TNG S05E02, S05E03

In this installment:
(viewed Sunday, July 28th)

Star Trek:  The Next Generation, S05E02 - "Darmok"
Star Trek:  The Next Generation, S05E03 - "Ensign Ro"

---

"Darmok"

• This episode is the debut of Captain Picard's new "alternate" captain's uniform, consisting of a grey tunic with an almost suede-looking jacket over the top.
  
  
  
• Hey kids, it's Paul Winfield!
• One of the most well-known TNG episodes, even among non-Trekkies, this episode's "Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra" catch-phrase is often seen about the Interwebs.  It's also generated one of my favorite faux rock concert t-shirts.
  
  
  
• This episode is also the first time we see the Type 6 shuttlecraft.
  
  
  
• Apparently "Evasive Maneuver Sequence Delta" is "Just sorta turn right-like, real slow."
• "Captain Picard could be dead by then."
  
  "I do not believe so.  I have confidence in his ability as a warrior."
  
  Sometimes I get the impression, that after all they went through together when Picard got tangled up in Klingon politics ("Sins Of The Father", "Reunion", "Redemption"), Lt. Worf kind of has a man-crush on the Captain now.
• At the time of this episode, Lt. Commander Data has encountered 1,754 non-human races during his career as a Starfleet officer.
• "Riker to La Forge!"
  
  "La Forge here."
  
  "How close are we on that transporter?"
  
  "Two hours...maybe three."
  
  "I want the Captain out of there now!"
  
  I don't think Commander Riker knows how to tell time.
• This episode is the first of two appearances on TNG by Ashley Judd, playing Lt. Robin Lefler.
• Lt. Commander Data and Counselor Troi:  An android and a telepath, safely on board the Enterprise, with full access to one of the galaxy's most advanced computers and most comprehensive cultural databases.  These two take forever to figure out the Tamarian's crazy-ass language.
  
  Captain Picard figures it out in one night around a campfire, 13th Warrior-style.
• This is a highly entertaining episode, and finely-written.  But I don't think anyone actually thinks that an entire language based on metaphor is anything other than insanely stupid ;)

---

"Ensign Ro"

• After being introduced to the Cardassians in the fourth season, in this episode we're introduced to the victims of much of the Cardassian's aggression:  The Bajorans.  Much of what happens with Cardassian-Federation-Bajoran relations in this episode and others featuring Ro Laren will help craft the initial setting for Star Trek:  Deep Space Nine.
• Lya Station Alpha is a redress of the Earth Spacedock miniature.
• Ensign Ro Laren is played by Michelle Forbes, whose credits in the sci-fi community are too numerous to mention (again).
• I know that the show can only be as progressive as when it was made, but it's amusing to me that Starfleet forbids the wearing of cultural symbols like the Bajoran earring given that even modern day militaries permit the wearing of cultural and religious garb in most circumstances.
  
  (e.g. In the US Army, exceptions have sometimes been made for soldiers whose religious faith requires the wearing of certain garb or particular grooming habits.  Although there remain uniform and grooming standards that conflict with some cultural symbols, one has to believe that the increasingly-progressive attitude toward these things could only be exponentially more permissive by the 24th Century.)
• Throughout this episode, the adjective "Bajora" is used rather than "Bajoran".
• "My name is Guinan.  I tend bar, and I listen."
• Guinan tells Ro that she got into "very serious" trouble once, and implies that Picard helped her out of it.  This isn't the first or last time that she suggests this, but we never get to hear the full story.  I think this is a job for @TNG_S8 ;P
• The plot that Ensign Ro lays out for Captain Picard, in which she was authorized by Admiral Kennelly to offer Orta and the Bajoran resistance fighters weapons and ships in exchange for leaving Federation colonies alone, is vaguely familiar to any American who lived through the Iran-Contra scandal.
• I believe this episode is the first time that the Cardassian Galor class is identified by name.
• Why is it that Captain Picard is always having to straighten out some idiot admiral or another?  I know that it's accepted by fans he intentionally does whatever he can to keep himself in the captain's chair, but I would think that after a while Starfleet would just be all "Hey, you're the only person we have who isn't weapons-grade stupid.  You either retire or accept promotion and run this joint, okay?"
  

TNG S04E26, S05E01

In this installment:
(viewed July 17-18, 2013)

Star Trek:  The Next Generation, S04E26 - "Redemption, Part 1"
Star Trek:  The Next Generation, S05E01 - "Redemption, Part 2"

---

"Redemption, Part 1"

• "I have been told that patience is sometimes a more effective weapon than the sword."
  
  "Patience is a human virtue; one that I'm glad to see you've taken to heart.  But doesn't this situation require a more...Klingon response?"
• Hey kids, it's Gowron!
  
  (image spoilered for profanity)
  
  
  
  
  
• This episode features the introduction of two of my other favorite Klingons--the Duras sisters, Lursa and B'Etor.
• Hey, for a change we're going to start monitoring the Romulans before they get up to something sneaky.  Good call, Picard!
• Data's stronger than you and Guinan's a better shot than you.  Just live with it, Worf.
• "Klingons do not laugh."
  
  "Oh yes they do.  Absolutely they do.  You don't, but I've heard Klingon belly laughs that'll curl your hair."
• Kurn:  "Hey, bro.  I got this.  Squadron commanders and everything.  Hang with me, and we'll clear our names and run this joint."
  
