Star Trek: The Next Generation - General Discussion

[Maverick]

 I generally like Riker, but as I recall at the time the show was airing the general consensus was his character was kind of boring.  He was the "fun" one of the crew, which was interesting because as XO it was his job to be the asshole that keeps the crew in line.  One thing he was not good at were the overly dramatic moments.  I still remember how dreadful he was in "Interface" when tells Geordi the story of losing his mother.  But hands down, nothing beats his performance in "Hide and Q".  Many a first season episode makes me cringe nowadays, but that one's up there.

 

 As to the cuts, I saw "The Loss" and the entire final scene where Riker and Troi talk was cut.  It is annoying when scenes you so clearly remember are completely cut from the show.

[SVNBob]

Run, don't walk to stream Shatner's Chaos on the Bridge documentary about the genesis and first few seasons of TNG.  

If, like me, you still haven't seen this documentary, it's now available on Netflix.

[SmithW6079]

I love most episodes that feature Beverly prominently. She was one of my favorite characters, but I was disappointed that they wussed out on a Beverly-Jean Luc romantic relationship.

I like the time travel episodes, even when they featured Worf (one of my least favorite characters). Any episode with the Klingons brings to mind "The Simpsons" parody of an aged TOS crew engaging with a Klingon ship, when Kirk says: "Again with the Klingons!"

Worf is also the worst security chief ever.

[Peace 47]

I love most episodes that feature Beverly prominently. She was one of my favorite characters, but I was disappointed that they wussed out on a Beverly-Jean Luc romantic relationship.

I like the time travel episodes, even when they featured Worf (one of my least favorite characters). Any episode with the Klingons brings to mind "The Simpsons" parody of an aged TOS crew engaging with a Klingon ship, when Kirk says: "Again with the Klingons!"

Worf is also the worst security chief ever.

I am 1000% on board with you on the fact that they should have gone for the Picard-Crusher romance. They had amazing chemistry, and if "Attached" showed us anything, it was that when they had access to each other's inner most thoughts and desires, they appreciated each other all the more. They were both getting turned on by the intimacy of it, frankly. And eating breakfast together every morning? At first I thought they had a "friends with benefits" thing going until the end of "Attached" made it clear that they did not.

Riker and Worf were probably not my absolute favorites in my prior rewatches, but I have new appreciation for them both this time. Although I do find the Klingon mythology to get a little bit tiresome, Michael Dorn really did all he was asked and more to bring gravitas to the character. Like that "Kaylis (sp?) returns" episode. Dorn really did a nice job with the crisis of faith Worf was having. I tend to avoid the "Alexander" episodes, though, since as I said above, I'm just cherry-picking.

Lastly, I have a question about the episode that I think is called "Violations" (don't want to page off to check because I am on mobile). Those aliens were mentioned to be tapping into a memory center of their subjects. And I assumed that Beverly's memory of having to see Jack's body was something that really happened? How much of Deanna's encounter with Will, then, really happened? Was he just suggesting sex in the original memory, and then the alien came into that memory and had Will force himself on her and try to rape Troi? That was very unsettling.

[Maverick]

 Saw a couple of season 7 episodes on BBCA yesterday.  First was Parallels.  This one holds up quit well.  It's fun watching  all the variations as Worf gets pushed further and further from his own reality.  The only thing weighing down the plot was the ill-conceived Worf/Troi plot that ran throughout the whole season.  The kiss the two share in the shuttlebay showed they had absolutely no chemistry.  How anyone watched that and decided to carry on that plot thread is beyond me.  

 

 Also saw All Good Things.  Surprisingly, there are several parallels to Parallels.  Both are built around the alternate reality/what if scenario, both use the visual element of multiple alternate Enterprises together, both have a returning start from season 1, both are bogged down by the Worf/Troi "romance" and the resolution to both was "fly into the [technobabble] anomaly and and create a warp [technobabble] to seal the [technobabble] and restore order".   The plot still kinda relies on the idiocy of the crew (Picard, who's leaping about in time like Sam Beckett, thinks Q is speaking nonsense when he tells Picard he's destroyed humanity before, is doing it now and will do it again) and has the gaping logic flaw that they shouldn't have been able to see the anomaly when they went back to it in the future since the anomaly was moving backwards.  Still it's a fun romp.  And it works better than Generations (even the producers admitted that while they were working on the movie and the finale together, the finale got more attention and turned out better).  One thing I didn't remember/notice originally is when Picard is coming off like a loon to the crew in the past. Tasha (still backing her CO without wavering at this point) basically tells the crew to shut up and follow orders and Worf gives her a total "bitch, please" look.

