30th Anniversary TNG Episode Discussion Marathon

[Nate the Great]

PICARD: Well I'm really very sorry you didn't enjoy your time at the Academy, Ensign. As far as I'm concerned, you should have been expelled for what you did. Quite frankly, I don't know how you made it on board this ship. You're dismissed.

I know that Picard is testing Sito, but that last part is just ridiculous. Yes, there have been times when an officer has been forced onto the Enterprise, Ro comes to mind immediately, but Sito would not be one of those cases, and she should realize that.

TAURIK: The pattern of fire you have asked for is similar to what might result if the shuttle had fled an attacker while engaging in evasive manoeuvres.
LAFORGE: It's an amazing coincidence.
TAURIK: Yes, sir. It is indeed.

I understand the need to damage the shuttle in this way, it's the phaser rifle part that baffles me. The output from a phaser rifle would be MUCH less than that of a shipboard phaser. And anyone scanning this shuttle would be able to tell the difference. Couldn't they have mocked up a phaser turret with a larger beam?

LAVELLE: I wonder who was in it?
BEN: You know what I heard? It was Ambassador Spock.

What would Spock be doing in Cardassian space?

TROI: I don't know. It seems to me that you and Lavelle are a lot alike.
RIKER: What? We're not at all alike.

They really aren't. Riker was never afflicted by the self-doubt that Lavelle has. As far as I can tell their only similarity is confidence while playing poker.

OGAWA: You know, Sam, maybe you shouldn't try so hard with Riker. It doesn't matter whether he likes you as long as he respects you.

Exactly. You'd think there'd be an Academy course for that.

TROI: Didn't you tell me that you took up poker so you could be the officer's game at the Potemkin?
RIKER: I happen to like poker.
TROI: But your senior officers might have thought you were trying to ingratiate yourself. I guess it's lucky that they realised you were young and inexperienced, and decided not to hold it against you.

I'm not seeing the connection between "learning how to play poker" and "you automatically get the right to join the senior officer's game".

TAURIK: What I find curious is that when Commander La Forge saw that the technique I was using was actually more efficient, he seemed annoyed.
BEN: Of course he was.
LAVELLE: He didn't like the fact that you knew something he didn't.

No, I think Geordi was hoping that Taurik wouldn't ask any questions about this operation that he shouldn't know anything about. Frankly Taurik shouldn't have been anywhere near that shuttle, Data could've done the same job faster.

SITO: How am I supposed to defend myself when I can't see a thing?

Actually I'd think the Klingons would train blindfolded from time to time just to enhance their other senses. After all, will their enemy stop attacking just because you're blind?

SITO: If you didn't want me on your ship you should have said so when I was assigned to it. It's not your place to punish me for what I did at the Academy.

Exactly. Furthermore the idea that someone is irredeemable because of one mistake doesn't seem to fit the idealized Federation.

OGAWA: He asked me to marry him.
CRUSHER: Alyssa, that's wonderful! I'm so relieved. I mean happy.

This still seems a bit fast, especially since she'll get pregnant immediately. They should've implied a longer offscreen courtship.

JORET: I'm sick of war. My people need peace.

Too bad you won't get it thanks to Dukat and the Dominion.

RIKER: Try narrowing the scan field. See if you can pick up any biosigns.
LAVELLE: Sir, it would help if I knew what kind of life signs to look for.
RIKER: You're scanning for Bajoran lifesigns.

Is there some peculiarity of Bajoran lifesigns that would be easier to scan for?

WORF: I appreciate what you are trying to do, but it is not appropriate. You were her friends. I was only her commanding officer.
BEN: Sir, I happen to know that she considered you a friend.

Like I said earlier, it would've been nice to tie Worf into the lower decks characters' plot earlier. Perhaps he could've given Lavelle some advice about dealing with Riker, or something.

The Fiver

Troi: Outwit. Outspeak. Outlive.

Are there some missing first lines here. And is this supposed to be a Survivor reference?

Taurik: If I could have a word with you, I have a new plan that would increase our efficiency in engineering.
LaForge: Let's have a look.
Taurik: (hands Geordi a PADD). As you can see, if we can find ourselves a Klingon-human hybrid, and then give her pon far--
LaForge: Wait, wait. How will that increase efficiency in engineering?
Taurik: By increasing the efficiency of its best engineer, of course.

Hardy har har. It is a little icky, though.

Riker: Well I am from Alaska, I do know a little about Canada.
Lavelle: Alaska? Wow, I had a friend who went to Auburn University.

Auburn University is in Arkansas. I don't think Lavelle would make for a good contestant on Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego...

Picard: Ensign Sito, quite frankly I think you're irresponsible, an officer of disputed character, and I absolutely hate your hair!
Sito: With all due respect sir, so were you, so were you, and you're just jealous.

Except for the Borg stuff, when was Picard suspected of disputed character?

Lavelle: I'm worried, tell me everything you know that's classified.

I think a big misstep in the episode is Lavelle not having a secret like the other three.

Memory Alpha

* Barclay was considered for a role as one of the lower decks characters, but I don't think it would've worked. His age and social awkwardness would make him a bad fit with the youngsters.
* The creators wanted to bring Sito back in DS9, but I don't think it would've worked. What role would she have played on the station after being rescued? It would've made for great character developmente for Worf, but also would've required a lot of exposition to catch the DS9 viewers up.

Nitpicker's Guide

* An Air Force officer wrote in to Phil saying that an officer's immediate superior would be responsible for his evaluation, you wouldn't have the first officer covering the entire ship.
* "Lower Decks" is stated to be three years ago, but it was really less than two. Three years was required because Sito had to redo her junior year and then do her senior year.
* Phil questions how Crusher can create Cardassian blood when she couldn't do Romulan blood back in "The Enemy". I'll willingly chalk this up to iron based blood being easier than copper-based.
* Why isn't Sito wearing a Bajoran earring? I'd argue that she wasn't devout, but neither was Ro. Maybe Sito just didn't want to make waves insisting on her right to wear the earring, she thought that she was on thin ice as it was.

[Nate the Great]

February 14th, 1994, "Thine Own Self"

As a prelude, I agree with SF Debris that Troi's promotion should've been a subplot for multiple episodes, possibly triggered by the events of "Chain of Command" (which should've been three episodes, now that I think about it).

The Episode

TROI: I didn't expect to find anyone up except Data.

I won't repeat the entire "there should be an experienced staff on the bridge 24/7 because the Romulans won't be polite enough to attack during the day shift" screed again, but it still applies.

CRUSHER: Data's away on assignment. A Federation deep space probe went off course and crashed on Barkon Four. Some of the material in the casing was radioactive, so Data was sent to recover it before it could contaminate the biosphere.

I don't like the idea of one person away teams in general, but especially in cases where the mission is away from the ship. At the very least there should've been an ensign stationed in the shuttle waiting for Data to come back. Furthermore there have to be species (Horta? Gorn?) that would be immune to simple radiation to accompany him.

TROI: Fine. It was good to see some old friends. I'd lost touch with most of them.

I'm still confused about how anyone in the Federation could lose touch with anyone else. The computers seem to keep track of where everyone is unless you are explicitly a crackpot scientist who chooses to become lost. And it's not like there's such a thing as "long distance charges" in the future.

CRUSHER: I like to put in a little Bridge time now and then, stay on top of operations, tactical procedures. The truth is, I like it. It's not every doctor who gets to command a starship, even if it is the night shift.

This should've been established much earlier.

TROI: May I ask you a personal question? Why did you decide to become a Commander? I mean, you didn't need the rank in order to be Chief Medical Officer, so why put yourself through all the extra work?