  Worf:  "No thanks."
• Toral:  Plucky!  Stupid, but plucky.
• ROMULANS!  And yep, that's Sela in the shadows again.  I forget if she actually gets revealed in this episode, or in the second half.
• ...in which Lt. Worf gets reprimanded for using his work computer for personal business.
• "Your blood will paint the way to the future!"
  
  <3 Gowron
• The larger "K'Vort"-type Birds-of-Prey used by the Duras forces in their attack on the IKS Bortas appear to have a large disruptor cannon in their forward section instead of the photon torpedo tube seen in most of the smaller "B'rel"-type Birds-of-Prey.
• Worf's Beatles haircut looks even more ridiculous when he's wearing a Klingon uniform than it does when he's wearing a Starfleet uniform.

---

"Redemption, Part 2"

• It's blockade time, motherf**kers!
• ...in which Data fights racism against androids.
• Riker's USS Excalibur is an Ambassador-class starship, while Data's USS Sutherland is of the (updated) Nebula class.
  
  
  
• "Now is not a time for worrying about stabilizers!"
  
  Eh, I'm pretty sure that's going to be important later, actually.
• "Excuse me, sir.  I'd like to request a transfer."
  
  "May I ask why?"
  
  "I don't believe I'd be a good first officer for you."
  
  "Your service record to date indicates that you would perform that function adequately."
  
  "No, no, no.  That's not what I mean.  I don't think I'd be a good first officer for you."
  
  "Why?"
  
  "Frankly, sir, I don't believe in your ability to command this ship.  You're a fellow officer and I respect that, but no one would suggest that a Klingon would be a good ship's counselor or that a Berellian would be a good engineer.  They're just not suited for those positions.  By the same token, I don't think an android is a good choice to be captain."
  
  "I understand your concerns.  Request denied."
• The idea of a blockade in interstellar space is pretty damned silly, but it makes for exciting TV.
• "Issue orders to begin work on a way to penetrate this field."
  
  Uh...go around it?
• So, yeah.  Our now-deceased former tactical and security officer is a Romulan commander now.  What's up with that?
• I love Picard's reaction to the Sela reveal:  "We're just gonna go ahead with the blockade.  Screw 'em."
• "Everything in me that was human died that day with my mother.  All that's left is Romulan.  Never doubt that."
  
  Well, you know.  Not counting this blonde hair.
• "Mr. Hobson!  You will carry out your orders or I will relieve you of duty!"
  
  At least Data can act mad when he needs to >:)
• I love that Lursa and B'Etor totally bail and leave Toral behind.  And then Kurn walks in and he gets a look on his face like he just soiled his armor.
• "Toral, son of Duras...you stand convicted of treason."
  
  "The Duras family will one day rule the Empire!"
  
  "Perhaps.  But not today..."

TNG S04E24, S04E25

In this installment:
(viewed July 16th & 17th)

Star Trek:  The Next Generation, S04E24 - "The Mind's Eye"
Star Trek:  The Next Generation, S04E25 - "In Theory"

---

"The Mind's Eye"

• I'm noticing two themes right off the bat that are pretty pervasive in TNG:
  
  
  1. Lots of bad things happen when bridge officers are traveling to or returning from "conferences" aboard shuttles and other small auxiliary craft.  They should really just stop letting people do that.
  2. Why is it that Geordi can never get the computer to play the right music on the first try?  I mean, you'd think an engineer would know how to talk to a computer right?
• And Geordi sucks at Jeopardy!
• Ambassador Kell has one of the more gnarly and impressive foreheads I've ever seen on a Klingon, even in the later TNG/DS9/VOY years when they got really, really big.
  
  
  
• The Romulan Commander seen in the shadows during Lt. Commander La Forge's "conditioning" is Sela, although her identity is never revealed in this episode.
• "Take this phaser and kill Chief O'Brien."
  
  Hey, hey now.  C'mon.  Don't be like that.
• "Geordi, I get the feeling that something...special happened on this vacation.  And I'm not talking about computers."
  
  He didn't get laid, Counselor.  He got tortured.  But, you know.  Your finely-tuned empathic abilities are working as well as ever.
• Picard speaking Klingon is among my favorite things.
  
  
  
  
• I'm modestly disappointed that O'Brien doesn't react to Geordi spilling his drink on him by punching him in the neck.
• I'm telling you, man.  It's always the Romulans.
• The Galaxy-class Enterprise-D versus one Vor'cha-class cruiser?  Maybe.  Add in two of the larger "K'Vort"-type Birds-of-Prey?  Not so much.
  
  
  
  That's a whole lotta Klingons.
• "We need more than speculation, Mr. Data.  We need to know who, what, when, where and why."
  
  You forgot "how".  Err, I guess you already kind of know the how.
• I knew that VISOR would be trouble!
• "Take Commander La Forge into custody immediate."
  
  "Sir?"
  
  "That is an order."

---

"In Theory"

This is bullsh*t.  No one ever kisses ME in a torpedo bay.

• "All science stations stand by.  We're about to light up the nebula."
  
  "Light up the nebula" sounds like a euphemism Riker would use for...uh, something else.
• Oh, now Data plays the clarinet?  SHOW OFF.
• Miles leaves his socks on the floor?  Aww, poor Keiko.
  
