Star Trek: The Next Generation - General Discussion

[AndySmith]

What I meant in Geordi's case was they never explained how he was able to make such a huge shift in jobs. I can understand Worf, since you can kind of fit him into the role of security, given his background and from what we saw him doing in season 1. But did we ever get that with Geordi? Any comments about his background that make his switching from piloting to engineering seem a bit plausible?

[Maverick]

 In several first season episodes, including The Big Goodbye, Geordi is sent to deal with Engineering issues which indicates he has a background in that field.  In season 6's The Next Phase, Picard recounts how he first met Geordi.  Geordi was piloting a shuttle and Picard make an offhand comment about some minor problem.   Geordi stayed up all night tracking it down and and fixing it which caused Picard to decide he wanted Geordi on his next command.   My assumption is Geordi didn't have enough tenure to be chief engineer (or the engineer had been dictated by Starfleet) so Picard found a spot for him until he could be promoted.  

[AndySmith]

Ok, that's a good enough explanation for me lol

[SVNBob]

7 hours ago, Maverick said:

My assumption is Geordi didn't have enough tenure to be chief engineer (or the engineer had been dictated by Starfleet) so Picard found a spot for him until he could be promoted.  

There's also the fact that there were at least 3 different Chief Engineers in the first season.  And the Enterprise was the first (or second) of the new Galaxy-class ship, with a new type of warp engine.

I've heard the theory that the rotating cast of Chief Engineers was dictated by Starfleet to get more engineers familiar with the new engine systems, after which they were transferred to other ships with the same new specs.  That makes a lot of sense to me.  And then with the other two personnel changes at the start of the second year of the mission; Worf's official promotion and Dr. Pulaski taking over for Dr. Crusher, it also makes sense for there to finally be a dedicated Chief Engineer...and one who is already familiar with the Enterprise and her quirks.

(Of course, the "real" reasons for season 1 were that Gene loved the concept of the blind person steering the ship, and there weren't originally plans for there to be a new Scotty.   Gene hadn't originally even planned for there to be an Engineering section, but he eventually decided to write a small scene in "Farpoint" to justify the creation of a set, in case he changed his mind in the future.  And it was easier to build the additional set with pilot money rather than try to squeeze it in on a standard episode budget.)

[readster]

On 4/24/2017 at 8:09 AM, AndySmith said:

What I meant in Geordi's case was they never explained how he was able to make such a huge shift in jobs. I can understand Worf, since you can kind of fit him into the role of security, given his background and from what we saw him doing in season 1. But did we ever get that with Geordi? Any comments about his background that make his switching from piloting to engineering seem a bit plausible?

Nope!

[BBHN]

Vote for Picard!

http://previously.tv/television/hof-picture-it-sicily-1904-vs-hof-the-picard-maneuver/

[blueray]

lol nice, I like that even Barclay does it.

[SVNBob]

May 31st marked the 25th anniversary of The Inner Light, one of the most celebrated episodes of TNG.

[NicoleQueen]

On 4/24/2017 at 4:09 PM, AndySmith said:

What I meant in Geordi's case was they never explained how he was able to make such a huge shift in jobs. I can understand Worf, since you can kind of fit him into the role of security, given his background and from what we saw him doing in season 1. But did we ever get that with Geordi? Any comments about his background that make his switching from piloting to engineering seem a bit plausible?

Well, considering he's an engineer, it seems weird why he would be on the Conn, but then again the Bridge Command Specialists are trained to use every station on the Bridge, so it's not that unlikely he was just rotated to pilot the ship. Before he became Chief Engineer, I don't think we ever actually saw any of the other 4 Chiefs to take over Engineering from the Bridge the way he often did, which makes me question why were they not considered part of the bridge crew (obviously why plot-wise but still).