This is used to explain Pulaski's lower rank. It does raise further questions about how there can be senior officers with ranks lower than Lieutenant Commander, but that's another screed.

CRUSHER: Oh, I don't know. I never even thought about my rank for a long time. It seemed pretty trivial compared to being a doctor. But then, about eight years ago, I started to feel like I wanted to stretch myself a little.

2362. We actually know nothing at all about Beverly's life between Jack's death and arriving on the E-D. If you go by the novels, however, in 2360 she helped Admiral Uhura on a Starfleet Intelligence mission. Perhaps she was made aware of greater capabilities within herself during this mission.

TROI: Is something wrong?
CRUSHER: No. I wanted to let Data know there'd be a delay in picking him up for a few of days. We have orders to rendezvous with the Lexington and take some medical supplies to the Taranko Colony.
TROI: But he's not responding.
CRUSHER: Geordi said that the radiation from the probe might interfere with communications. I just thought I'd try anyway.

And this is why you'd want an ensign in a shuttle in orbit. For that matter, you'd think they could zip over to Barkon IV, drop off the saucer section to look for him, then have the stardrive handle Taranko Colony.

(Riker is practising his trombone when Troi strolls in. He finishes the piece and then blows two notes)
TROI: Is that supposed to be a question?
(parp parp)
TROI: Because if you're asking me if I liked what you were playing, then the answer is yes.
(paarp parp)
TROI: You know, this is a much better way of communicating for you. It's far less confusing than the way you normally speak.
(parp!)

Always a great scene.

TROI: Do you remember when the Enterprise hit that quantum filament and I was in command on the Bridge?
RIKER: I do.
TROI: Well, when that happened, I was overwhelmed. But when it was over I realised that a part of me missed it. Not the actual disaster, but the experience of being in command.

And here we are, the biggest plot hole in the episode. I'm not going to claim that passing the test should be required for commanding the ship, but it wouldn't be a bad idea. Then again, you'd think every Starfleet Academy student has to take a few command courses, since all of them will command a work team, away team, or even the ship itself at some point.

Upon thinking about it, is there a difference between "having the bridge" (i.e. you have to call a senior officer to take over at the first hint of trouble) and "acting captain" (you're trusted to handle everything short of an actual war or First Contact situation)? That's another screed waiting to happen.,

RIKER: Deanna, if you take the Bridge Officer's test, you'll have my complete support. But as First Officer, I'll be the one judging your performance, and you should know I am a pretty tough judge.

I get the purpose of this for storytelling purposes, but in the real world I would have to assume that this would require specialized training akin to what Wesley had to go through back in "Coming of Age".

TALUR: No headaches, palpitations, sluggishness, indigestion?
DATA: No. But I cannot have indigestion since I have not eaten.
TALUR: Ah. Malnutrition.

That seems like a leap of logic.

TALUR: Yes. You probably come from a race of people who lived in the snow and ice of the Vellorian mountains. Your skin and eye colouration are a result of prolonged exposure to harsh winter conditions.

I do like the attempt to use science and logic here. A repeat of "Who Watches the Watchers" would be unwelcome.

(Skoran hits it with a hammer on the anvil)
SKORAN: It's obviously been tempered and milled.

Tempered means heating and slow cooling to increase toughness (ability to deform without fracturing). Milled means the surface has been cut away revealing a uniform surface. I had to look this stuff up, I've always been more comfortable with woodworking than metalworking.

SKORAN: The metal's malleable enough to make some jewellry.

We're never told what this stuff is beyond "radioactive". Uranium can be worked and I assume other radioactive metals can as well.

GIA: Father, are you all right?
GARVIN: I've been tired since this afternoon. I'm sure it's nothing.

Fatigue is a symptom of radiation poisoning, but it's surprising that nausea is never even mentioned.

DATA: Where is your mother?
GIA: She died about a year ago. Father says she went to a beautiful place where everything is peaceful and everyone loves each other, and no one ever gets sick. Do you think there's really a place like that?
(Data gazes out at the moon and stars)
DATA: Yes. I do.

Another great scene.

[Nate the Great]

LAFORGE: We just lost contact with everything above deck twenty one, including the Bridge.

You know, there really should be several dedicated communications channels between the bridge and main engineering. And of various technologies as well. I'm offended by the idea that there's only one cable between the two that can be easily severed. Furthermore, shouldn't the commbadges operate on a frequency that is completely different from the ones a shipboard disaster could interfere with?

COMPUTER: Unable to comply. All power to ejection systems has been terminated and cannot be restored.

Ugh. Even IF we suppose that the ship can be damaged to the point where the computer can't create a connection to the animatter pods, there should be crewman near the pods at all times and a big red level ready to manually eject said pods. Duh.

TROI: So what did I do wrong?
RIKER: I'm afraid I can't tell you that.
TROI: Why not? What kind of a test is this?
RIKER: It's the kind of a test that you'll have to take again if you want to be a Bridge Officer.

Yes, there should always be a few things on a final exam that you have to have studied enough to have hardwired into your brain. Simply taking the test over and over again and hoping that your dice rolls are favorable is no way to make a bridge officer.

TALUR: Rock, fire, sky, and water are the basic elements of the universe. They can be found in every object, every person, every animal, everything.

Americans tend to be egotistical and think that any "primitive system of elements" always consists of air, earth, water, and fire. The weird thing is, they also tend to ignore aether, which covers any number of phenomenon that can't be understood. Upon doing research I was surprised to find out how many cultures use the five elements with little modifications. I could've sworn that there was a culture that added "metal".

TROI: The secondary plasma vent has a triple redundant bypass. Which means that the primary access junction is routed through
(doorbell)
TROI: Come in. Would be routed through the port transducer matrix.

You have to feel for Sirtis here. Unline Burton or Spiner she hasn't had to memorize Treknobabble to the extent needed in this episode.

TROI: Why? Because I'm not the most technically-minded person on the ship? I may have trouble telling the difference between a plasma conduit and a phase inducer, but there's more to being a bridge officer than memorising technical manuals.

Really? I jolly well expect any Starfleet officer to know the difference between those two. Now, if you were talking about preganglionic fibers and postganglionic nerves, that's another story...

TROI: Geordi, could you repair the ODN conduit if you went into the crawlspace?
WORF: Sir, that crawlway is in a warp-plasma shaft. He would never survive the radiation.

Crawlspace? Did the screenwriter get tired of writing Treknobabble and simply refuse to say "Jeffries tube?"

DATA: I have coated this piece of cloth with the liquid which is used in lamps. As you can see, the cloth becomes luminescent when it is exposed to an energy source. This pendant also appears to be an energy source.

I haven't found any evidence that lamp oil glows in the presence of radiation. Perhaps this mystery metal isn't emitting a type of radiation that is presently known.

TALUR: But where is this pattern of light coming from?
DATA: I believe a stream of particles is emanating from the metallic pendant and hitting the cloth.

How do you explain subatomic particles to a culture that hasn't even invented the steam engine?

GIA: What kind of medicine is it?
DATA: A compound I made which will neutralise the particles that are making you ill.

The most primitive radiation treatments include potassium iodine and certain dyes, and special proteins that can promote the production of white blood cells.

DATA: I had located the crashed Federation probe and collected the radioactive fragments. I was attempting to download the sensor logs from the probe's onboard computer. There was a power surge. I believe the surge overloaded my positronic matrix. After that, I have no memory until this moment.

Ugh. You'd think Data would install surge protectors into himself, especially after the events of "Disaster."