  HE'S A GREAT MAN AND YOU'RE LUCKY TO HAVE HIM.
• "...an aversion to orderliness" is how I'm going to refer to my own slovenly ways from now on :P
• "I wish we were back there now, you and I."
  
  "The unidirectional nature of the time continuum makes that an unlikely possibility."
• I like how Geordi's just like "Yeah, I don't know what I'm talking about.  Ask someone else for advice."  At least he admits that he doesn't know what he's doing when it comes to women.
• "Klingons do not pursue relationships.  They conquer that which they desire."
  
  Thanks, Worf.  You're a lot of help.
• And of course Riker's all like "Go for it!"
• "I would be glad to offer any advice I have on understanding women.  When I have some, I'll let you know."
  
  And Captain Picard has the only rational answer of the bunch.
• "I should not have resumed my painting?"
  
  "No."
  
  "Despite your suggestion that I should continue?"
  
  "Exactly."
  
  It's the 24th Century.  Are we still doing that?
• Suave Data is creepy.
• Verbally abusive Data is even creepier.
• "Kiss me...what were you just thinking?"
  
  "In that particular moment, I was reconfiguring the warp field parameters, analyzing the collected works of Charles Dickens, calculating the maximum pressure I could safely apply to your lips, considering a new food supplement for Spot..."
• Crew members materializing in the floor?  Never a good sign.
  
  
  
• "I believe our believe our best chance of escaping this situation is for me to pilot the shuttle."
  
  In what possible reality is that true?
• "Jenna, are we no longer...a couple?"
  
  "No, we're not."
  
  "Then I will delete the appropriate program."
• And...close on Data, blowing out the candles and sitting in his quarters in the dark, petting his cat.
  
  :sadtrombone:
  
  
  
  
  

TNG S04E23

In this installment:
(viewed July 11th, 2013)

Star Trek:  The Next Generation, S04E23 - "The Host"

---

"The Host"

• Making out in a turbolift seems...shockingly unprofessional.
• Ambassador Odan is the first Trill seen in Star Trek, although he (or rather the exterior of the host's body, at least) looks nothing like the Trill we'll come to know and love (or loathe) on DS9.
• "Picard to Ambassador Odan..."
  
  "...get off my Kool-Aid, motherf**ker."
• A holodeck or a barbershop is one thing, but a spa?  On the Federation flagship?
  
  Booooooo...
• "Captain, you know her better than I.  Do you have an idea how...committed she is to remaining in Starfleet?"
  
  Uh, yeah.  Pretty committed, I think.
• "Captain, they are loading their phaser banks."
  
  Loading them?
• The ship that attacks the Type 7 shuttlecraft carrying Commander Riker and Ambassador Odan is yet another redress of the Merchantman-class freighter from Star Trek III.
• It's heavily implied in this episode that transporting a joined Trill could harm or even kill the symbiont.  I don't recall if they ever explain why, but this is clearly not an issue by the time of DS9.
• The relative ease with which the Odan symbiont is inserted into Riker's body is also contrary about how difficult the joining process is portrayed later on, even for other Trill.
• The joining is also depicted as more of a takeover of the host by the symbiont than the merger that's depicted in later series.  This could be written off as a result of the host body being both unprepared and a non-Trill, but more likely it's the result of this being a very early incarnation of the Trill backstory.
• The conversation between Dr. Crusher and Counselor Troi in Ten Forward about the nature love?  That is just like...some weak-ass dialog.  Seriously some of the most mealy-mouthed and awful in Trek history.
• Dude, no means no.  Stop being such a creeper.
• Don't awkward hug the Captain.  WHY IS EVERYONE SO STUPID IN THIS EPISODE?!?
• IT'S A LADY!
• Aside from the valuable (if clumsy) message about loving the person rather than their outward appearance, this episode is Grade A awful.  One of my least favorites in the season.
 

 

TNG S04E21, S04E22

In this installment:
(viewed July 10th, 2013)

Star Trek:  The Next Generation, S04E20 - "The Drumhead"
Star Trek:  The Next Generation, S04E21 - "Half A Life"

---

"The Drumhead"

• J'Dan is one of the first on-screen examples of a Klingon outside of the warrior caste, in this case an exobiologist.
• Yeah, try to bribe Worf.  Because he's totally corruptible.
• This is one of the few times that the events of the episode "Conspiracy" are referenced again.  In this case, it's mentioned in Captain Picard's log that now-retired Starfleet Rear Admiral Norah Satie (who, incidentally, signed Picard's initial orders to take command of the Enterprise-D--which we'll later find out in "All Good Things...") was instrumental in uncovering said conspiracy.
• A modified hypospray that can encode digital information into proteins that can be carried in the bloodstream of a courier?  Pretty ingenious, if you ask me.
• So Admiral Satie has her pet Betazoid with her at these "informal hearings", but Captain Picard doesn't think to bring his along too?
• This episode isn't the first time Star Trek will address issues of civil liberties, and it won't be the last.  In my opinion, episodes like this are the finest examples of Trek's tendency to reflect our societies and fears back at us in a critical manner.
• "Sir, if a man were not afraid of the truth he would answer."
  