[Peace 47]

I also just rewatched "All Good Things" when it was on BBCA this week. It still stands the test of time for me as one of the best show finales I had ever seen. The pace seemed a little slower than I remembered (I didn't realize it took the entire first hour to reveal Q), but it's such a good story about reflecting on where they've been, where they are going and how it takes work to stay together (as a "family" of sorts) through life's future challenges. I liked the contrast of how the crew reacted to him through the ages because it said everything important about what the show did for their relationships with one another. Of course they are wary in the past when this man is giving them illogical orders and talking about alien threats; of course the present-day crew is going to be the first to believe him because they are all in their prime and work together like a finely tuned machine. And of course time (and illness and death) will take its toll on relationships in the future, but it's hard (here, ultimately impossible) to erase bonds that strong. Plus, I think Q said important things about the meaning of what the Enterprise crew is doing (and on a meta level, what the show writers are doing when undertaking a project like this): it's not about charting star systems and seeing what the next new alien race offers, it's about "charting the unlimited possibilities of existence."

And I'm actually a sucker for any show finale that takes a "life goes on" attitude, with the implication that there are continuing adventures ongoing, even if we don't get to see them. I loved that final poker game where Picard decides to become actual friends with more than just Beverly. It still warms my cold, dead heart. :-)

Edited January 3, 2016 by Peace 47

[Maverick]

  So Redemption II was on the other day.   The stupid was strong in this one.  I was never a huge fan of Klingon stories, especially the whole discommendation arc, but at the least the others had some emotional weight to them.  But that's the least of this episode's problems.  First we have the epic fail that was Sela fully introduced.  I could live with the notion that there were some survivors from the Enterprise C but the whole 'a Romulan took a liking to her and kept her" trope?   Such a lame trope.  But not nearly as lame as the trope that the daughter looks exactly like her (only with pointy ears).  If they were hellbent on bringing Denise Crosby back on a recurring basis (although I don't know why) they should have found some less hokey way of doing it.   Then you have Guinan ragging on Picard for causing this mess because he sent Tasha back in time.  I mean great Guinan, you have this super dooper temporal sense (although really? then why did you sense the alteration of Tasha surviving and having a child?) but you think that gives you the right to dog a guy for something an alternate version of himself did?  She really could have delivered the info and held the 'tude.  And the most monumentally stupid thing in this episode:  Picard creating a blockade.  In space.  Because it's not like the Romulans could go around you.  Or over you.  Or under you.  Apparently Picard hauled this awesome plan out of Khan's Guide to 2 Dimensional Battle Strategies.  

[SmithW6079]

Aw, I liked the Sela explanation as a way to get Denise Crosby back. I don't remember Guinan ragging on Picard, but she shouldn't have -- it was because of her insistence that Tasha is dead in the original timeline that led to alterna-Tasha going back in time.

I agree "All Good Things" is a great finale (I especially loved Beverly Picard and the USS Pasteur). In some ways, it was too good, because there was nowhere for the movies to go but down. How do you top the saving of the universe?

[mahree]

All I can say is thank God Patrick Stewart didn't age like Picard did in "All Good Things."

 

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CV4XR51VAAAronE.jpg:large

[VCRTracking]

Wow. He and Helen Mirren should share whatever sorcery they're using with the rest of us!

 

Speaking of aging, I hadn't seen Star Trek V in a long time but I decided to check it out again and seeing just 2 minutes was enough to remind me how awful it is. Not only did the crew seem really old by then but it's just a terrible movie. I realized after this movie came out in the summer of 1989, TNG started it's third season and it had improved a lot by then, getting new writers like Michael Piller, Ronald Moore, René Echevarria and Ira Steven Behr.  I think the better quality of those episodes compared to the recent movie with the TOS crew being the one of the worst Trek tales helped change the minds of fans who had written TNG off.