I think a bigger problem with the ship's chain of command is why in "The Most Toys" after Data is presumed dead, Worf (the Chief of Security who is on the tactical station) is put at Ops. I'm pretty sure he was there a couple of times in season 1, but after his promotion and with only Data as loss to the crew, there's no way he would be put there (again, plot-wise it was because the main characters are the closest), especially since a day/night shifts would mean they must be (my estimation) at least 3 other people (minus Data) who usually are at Ops.

On 4/25/2017 at 9:31 AM, SVNBob said:

There's also the fact that there were at least 3 different Chief Engineers in the first season.  And the Enterprise was the first (or second) of the new Galaxy-class ship, with a new type of warp engine.

I've heard the theory that the rotating cast of Chief Engineers was dictated by Starfleet to get more engineers familiar with the new engine systems, after which they were transferred to other ships with the same new specs.  That makes a lot of sense to me.  And then with the other two personnel changes at the start of the second year of the mission; Worf's official promotion and Dr. Pulaski taking over for Dr. Crusher, it also makes sense for there to finally be a dedicated Chief Engineer...and one who is already familiar with the Enterprise and her quirks.

(Of course, the "real" reasons for season 1 were that Gene loved the concept of the blind person steering the ship, and there weren't originally plans for there to be a new Scotty.   Gene hadn't originally even planned for there to be an Engineering section, but he eventually decided to write a small scene in "Farpoint" to justify the creation of a set, in case he changed his mind in the future.  And it was easier to build the additional set with pilot money rather than try to squeeze it in on a standard episode budget.)

This is a pretty good guess as to why there would be 4 different Chief Engineers in a fairly short amount of time but would they really give them that position and then after a few weeks shift them over? Surely even in that situation there should already be a chain of command that would not be affected by multiple people who are just coming in to study a system and are to give everyone orders?

It bugs me even more than except for Geordi, everyone on the Conn is always an Ensign. Outside of the mains, am I really supposed to believe that the rest of the Bridge (where the best of the best should be) rotates only on Ensigns?

I'm quite interested in the ranks, positions and Starfleet education, so it really disappoints me that they never put a logical system in place. I know plot requires only the main characters to do anything related to running the ship, but still...

[BBHN]

Quote

Well, considering he's an engineer, it seems weird why he would be on the Conn, but then again the Bridge Command Specialists are trained to use every station on the Bridge, so it's not that unlikely he was just rotated to pilot the ship.

Except during season 1, Geordi wasn't an engineer, he was on Conn the whole time. Which made his switching from Command to Engineering all the stranger (well, besides plot purposes. I guess the decided in season 2 that they needed a Chief Engineer, and Geordi was available?

Quote

I think a bigger problem with the ship's chain of command is why in "The Most Toys" after Data is presumed dead, Worf (the Chief of Security who is on the tactical station) is put at Ops

My guess is, Worf was Third Officer, and since Data's station was Ops, that's where he would fill in for Data if he had to.

Quote

It bugs me even more than except for Geordi, everyone on the Conn is always an Ensign. Outside of the mains, am I really supposed to believe that the rest of the Bridge (where the best of the best should be) rotates only on Ensigns?

Mostly, but there were a few exceptions here and there.

But yeah, the whole rank and position structure of the ship could be very head-scratching. I guess they were making it up as they went along...

Edited June 11, 2017 by BBHN

[NicoleQueen]

Just watched "Conundrum" and while I like the premise of the crew losing their memories and trying to figure out what was going on, I despised the Ro/Riker subplot. 1) Is jumping into bed together when you have no idea what the hell is going on, the normal thing to do? (For all they knew, they could have been related, not to mention the chain of command and the ramifications of being intimate while neither have any idea who they even are.) 2) Is it possible for a male and female to have a strong rivalry without handwaving it as "sexual tension"? Especially since they've always clashed over Starfleet procedures and both are quite professional. 3) At the end, it seemed as if Ro and Deanna blamed/scorned Riker for whatever happened between him and Ro... but neither have had any memory and Ro was the one who instigated everything by going to Riker's quarters.