  "Oh, no.  We cannot allow ourselves to think that."
• The Seventh Guarantee of the Constitution of the United Federation of Planets is clearly modeled after portions of the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America.
• Don't try to out-lawyer Picard, lady.  You're gonna have a bad day.
• Captain Picard has only violated the Prime Directive nine times since he's taken command of the Enterprise?  Seems par for the course.
• "Tell me, Captain.  Have you completely recovered from your experience with the Borg?"
  
  OH NO SHE DIDN'T.
• "We think we've come so far.  The torture of heretics, the burning of witches...all ancient history.  But then, before you can blink an eye, suddenly it threatens to start all over again."
  
  "I think, after yesterday, people will not be so ready to trust her."
  
  "Maybe.  But she, or someone like here, will always be with us; waiting for the right climate in which to flourish.  Spreading fear in the name of righteousness.  Vigilance, Mr. Worf.  That is the price we have to continually pay."

---

"Half A Life"

• "My only wish has been to find a way to revive our sun before I die."
  
  Which is in like, five minutes.  But you guys don't know that yet.
• "...and it is Worf, madam.  Not 'Wolf'."
• 220,000,000° Kelvin is 468×10⁶ °F.  That's...really, really hot.
• "I'll go...check the pattern buffers."
  
  ^^^ This has now become my new fake excuse to get out of an awkward situation.
• "The women of Betazed used to wear these enormous wigs with large holes in the center for tiny, caged creatures."
• For every major power that threatens the Federation (e.g. the Cardassians, Klingons, Romulans, especially the Borg), there are a thousand little pissant planets who will send their tiny little warships up to fire on the Federation flagship because their pride's been hurt. 
• Although she will go on to sci-fi stardom first as Ensign Ro Laren on TNG and later as Admiral Helena Cain on Battlestar Galactica (and even later as the evil maenad Maryann Forrester on True Blood), Michelle Forbes first appeared in this episode as Dara, daughter of the Kaelon scientist Timicin.
• "We are ready, Mr. O'Brien."
  
  Yeah, well.  You never apologized to him for yelling before.

TNG S04E19, S04E20

In this installment:
(viewed July 9th, 2013)

Star Trek:  The Next Generation, S04E19 - "The Nth Degree"
Star Trek:  The Next Generation, S04E20 - "Qpid"

---

"The Nth Degree"

• Why are all of the creative pursuits of 24th Century humans boring classical tripe*?  Theater, string quartets, paintings...why isn't their a single Led Zeppelin cover band on board a ship with a crew of over a thousand?  :P
  
  (* - I clearly don't think the classics are actually "tripe", but I do find the absence of popular, contemporary art in the lives of future humans interesting.  I know why they did it--to avoid dating the show.  But it still seems awkward at times.  I actually thought the inclusion of a contemporary musical group like the Beastie Boys on the soundtracks for the two new alternate reality movies to be a fun acknowledgement that some of this crazy popular music we listen to today might survive into the 23rd/24th Centuries.)
• Lt. Barclay?  Yeah, Lt. Commander Data thinks YOU SUCK.
• This is why we don't just run around whacking things with positrons, Geordi.
• Just because you're a super-genius now doesn't mean Troi wants to talk a walk with you, dude.  You're still a creeper.
• "Tie both consoles into the Enterprise main computer core utilizing neural scan interface."
  
  "There is no such device on file."
  
  "No problem.  Here's how you build it."
• "Mr. Barclay, are you responsible for this graviton field disturbance?"
  
  "Yes, sir.  I'm altering subspace in a way that's never been conceived of before."
  
  Oh, well.  That should be fine.
• "In fact, I could really use help with that level 3 diagnostic."
  
  "Sure."
  
  "Excuse me, Commander.  But I believe Mr. Barclay and I had a date scheduled."
  
  Uh, Geordi is his boss.  If he says he's gotta work, he's gotta work.

---

"Qpid"

• Captain Picard loves his archeology.  We get it.
• Hey kids, it's Vash!
• I kind of like Dr. Crusher's blue sweater.  Does that make me weird?
  
  
  
  
  Also, I think she's a little jealous.
• Ha!  And of course Commander Riker comes creeping.  Him getting shot down by Vash in this episode is one of the highlights of the season :)
• And I need to hear this Riker impersonation that Picard does.  For reals.
• "Is this wear Jean-Luc sits?"
  
  "That's the big chair."
  
  ...and we don't really let people just curl up in it, lady.
• Hey kids, it's Q!
• "Don't just stand there, say something!"
  
  "GET OUT OF MY CHAIR."
• "I've just been paid a visit by Q."
  
  "Q?  Any idea what he's up to?
  
  "He wants to do something nice for me."
  
  "I'll alert the crew."
• I don't think Worf likes lute music.
  
  
  
• And I don't think Troi is going to win any archery contests.
• I object to the fact that they wouldn't let Troi and Crusher have swords.
• "There's something you should know."
  
  You're not left-handed?
  
  
  
  
• A love story between Picard and Vash?  Boooooring.
  
  Dress it up like Robin Hood?  Whee!
  