The Fiver

Data: It says "radioactive."
Garvin: What's that supposed to mean?
Data: What do you think I am, a walking dictionary?

Missing first lines alert!

Talur: Your skin is very pale, so you must not spend much time in the sun.
Data: That would be an accurate assumption.
Talur: My grandmother would have thought you were a demon of some sort, but I know better: You are a vampire.

The fiver was written in 2004. The first Twilight book wouldn't be released until 2005. I'm surprised that there isn't a basement-dwelling nerd punchline in this one. They don't spend much time in the sun, either.

Data: (lifts anvil) I believe the anvil fell because of shoddy workmanship.You should avoid ordering from this "Acme Corporation" in the future.

Actually I'm pretty sure ACME never sent Wile E. Coyote any faulty products. He just used them in an unexpected and dangerous way.

Talur: Garvin, you don't look so good.
Garvin: Pbbt, I feel fine.
Talur: You don't smell so good, either. I think you're sick.
Garvin: Nonsense!
Talur: Then why are there two puncture marks on your neck?

If that was supposed to be a Princess Bride joke, it needed a bit more development.

Talur: So the five basic elements are earth, fire, wind, water, and heart. And when these elements combine, we have Captain Planet!

Well, that's a time capsule of a joke.

Skoran: You're the cause of all this, Vampire!
Data: If you are referring to the illness, you are partially correct, but you may want to examine my data in detail.
Skoran: Forget details. We want to hit you in deface.

Ouch, that one hurt.

Data: Gia, wake up! I have good news!
Gia: You found a cure for the disease?
Data: Not yet, but I just saved a bunch of money on my car insurance.

You have to throw in the explicit Geiko reference to complete the joke.

Picard: I'm glad we were able to beam you back safely,
Data. What's the last thing you remember?
Data: "His nose should pant, and his lip should" --

Nice Insurrection reference. Have I mentioned lately how much I prefer Insurrection to First Contact?

Memory Alpha

* Last appearance of Riker playing trombone. And it must be a new one, since he gave his old one to Tom.
* Jeri Taylor admitted that some fans were angry that Troi got a promotion instead of Data or Geordi. I would argue that Geordi hasn't been a Lt. Cmdr. long enough to be promoted again so fast. As for Data, that's another kettle of fish I don't care to open right now.

Nitpicker's Guide

* Given what we know of Data's mass, he would topple over if he tried to lift that anvil in that position. It's not a matter of strength, it's a matter of leverage.
* Phil is confused about Beverly expanding her horizons in only one direction with the bridge officer's test. I think that's a little shortsighted. It could be argued that the test covers more than just command, it also includes understanding enough of the other areas of the ship to effectively command them.
* Pulaski was also a full commander, yet she didn't take the test and wasn't a bridge officer. I could've sworn she was only a Lt. Cmdr.
* How come the radioactive materials box had a simple latch and not a computer lock?
* Riker says "end simulation" after the test, but only the people disappear, not the set as well. Oops.
* Did Crusher somehow fix Data without having to remove the native clothing that he was wearing?

[Nate the Great]

February 21st, 1994, "Masks"

Fiver by saxamaphone

The Episode

TROI: How's it going, Data?
DATA: I have finished.
(it's a perfect PADD)
DATA: The dimensions are accurate to within one point three percent.
TROI: I'm sure they are.

The strange thing is that with Data I'd expect better than 1.3%. He has perfect sight and perfect control over his hands and the tools in them.

TROI: Maybe you should try something a little more abstract. Here. I want you to start a new piece. I'd like you to sculpt music.
DATA: Counsellor, music is a collection of acoustic vibrations. How can I reproduce a sound with clay?
TROI: Well, think of the effects that sounds have on people, the images that music brings to your mind, and then give it a form.
(he quickly forms a treble clef)

This is one that baffles me. He's a student of all art, and plenty of artists have attempted to recreate music in a visual medium. There's plenty of material for Data to regurgitate and remix into a new form.

(a golden sun-face fills the screen)
LAFORGE: What's that one?
DATA: Death.

The idea of a sun god representing death seems like a stretch.

DATA: I do not know, sir. The object is nearly solid. It is composed primarily of fortanium and several unknown materials. It is over eighty seven million years old.

Only appearance of fortanium. It occurs to me that this would've been a great place to namedrop the "ceramic alloys" from "The Inner Light."

PICARD: The concept of the four cardinal compass directions is quite common in many different cultures.

In many nomadic societies the four cardinal directions are important representations of sunrise/sunset and the sources of the major winds. The Greeks and Romans even had names for twelve different wind directions. The ancient Arabs had a 32-point compass rose based on key constellations to be used for celestial navigation.

DATA: Geordi, what does it feel like when a person is losing his mind?

Always a chilling line.

(Data has the compass symbol on his forehead and a wicked grin)

The idea that the archive is mucking around with the matter in Data's body is quite disturbing.

LAFORGE: Captain, this is incredible. These artefacts weren't beamed over here from the archive. The matter here in Ten Forward has been transformed.
PICARD: Into living plants? How is that possible?

A valid question, but not the most important one right now. Then again, the replicator can create salads. How much more work would it be to set up a complete plant?

WORF: Sir, our weapon control systems are inoperative. However, we could reconfigure a photon torpedo for manual launch.

What about launching a shuttle and using the torpedoes from that? Are the shuttles being affected as well?

(the torpedo is full of snakes...

Now that's impressive. I sort of wish that they just said that the archive was doing all of these transformations, it would be easy to handwave the life creation if they did that.

RIKER: Maybe we'd better talk in here. The Observation Lounge has turned into a swamp.

It's amazing how the archive isn't transforming any of the hullplates or windows. Or the antimatter containment pods, for that matter.

RIKER: What about communications, sensors, life support?
LAFORGE: We have communications, and limited sensor control. Life support seems to be unaffected.

Why haven't they sent out a distress call yet? There's no guarantee that the archive won't transform the actual people at some point, this is a really dangerous situation!

WORF: Captain. The entire deck has been cleared of personnel. We may proceed.

Because we all know that Masaka's temple can be confined on a single deck. Ugh.

PICARD: Mister Data, are you all right?
DATA: I believe so, sir. I am not entirely certain what has happened. Have I been dreaming again?

They could've done so much more with the dreaming program. Come to think of it, they could've used it in the movies. The fear from not saving Geordi, the Borg Queen inserting herself into the dream, etc.

The Fiver

Picard: No, we won't even be breaking the ice.

Missing first lines alert!

Riker: What could they possibly mean?
Data: "Buried...Years...For all time --"

Is this a reference to something?

La Forge: Data, you can read this?
Data: Yes, I am hooked on hieroglyphics.

"Hooked on Phonics" is already a fading cultural memory. I pity the readers of the future who won't have a clue on why this is a joke.

Riker: Aye sir, but I think I should warn you that the ship's anti-virus software won't be installed until Tuesday.

Is the Tuesday gag the most prevalent movie-specific one on the site?

Picard: I don't know, but check out these pictures! This one's a giant snake head, I think.
Worf: "How Sharper Than A Serpent's Tooth!"
Picard: Worf, we're not playing the "List the Episodes or Movies that the Current Events Duplicate" game.

That game would get old really fast.

Nitpicker's Guide

* How did they know where Masaka's temple would be created?
* Phil points out how easily Data broke out and wonders why ship's security hasn't figured out a way to contain him yet.
* He wonders why they lugged a torpedo up to Main Engineering to modify it when they'd just have to lug it down to the torpedo bay again anyway. I question why you'd want a torpedo near the warp core in any case.
* When the temple turns back into the corridor Data and Picard weren't at floor level, why didn't they fall?

