should be grateful. The Vulcan High Command wanted to impose an even lower speed limit on us.
Riker: Boy, those guys never let up, do they?

Odd place for an Enterprise joke.

Memory Alpha

* First episode where Spot is unambiguously female, as a setup for "Genesis".

Nitpicker's Guide

* Phil talks a bit about the inconsistencies as to whether or not raising shields automatically triggers red alert (a reasonable shortcut, if you ask me).
* If the Enterprise is surrounding by a degrading warp field, how they can transport people from the stationary Fleming?

[Nate the Great]

November 22nd, 1993, "Inheritance"

Fiver by Wade

The Episode

JULIANA: Captain, our situation has worsened since my husband and I first contacted you. The molten core of our planet is not just cooling, it's begun to solidify.

One thing that bugs me is that this doesn't seem like a natural disaster that "just happens". Couldn't this be a side effect of overmining like Praxis?

PRAN: Our gravitational field has been affected. Seismic activity has increased by a factor of three.

I can buy increased seismic activity, but not gravitational effects. That's just dumb. Magma doesn't change density just because the temperature changes.

JULIANA: If the cooling continues at this rate Atrea will become uninhabitable in thirteen months.

I also don't buy that this is happening this fast. This whole scenario seems like a Q prank. I especially refer you to the Q Continuum novels where the reason the Iconians could move stars is because they HAD to. Their sun was artificially aged, so the entire civilization dedicated centuries to setting up transporter cages around their own sun and a donor sun to be beamed in as the old sun was beamed out.

LAFORGE: Data, do you think that's close enough for ferro-plasmic infusion?
DATA: The procedure will involve using the ship's phasers to drill down through the planet's surface into the pockets, where we would set up a series of plasma infusion units.

That's not the question Geordi asked, Data! I also don't buy ship's phasers being this precise. Just travelling through the atmosphere would diffuse the beams enough to prevent this kind of focus!

LAFORGE: We'll trigger the units by firing modulated energy bursts down through the shafts.

Modulated energy bursts...i.e. more phaser blasts. Some technobabble is just unforgivable.

JULIANA: I see. Injecting sufficient plasma directly into the core should trigger a chain reaction, and that will reliquify the magma.

A chain reaction of what? The radioactive isotopes in the magma?

DATA: You were a colleague of Doctor Soong?
JULIANA: Yes, I certainly was. And I was also his wife.

With all of the messages that Soong programmed into him you'd think he'd have spared one for Juliana.

DATA: Doctor, I have no memory of you.
JULIANA: Oh, there's a reason for that. We wiped your processors after we finished refining your programming.

Why?

DATA: Yes. All of the inhabitants of the colony were killed. However, I discovered that my memory banks contained the contents of their journals and logs.
JULIANA: We hoped their experiences would be useful.

I'm confused at that one. I prefer the interpretation that the Crystalline Entity was going to wipe all of the conventional computer systems and Data was a convenient place to archive them.

JULIANA: You had trouble learning your motor skills, learning how to process sensory information.

I'm surprised at this one, you'd think motor skills could be programmed in. After all, Data wasn't the first Soong-type android. Why aren't they talking about Lore and the other prototypes?

DATA: I encountered him once in the Terlina system.
JULIANA: That's where we went to after we left the outpost. I had no idea that you'd even met him.
DATA: It was shortly before his death.
JULIANA: He's dead?

I get it, the Internet didn't really exist yet when this episode aired, but even so, I would imagine that Data would've reported on his death back in "Brothers" and it would've made the local newspapers. Wouldn't Juliana also be subscribed to the science magazines that would mention it?

JULIANA: There we were, stuck on this planet in the middle of the jungle with no one else to talk to. No life. It just wasn't enough. That's why I left.

Did they officially divorce? Wouldn't there be a record of that?