TNG S04E18

In this installment:
(viewed July 8-9, 2013)

Star Trek:  The Next Generation, S04E18 - "Identity Crisis"

---

"Identity Crisis"

• USS Victory, one of Geordi La Forge's assignments prior to the Enterprise-D, was a Constellation-class starship.
• The disappearance of Federation colonists on Tarchannen III is reminiscent of the disappearance of English colonists at Roanoke.
• Suicide by atmospheric entry?  That's pretty original, actually.
• TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA ENGINEERS.
• We learn in this episode that La Forge is approximately 1.7m tall.  That's about 5'6".
  
  Geordi is tiny, yo.
  
  (A quick Google search shows that LeVar Burton is about 5'7", so I guess that makes sense.  Assuming the Internet is telling the truth, of course.)
• "Is there no hope for Brevelle or Mendez?"
  
  "None."
  
  WELP.

TNG S04E13, S04E14, S04E15, S04E16, S04E17

"Data, we need to talk about your choice of off-duty clothing."

In this installment:

(viewed Sunday, July 7th)

Star Trek:  The Next Generation, S04E13 - "Devil's Due"
Star Trek:  The Next Generation, S04E14 - "Clues"
Star Trek:  The Next Generation, S04E15 - "First Contact"
Star Trek:  The Next Generation, S04E16 - "Galaxy's Child"
Star Trek:  The Next Generation, S04E17 - "Night Terrors"

---

"Devil's Due"

• HAIL SATAN ARDRA
• Trying to bribe Picard with sex?  Clearly Ardra hasn't seen the first three seasons of TNG.
• "The advocate will refrain from making her opponent disappear."

---

"Clues"

• An episode that includes both Dixon Hill and Whoopie Goldberg in thigh-highs?  Eep.  D:
• Apparently Lt. Commander Data is an expert at passing through unstable wormholes.
• Apparently Commander Riker doesn't know how wormholes work.
• You think your hyper-intelligent, hyper-capable, nearly-indestructible android with super-human strength and unparalleled access to the ship's most critical systems (not to mention its second officer) might be lying to you?
  
  So...that's not a terrifying prospect or anything.  O_o
• I've always thought that Data's head contained an absolutely unnecessary number of blinkenlights.
  
  
  
• Evasive Data is evasive.
• "There are very few individuals on board capable of breaking my wrist.  Commander Data is one of those individuals."
  
  Come on now, Worf.  All kinds of people could break your wrist.  You haven't transitioned to Awesome Worf™ yet.
• "Let's see what happens when it hits the shields."
  
  ...which is always the best way to test something out.  :P
• Between androids, Vulcans, Betazoids and other non-humans who regularly get tampered with and/or taken over by hostile aliens, it's a wonder that the humans within Starfleet isn't more xenophobic.
• Paxans:  What a buncha c**ks.
• Emergency Plan Zed Zed Alpha?
  
  I hear that's like, frickin' impossible to play on the drums.
  
  NEIL PEART STANDS ALONE!
  
  (modestly NSFW)
  
  
  
• Haha!  See, Worf?  You got your wrist broken by Counselor Troi.  COUNSELOR TROI, DUDE.
• I wonder if Data ever tells anyone about all of this, after their second attempt to "erase" the encounter with the Paxans is (apparently) successful.

---

"First Contact"

• I remember thinking how ridiculous the Malcorians' hands looked, like "How did the evolution on this planet let that happen?"
  
  
  
• This episode isn't a particularly important one, but it's solid.
  
  It aired in 1991, and the 90s were a time of renewed interest in UFOs.  One of the most popular television shows of the decade was The X-Files (although it would premiere a couple of years after this episode), and there were television specials and movies about Area 51, Roswell, supposed alien autopsy videos, and hundreds of bulletin boards, mailing lists, newsgroups and websites devoted to the topic sprung up on the fledgling Internet.
  
  I was an adolescent and teenager throughout much of that hysteria, and my natural enjoyment of science fiction led to a brief fascination with UFO culture.  Eventually the lack of real evidence and the existence of alternate explanations for almost every aspect of the UFO "phenomenon" changed my opinion on the topic ;)
  
  This episode is an interesting mirror of all that hysteria, from the perspective of a culture in which humans are the perceived "alien visitors".
• The episode is also kind of a cool portrayal of another species' development of warp technology.
• I guess a species just needs to be capable of warp flight to warrant First Contact, and not to have actually made their first warp flight?
• Leave it to Riker to screw up a mission this important.  DAMN IT, RIKER.
• I'd like to think that humans really would immediately get aliens drunk upon first contact.
  
  HI, WE'RE ALIENS.  DRINK UP!
• Every time I see an episode with an in-depth analysis or explanation of the Prime Directive, I can't help but think to myself "Wow, white people really should've come up with this about 600 years ago."
• All the ladies love William T. Riker.  Still.
  
  
  
  "I'll call you next time I pass through your star system."
• Boy, I bet Krola is glad that thing had a stun setting.
• At the end of the episode, Captain Picard asks Chancellor Durken how he'll explain all of the sightings and encounters members of Malcorian society have had with "aliens".  The chancellor delivers pretty much the text-book scenario claimed by real-life UFO enthusiasts:  Stories are told, but witnesses are discredited.  Evidence is lost, there are accusations of a government conspiracy.  Eventually everyone goes back to watching the fiction programming on their TVs :)

---

"Galaxy's Child"

• "La Forge?  So you're the one who's fouled up my engine designs?
• It's a, uh...space slug?  Space ray?  Space dumpling?
• Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge:  Engine Whisperer, Woman Repulser.
• She's married, you dumb bastard.
  