And even though I don't like Ro, I feel like the entire episode did a big disservice to her.

[readster]

2 hours ago, NicoleQueen said:

Just watched "Conundrum" and while I like the premise of the crew losing their memories and trying to figure out what was going on, I despised the Ro/Riker subplot. 1) Is jumping into bed together when you have no idea what the hell is going on, the normal thing to do? (For all they knew, they could have been related, not to mention the chain of command and the ramifications of being intimate while neither have any idea who they even are.) 2) Is it possible for a male and female to have a strong rivalry without handwaving it as "sexual tension"? Especially since they've always clashed over Starfleet procedures and both are quite professional. 3) At the end, it seemed as if Ro and Deanna blamed/scorned Riker for whatever happened between him and Ro... but neither have had any memory and Ro was the one who instigated everything by going to Riker's quarters.

And even though I don't like Ro, I feel like the entire episode did a big disservice to her.

I agree that was my least favorite episode Ro, it really went against who she was and her relationship with Riker. I found more closure in her final episode when she said to Riker: "Tell the Captain, Will... that I'm sorry." to 

[Athena]

18 hours ago, NicoleQueen said:

3) At the end, it seemed as if Ro and Deanna blamed/scorned Riker for whatever happened between him and Ro... but neither have had any memory and Ro was the one who instigated everything by going to Riker's quarters.

Maybe scorn is too harsh but it seemed like the ladies were at best, amused by it. Deanna knows Will really well and it's not like the episode impacted their friendship and their eventual reunion. I think they did have a little issue with the fact that Will was flirting with them both during the memory loss. It says a lot of Will's personality that it is his default mode. Even though Ro went to his quarters, it's not like Will had to sleep with her either. It's not like either of the ladies looked very angry at the end and I thought it was a humorous ending more than anything. 

I wasn't a huge fan of Ro's. Sometimes she was good, sometimes meh. I do think the hookup was probably a low point but the two had some chemistry.

[NicoleQueen]

Unpopular opinion but I didn't enjoy "The Inner Light". For one, I can usually suspend my disbelief, but a culture which seems remarkably close to 20th century Earth and has barely started sending chemical-propelled rockets but somehow has the technology to implant memories? Any similar technology we've seen has been from warp-capable civilizations. Also, why would a probe which is supposed to preserve the memory of that civilization only affect Picard? And while people justify that Picard basically woke from just a very vivid dream so he wouldn't be all that affected, he still actually lived decades over the course of 25 minutes. Even if the probe prevents any mental strain, that still raises the question of how they achieved such technology.

Given how such a relatively simplistic episode has made me wonder more questions than in other technobabble stories, I really would have preferred that Picard had simply hurt his head and ended up dreaming this over a course of several days. The only positive in this episode for me is Stewart's acting.

[Maverick]

 Table for 2.  I didn't like The Inner Light either.  I agree Stewart played it well, and I can even buy the those people had the memory tech.  Not every culture would evolve the same and cause them to develop the same technology at equal rates.  For example, the Viidians having ultra-advanced medical technology due to the phage.  I just found Picard's "life" on the planet to be incredibly boring and was appalled they thought it was ok to force something like this on a random was ok.  It as "mind rape" on a higher order than what happened in Violations yet everyone was cool with it.  Despite what all the sappy music was trying to make me feel, I as not enamored with them.   