[Nate the Great]

February 28th, 1994, "Eye of the Beholder"

Boy, was I not looking forward to this one. More Troi/Worf nonsense, more suspected crazy people, more absurd Treknobabble.

Fiver by Kira

The Episode

DATA: We are losing containment in the starboard nacelle tube.
PICARD: Try to get more power to the field coils.
DATA: Aye, sir.

Data's not even using the Engineering station on the Bridge, how is he supposed to help? Not only is this a Main Engineering Problem, but there should be dedicated controls outside each nacelle to provide for emergency shutoff and nacelle ejection.

PICARD: Release the exterior hull plate. We may have to jettison the core.

Why is releasing the hull plate a separate command? It should be an automatic part of the process? Is it somehow safer to release manually?

RIKER: What happened?
NARA: (alien woman) He locked out the controls. Before we knew what was happening, he stepped up onto the walkway.
RIKER: (to Worf) See if you can help shut down the plasma flow.

I know that the main characters have to be a part of the story, but this is one case where it just doesn't make sense. This really isn't a "Worf" job, nor is he the go-to guy for shutting down the plasma flow (which should really be a one-button command from Main Engineering anyway).

TROI: I met with him about six weeks ago, during the crew evaluations. He was very positive. He was looking forward to being posted to the nacelle tube.

First of all, there are TWO nacelle tubes. Second of all, is this really a permanent posting? Proverbial oil changes seems like something you could rotate one shift a month among the Engineering staff.

TROI: If he made any personal logs, it might be helpful to look through them.
PICARD: You're authorised to do so.

You'd think the ship's counselor would be authorized to read any personal log at any time, she wouldn't need authorization for it.

PICARD: The medical situation on Barson Two has worsened. Starfleet has given us permission to exceed warp speed limitations so as to get back on schedule.

It would've been so easy for the creators to just ignore "Force of Nature", it's not like the viewers of the time would've cared. It just makes the blatant apathy of the Voyager writing staff more obvious.

DATA: The first months following my activation were a difficult period for me. There were many problems associated with my becoming sentient.
LAFORGE: Because your neural net was still forming.
DATA: As I acquired new skills, neural pathways would form replacing other less complex pathways. It was very disorienting.
LAFORGE: I bet.

I get what they're going for, but the writers should not have tried such an apples and oranges comparison just to make Data the focus. It's an insult to the real people who have contemplated suicide. This scene should've been replaced with one where Worf reevaluates his experiences during the events of "Ethics". It also would've made for a nice Worf/Troi scene if that's what they were going for.

TROI: It all looks so normal. For some reason I half expected the place to be a mess.

A stupid statement from a psychologist. Not all mentally unwell people lash out as a coping mechanism OR are capable of restraining their symptoms in public. Yet another example of oversimplifying mental illness for the sake of a plot point.

TROI: I thought you might like to know that in his personal logs, Dan talked about you a great deal. He loved you very much.
CALLOWAY: If that's true, then how could he leave me like this?

Ugh. Depression and suicidal thoughts tend to not be rational thoughts. Who's to say if you were on his mind at all while he planned his suicide? (If this was a standard suicidal episode, which it's not)

CALLOWAY: Yes. Dan sensed that she, well, that she felt threatened by him. That she thought he was after her position.

First of all, Starfleet training should be enough to handle this. Second of all, what was going on with the crew of the other nacelle tube? Surely they could've both been in charge of one without stepping on any feet.

NARA: Excellent. He knew this ship better than most people, probably because he helped build it back at Utopia Planitia.

And he's a lowly engineer in one of the nacelle tubes after seven years? This doesn't add up.

NARA: He was ambitious. He came in here with all sorts of new ideas about how to do things. Some of them very good ideas.

New ideas about how to do what? The people in the tubes are only there to make sure that the warp plasma safely gets to the warp coils. There isn't much room for modification of the system there. And even if there were, they would've told Geordi about their ideas and then returned to changing oil or whatever.

TROI: Well, when I was a young girl, my grandfather used to tell me stories by the fire. I would close my eyes and listen to his mind for hours on end.
WORF: He would tell you these stories telepathically?
TROI: My grandfather rarely spoke. He said that was for off-worlders and people who didn't know any better.

It's stuff like this that raises questions. It's made clear that Betazoids have to grow into their powers at puberty. Tam Elbrun had to grow up with all that noise and it made him unhinged. Perhaps Betazoid adults act as recievers and transmitters for their children for basic communication, but that just raises further questions!

WORF: Lieutenant Corell seems to be enjoying your company.
RIKER: I'd like to think so.
WORF: Are you involved with her?
RIKER: I'm not sure yet. Why, are you interested?
WORF: No. But if I were, I would of course discuss the situation with you before proceeding further.
RIKER: I appreciate it, but that really wouldn't be necessary.
WORF: I mean I would never want to come between you and someone you are involved with, or had ever been involved with.
RIKER: Is there someone in particular that you're talking about?
WORF: No. Is there someone in particular you would rather I not be involved with?

This conversation should've happened in a prior episode, and frankly Worf should've been more direct. I can appreciate that Klingons follow the bro code, but this case is special. Will and Deanna have made it clear that despite their attraction they aren't prepared to be in a relationship right now. Furthermore, Worf knows about Riker's dalliances and trips to Risa by now. This scene feels like Worf is implying that Riker is allowed to "call dibs" on any number of women simultaneously for as long as he wants, which is disgusting.

TROI: If only I could go back to the control room without being overwhelmed by the experience. It might help me remember some detail that might be relevant.

You mean like recreating the thing in the holodeck? This is one plot hole that really bugs me. It's not like they'd have to make a new set...

(Troi is ploughing through personnel files on the science station - Guy Vardeman is masquerading as Darien Wallace)

Guy VardAman was a frequent TNG bit player as well as a stand-in for Spiner. He also helped out with the production staff and created some beta canon stuff for the card game and magazines. Chakoteya must be a fan.

WORF: Have you found anything?
TROI: No. There were literally thousands of people involved in building the Enterprise.

But how many were involved in designing or building the nacelle tube? You know, I really do expect better from her after the Bridge Officer's test.

TROI: The fact that I couldn't read him suggests that he has at least some telepathic ability.

I'll skip the screed speculating about the different telepathic "frequencies" and methods used by different telepathic races, but there is a lot to unpack here.

(finally, Worf takes her hand and nuzzles her neck, then they kiss passionately)
(next morning, Troi is still in bed and Worf is already dressed. He kisses her awake. I thought non-Klingon females were too fragile??)

So did I. And even if we're going to posit that Worf was exaggerating, this is not the time for them to be having sex for the first time. She admits that she could be under psychic influence, they're in the middle of an investigation, and Worf technically doesn't have Will's permission yet because he didn't ask properly.

For that matter, where's Alexander? Did Worf leave him a message saying that he wouldn't be back tonight because he's out catching some tail?

TROI: Lieutenant Nara, may I ask you something? The work Lieutenant Kwan was doing, was it unusual in any way?
NARA: He was refitting a field coil, but it was probably the first time that particular panel's been opened since the ship was built.
TROI: Thank you.

I find that hard to believe. I would expect every panel to be open during the post-Borg refit. Furthermore, I refuse to believe that any part of the warp drive system is that reliable.

[Nate the Great]

LAFORGE: Organic? You're right. Let me reconfigure the emitter beam. We might be able to see what it is. There.
(skull, ribcage, spine)

Yeah, no. That much impurity would show up in a prior scan, plus the ship would keep careful track of the stress patterns in every piece of bulkhead. This thing would show up instantly as a weak point.

