TNG S02E20, S02E21

In this installment:
(viewed 6/5/2013)

Star Trek:  The Next Generation, S02E20 - "The Emissary"
Star Trek:  The Next Generation, S02E21 - "Peak Performance"

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"The Emissary"

• I like the suspense this episode builds from its beginning, with the mystery assignment from Starfleet Command and the unusual mode of transit for the Federation emissary with whom they're ordered to rendezvous (i.e. traveling stuffed inside a Class 8 probe).

• That emissary, K'Ehleyr, is played by Suzie Plakson.  As I've mentioned in previous entries, she plays a number of parts on various Star Trek series.
• That, ah...that table was probably pretty expensive.
• "Lieutenant, I order you to relax."
  
  "I AM RELAXED."
• I'm relatively certain that the generic bad guys in Worf's calisthenics program are henchmen from Masters of the Universe, ThunderCats, or both.
• "We are mated."
  
  "Yes, I know!  I was there!" 
• The Klingon "sleeper" warship, IKS T'Ong, is of the venerable K't'inga class.  The ship that Enterprise is going to rendezvous with after intercepting T'Ong, IKS P'Rang, is simply described as a "cruiser".  While it's possible this ship would have been of the newer Vor'cha class (not yet seen on screen), it's more likely that it would have been either another K't'inga class battlecruiser or possibly an upscaled "cruiser" variant of the Bird-of-Prey (these two seemed to be the primary Klingon vessels encountered by Starfleet during the first two seasons of TNG).
• Most of the footage of T'Ong is re-used footage of the K't'inga as it was filmed (with brand-new studio models) for the Klingon attack on V'Ger in Star Trek:  The Motion Picture.  This is some of the most re-used footage in Trek history, being used for a lot of K't'inga sequences--most famously, perhaps, as the Klingon aggressors in Lt. Saavik's Kobayashi Maru test in Star Trek II:  The Wrath of Khan.
• "How did you like command?"
  
  "Comfortable chair."
  

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"Peak Performance"

 I don't have a caption for this, I enjoy Riker's moment of defeat.

• Sirna Kolrami:  Pretty sure this comes with rice and naan.
• Captain Picard's reluctant agreement to Enterprise's participation in the military exercise showcases again the explicitly non-military nature of Starfleet, as depicted in this iteration of Star Trek.
• What the heck is Worf trying to build?  A tiny wooden boat?
• USS Hathaway--Riker's command during the wargames--is of the same older Constellation class as Picard's first command, USS Stargazer.
• Strategema?  What happened to tri-dimensional chess?
• The hailing tone for inter-ship communications aboard Hathaway is the same whistle tone as that of NCC-1701 in its pre-refit, TOS days.  That's a nice touch.
• Wesley Crusher:  He may be annoying, but his school projects can power a starship's faster-than-light engines.
• Pouty Data is the worst Data.
• "We're less than one hour away from a battle simulation, and I have to hand-hold an android."
  
  "The burdens of command."
• Simulated Warbird = lulz
• Always with the Ferengi!
• DaiMon Bractor, commander of the Ferengi ship Kreechta, is played by Armin Shimerman.  Shimerman will go on to play that most famous Ferengi, DS9's Quark.
• "I busted him up."