  
  
• Caesarean by phaser!
• Circassian plague cat:  On Earth, we just call them "cats".
• {insert your own joke here about the Enterprise's teets}
• "It's a holographic program set in the drafting room at Utopia Planitia."
  
  "I'll run it on Holodeck 3."
  
  Uh, wait noooooo!  I can't watch!  Okay, I can watch.
• This is why we password-protect your porn, Geordi.
• And stop arguing, man.  She's actually right, this is pretty creepy.
• Despite how stalker-ish Geordi comes off and how cold Leah is at first, there's at least one possible future ("All Good Things...") where they end up together.

---

"Night Terrors"

I really struggled to come up with a "raise the roof" / "throw your hands in the air"
joke for this, but I couldn't make it happen.  I know, I'm disappointed in me too.

• USS Brattain is a Miranda-class starship, serving as a science vessel.  The model was mislabeled "Brittain", but contradictory canon evidence gives us the correct spelling--"Brattain".
  
  
  
  
• Another Betazoid?  Oh yeah, that's exactly what we need.
• "Hey, everyone on this ship went nutso and killed each other."
  
  "Think we ought to quarantine this shiz?"
  
  "Nah, we're probably fine."
• The Brattain seems to have had a crew of 34, much smaller than the compliment of a Miranda-class starship when operating in its fleet role as a light cruiser.
• EYES IN THE DARK.  ONE MOON CIRCLES.
• Bed linens in the 24th Century are super shiny.  Do not want.
• Keiko and O'Brien fighting because of the space craziness?  This was a perfect time to have him snap and kill her, and it wouldn't even be his fault!
• The perpetually-ringing doorbell on Picard's ready room?  HI-LAR-I-OUS.
• "We're adrift."
  
  "Just like the Brattain."
  
  Yeah, no one saw that coming.
• Tyken's Rift:  A significantly less-popular game that Falken's Maze.
• How unfocused, irritable and confused everyone feels in this episode as a result of being deprived of REM sleep?  That's pretty much how I feel at least half of the time.  :P
• EYES IN THE DARK.  ONE MOON CIRCLES.
  
  Figure it out, Troi.
• Data's the only one not impacted by the lack of REM sleep, and he's pretty much capable of operating the ship on his own.  Why not put everyone into stasis until he figures it out or until help arrives?
• Klingon knives are so jagged and crazy.  Trying to sharpen one has to an exercise in frustration.
• Oh, hey.  Troi's goofy-ass powers actually come in handy for a change.
• BARFIGHT!  Also, who told Guinan she could keep that crazy gold-plated phaser rifle in Ten Forward?
• Ordering the captain to bed LOL.
 

 

TNG S04E09, S04E10, S04E11, S04E12

I realize that I'm getting a bit behind, but I'm going to do my best to catch up with a long stretch tonight and tomorrow, and then a renewed effort at sustained watching throughout the week rather than only weekend marathons.

I'm not wavering in my commitment to this "mission" one bit, I promise ;)

In this installment:
(viewed July 2-6, 2013)

Star Trek:  The Next Generation, S04E09 - "Final Mission"
Star Trek:  The Next Generation, S04E10 - "The Loss"
Star Trek:  The Next Generation, S04E11 - "Data's Day"
Star Trek:  The Next Generation, S04E12 - "The Wounded"

---

"Final Mission"

Shut up, Wesley.

• It's always fun to yell at Wesley.
• So...how do the Gamelans eat?  O_o
  
  
  
• "Captain...of a mining shuttle?"
  
  Don't be a jerk, Wesley.
• So...I guess Geordi's "safety" check didn't cover the port thruster quad or the guidance coupling, did it?
• "Final Mission":  In which Captain Picard and Ensign Crusher get shipwrecked with a salty space captain, and Commander Riker and the Enterprise-D are off to hunt down a rogue garbage truck.
• "I can't divert any more power to the shields.  We're already hitting our maximum thermal limits.  The only other choice is to bring some other fusion reactors online, but we're running at peak coolant pressure."
  
  Wait, we have other fusion reactors?
• Aliens who encase people in ramen noodles?  That can't be good.
• This episode is Wil Wheaton's last appearance on TNG as a part of the regular cast, although he'll make guest appearances in four future episodes (and in a cut scene from Nemesis). 
  
  (He also reportedly did some voice work for off-screen members of the crew of the Narada in 2009's Star Trek reboot re-imagining.)
  
  Wil reported wanted to leave the series to pursue a career in feature film, which never really materialized.  But he's gone on to have a spectacular "grown-up" career as a television actor (with recurring roles on The Big Bang Theory and Eureka, along with numerous guest roles), author, web personality and all-around celebrity geek.  And from all accounts he's also a very, very nice dude.
  
  The cast and crew were unhappy with the way Denise Crosby (Tasha Yar) had left the series, so it was decided to be more careful with the departure of young Ensign Crusher.  Having him go off to Starfleet Academy made the most sense, and it kept his character around for future episodes.
• This episode is the first mention of Boothby, the groundskeeper at Starfleet Academy's primary campus in San Francisco.
• "I was always proud of you."
• "Mr. Crusher, what are you doing in such a filthy uniform?"
  