LAFORGE: You know, Data, it almost seems to me like you're trying to prove that Doctor Tainer wasn't telling the truth.
...
LAFORGE: When you think about it, why would she want to lie? Why would anybody want to pretend to be your mother?
DATA: I can think of no motive for such a pretense.

Exactly. Data's autonomy has been established for years, he's not going to allow anyone to profit off of him.

JULIANA: Noonian walked in with your head in his hand and, innocent as you please, said it was up to me. He knew perfectly well what he was doing. Once again he had made it in his own image. What could I possibly say? (reads door name plate) Deanna Troi, is that who you're going to visit?
DATA: Yes.
JULIANA: Your father would be so pleased.
DATA: Pleased?
JULIANA: He was worried that the sexuality programme he designed for you wouldn't work.

Wouldn't she have read the transcript of his autonomy hearing, including the Tasha reference?

LAFORGE: Data, I reconfigured the phasers to create the most highly focused particle beam possible.

I don't like the implication that they have to modify the phaser to emit a particle beam. It didn't seem this complicated back in "Galaxy's Child".

PRAN: Someone's checked his calculations, of course.
RIKER: No, but I'm sure Mister Data knows what he's doing.
PRAN: Even so, he is a machine. Someone should check up on him.

Ugh. This is not the place to imply that Data is "lesser", we already have enough to talk about without throwing a bigot into the mix.

JULIANA: I'll have to practice. You don't have a viola?
DATA: I could replicate one for you. Computer, please replicate one viola.

It occurs to me that wooden instruments would be one thing that it might be hard to replicate perfectly. There are even more variables to consider than a lot of foods. I dabbled with the piano myself as a child, and I find the idea of trusting a computer to tune one somehow...heretical.

[Nate the Great]

DATA: That is Lal, my daughter.
JULIANA: Your daughter?

No really, why doesn't Juliana know all this stuff already? Data would have an enormous entry at Memory Alpha by now.

DATA: The acoustics in Ten Forward are most favourable.

I doubt that. The very shape of the room is ludicrous in terms of achieving proper acoustics.

JULIANA: Do you think you'll ever try to create an android again?
DATA: Perhaps. I created Lal because I wished to procreate. Despite what happened to her, I still have that wish.
JULIANA: How do you know the same thing won't happen? Creating a stable positronic matrix is very tricky.

I think Data understands that very well, Juliana, you don't need to lay on the guilt! Then again, after the exocomps you'd think he'd have more experimental data to work with. For that matter, he'd know about the EMH project by now and would be using the information from that project as well.

I refer you to the novel Immortal Coil where Flint creates an android based both on Soong tech and Zimmerman tech to try having an immortal mate again. But she falls in love with Data instead.

DATA: I was not aware he created other androids before my brother.
JULIANA: There were three of them. They were like children to us. Losing them was very painful.

I'm having trouble with this idea. B-4 wasn't exactly fully sentient, I shudder to think what the other two were like.

JULIANA: I didn't want to bring you with us. I was afraid if we reactivated you, you'd turn out like Lore. I made Noonian leave you behind.

I'm confused about this one, but that's another screed.

JULIANA: I just don't want you to misunderstand my answer. No, I wouldn't have left you behind if you'd been my biological child.
DATA: Is that because you place more value on biological life than on artificial life?
JULIANA: Absolutely not. I cherished every android your father and I created as if it were my child. Even Lore.

Which raises the question of where Altan Soong came from and where he went. It was made clear that he's not Juliana's son.

RIKER: Why does the scanner read her as a human?
CRUSHER: Because she has a feedback processor designed to send out a false bio-signal.

I'm still dubious about this one. Maybe Soong could upgrade the thing to keep up with advances in tricorder technology, but odds are he didn't get the chance to do so after the Enterprise launched.

SOONG: She was injured when the Crystalline Entity attacked. We made it as far as Terlina Three but, she slipped into a coma. When I realised nothing could be done for her, I built an android. I tried to perfect my synaptic scanning technique so that I could transfer Juliana's memories into a positronic matrix. I didn't know if it would work, but I had to try.