[readster]

I'm torn on the episode, Identity Crisis. For one, it is an amazingly filmed and Make-Up/FX episode with some very eerie moments in the episode. However, as even Michael Pillar said: "it wasn't not their best script." Many plot points didn't make sense. We know when the episode was doing the flashbacks with Geordi and Susanna it was just before La Forge went to the Enterprise when they were both on the USS Victory. However, when they investigated during the original Away Mission, it sounds like the outpost/colony was there a short time like a year or so, yet everyone was transformed in a short amount of time. Unlike the Away Team that took 5 years before they started showing and even in Dr. Crusher's talk: "Some were showing signs weeks in advance and some just got up and left." When they were trying to return to the planet. Plus, in 5 years nothing weird was showing up on transporter and medical check ups? They had transporters not wanting to beam Riker aboard when he had that alien virus in season 2 or being paranoid about beaming aboard virus and germs and the computer saying: "No, it's good" or "hope bad!" Another problem with the script was how at the end when Geordi told Susanna he didn't know her or anything, but trusted her and saying how the aliens ran on instinct. So, how the hell did they reframe enough knowledge of who they were to run transporters, fly shuttle craft up to a point (Lt. Hickman apparently at that point didn't remember how to land the shuttle and died as it exploded in the atmosphere). Yet, the other two officers remember how and then tore out of their uniforms and joined the Pack. 

  Another thing was just leaving Geordi by himself, Data would have been assigned during the entire time or that when they found the parasite that was transforming them, why Crusher didn't have La Forge taken to Sick Bay instantly since he was just in early shaking signs by then. There are way, way too many plot holes, but I will hand it to LeVar Burton taking 4 hours for the body suit and make-up for only 2 hours of filming. They said they filmed the final scene on the planet in an hour and then just moved him to do the quick transporter scene that took 20 minutes for takes and that was it. All other make up was quick and a half an hour. Unlike the other actors who had the same 4 hours with full body suit make up for 20 seconds of running away and filmed in that first hour of recording. 

 Speaking of alien pathogens I still can't get over Season 2's premiere of The Child with the alien bacteria and how they couldn't throw it in space because it would go into spawn and infect the next ship or planet it came into. I was like: "You can't put it out in space, put a few probes to attach to it and then throw it into a star or super nova? I mean, it was like basic logic and the use of technology in the 24th century was limited besides constant passing comments about what they could do. Not to mention they wanted the Enterprise to do it when they could have gotten a medical ship with limited crew to transport instead of a ship fill of families and so forth. Plot before character and logic right?

Edited June 19, 2017 by readster
fix spelling and episode title.

[vibeology]

On 2017-06-11 at 0:16 PM, BBHN said:

But yeah, the whole rank and position structure of the ship could be very head-scratching. I guess they were making it up as they went along...

Tell me about it. To this day, I cannot figure out how we ended the series with Troi outranking Data. Data had nearly 30 years in Starfleet, graduated from the academy with honours, received awards and commendations, stood night watch frequently and saved the ship dozens of times. Troi could barely be bothered to shop up to work in a uniform. Based on Data's career he should have been promoted at some point during the series. But I think the worry was that would be confusing so the show didn't worry about the logic and went with whatever could fill up 45 minutes of TV.

[NicoleQueen]

I just watched "Homeward" and while I have a few gripes with the episode, I really liked Beverly questioning what it would mean transfering a culture/species to an entirely different planet and system.

"It's just that the enormity of what we're doing is overwhelming. We are deciding the future of a species... There are so many questions we don't have answers to. What if the climate is so different that it affects them in a way that we can't anticipate? How do we even know they'll be able to survive? And if they do, how will their society evolve and what impact will it have on the Vaccan system? We have no idea what this decision will mean to their future."

A lot of time they show the re-colonisation with fanfer and hope for whoever was in dire need of it, but no one ever ponders how they would affect the status quo. Actually reminded me of how Kirk told Khan to "tame" the "a bit savage, somewhat inhospitable" Ceti Alpha V. (I find it quite intriguing how are we supposed to believe that the small groups of Nikolai and Khan can properly survive in those conditions with no resources; Khan did have some of those but the Boraalans didn't seem to have absolutely anything.)