  "You don't look so ship-shape yourself, sir."

---

"The Loss"

First World Problems, 24th Century style.

• Isn't it a little unprofessional to call your counselor by her first name?  :P
• "All of you.  You're all blank to me."
  
  Well, you've been blank to us for four seasons.  So...you know.
• For a professionally-licensed psychotherapist and Starfleet officer, Counselor Troi doesn't react very well to adversity.
• "Is this how you handle all your personnel problems?"
  
  "Sure.  You'd be surprised how far a hug goes with Geordi, or Worf."
• "Integrity field pressure has increased by 217%, Captain."
  
  That is just, like...a lot of pressure.
• I know she's only trying to goad Troi, but Guinan would be an infinitely better ship's counselor.
• "The Loss":  In which we learn that, without her telepathic abilities, Counselor Troi is only marginally less useful than she is with them intact.

---

"Data's Day"

{insert your own joke about Data's creepy smile here}

• It's nice of Data to help out Commander Maddox, given what a turd that guy was to him.
• USS Zhukov is an Ambassador-class starship.
• Keiko Ishikawa is a Douchebag-class high-maintenance  fiancée.
• This episode is the first appearance of a civilian barber aboard the Enterprirse-D.  While this barber is also a Bolian, it is not the better-known Mr. Mot.
• "My hair does not require trimming, you lunk-head."
• (Worf and Data are viewing an image of a crystal punchbowl shaped like a swan while trying to pick out wedding gifts for Keiko and O'Brien)
  
  "It is my understanding that the item should reflect the person giving it.  This does not remind me of you."
• I like how Dr. Crusher wants to keep her accomplishments in the field of dance a secret, even though she's already about as prim and feminine as one can be in the 24th Century.
• I believe this is also the first appearance of Data's cat, Spot.
• When searching YouTube for a clip of Data and Dr. Crusher tap dancing, I found this.  I can't unsee it, so now you have to see it too.
  
  
  
  
• Data asks Dr. Crusher to teach him to dance on the same day that Keiko and Chief O'Brien are getting married, and shes surprised to find out that he wanted to know how to dance for the wedding.  I love Dr. Crusher, but sometimes she's denser than Riker and Troi combined.
• "Commander Riker's easy-going manner and sense of humor is fascinating to me.  I believe it to be one reason why he is so popular among the crew.  It may also be partly responsible for his success in matters of love.  There may be a correlation between humor and sex."
  
  No, Data.  No there's not.  Trust me.
• So today was supposed to be Chief O'Brien's wedding day?  What the hell is he doing on duty in the transporter room?
• "I could be chasing an untamed ornithoid without cause."
• "Some days you get the bear, and some days the bear gets you."
• Keiko O'Brien is one of my least-favorite Trek characters of all time, and it starts right away in this episode.  I always thought they should've killed her and Molly early on in the Dominion War on DS9.  That way O'Brien could become a grizzled, bitter widower with a revenge complex >:)
• This is the first mention of Chief O'Brien's full name:  Miles Edward O'Brien.

---

"The Wounded"

I don't really have a funny caption for this one. It's kind of a sad episode, actually.

• This episode includes many "firsts", and one of my favorites of TNG's fourth season.
• The episode's opening captain's log contains the first mention of the Cardassians.  We're told that until fairly recently, the Cardassian Union an the United Federation of Planets were at war. 
  
  
  
  (emblems of the UFP and Cardassian Union)
  
  
  Captain Picard mentions that the peace treaty was signed a year before the events of this episode, but does not say when actual hostilities ceased.  We may assume that it was at or around the same time as the signing of the treaty, although it's possible that hostilities ceased long before a formal treaty was signed.
• We also learn that Captain Picard fought in the Federation-Cardassian War while commanding USS Stargazer.
• In both this episode and in the preceding one, we're finally getting to know more about one of my favorite Trek characters--Chief O'Brien.  He appeared in TNG as early as "Encounter at Farpoint", but it was in the fourth season that he emerged as a significant part of the show's ensemble cast.
• MILES ISN'T A FISH, KEIKO.  GIVE HIM SOME SOME DAMNED CORNED BEEF AND EGGS.
• Keiko's reaction to the revelation that O'Brien's mother not only cooked real food from scratch (as opposed to using a replicator), but also handled and processed "real meat" indicates taht--while perhaps not exactly frowned upon--the consumption of the flesh of live animals (as opposed to replicated "meat") isn't very commonplace in 24th Century human society.
• Because it's the first appearance of the Cardassians themselves, this is obviously also the first appearance of what will eventually be known as the Galor-class cruiser (simply called a "patrol ship" and "warship" in this episode).
  
  
  
  (image courtesy of Drex Files, via Ex Astris Scientia)
  
  The Galor class is generally considered a formidable warship, but somewhat smaller and less-advanced than the Federation Galaxy class (perhaps comparable to the Excelsior class, which it no doubt faced in large numbers during the Federation-Cardassian War).  The Galor class is often depicted as operating in groups of two or three ships, similar to how Klingon D7-class (and later K't'inga-class) ships operated in "packs" to even the odds against modestly-superior Federation starships.
  