TROI: Worf, can I ask you something? Do you regret what happened last night?
WORF: No, of course not.
TROI: Are you sure? Because I don't want anything to jeopardise our friendship.

I find it odd that they didn't bring up the sex=marriage thing. Had they not brought it up in "Looking for Par-Mach" I would've been able to brush it aside as Worf being uber-old-fashioned-Klingon again.

There's another screed about Worf seeing sex as having a spiritual component. Was what happened last night really spiritual?

TROI: I'm not feeling myself. Maybe it's the inhibitor. I'm so used to sensing what people are feeling, and now I can't.

In a post-"The Loss" episode this doesn't make sense at all.

WORF: I opened the maintenance door at Counsellor Troi's request, then turned to see her standing too close to the force field.
TROI: It all seemed so real to me. I can't believe that everything I experienced happened in just those few seconds.

And there's the copout. None of it really happened, so we're not supposed to question it. Yeah, I will never follow that line of reasoning. In order for illusions to be THAT convincing and last THAT long, it has to follow the same logic as the real world.

Which introduces further questions. Does Troi really think of Worf as the kind of guy who engages in casual sex? Does she think that either one of them would make such a life-changing event without at least a conversation? Does she still think of Will as having "dibs" on her?

The Fiver

Lieutenant Kwan: Don't come any closer or I'll jump through this forcefield!
Riker: Don't be ridiculous. Nobody can jump through a forcefield.

This is overly simplistic. We've seen forcefields of many intensities. But yeah, this particular one should repel solid objects.

Empathic Echo: Simba, you must avenge my death.
Troi: What?
Empathic Echo: Er... Luke, trust your feelings.
Troi: Huh?
Empathic Echo: Dammit, I got it right on that other guy....

"In life, I was your partner Jacob Marley..."

Troi: ...and as I was standing there, I could feel a presence. But there was nobody there!
Riker: You mean....
Troi: Yes. I sense dead people.

Yikes is that a reference that didn't age well.

Troi: The empathic echo was forged deep in the nacelle tube, in fires of the plasma vents. Only there can it be destroyed.

This Lord of the Rings reference feels like either a shoehorn or one that was only half-baked, I'm not sure.

Troi: Since when do you stop by my quarters late at night?
Worf: All the time, Imzadi.
Troi: I thought I told you to stop calling me that. You're not Will Riker.
Worf: Have you ever kissed me with a beard before?

I refer you to the novel Imzadi II where Worf really learns what that term means and applies it to Jadzia, not Deanna. The Insurrection joke kinda falls flat here.

Worf: Commander, I have a hypothetical situation for you. If a Klingon security chief wished to mate with a Betazoid counsellor --
Riker: Stay away from my girl, Worf.
Worf: If she were your girl, you wouldn't have to tell me that.

Is this an X-Men reference?

Besides, you know what they say about all good things.
Riker: You're just asking for an insurrection, buster.

Another half-baked joke. If you're not going to mention all of the TNG movies, why bother?

Troi: There's something behind that bulkhead.
La Forge: Let's see what the scanner can -- whoa. I see a dead people.
Body: I'm not dead.
Troi: Yes, you are. You're in a bulkhead.
Body: I feel better. I think I'll go for a walk.
La Forge: Data, you're not fooling anyone. Stop throwing your voice.
Data: Aw.

This Monty Python joke feels like it needed another line.

Troi: Worf... are you sorry you slept with me?
Worf: (making a notch on his belt) Sorry, what?

This might be a good gag for Riker, but not Worf. As far as we know, his only sexual partners at this point are K'Ehleyr (it still annoys me that I have to look up how to spell that every time) and Deanna.

Troi: You cheating scumbag!
(ZAP!)
Worf: GAK!
Calloway: Oh my God! You've killed Worf!
Troi: That bastard.

This feels like a South Park reference, but I don't watch that show.

Nitpicker's Guide

* Ensign Calloway seems rather calm given that her boyfriend just died. After Jeremy Aster I'm willing to accept any emotion at all.
* Phil also noticed the different kinds of force fields thing.
* Phil makes a mistake by asking why Riker didn't ask O'Brien to beam Kwan out. Because O'Brien is on Deep Space Nine, dum dum! As for normal transporters, I'm willing to speculate that the nacelle tubes generate a lot of interference.
* Data clearly says that they are in the starboard nacelle, yet the graphic shows them venting the port nacelle. Oops.

[Nate the Great]

March 21st, 1994, "Genesis"

Oh, the science in this one is going to hurt...

Fiver by Marc

BARCLAY: Blurred vision, dizziness, palpitations, a stinging sensation in the lower spine. It's Terrelian Death Syndrome, isn't it.
CRUSHER: I thought we agreed you'd come to me before checking Starfleet Medical Database.

It's far too late into Barclay's character arc to do a story like this. It occurs to me that there should be a difference between the publicly available medical database of common stuff and the sickbay-only one for the more obscure stuff.

"When you hear hoofbeats, you just go ahead and think horses, not zebras!"

BARCLAY: Electrophoretic activity? Is it serious?
CRUSHER: Well, based on this, I'd say you've got seventy, maybe eighty years.
BARCLAY: Eighty? Eighty years?

Even if we accept that McCoy's longevity is unusual, 120 seems young by 24th century standards.

CRUSHER: Yes, Reg. What you've got a mild case of Urodelan Flu. It's nothing serious. Most humans have a natural immunity to it, but the T-cell in your DNA that would normally fight off the infection is dormant.
BARCLAY: So you mean I have bad genes?
CRUSHER: You have one dormant gene out of a hundred thousand, and I can activate that gene with a synthetic T-cell let the body attack the infection naturally. You should feel better in a couple of days.

This seems silly. Reprogramming the immune system that easily is absurd. Why not just attack this thing directly instead of tricking the body into doing it?

OGAWA: I know what you mean. I don't want to know either.
CRUSHER: Alyssa?
OGAWA: Spot's not the only one who's going to be a mother.
CRUSHER: Oh, Alyssa, that's wonderful! How did Andrew take the news?
OGAWA: He was a little shocked, but he's getting over it.

Like I've said before, the timeline just doesn't work here. It's way too early for Alyssa to suspect, she just got engaged a month ago and it was clearly not a shotgun wedding. Did they decide to start trying immediately and she's been scanning herself daily?

The annoying part of all this is that they had her get married to service a terrible episode. Spot turned into a girl to service a terrible episode.

WORF: The next test will involve the new photon torpedoes. The explosive yield has been increased by eleven percent and I have enhanced the targeting system for increased accuracy.

How do you increase the amount of antimatter by 11% without making the torpedoes too large for the launchers? As for the targeting system, why is Worf doing this instead of Geordi or the eggheads back at Starfleet Command?

PICARD: Maintain a sensor lock on the torpedo, Mister Worf. We'll have to go after it.
DATA: That would be inadvisable, sir. The asteroid field is unusually dense. The Enterprise is too large to safely navigate through it.

The average distance between asteroids in the asteroid belt is a million km. The Enterprise is one kilometer long. Don't even think of telling me that the deflector shield around the ship is a million km wide. This is a stupid way to get Picard and Data off the ship. I would've preferred it if they were just away at a conference like in Timescape and returned to a ship in chaos. Sure it'd be lazy, but it wouldn't be stupid lazy.

PICARD: Then I'll take a shuttlecraft and retrieve it. Mister Data, you're with me.
RIKER: Captain, the shuttle pilot who's on duty is Lieutenant Hayes.
PICARD: I happen to be a reasonably qualified pilot, Number One.

Wouldn't Data fly the shuttle even better than Hayes?