Edited January 6, 2016 by VCRTracking

[AndySmith]

I liked Worf and Troi together, however little we actually saw of them. I wish they had explored it more, the way the producers wanted to.

 

One thing I didn't remember/notice originally is when Picard is coming off like a loon to the crew in the past. Tasha (still backing her CO without wavering at this point) basically tells the crew to shut up and follow orders and Worf gives her a total "bitch, please" look.

 

Yeah, but even she begins to have her doubts and eventually question WTF he is doing. Of course, until he gives a patented awesome Picard speech and everyone falls in line. Such is the power of a Picard speech delivered by Stewart.

[SmithW6079]

Of course, until he gives a patented awesome Picard speech and everyone falls in line. Such is the power of a Picard speech delivered by Stewart.

He could just recite numbers and it'd be convincing, such as in the episode where Data encrypts the computer using Picard's voice and just rattles off random numbers.

[Peace 47]

He could just recite numbers and it'd be convincing, such as in the episode where Data encrypts the computer using Picard's voice and just rattles off random numbers.

Just tangentially, that episode where Data commandeers the ship starts off quite suspensefully in those first few minutes and then kind of loses some steam. I dunno, but it was kind of a letdown that it was Dr. Soong making Data act in a "cut the life support level of crazy" manner. Data was endangering the ship and the crew and doing it entirely unconsciously. That's a pretty messed up way for Soong to get some one-on-one time with his "son." I did like Riker's sarcastic "That's just great" (or something like that) when he and Worf were trying to access the bridge but were blocked by Data's force field.

Soong was also a dick for not listening to Data about activating Lor. Parenting fail, Soong.

Edited February 12, 2016 by Peace 47

[Maverick]

 I love the first third of "Brothers" where Data plays the crew like a fiddle and takes control of the ship.  The other two thirds aren't bad, they just don't match with the beginning tonally.  The real problem in the episode is the sick kid plot.  Not only is it unnecessary (I think having one of your own crew members lock you out of your own ship and hijack it to parts unknown creates enough tension to get control back) but it's just such a heavy-handed analogy to the main plot.

 

 As for Soong, it was established a couple of times he was an arrogant prick, so yeah.  His ancestor (as portrayed on Enterprise) was a bastard and created enhanced humans that tried to take over the world, so Soong was an....upgrade, I guess?

Edited February 13, 2016 by Maverick

[Miss Dee]

You don't know how badly I wished that Khan Noonien Singh had left a son on Ceti Alpha Five, who later changed his name to Noonien Soong so no one would suspect he had augmented genes to explain his brilliance in cybernetic science.... *sigh*

[Peace 47]

I just watched the episode on Netflix today where Riker is kidnapped .... okay, I'll be more specific since he is kidnapped all the time! .... while on an away mission and is tricked into first thinking he's lost 15 years of memories due to a virus, then tricked into thinking it was a Romulan setup before getting the truth (that it was a lonely alien)-- "Future Imperfect."

I read somewhere awhile ago that the birthday party scene at the beginning of that episode contains a sort-of-blooper that made it into the show: when Deanna asks Will what his birthday wish is, he pauses too long (as though he forgot his line), she kind of playfully hits his arm and her eyes get big, and he laughs and finally says that he wants music lessons. And then Marina, Jonathan and Gates all laugh. It is an adorable and endearing moment. Are there any other "blooper" stories like that? And did the cast actually get along?

That was a really enjoyable episode. Not just for the "Shut up. As in close your mouth and stop talking" scene, which is so well- and memorably acted by Frakes that I've seen it memed around the Internet many times. Good episode for cast interactions and very cute to think that Will would name a son "Jean-Luc."

Edited March 20, 2016 by Peace 47

[Athena]

I read somewhere awhile ago that the birthday party scene at the beginning of that episode contains a sort-of-blooper that made it into the show: when Deanna asks Will what his birthday wish is, he pauses too long (as though he forgot his line), she kind of playfully hits his arm and her eyes get big, and he laughs and finally says that he wants music lessons. And then Marina, Jonathan and Gates all laugh. It is an adorable and endearing moment. Are there any other "blooper" stories like that? And did the cast actually get along?