[readster]

I was watching Pegasus tonight which is in my Top 10 favorite episodes of all time. Wow! Even all these years later, the episode is one of Ron Moore's best, and the music is great. However, the episode does lack talk between Will and Deanna, which they tried to fix with the final episode of Enterprise almost a decade later. Something that really bothered me was how the Admiral was so smug about everything including seeing his dead crew in engineering. Will shows such emotion and everything comes to a head, but there is one question I have wondered all these years. WHAT THE HELL DID THE FEDERATION GET OUT OF MAKING THE DEAL WITH THE ROMULANS? PIcard says it kept peace the last 50 years, but what happened? They get the neutral zone? That the Romulans would be nice and not try to make their own phase cloaks? Still bothers me to this day, but the rest of the episode, especially when the Enterprise decloaked by the Warbird is one of the best moments in TNG. 

[Lugal]

As I understand it, the prohibition on Federation cloaking technology was under the Treaty of Algeron which happened after the Tomed Incident, which they have never elaborated on but only said it cost thousands of lives.  My guess is it was some kind of Romulan victory.

And this is why I wish Star Trek Discovery was set between the TOS movies and TNG because they could do a whole season on the Tomed Incident alone.

[readster]

17 hours ago, Lugal said:

As I understand it, the prohibition on Federation cloaking technology was under the Treaty of Algeron which happened after the Tomed Incident, which they have never elaborated on but only said it cost thousands of lives.  My guess is it was some kind of Romulan victory.

And this is why I wish Star Trek Discovery was set between the TOS movies and TNG because they could do a whole season on the Tomed Incident alone.

Very good point. I have no problem them setting up 10 years before Kirk before he was even in the Academy, but their is plenty between the Enterprise B and the Enterprise C history that has plenty of in cannon and expansion to fill in plenty of stories. They could even be able to get away with the Klingons new look too. Saying it was an aftermath of genetic altering. The rumor is it's an old style of religious Klingons that are dying out.  

[ottoDbusdriver]

9 hours ago, readster said:

Very good point. I have no problem them setting up 10 years before Kirk before he was even in the Academy, but their is plenty between the Enterprise B and the Enterprise C history that has plenty of in cannon and expansion to fill in plenty of stories. They could even be able to get away with the Klingons new look too. Saying it was an aftermath of genetic altering. The rumor is it's an old style of religious Klingons that are dying out.  

That's the weird thing -- if this takes place 10 years before TOS, that means James T. Kirk should be fresh out of the academy and assigned to the USS Farragut. 
Which means that they could encounter Kirk, Spock, Scotty or McCoy at any point.

[NicoleQueen]

On 7/2/2017 at 4:04 AM, ottoDbusdriver said:

That's the weird thing -- if this takes place 10 years before TOS, that means James T. Kirk should be fresh out of the academy and assigned to the USS Farragut. 
Which means that they could encounter Kirk, Spock, Scotty or McCoy at any point.

Also, Pike and Number One!

[JTMacc99]

First Contact is on EPIX tonight. The first 20-25 minutes of this movie is my favorite part of any Star Trek anything. 

[SmithW6079]

I catch episodes on BBC America or H&I from time to time, and one thing that struck me in many episodes (particularly early ones) is how sterile and blah the future is. Later, when they got into their groove and started to flesh out characters, it got better (and there are some fantastic episodes).

[SVNBob]

4 hours ago, SmithW6079 said:

one thing that struck me in many episodes (particularly early ones) is how sterile and blah the future is. Later, when they got into their groove and started to flesh out characters, it got better

The early episodes were still under Gene's direct control.  And he had a very specific vision of what the future would be like; the sterility and blahness you mentioned.  Later, as his health declined, so did his direct influence.  That led to the new PTB loosening up on his restrictions and letting things get messy and interesting.

[readster]

7 hours ago, SVNBob said:

The early episodes were still under Gene's direct control.  And he had a very specific vision of what the future would be like; the sterility and blahness you mentioned.  Later, as his health declined, so did his direct influence.  That led to the new PTB loosening up on his restrictions and letting things get messy and interesting.