RIKER: Wait a minute. Slow down. I lost you back there. Which sensor clusters?

I don't like this idea that only Riker is getting dumber. Especially since everyone is devolving into more primitive lifeforms.

TROI: Worf, it's freezing in here.
WORF: You have already raised the temperature three times. It is too hot.
TROI: Live with it.

I'm pretty sure you'd need a doctor's note to justify altering the environmental controls. This episode is just full of idiocy.

TROI: What are you doing here?
WORF: I had to be near you.
TROI: Computer, increase temperature by five degrees.
WORF: Get out of that water now.
TROI: Leave me alone!
(Worf grabs her arm and bites her on the cheek)

A key problem with the Worf/Troi romance is that it was never used as a simple romance. It was always a source of drama and a lazy plot device. Plus it never made sense. Maybe on some twisted level Worf would conclude that Troi getting along with Alexander makes her good stepmother material, but he has his needs as well. And Troi definitely falls into the "too fragile" category.

LAFORGE: Commander, I've got seven security teams out hunting for Worf, but for some reason sensors are having a difficult time locking onto him.

Ugh. Yet another case of "no commbadge=impossible to track". Even if Worf is devolving there are only two Klingons on board, what is so hard for the sensors to track?

And I just hinted at another big problem with the premise of this episode: the children. They'd be panicking, their parents would be panicking, there'd be riots all over the ship. It's not reasonable to put children on the ship unless they're going to be considered in each and every episode. They weren't even evacuated before the Borg invasion!

PICARD: Adjust the axial stabilisers to match the attitude and rotation rate of the Enterprise, I'm going to dock the shuttle manually.

The use of "dock" in this sense doesn't really fit. They somehow opened the shuttlebay doors to get inside. Does prefix code authorization extend far enough to control the in-bay tractor beam?

PICARD: Any sign of the crew?
DATA: I cannot access internal sensors from here.

So? He's got a tricorder, doesn't he? And the shuttle has its own sensors, right? This is a stupid episode.

DATA: I am picking up one thousand and eleven individual life forms within the ship. All exhibit a similar genetic flux to the one we observed in Counsellor Troi.

So 1,012 minus Data and Picard plus Ogawa's baby? But what about the multiple pets on board?

PICARD: I've regained attitude control for the ship...

Attitude control just means that the ship isn't drifting anymore. Frankly that's not the priority right now. Picard should've activated the emergency quarantine beacon by now.

PICARD: It looks as though the entire power transfer grid has been destroyed.

How? Are there fuses that Geordi's team has to change every day? The Jenolan was fine for seventy-five years!

DATA: I have analysed Commander Riker's DNA structure. A synthetic T-cell has invaded his genetic codes. This T-cell has begun to activate his latent introns.
PICARD: Introns?
DATA: They are genetic codes which are normally dormant. They are evolutionary holdovers, sequences of DNA that provided key behavioural and physical characteristics millions of years ago, but are no longer necessary. For instance, Counsellor Troi's gill slits and other amphibious characteristics were derived from introns which still contain amphibious codes.

Of course this is complete nonsense. In real life introns are just the junk parts of a gene that aren't used.

CRUSHER: He transformed into a spider and now he has a disease named after him.
TROI: I think I'd better clear my calendar for the next few weeks.

He he.

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by Nate the Great

Troi: Outwit. Outspeak. Outlive.

Are there some missing first lines here.

Yep, and now they're back. A lot of fivers are in this condition and I keep putting off the repairs because it'll take forever (in most cases I'll be relying on the Wayback Machine), but it was high time to fix at least one.

[NAHTMMM]

Do you have a list of the affected fivers? We could get a collab thread going in the 5MV Talk forum.

[Nate the Great]

Since Voyager starts tomorrow I'd better finish TNG today. I thought I only had to do All Good Things, but no, I have to do Preemptive Strike as well...


May 16th, 1994, "Preemptive Strike"


No fiver


Fair warning, I have plenty of nits, but these are really minor. As a standalone story divorced from DS9 and the prior episodes that set up the Maquis ("Journey's End" in particular), it's a fine story with fine acting.



The Episode


TROI: This is real Bajoran foraiga.
LAFORGE: It wasn't easy to find.



Oddly enough foraiga never appeared in DS9, just a few novels.


TROI: So, where are your new quarters?
RO: Deck four, section eight.



What does this have to do with anything? What's Troi gonna say, "that's too far for me to walk, I'll never visit"?


One problem with using transcripts instead of shooting scripts is that the nonverbal acting is overlooked. Ro seeing Picard walk out the door and being disappointed is an important element that one has to remember when considering the story.


PICARD: Change course to intercept. I'm on my way. I'd like you at the conn, Lieutenant.



Ro just completed Advanced Tactical Training and you want her at the conn? Couldn't she be posted at Tactical next to Worf?



DATA: I will scan their warp signatures. Sir, sensors indicate the attacking vessels are Federation ships.

....
RIKER: Those are Federation ships.
PICARD: Isolate one and magnify. The Maquis. Open a channel.



You know, it stands to reason that the Maquis wouldn't want all of their ships to look alike. A DS9 episode says that the Maquis use Peregrine class ships, too bad they didn't identify which style of Maquis ship, as we've see them use at least five different classes of ship.


In the novel "Pathways" (secondary canon at best), Jeri Taylor called this kind of ship the Antares class. But I would take that with a HUGE grain of salt.


PICARD: You are Federation citizens. Your actions are in violation of our treaty with the Cardassians. Call off your attack.



And here we go. I've ranted about the premise of the Maquis enough already, but since this episode is a direct setup for Voyager I have to bring it up one more time. These colonists who chose to stay in Cardassian space and fight the Cardassians were supposed to have renounced their Federation citizenship per "Journey's End." At which point the Federation should've ignored them and they would've been wiped out by the Cardassians within a year. But that didn't happen for reasons that are beyond me.



RIKER: I never thought we'd be firing on our own people to protect a Cardassian ship.



They aren't your people anymore! Furthermore, you're supposed to be at peace with the Cardassians right now, remember? The Federation is supposed to be accommodating to all people, remember? Leave your bigotry in your quarters, it has no place on the bridge!


WORF: The Cardassian's shields are down to thirty percent.
RIKER: They may not be able to withstand another hit.


What? The entire point of the Maquis ships is that they're smaller and faster, not more powerful than the top of the line warships of the major powers. In no universe should their ships be able to deplete thirty percent of a Cardassian warship's shields in one hit, or even one minute of continual fire.


GUL EVEK: Lately Starfleet seems to look the other way when the Maquis attack.
PICARD: I can assure you that is not the case. We're doing everything in our power to control them.



Well that's a lie. I'll skip the screed this time, but the short version is that "everything in our power" would've been forcibly removing them back in "Journey's End" when they should've. There should be no civilians (not even Cardassian civilians!) in the DMZ right now!


GUL EVEK: They came at us with photon torpedoes and type eight phasers. Tell me, Captain, how do you suppose that a group of civilians acquired such weaponry?
PICARD: I can assure you it was not through official channels.
GUL EVEK: So you don't think the fact that some of the Maquis are former Starfleet officers has anything to do with it?


I'm having a hard time following Evek's line of reasoning. Having former Starfleet officers in positions of Maquis leadership would help with their strategic planning and running the ships efficiently, but I don't know too many Starfleet officers (not currently stationed on DS9 anyway) that have access to the illegal arms merchants.