 

From all reports and with the usual couple of exceptions, this cast did get along and reportedly, the cast members stay in touch. There was apparently a lot of affection and laughs on the set. I think it definitely came off on the show as well.

[Peace 47]

I'm going to keep writing my unoriginal observations decades after the show aired! I just watched a bunch of Ro-related episodes over the past week, and I have Feelings about them. I had kind of avoided those epsiodes because Ro's ending (which I did remember) made me sad.

But I went for it, and I really like this character. She was a nice contrast from many of the other character who thought the Enterprise was the greatest thing since sliced bread. Ro had a past and issues that gave her a different perspective, and while she did her duty (until the last time) and protected her crew mates, I appreciated that she was an individual who also honored her culture (such as with her name and earring).

I didn't recall that in her introductory episode that she was put in a horrible position by that ass of an admiral and was basically being used to get some of her own people killed. I got the feeling that perhaps her court martial related to a similar situation where if she had spoken up about what had happened (rather than not defending herself) her punishment would not have been as severe, but I don't think that the show ever directly addressed it. It was more in the subtext of how Guinan noted that Ro did not defend herself.

I liked that Guinan saw "Potential" in her when everyone else was being so judgy, and I like that this friendship carried over to the episode where they reverted to children (where the little girl who played Ro just did a really gangbusters job). I liked that Ro later became friends with other crew members, too, like Geordi, with whom she worked really well in that episode where aliens took over O'Brien, Troi and Data, and also that she and Geordi could have a good laugh at the end of a traumatic experience like being pull out of phase in that "Next Phase" episode. After losing Tasha and having the remaining women in compassionate caregiving roles, it was nice to have a woman in a command position, too.

I'm still sad that she had to leave. It felt a little repetitive of Wesley's starfleet rejection from the same season (in that a significant part of it was focused on how Captain Picard felt personally rejected). And I'm actually surprised that they didn't have Picard understand her moral obligation to her people, given that he has been traditionally compassionate with respect to personal moral/ cultural obligations. I get why the writers felt that this would be true to Ro's character and past, although it kind of negated a nice development she had in developing relationships with her fellow crew members.

[AndySmith]

I appreciated that she was an individual who also honored her culture

 

You mean like Worf and his sash? ;)

 

Ro was supposed to be a main character on DS9. But Michelle Forbes turned down the role, so Kira was created as her replacement. I guess that's why most of Ro's appearances were in season 5. Set her up on TNG, then shift her over to DS9. Maybe that's why she also only appears in one episode in season 6. And even then, Michelle is barely in it.

 

It was nice that Michelle came back to tie up her storyline in season 7, though. It was a really good episode.

 

It felt a little repetitive of Wesley's starfleet rejection from the same season (in that a significant part of it was focused on how Captain Picard felt personally rejected)

 

Maybe, but that doesn't change the fact that both times it was done really well. And if nothing else, it was consistent in how Picard, even if he may not have liked children much, really was something of a father figure to quite a few people.

[Peace 47]

Ro was supposed to be a main character on DS9. But Michelle Forbes turned down the role, so Kira was created as her replacement. I guess that's why most of Ro's appearances were in season 5. Set her up on TNG, then shift her over to DS9.

Huh. That's really interesting and something that I didn't know. (I'm a fan of TNG, but for some reason have never previously sought any behind the scenes info about the show, other than Levar Burton's "Reading Rainbow" episode on TNG, lol!) I really like Ro a lot but never cared for Kira in the several attempts that I made to watch DS9 (never cared for any other character either, even though I know a lot of people consider that to be the substantially superior show).

Speaking of DS9, I'm glad that they could use Miles O'Brien over there and give him a substantial role, but I think TNG suffered a little bit with his loss, even though he was only featured. Miles had a wife and a baby, and it was nice how they could incorporate them into the stories and that Keiko was one of the gang, even if not a regular. I liked that she was close to Data, went on trips with other crewmembers (like where they all became kids), etc.

