TNG S06E10-11

In this installment:
(viewed October 7th, 2013)

Star Trek:  The Next Generation, S06E10-11 - "Chain Of Command" (Parts 1 & 2)

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"Chain Of Command" (Parts 1 & 2)

• This episode is a fan favorite, not only because of a certain Internet meme but because it's a truly engaging story and features one of the best dialogs in Star Trek history.
• USS Cairo (NCC-42136) is yet another of the ubiquitous Excelsior-class starships.  The venerable Excelsior design is probably the most widely-produced large spaceframe ever used by Starfleet, serving as one of its primary workhorses for almost a hundred years--from its prototype's launch in 2285 to its widespread service as a frontline combat vessel as late as the Dominion War of 2373-2375.
  
  It also happens to be one of my favorite Star Trek ship designs, from an aesthetic perspective.
  
  
• "I'm afraid there's no time for the usual pleasantries.  I'm here to relieve you of command of the Enterprise."
  
  Is a visit from Vice Admiral Nechayev ever good news?
• Aww, no captain's chair for Commander Riker.  Sad trombone.
  
  I mean, sure.  If Captain Picard gets himself kidnapped by the Borg and there's nobody else to do the job, we'll temporarily give you the Enterprise-D.
  
  But we've got this other captain right on the ship next door, and he's actually qualified and everything.  We're going to give him a shot.
  
  But thanks for playing.
• These commando outfits are cute.  I like the hoods.
• We learn in this episode that Riker graduated from Starfleet Academy in 2357, and was eighth in his class.
• I don't so much mind Captain Jellico running around yelling at everyone.  In fact, I kind of like it (and in some cases, I downright love it).  But I don't like him yelling at Geordi.  People are too hard on poor Geordi.
  
  And no, I don't feel bad for him because he's blind.  He's got awesome 24th Century super-vision.
  
  I feel bad for him because he's sad and terrible with women :P
• But!  He does yell at Riker a lot and he makes Troi wear a regular uniform.  So that makes him pretty awesome in my book.
• "And forgive me for being blunt, but the Enterprise is mine now."
• Captain Picard, Dr. Crusher and Lt. Worf depart for their covert mission into Cardassian space aboard the shuttlecraft Feynman.  The Feynman is a Type 7 shuttlecraft, which is somewhat unusual given that most of the auxiliary craft we see attached to the Enterprise-D in the latter seasons of TNG are either Type 6 shuttlecraft or the smaller Type 15 shuttlepods.
  
  The Feynman is named for 20th Century physicist Richard Feynman.
• Metagenic weapons sound super dangerous, and somewhat like the mythical neutron bomb (or at least the pop-culture understanding of the neutron bomb).
• Celtris III:  A planet we'll never hear about again.  Feel free to forget its name.
• "Celtris III is in Cardassian space.  How will we get there undetected?"
  
  "By using the sneakiest racial stereotype in all of Trek, of course.  A greedy Ferengi who likes to have his ears rubbed!"
• Apparently Worf doesn't like bats.
• The Cardassian vessel with which the Enterprise-D rendezvous is the Reklar, a Galor-class cruiser.
• Captain Jellico, somewhat preducially but also not entirely inaccurately, describes Gul Lamec--and by extension all Cardassians--as "timberwolves":  Aggressive in a large group, but cautious by themselves and always seeking to establish dominance.
• And Jellico even calls Deanna "Lt. Commander Troi" instead of "Counselor Troi".  I love this guy!
• A rock slide?  Man, it would be handy to have your ridiculously strong android on this mission.  Tell me why don't you take him on all the missions again?
• "There's no one here.  There's no lab!"
  
  
  
• Gul Madred, Picard's Cardassian captor and interrogator, is played by veteran actor David Warner.
  