How very true, it's funny. I see the pilot episode and how there was emotion, humor and fun. Then the following episodes, there is that dryness again. Something that really bothered me in the first season finale with The Neutral Zone. Was here were 3 people from the late 20th century, who were emotional, who were out of time and the Enterprise was: "Well gee, we have moved on from that." Head over to season 2 and you see the big difference in direction and writing. I do know it was also because the cast was telling Gene Rodenbery they wanted to stop being so try too and he started moving that. Though you see the real change in season 3 after the writer's strike was over in the writing and acting. 

[VCRTracking]

Even the most cringe-inducing moments of Michael Scott on The Office pale in comparison to the moment in "Galaxy's Child" where the real Dr. Leah Brahms finds the holodeck version of herself Geordi created and fell in love with in a previous episode. My god, that was like watching a car crash. The second hand embarrassment I felt was enormous.

[readster]

6 hours ago, VCRTracking said:

Even the most cringe-inducing moments of Michael Scott on The Office pale in comparison to the moment in "Galaxy's Child" where the real Dr. Leah Brahms finds the holodeck version of herself Geordi created and fell in love with in a previous episode. My god, that was like watching a car crash. The second hand embarrassment I felt was enormous.

Oh no kidding! That was just painful episode, I loved how they made it into a big joke when LaForge was telling Scotty about it. I know they were trying to say: "How you see someone and how they really are, are two different things." But it's just painful. Something that bothered me with Worf's story line with the Klingon Empire and the House of Duras, I felt the conspiracy in the High Council was a joke because when Worf claimed vengeance on him and killed him in disgrace. Duras for being such a back stabber seem to have no problem realizing: "Well crap, I killed his mate and we have to fight to the death." Even his men were like: "You should have known better." So, then go with the twin sisters of evil and it became a joke with them even to their deaths in Generations. I think with Duras's son in Deep Space Nine showing up, it made sense and it also showed how he was the vengeful son still trying to do his family proud when they were just a bunch of backstabbers and what was the point by then?

[VCRTracking]

I hated that it appeared Duras killed K'Ehleyr so easily. They could have at least shown her putting up a fight.

[readster]

On 8/19/2017 at 10:52 AM, VCRTracking said:

I hated that it appeared Duras killed K'Ehleyr so easily. They could have at least shown her putting up a fight.

I think it was a time constraint. Even in Redemption part 2 they later said they wanted the final scene with Lorsa and B'tor escaping to be more of a fight through to the emergency beam out but didn't have the time. Instead it came out as: "We are like Romulans, good luck nephew!" Speaking of TNG villains, I really think they should have found a way for Sela to go out in a blaze of glory or had useer as the main villain Nemesis. Denise Crosby said she was very free in the final season and they had told her early on she would be in the final episode. Yet, they never got to it. Felt all the build up with the character, and then her final piece of getting the neck pinch from Data in Unification part 2 and that was it. 

[Charlesman]

"Parallels" was on last night... the one where there are millions of Worfs running around the galaxy. It struck me that it seemed to be a bit of a "dry run" for the finale, "All Good Things...".

 

Also, it dawned on me that once all the Worfs were sent back to the correct universes, it'd suck to be the Worf that goes back home to the universe where his alternate's inattention killed Geordi. Moment of fridge horror. Good thing the "reset" sent them back far enough in time to correct that.

[BBHN]

Parallels was a really good episode.

[readster]

18 hours ago, Charlesman said:

"Parallels" was on last night... the one where there are millions of Worfs running around the galaxy. It struck me that it seemed to be a bit of a "dry run" for the finale, "All Good Things...".

 

Also, it dawned on me that once all the Worfs were sent back to the correct universes, it'd suck to be the Worf that goes back home to the universe where his alternate's inattention killed Geordi. Moment of fridge horror. Good thing the "reset" sent them back far enough in time to correct that.

Exactly. It went back to the moment where Worf entered the riff so, Geordi was alive. ALIVE I TELL YOU! 