[John Potts]

You can tell that they originally wrote Kira as a member of Starfleet because she was First Officer on DS9 despite the fact that she wasn't a member of Starfleet (Jadzia was the next highest ranking officer on the station and SHOULD have had that role). It wasn't until Season 7 (IIRC) that she was given a brevet rank in Starfleet but she retained the role throughout!

[AndySmith]

Well, yes and no. The actual station itself was technically under joint control by the Federation and the Bajoran Provisional Government, so Kira did have a place in the ranking of the station. Kira's rank as Major would be equal to Jadzia's rank of Lt. Commander. I guess Kira was the second-in-command as a compromise between the Federation and the Bajorans.

 

I wonder what Ro's position would have been had Michelle Forbes agreed to be on DS9, given that Ro was just an ensign. In many ways, it kind of worked out for DS9, since they were able to modify Kira and allow for conflict among the characters (since there couldn't be conflict between federation officers).

[Maverick]

 It was established in the pilot (and a thread throughout the rest of the series) that the Federation was there at the request of the Bajoran government.  One of the conditions of them running the station was to have Bajoran first officer.  My assumption was always that if Ro had been moved to DS9, they would have had her leave Starfleet for some reason in a TNG episode and go back to Bajor.   Then when the Cardassians left, she would have been assigned to the station on behalf of the Bajor government, not Starfleet.  The friction would have come from her being an ex-Stafleet officer often at odds with Starfleet regulations and procedures.

[AndySmith]

That's probably how it would have happened. As per her Memory Alpha page:

 

In the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine bible of April 1992, Ro Laren's entry reads: "Established on ST:TNG. She is properly addressed as Lieutenant Ro since Bajorans put their family names first. (Note: She will receive a promotion from Ensign to Lieutenant on an episode of ST:TNG before this series begins.) As a Bajoran, Ro cares passionately about her people's independence. That's why she volunteered for duty on the space station. Sisko originally refused to accept her transfer...He didn't want anything to do with someone with her undistinguished service record and reputation. But during the first episode, she proves her value to him and becomes his first officer". In Jadzia Dax's entry in the bible, a friendship between Ro and Jadzia was suggested: "Ro, who forms a very close relationship with Dax, often tells her to loosen up. Dax admires Ro for her youthful energy, her purpose and her drive and becomes something of a mentor to her". In Odo's entry, Ro "finds Odo's negative attitude to authority delightful and they have a Bajoran fellowship". The bible entry for Quark posits that he and Ro would become adversaries. (The Making of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)

 

I do wonder when exactly the plans changed and Michelle turned down the role. Her last episode during season 5 was The Next Phase (episode 24 out of 26 episodes), so I'm guessing they scrapped the plans for her to get that promotion, and came up with The Next Phase instead?

[legaleagle53]

That's probably how it would have happened. As per her Memory Alpha page:

 

The bible entry for Quark posits that he and Ro would become adversaries. (The Making of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)

 

Now, that's interesting, considering that Kira had no use for Quark and made it clear that she wouldn't put up with any of his bullcrap for a nanosecond.  I wonder what Ro would have done any time Quark got on her last nerve with some of the stunts he pulled (that annoying earworm of a commercial for Quark's comes to mind).

[Maverick]

 I never saw that description before.  I think it's interesting the relationship with Dax is completely flipped from what we ended up with her and Kira.  I'm glad it worked out the way it did because with all the past lives Dax didn't need to be mentored.  I also think it's odd that they envisioned Ro telling anyone to lighten up since she was a very serious, intense person.   I think the relationship with open-minded Dax getting Kira to move on from her difficult past worked much better.

 

 I assume if Forbes had signed on they would have addressed Ro's promotion in early season 6.  Maybe we could have been spared Realm of Fear and got an episode focusing on O'Brien building a relationship with her instead of Barclay.

[AndySmith]

I think you misread the proposed relationship between Ro and Dax. I read it as Dax being a mentor to Ro, not the other way around. Also, the phrase they use was loosen up, not lighten up...it could be Dax was more rigid with regards to Starfleet protocol and rules, while Ro wasn't.

 

I assume if Forbes had signed on they would have addressed Ro's promotion in early season 6

 

Yeah, that sounds right. I forgot that DSP had a mid-season debut, for some reason I thought it debuted at the same time season 6 of TNG started. Interestingly enough, the last episode of season 6 to feature O'brien and Ro was Rascals (season 6, episode 7), which was actually filmed after the DS9 pilot episode, even though it aired months before. So had Forbes agreed to being on DSP, it might have been handled around then.