That was Graves' specialty, not Soong's. Another problem is that there was no chance that Soong was able to take all of the necessary equipment from his lab during the evacuation. Are we to believe that he was able to build it IN A CAVE! WITH A BOX OF SCRAPS!

DATA: What happened?
SOONG: I made a terrible mistake. I never really let her know how much I loved her. So she left me.

Sheesh, talk about hackneyed soap opera dialogue.

PICARD: Data, there might come some time in the future when she would find out anyway. Another accident, perhaps. Maybe it would be easier for her if she learned the truth from you.
CRUSHER: I can tell you that if I were in her place, I would rather be told by my son than by some stranger.

A good point. I'm glad that they're able to consider the possible ramifications without fear and still trust Data to make the right decision.

DATA: I find I am having difficulty separating what would be best for her from what would be best for me.
TROI: What do you mean?
DATA: If she knew she were an android, we would have something to share. I would no longer be alone in the universe.
TROI: I know how much that means to you, Data.

And this is why Data is such a great character. He can be a bit selfish, but he still wants to do the right thing.

JULIANA: On Atrea there is a saying, that a child born from parents who love each other will have nothing but goodness in his heart. I guess that explains you.

But didn't this same set of parents create Lore?

The Fiver

Captain's Log: We are in orbit of Penthara IV, where... I'm sorry; my heart just isn't in this anymore. Nobody even reads these things. Will! Get over here and finish the log.
First Officer's Log: So there me and Deanna were, all alone --
Captain's Log: --When I threatened to demote Commander Riker to Ensign if he ever tried to turn my logs into dime store dirty novels.
First Officer's Log: Aww.

"You know how much money you can make writing dime novels?" "What?" "A whole lotta dimes." I still miss Legend, it deserved better than what it got. The only good part of it ending is that it freed up Anderson for Stargate SG-1.

Juliana: We put on a pretty good concert, you and I.
Data: Mother, I have noticed that your playing of that piece was flawless. How do you maintain such a level of perfection?
Juliana: I don't, dear. It's a recording.
Data: Ah! Do you carry many different tunes with you?
Juliana: No, only eight tracks at a time.

Eight tracks were before my time, but I thought that their audio fidelity wasn't really that great. That's why LPs lasted for so long.

Data: It appears we've angered the volcano gods. The planet is destabilizing. Starfleet protocol says to sacrifice a virgin to appease their demands.
La Forge: Oh no you don't! Geordi awwway! (runs down passageway)
Data: Okay, Plan B. Invincible man and random visitor.

I want to believe that this is a Joe vs the Volcano reference, but I doubt it.

Soong: You're probably inquiring about the warranty on Juliana. It's expired. So is she. Crystalline Entity, snowflakes, coma. Couldn't stand her dead, so Juliana is the first android to have a consciousness downloaded to it. Gettin' all this?
Data: Actually, there was this one time we, I mean I....
Soong: Quiet Schizoid.

Always nice to see a reference to Ira Graves.

Memory Alpha

* Flanagan's role in "Dax" was before this. The past is the future, the future is the past, the whole thing gives me a headache...

Nitpicker's Guide
* Both Troi and Geordi should've detected that Juliana wasn't human, but they didn't. Oops.
* Soong must've chased Juliana down, deactivated her, put in the chip, and then left. How awkward.
* Phil points out that Soong programmed Juliana to shut down if she learned the truth, saying that this means that Data's quandary is pointless. I would argue that once Data knows about this programming he could deactivate it.
* He wonders how Soong could create such a perfect human facade after Data and Lore. I would argue that with Data and Lore the colonists forced him to make the androids easily identifiable.
* Geordi casually says that Data has an aging program when it was previously established that he's functionally immortal. I get that this is a handwave to explain that Spiner's getting older, but frankly I don't like it. And he never should've appeared in Picard, by the way.