PICARD: Starfleet does not condone the Maquis' actions in the Demilitarised Zone any more than your government would condone the paramilitary actions of Cardassian civilians.
GUL EVEK: We have taken measures to deal with our colonists who have armed themselves.
PICARD: Considering that they destroyed a Juhryan freighter less than a week ago, I would say that your efforts are meeting with limited success.



Only mention of Juhryans. As I've said before, we don't hear nearly enough about the Cardassian residents of the DMZ. Are there that many resource-rich planets in there that they're willing to mine them without Bajoran labor?


NECHAYEV: No Bularian canapés this time, Captain?
PICARD: I thought twice was pushing it a little.
NECHAYEV: It's just as well. They're extremely fattening.



I'm going to assume that these things are yet another luxury item that replicators can't make with healthier materials properly.

[Nate the Great]

RO: Starfleet wants me to infiltrate the Maquis?
PICARD: Because of your recent training, because you're Bajoran, and because of your past troubles with Starfleet gives you a certain credibility.
RO: Well, that's certainly true.



I'm having trouble with this premise. Had this happened back in Season Five I would've said okay, the Maquis (or proto-Maquis I suppose I should say) would've bought it. But Ro has been back in Starfleet for over two years at this point. Even the Maquis would know about it, in particular because I think that they'd keep tabs on all Bajoran members of Starfleet (there can't be that many at this point).


RO: I've heard a lot about the Maquis. One of my instructors at Tactical Training, a Lieutenant Commander in Starfleet, a man I admired and respected, he was sympathetic to them. He resigned and left to join them.



This is supposed to be a Chakotay reference, but I'm not sure how well it works. Had she said Lieutenant, it would've been an interesting Tuvok reference.



PICARD: We're all sympathetic, Lieutenant. Our civilian population in the Demilitarised Zone is in a very difficult situation, but even sympathy has to end at some point.



And you're sympathetic...why? You gave them the option to leave the DMZ back in "Journey's End", but they didn't take it. They chose to renounce their Federation citizenship and stay. It's no longer the Federation's problem and the Cardassians should've wiped them out by now.



WORF: We are looking for a Bajoran woman, dark hair.
DATA: She is responsible for the death of a Cardassian soldier.
WORF: If we learn that she has been here, this establishment will be closed down.



Does Starfleet have jurisdiction in this bar?


MACIAS: They don't understand the situation here in the Zone. I lived on Juhraya. When the treaty was signed the colony suddenly found itself in Cardassian territory. Some of us chose to stay, take our chances. Then one night I was dragged from my bed and beaten. The authorities clucked their tongues and agreed it was an unfortunate incident, and did nothing.



Suddenly? There was noting sudden about the Federation withdrawal! And you just said that you chose to stay and take your chances. This is what's called buyer's remorse, and it's not the store's fault, it's yours!


KALITA: One that I think we should take seriously. A trader coming from Pendi Two said he could verify that the Cardassians are going to start supplying their colonists with biogenic weapons.
RO: I thought every shipment coming into the Zone was searched.
KALITA: The Cardassians always seem to find a way around problems like that.



What? The Cardassians let Starfleet search every ship going into the DMZ from their space? If you're implying that Starfleet trusts the Cardassian military to search Cardassian civilian ships entering the DMZ, then I have another screed to bore you with.


RO: I have no intention of asking for them. I intend to take them.
KALITA: How? The Enterprise is a fortress.
RO: I know its security systems work. Give me a ship. I can do it.



This is extremely dubious. Presuming that Ro actually left Starfleet two years ago, Worf would've had plenty of time to upgrade the security systems.



RO: I set the transporter confinement parameters to maximum. We should be able to fill our hold with medical supplies with just one single beam out.



This bit of Treknobabble is particularly silly. Sure, you can tell the scanners to look for medical supplies and automatically forward the coordinates to the transporters, but there are bandwith restrictions to the actual transporter process. I'll assume that these raiders only have one transporter room and maybe one cargo transporter, there's a limit to how much you can transport in thirty seconds.


RO: We're going to cross the border here.
KALITA: There are sensor buoys all along the border. If we cross anywhere other than a checkpoint, Starfleet will send a ship to investigate.
RO: With the right security codes, we can disable the proximity detectors on the buoys.



Let's put aside the logic behind these buoys and how close Starfleet monitors the border, it's irrelevant when you consider the time restrictions. Ro can exit the DMZ, steal the supplies, and be back before the violation can be investigated.



The bigger problem is how Ro is supposed to know the security codes for the buoys when she's been "out" of Starfleet for years, and even when she was she would've have had access to the buoy codes.


KALITA: How are we going to beam through their shields?
RO: We can't. If we're going to get those medical supplies, we're going to have to take this ship through their shields.



This strategy should've been used more often.

[Nate the Great]

RO: It took me a while, but I managed to patch through into Starfleet's comm. system. I intercepted a communication from one of the checkpoints on the border. They're concerned because a Pakled transport came through carrying retro-viral vaccines.
SANTOS: Why is that a concern?
RO: Well, last week a Ferengi transport came through carrying biomimetic gels. By themselves, neither of these is dangerous, but Starfleet is concerned because with along with other components the Cardassians could put together a biogenic device.



Who trusts the Pakleds to carry vaccines? And at this point I have to wonder if only the Federation has the capacity to make biomimetic gel.


RO: My father played the klavion. When I was very young and afraid of monsters under my bed, he'd play for me. He said that the klavion had special powers. Monsters were afraid of it and when they heard it they would disappear. When I listened to that music he played for me I was never afraid to go to sleep. When he died I realised even he couldn't make all the monsters go away.



Great scene.


RO: Why don't we get acquainted? There's a table in the back that's more private.
PICARD: I'd like that.
(they sit and pretend to be getting close)



This is a wonderful premise. They're pretending to be getting closer when in fact they're drifting apart.



PICARD: Are you saying you want to back out of this mission?
RO: Sir, I don't want to let you down, I swear that I don't.
PICARD: This has nothing to do with me. This is about you. If you back out now, you'll throw away everything you've worked for. We're committed to this mission. My only question for you is, can you carry out your orders? I could put you before a board of inquiry for having lied to me about this operation. I would certainly have you court-martialled if you sabotage it.



This is a big problem. Yes, if Ro backed out now she'd lose some of Picard's respect. But if she doesn't, she could lose ALL of Picard's respect. This is definitely the time for making the choice with the "least bad" outcome. And while Picard may feel that he has to explain the possible outcome, this is not the time. She already feels terrible just by anticipating betraying him, you don't need to burden her any more.


RIKER: She seemed very sure that she was making the right choice. I think her only real regret was that she let you down. Here's my report.
(Picard doesn't move to take the PADD, so Riker puts it on the desk and leaves)



One can only imagine Picard's thoughts right now.


Memory Alpha



* Ro's reference can't be Chakotay because he left Starfleet in 2368, two years ago. Then again, that was established in "In the Flesh", WAY after this episode. Chalk this one up to the writers not keeping proper notes for their successors.
* Ro says that biomememtic gel is legal and nobody finds it unusual that it's being shipped around, but by the time of "In the Pale Moonlight" Sisko clearly says that gel is strictly controlled and not for sale. Maybe the regulations changed.
* Only time Ro's first name "Laren" is used onscreen.
* Last appearance the real Nechayev. A Dominion-created simulation will appear in "The Search", but that's it.


Memory Beta


* Ro's career after this episode (before her cameo in Picard, of course) was a bit sparse, only appearing in a few novels. My biggest memory is her appearance in "Rogue Saucer".