[Maverick]

 I see where i misread the part of Dax becoming Ro's mentor, but the first part still reads like Ro often tells Dax to loosen up.  Either way, I'm glad she didn't move over.   Nana Visitor was very invested in Kira character while Forbes was not happy being involved with Star Trek and I think that would have effected her performance.  

[AndySmith]

Well obviously we wouldn't have gotten Forbes on DS9 in an unhappy performance. Good call by her and the producers.

[yeswedo]

Hey folks, reminder that there is a forum for DS9 if you want to continue the discussion there.

[questionfear]

So I just watched "Brothers" last night, and it got me thinking-why in the world did the Federation rely on voice commands so much? No fingerprinting/blood testing to verify it? Off the top of my head, I can think of at least two episodes where that bit them in the ass-in "Brothers", where Data impersonates Picard perfectly, and in that holodeck episode with Moriarty, where Picard gets tricked into speaking his authorization codes to the holodeck, which Moriarty uses to lock out the Enterprise.

 

You'd think there would be some sort of manual override. If I can override fingerprinting on an iPhone with a passcode, you'd think the Enterprise could have had some cool DNA-match technology or something. 

[msani19]

It's funny because as our technology becomes so much better, the things that seemed so cool and advanced in TNG will become increasingly old fashioned and dated. It's especially true when my phone can do so many things that the Enterprise could do! Of course, TNG and Star Trek, in general, did inspire many of us to try to create these devices in real life. But some of the tech-related issues they had, now seem like they could have been fixed so simply.

The transporter, now that one, would be fantastic! Maybe one day, although the idea of it is still pretty crazy to me!

[rereader2]

If you recall from the season 2 episode "Contagion," the Federation no longer had any idea of how to deal with computer viruses--apparently Symantec and it's ilk no longer exist in the future, and the phrase "reboot into safe mode" (or even reboot) has withered into obscurity--so it's no wonder they can't think of any reason for overrides.

 

(The best reason for the episode, to my mind, was Riker's line "If it should become necessary to fight, could you arrange to find me some rocks to throw at them?")

[Maverick]

 I still can't fathom what the writers were thinking with some of the episodes leading up to the end of the series.  Bloodlines, for example.  With a handful of episodes let before the finale, they not only choose to bring back the Ferengi and do a sequel to an utterly boring first season episode but they wrap it around a 'Picard had a love child' plot.  The scene in sickbay after the DNA test is literally one step away from a Maury Povitch segment.  "Jean-Luc Picard, you ARE the father!"  All they needed was Riker and Worf whooping it up from the doorway.  If they were going to follow up on something unpopular from an earlier season, I would rather find out what happened to Dr. Pulaski or Sonya Gomez.

[AndySmith]

Would that many people at the time have even remembered Sonya Gomez? Though an update on Pulaski would have been nice.

Edited April 17, 2016 by AndySmith

[Maverick]

 Probably at least as many who would remember Daimon Bok.  Sonya was at least in two episodes, one of which introduced the Borg.  

[AndySmith]

Bok at least had some agency given his history with Picard. If nothing else, would have been remembered as "Oh yeah. that Ferengi". Sonya was just...there. Hell, I had to look her up on Memory Alpha to see who she was, and I still can't remember seeing her.

 

At least her role gets expanded later on in some novels. And she seems to have been promoted nicely, too.

In Pocket Books' Star Trek: Starfleet Corps of Engineers series, Gomez appears (in the post-Dominion War era) as the executive officer of the series ship, USS da Vinci, with the rank of commander. In the Star Trek: Destiny novels, Gomez had been made captain of the da Vinci. In Star Trek Online Gomez became head of the Starfleet Corps of Engineers prior to 2401, and resigned the position that year to be replaced by Miles O'Brien.

Edited April 17, 2016 by AndySmith

[rereader2]

Bok at least had some agency given his history with Picard. If nothing else, would have been remembered as "Oh yeah. that Ferengi". Sonya was just...there. Hell, I had to look her up on Memory Alpha to see who she was, and I still can't remember seeing her.