  
  
  
  Warner makes two other prominent appearances in the Trek catalog:
  
  
  • St. John Talbot, the Federation representative on Nimbus III (Star Trek V:  The Final Fronter)
  • Gorkon, Chancellor of the Klingon High Council (Star Trek VI:  The Undiscovered Country)
  
  Nerds like me also remember Warner for playing "Sark" in the movie TRON.
  
• We learn a great deal about Captain Picard in this episode:  His Starfleet serial number is SP-937-215, his parents' names were "Maurice" and "Yvette" and he was born in La Barre, France. 
• "Hey Will, go grab a shuttle and, uh...head for the 'rendezvous point'.  Yeah, that's it."
• Gul Madred is quite candid with Captain Picard about the incredible toll that the long Federation-Cardassian War of 2347-2367 (and the even longer Occupation of Bajor of 2319-2369) took on Cardassia's economy and society.
  
  
  
  I've always wanted to know more about the Federation-Cardassian War.  It was such a long conflict, especially compared to the much more destructive (but much briefer) Dominion War.  I wish they'd done a movie or a mini-series that covered that period before they left the Prime Universe in the rear-view mirror.
  
  Imagine small task forces of Exclesiors, Ambassadors, Mirandas and Constellations engaged against Cardassian forces in a long, slow, almost "cold" war.  It would've been like Tom Clancy does Star Trek.
• The Seldonis IV Convention seems to be the 24th Century counterpart to our own Geneva Conventions (specifically, the Third Geneva Convention of 1949).
• And at this point, the episode kind of turns into Picard torture porn O_o
• Apparently no one who served with Riker during the events of "The Best Of Both Worlds" mentioned to Jellico that it's no use telling Riker that Picard is "gone" and that he has to "let him go".
• "How many lights do you see there?"
  
  And so it begins.  BRACE YOURSELVES, INTERNET.
• "As first officer, it is my responsibility to point out any actions that may be mistakes by a commanding officer, sir."
  
  "Then maybe it's time you find other responsibilities.  You're relieved.  Don't make me confine you to quarters as well."
• Lt. Commander Data looks good in a red shirt.
  
  
  
• "Do humans have mothers and fathers?"
  
  "Yes, but human mothers and fathers don't love their children as we do.  They're not the same as we are."
  
  Cardassian Take Your Daughter to Work Day is friggin' weird.
• "When children learn to devalue others, they can learn to devalue anyone--including their parents."
• "Her belly may be full, but her spirit will be hungry."
• Aaaaaand at this point, I just need to stop quoting everything that David Warner and Patrick Stewart say.  The interplay between them is so well-written and so perfectly acted, it may be some of the best drama ever featured in the franchise.  It's what you get when you take two talented actors, put them into a very tense set of scenes and let them operate under a bright and uncomfortable spotlight (or four spotlights, as the case may be--ba dum cha).
• Not only does Data look good in the red shirt, but he's very commanding.  I think he'd make a great first officer, and I'm kind of bummed out that we didn't get to see him fulfill that role aboard the Enterprise-E when Commander Riker departed to take command of USS Titan (Star Trek:  Nemesis).
• Does anyone get the crew of the Enterprise-D hopping like Captain Jellico?  I think not.
• Fake boiled egg, bro.
  
  Seriously, though.  Cardassian food and drink is beyond vile.  It makes stuff like bloodwine and gagh look positively delicious.
• "Torture has never been a reliable means of extracting information.  It's ultimately self-defeating as a means of control.  One wonders why it is still practiced."
  
  Well, apparently the Obsidian Order don't know all of that.  And neither does the CIA.
• "Truthfully, the man you want is Commander Riker.  He's the best there is."
  
  "At whoring?  Oh, you mean shuttle piloting.  Yeah, that too."
• "You're a sh*tty first officer!"
  
  "And you're a sh*tty captain!"
  
  "Will you fly the shuttle?"
  
  "Sure thing!"
• "Ho hum, ho hum...droppin' a bunch mines in a nebula."
• THERE.  ARE.  FOUR.  LIGHTS.