[Nate the Great]

May 23rd, 1994, "All Good Things"

Ah yes, the day that I taped two VHS tapes. One for the Viewer's Choice Marathon, one for the finale. I used to watch this episode a lot, until I got VERY sick of it. The microsecond Picard realized that events in each time period don't affect the others, he should've told the past crew what's going on. And when Beverly told him that there's proof that he's gathered more memories than is possible without considering time travel, he should've done it in the other two time periods.

Fiver by Zeke

The Episode

WORF: I am glad you approve. I have always found the Black Sea at night to be a most stimulating experience.
TROI: Worf, we were walking barefoot on the beach with balalaika music in the air, ocean breeze washing over us, stars in the sky, a full moon rising, and the most you can say is stimulating?
WORF: It was very stimulating.

Here is where you'd hear the canned laughter and the trombonist doing a "wah-wah" noise.

WORF: Deanna, perhaps before there is a next time, we should discuss Commander Riker.
TROI: Why, is he coming along?
WORF: No, but I do not wish. I mean, it would be unfortunate if he. If you and I are going to continue, I do not wish to hurt his feelings.

It is far FAR too late to be having this conversation. Troi should've talked with Will after the events of "Eye of the Beholder".

PICARD: (in dressing gown) Counsellor! What's today's date? The date!
WORF: Stardate 47988.

About 3 PM on December 27th, 2370.

PICARD: I had this feeling I had physically left the Enterprise. I was in another time, another place. I was somewhere in the past.
TROI: Can you describe where you were, what it looked like?
PICARD: You see, it's all slipping away so fast. It's like waking up from a nightmare.

Given the events of prior episodes, in particular "Cause and Effect", you'd think the crew would be trained to write this stuff down ASAP.

TROI: It's all right. Have you considered the possibility that this was just a dream?
PICARD: No, no, it was much more than a dream. The smells, the sounds, the very touch of things, much more real than a dream.

There's a long screed to be had here, but I'll move on.

LAFORGE: Hello, Captain or should I call you Ambassador?
PICARD: Oh, I haven't been called that for some time either.

I find the idea that Picard would resign from Starfleet to be an Ambassador rather dubious. The captain of the flagship is already expected to be an ambassador at times. Frankly the only career in the Federation that I could imagine Picard having after leaving shipboard duty is Academy Commandant.

A later comic book specifies that Picard was the Federation Ambassador to Vulcan.

PICARD: Good Lord, Geordi. Well, how long has it been?
LAFORGE: Nine years.
PICARD: No, no, no. Since you last called me Captain, since we were all together on the Enterprise?
LAFORGE: Close to twenty five years.
PICARD: Twenty five years.

A lot of people assume that this means 25 years after Season 7, including the Star Trek Chronology, when this is absolutely not indicated. It could be 25 years after the events of Nemesis for all we know.

LAFORGE: You've got leaf miners. You might want to use a bacillus spray. My wife is quite a gardener. I've picked up a little bit of it.
PICARD: How is Leah?
LAFORGE: Just wonderful.

I can't really imagine Leah as a gardener.

TASHA: Will this be your first time on a Galaxy class starship?

How would he have even had the chance to visit a Galaxy class before now, they're brand new! I guess. The actual building period differs by source, it could've been a few decades, but this is dubious as we know that the warp core was installed shortly before the launch as opposed to early in construction.

Of the original twelve Galaxy class ships only six were launched in the first wave, the other six were kept partially built until after the Battle of Wolf 359. Many more were built for the Dominion War.

TROI: Is there any indication of temporal displacement?
CRUSHER: No. Usually a temporal shift would leave some kind of triptamine residue in the cerebral cortex, but the scan didn't show any.

I find this rather stupid. We've seen many MANY different methods of time travel and consciousness relocation, both from technology and godlike aliens, and I doubt that they all have the same side effects.

CRUSHER: Your blood gas analysis is consistent with someone who's been breathing the ship's air for weeks. If you'd been somewhere else, there would be an indication of change in the oxygen isotope ratios.

This one is more reasonable, but there's no guarantee that his body time travelled along with his mind. Furthermore, I'm pretty sure that Q could prevent such changes in the isotope ratios if he wanted to.

CRUSHER: Jean-Luc, I scanned for evidence of Irumodic Syndrome, as you suggested. There wasn't any. But I did find a small structural defect in the parietal lobe.
PICARD: A defect that you hadn't noticed before?
CRUSHER: It's the kind of defect that would only show up on a level four neurographic scan.

And he didn't have such a scan after his Borg implants were refused? For that matter, wouldn't the Borg want to fix such a defect?

NAKAMURA [on monitor]: Our operatives on Romulus have indicated that there appears to be something happening in the Neutral Zone, specifically in the Devron System. Our own long range scans have picked up some kind of spatial anomaly in the area.

The Romulans found the anomaly before Starfleet did? Is it closer to the Romulan side?

JESSEL: (cod English housekeeper) How do you like your tea?
PICARD: Tea? Earl Grey. Hot.
JESSEL: Course it's hot. What do you want in it?
PICARD: Nothing.

Always a funny exchange, although knowing how seriously the British take their tea I wonder what the difference is between the British and French ideas of "hot tea".

JESSEL: If you're really his friend, you'll get him to take that grey out of his hair. Looks like a bloody skunk.
DATA: Jessel. She can be frightfully trying at times, but she does make me laugh.

Look, I'll buy that Data is still toying with his appearance decades in the future, but he always listened to the advice of his friends. This behavior seems weird.

(Troi is back in her mini-uniform but not the bun.)

Which is odd, since the creative staff did whatever they could to duplicate the first season without spending a fortune rebuilding the set (the Ops and Conn stations were a lot closer together in "Encounter at Farpoint", as just one example), but makeup should be easy enough to duplicate.

One thing that I kinda wish they'd done for the past scenes as an Easter Egg was bringing back that ugly skant uniform.

Personal log, stardate 41153.7. Recorded under security lockout Omega three two seven. I have decided not to inform this crew of my experiences. If it's true that I've travelled to the past, I cannot risk giving them foreknowledge of what's to come.

This is weird, because he already changed history. The cat is out of the bag.

PICARD: Mister Worf, initiate a level two security alert on all decks until further notice.
TASHA: With all due respect, sir, I'm the Security Chief on this ship. Unless you're planning to make a change.
PICARD: No, of course not. Lieutenant, security alert two.

Akward.

O'BRIEN: Sir, Starfleet has just issued an alert. It appears a number of vessels are moving toward the Neutral Zone between Romulan and Federation space.

I'm glad that they were able to bring back O'Brien for the past scenes, but it does introduce some questions in the minds of the DS9 viewers.

WORF: Captain, it could be a Romulan trick to lure our ships into the Neutral Zone as an excuse for a military strike.

One thing that they forgot to bring up is that at this point in time the Romulans were still in their isolationist period.

O'BRIEN: You have to realise sir, this isn't exactly my area of expertise. The Chief Engineer should be making these modifications.
PICARD: But the Chief Engineer isn't on board.

NONE of the Chief Engineers are on board, all of them are at Farpoint? Given that the ship just launched and the warp core is brand new, there should be a temp from Utopia Planitia keeping an eye on things until a proper chief engineer takes over.

DATA: Ah. Then to burn the midnight oil implies late work?
O'BRIEN: That's right.
DATA: I am curious. What is the etymology of that idiom? How did it come to be used in contemporary language?
O'BRIEN: I don't know, sir.

Ugh. Data may not have colloquialisms in his immediate use vocabulary, but Picard made it clear that he's a walking dictionary. At worse it should take him a few seconds with a cocked head to pull up any definition.

And incidentally, the idiom goes at least as far back as the mid seventeenth century, I thought it only went back to the nineteenth century rail industry.