 

She's the one with the hot chocolate, right? (In a million years I wouldn't have come up with her name from that description, and I don't remember anything else about her. If that's her.)

[Maverick]

 Yes, she was the one that spilled hot chocolate on Picard.  On his way to change his uniform, Q abducts him and cleans his uniform for him.

[Maverick]

Just saw the first season episode Lonely Among Us.     The edit was really bad on this one.  Picard starts to explain that they picked up an energy creature when they passed through the cloud (if only I had a nickel for every time THAT happened I could restart the world economy in Trek) and then immediately cuts to Data saying 'you can join with an energy being'.   There's a lot of exposition left out there.

 Once you get passed the usual season 1 issues (stilted dialogue, get blackout drunk taking a shot ever time someone says sir, Wesley) the biggest WTF is reliving Picard of duty.  After dancing around the issue, Beverly confronts Picard in his Ready Room and he admits that he's effectively possessed by and energy being that has primary control of him.  In the next scene, Riker says he's convinced more than ever that Picard has been taken over (well no shit, since Beverly's sitting right next to you and surely just told her about confronting him) and worse says there's nothing he can do about it.  The Hell?  Forget reliving him of duty, lock his ass up until someone can figure our how to do an exorcism on him.

 On the continuity front, Picard's love of mysteries and Data's fascination are both first mentioned here.  Although no fault of the writers because they had no idea of plot lines six years in the future, Riker should have been extremely uneasy during the  conversion among the senior officers about relieving Picard of duty.  

[AndySmith]

We also get to see Data's appreciation for Sherlock Holmes for the first time.

[Maverick]

 Yes, that's what I meant to say about Data...typed too fast.  I did enjoy Picard's mild annoyance at Data's Sherlock fixation.  "Let's continue without the pipe, shall we?"

[blueray]

On 4/17/2016 at 11:46 AM, AndySmith said:

Bok at least had some agency given his history with Picard. If nothing else, would have been remembered as "Oh yeah. that Ferengi". Sonya was just...there. Hell, I had to look her up on Memory Alpha to see who she was, and I still can't remember seeing her.

 

At least her role gets expanded later on in some novels. And she seems to have been promoted nicely, too.

  Reveal hidden contents

In Pocket Books' Star Trek: Starfleet Corps of Engineers series, Gomez appears (in the post-Dominion War era) as the executive officer of the series ship, USS da Vinci, with the rank of commander. In the Star Trek: Destiny novels, Gomez had been made captain of the da Vinci. In Star Trek Online Gomez became head of the Starfleet Corps of Engineers prior to 2401, and resigned the position that year to be replaced by Miles O'Brien.

I looked her up too. Was that the one who had a crush on Gordie?

[schnauzergirl]

Asking whatever happened to Dr. Pulaski reminds me how much I preferred her over Dr. Crusher.  Not that I disliked Crusher, but Diana Muldaur's Pulaski just appealed to me more.  A minority opinion, I'm sure.

[yeswedo]

The Heroes & Icons channel starts airing all 5 Star Trek series beginning this Sunday, July 24th. Schedule and where to watch are at the link.

[BigBeagle]

Count me in the minority, too, schnauzergirl. I much preferred Pulaski over The Dancing Doctor. 

[readster]

I was a Pulaski fan too, but when she was just gone at the start of Season 3, I was like: "Where did she go?" Then she shows up on LA Law and dies falling down an elevator. Reminds me of the problems they had with Ensign Ro and she was busy on Law and Order and then two seasons after they ended Next Generation, they killed off her character over there too. I also remember, she was offered the role on Deep Space Nine, but turned it down because she didn't think the show would be a success. I know she kicked herself after that move. 

[AndySmith]

I liked Pulaski, but preferred Beverly. 

Didn't Pulaski have a cameo in Nemesis? 

[John Potts]

Not according to IMDB. If she was mentioned, I don't recall it (though it's entirely possible they did, I'm not THAT much of a Trek nerd!)

[readster]

Yes, mentioned, but never shown. There was apparently going to be an appearance on TNG after they killed off her character on LA Law, but never happened.