  The Galor class will become one of the most prominently-featured non-Federation starships during the TNG/DS9/VOY era of Star Trek, especially on DS9.
• Our very first Cardassian, Gul Macet, is played by none other than Marc Alaimo.  Alaimo is better known for playing a more notorious Cardassian, the brilliantly-written and expertly-acted Gul Dukat on DS9.
  
  Alaimo's features inspired Star Trek make-up wizard Michael Westmore in the design of the Cardassian make-up.  Specifically, the prominent Cardassian neck ridges were a result of Westmore's observation of Alaimo's unusually long neck.
• USS Rutledge, the vessel on which Chief O'Brien and Captain Maxwell served together during the war, is never seen on screen and its class is never mentioned.  Some non-canon sources describe it as being of the New Orleans class, one of the "kitbashed" classes designed for the Wolf 359 "graveyard" in "The Best of Both Worlds".
• The Cardassian aesthetic is clearly new, with the uniforms being slightly less-defined than later iterations and these really silly-looking, uh...helmets, I guess you'd call them?  But all-in-all, it's not all that radically different than the Cardassian aesthetic that we'll see going forward.
  
  
  
• I love the look Counselor Troi gives Chief O'Brien as she and Commander Riker are leaving the transporter room with the Cardassian delegation.  She clearly picked up on O'Brien's prejudice against the Cardassians (a result of his experiences in the war).
• Poor young Cardassian just wants to be friendly, and O'Brien's all like "I DON'T DRINK WITH CARDIES!"
• "The Mistrel Boy", the song sung by the crew of the Rutledge during the war, is a patriotic Irish song written by Thomas Moore in remembrance of his comrades who died during the Irish Rebellion of 1798.  It became a popular soldiers' song throughout the Irish Diaspora, including Irish units in boht the Union and Confederate armies during the American Civil War.  It's also popular with firefighters and police in areas with large Irish-American populations (e.g. Chicago, Boston, New York City).
• "You know, sitting with the staff this morning...I could tell there were people in that room who still don't like the Cardassians."
  
  "I imagine that's to be expected."
  
  "You do?"
  
  "Sure, the war lasted a long time.  That takes its toll on people."
  
  "But the fighting's over now.  Why should anyone still feel...however they feel?"
  
  "You fought the Cardassians, didn't you?"
  
  "There were some skirmishes, when I was with Captain Maxwell."
  
  "Well, how do you feel about them?"
  
  "Me?  I feel fine.  I mean, the war is over now."
  
  DENIAL, O'BRIEN.  IT AIN'T JUST A RIVER IN EGYPT.
• After exhausting attempts to reach the Phoenix before it can fire on the Cardassian supply ship, Captain Picard orders Lt. Worf to relay the prefix code for the Phoenix to nearby Cardassian warships.  Even with the prefix code, the Phoenix is able to out-maneuver and defeat the Cardassian ship (presumably a Galor-class vessel).  This supports the conclusion that current Federation starships (e.g. the Galaxy and Nebula classes) are more than a match for the Cardassian Galor class.  In this instance, it appears to have been a case of the Phoenix's weapons range being longer than that of its Cardassian opponent.
• "It's not you I hate, Cardassian.  I hate what I became because of you."
  
  The scene in which O'Brien recalls the aftermath of the massacre at Setlik III while talking to Glinn Daro in Ten Forward is one of the most finely-acted scenes in TNG, in my opinion.  It's probably when I started to really love the O'Brien character, and when I realize that Colm Meaney was among the better actors in the Trek pantheon.
• In yet another first, USS Phoenix is the first appearance of the now-familiar Nebula-class starship (albeit with some minor aesthetic differences to the standard model seen later in TNG/DS9/VOY).  Essentially a re-arrangement of the components used in the Galaxy class, a comparison between the Galaxy and Nebula is reminiscent of the comparison between the Constitution (refit) and Miranda classes.
  
  
  
• Captain Benjamin Maxwell is an antagonist in the classic dramatic tradition of the rogue military commander, a la Colonel Kurtz in Apocalypse Now.
• As intense as Captain Maxwell is, and as impassioned as his arguments are, Captain Picard is the perfect opponent to knock down every one of his arguments and remind him what he should have done instead of going rogue.  I love the scene between the two of them in Picard's ready room.
• One thing we never find out in this episode is what the crew of the Phoenix thought they were up to as Captain Maxwell ordered them to make all of these unauthorized attacks on Cardassian ships and outposts.  A commander can certainly mislead his crew--but in its military capacity, Starfleet is more akin to the military of one of the modern democracies (e.g. the United Kingdom or the United States) than it is to the obedience-at-all-costs of the armies of totalitarian states like Nazi Germany or the USSR.  Its members are bound to a higher oath than just their oath to obey the orders of their superior officers.  I would've liked to see some sort of explanation of how Maxwell deceived the crew of the Phoenix, even if it was just a throw-away line at the end of the episode.
• "Take this message to your leaders, Gul Macet:  We'll be watching."
     
  Yep, we will.  Through this series and two more.  The Cardassians will eventually become one of my favorite alien races, and--in my opinion--one of the most realistic and nuanced.  By the conclusion of the TNG/DS9/VOY-era Star Trek series, they will be nearly as recognizable as Klingons or Romulans and just as important to the Star Trek narrative.