[BBHN]

Yeah but at least it wasn't as bad as the Worf that had to go back to the universe where the Borg was thisclose to conquering the Federation...

[Joe]

So thanks to the chain of links, I stumbed across pictures of Patrick Stewart with a moustache. It doesn't really suit him, I think. He did that movie between First Contact and Insurrection.

[SmithW6079]

On 8/25/2017 at 2:56 PM, BBHN said:

Parallels was a really good episode.

It's the only Worf-centric episode I ever liked.

[BetterButter]

[VCRTracking]

I was just about to post that! "So. Many. Concerts."

[xaxat]

Thirty years. Way to make me feel old.

[Bort]

I think that Dr. Crusher and the ghost episode is the one I've seen the internet make fun of the most.

[VCRTracking]

1 minute ago, kariyaki said:

I think that Dr. Crusher and the ghost episode is the one I've seen the internet make fun of the most.

I remember seeing the promos for that one and thinking "Are they serious?"

[BBHN]

Ya know, even with all that...it isn't just my favorite Trek series, it's also one of my favorite sci fi series and one of my favorite TV shows in general.

But that clip did make me laugh.

[Maverick]

 Yeah, what up with all those palm punches.  

[readster]

• I was viewing Disaster the other day and boy, how much you had to suspend belief for the episode to work. I'm not talking about Geordi and Beverly's situation in the cargo bay, Picard with the science winners or even what was going on in 10 Forward. I'm talking about how you had NO ONE in engineering. There weren't even dead bodies when Riker and Data got there. Also, where was Ro going when she forced her way through the doors to the bridge. She said the safety caught her. Was she on her way to do her shift? So, security features can't be turned off, so Data had to put himself in the way. I mean, if a star ship has gone into emergency lock down that it takes away any possible access to the ship as a result? How about how even with Red Shirt in charge who died at her station, why is it that every time a console blew on the Enterprise, you most likely were killed as a result? First time since the premiere Deanna is revealed to be a LT. Commander and Ro was shock. Yet, they always referred O'brian as Chief as in Chief Petty Officer, but then he was promoted to Chief of Operations, which is a pretty high standard yet on Deep Space 9, Dr. Bashire outranked him. 

[BBHN]

That's because despite his title as Chief of Operations, he wasn't an officer when DS9 began. 

[Bort]

Yeah, O'Brien was enlisted. Every officer outranks the enlisted. Even Wesley in his field promotion to ensign outranked him.

[VCRTracking]

Thank God for Star Trek: The Next Generation

[Peace 47]

19 hours ago, readster said:

I was viewing Disaster the other day and boy, how much you had to suspend belief for the episode to work.

I don't disagree with anything in your post, but that is one of my favorite episodes, notwithstanding all of that (haha).  That is one of about 7 TNG episodes that I turn on at night and have on in the background (while doing work or before going to sleep) if I'm really stressed or anxious or something.  

I'm at a point in my entertainment life where as long as I'm enjoying the personal interactions or relationships, I just can't care to nitpick at the logic or the science of the premise.  And I really like this ep because of how it takes the characters and pushes everyone way outside their comfort zone (Picard and kids, Worf and being doctorly, Riker in engineering, Troi in command).  Only Geordi and Bev are just basically screwed without being pushed into unfamiliar territory (but I like seeing them together).

I don't know, I just love this ep!

[John Potts]

On ‎28‎/‎09‎/‎2017 at 2:05 PM, kariyaki said:

Yeah, O'Brien was enlisted. Every officer outranks the enlisted.

Early episodes have O'Brien as a Lieutenant (by both by address and rank insignia) but it was wildly inconsistent (I believe Gene thought only officers should serve on the bridge). By the time of Family (4.02) it was flat out stated that he was always and enlisted man, but that contradicted what had been both said and shown onscreen (though he was never more than a Chef Petty Officer after that).