Engaging with TNG Season 1

Howdy everybody, this is Steve Megatron here,

or Captain Phillips as it were. If you're listening

to this episode right now, this has actually

been stuck in my queue to edit for a year and

a half. Yeah, you listened to that right. So

what happened is, a lot of busy stuff happened

around the time that we recorded this. I didn't

have time to go back to it. This is kind of my...

reintroduction to Future Imperfect, as it were,

for Altered Trek. So Mike and I are discussing

it and we're looking at Star Trek The Next Generation

Season 1. And I also wanted to cover the Elkar

segments like I used to do on Future Imperfect.

So that was another thing that I was kind of

waiting on because I... wanted some ai with that

specifically for the female computer sound so

anyways if you're hearing this episode that's

why some things may be dated if we talked about

certain things so without further ado this is

episode one of the rebooted altered trek we will

start having new episodes at the beginning of

the year however things can change so Just bear

in mind and hopefully you like the discussion

that we have in this episode. Hi, this is John

Delancey and you are listening to the Geekcast

Radio Network. Hello and welcome to Altered Trek.

I'm your host on this adventure into the stars.

I am Captain Phillips and joining me on this

adventure into the defiant fascination with Star

Trek is. The Ferengi Great One, TFTU and Mike.

The Ferengi Great One. That's awesome. It's going

to probably change every episode too. Probably.

We are here. Holy crap. And it's a good thing

we removed stuff off of this feed because the

last episode was episode 86. This is episode

87, which Star Trek The Next Generation launched

in 1987. I didn't plan that at all, but it's

kind of nice that it turned out that way. It

is kind of funny. So, we're starting off in Star

Trek The Next Generation, which ran from 1987

to 1994. This computer terminal provides full

access to the Elkar's computer net. It can be

operated both by voice and keypad commands. Initiating

update. Star Trek The Next Generation's maiden

voyage sets the stage for a bold new era. Captain

Jean -Luc Picard, a thoughtful leader with a

haunted past, steers the majestic Enterprise

D. His diverse crew includes the brash Commander

Riker, the enigmatic android Data grappling with

his humanity, and Counselor Troi, who offers

a unique perspective through her empathic abilities.

The season throws them into a whirlwind of galactic

encounters. Picard sparks hostilities with the

Borg, a hivemind species on a relentless quest

for assimilation. The crew also confronts the

Romulans, their cloaked warships a constant threat.

However, diplomacy isn't forgotten. The introduction

of the Ferengi, a race obsessed with profit,

presents cultural clashes and opportunities for

understanding. Closer to home, Data's existence

sparks ethical debates about artificial intelligence.

The arrival of his evil twin, Lore, further complicates

his quest for belonging. The season also explores

the weight of Picard's past through encounters

with a powerful being named Q, who tests humanity's

worthiness to explore the cosmos. Through these

adventures, the next generation establishes its

core themes. The crew confronts complex ethical

dilemmas, pushing the boundaries of exploration

while upholding the ideals of the Federation.

They grapple with the complexities of first contact,

forging new alliances, and confronting ancient

grudges. As the season closes, Picard and his

crew have charted a course for a future filled

with wonder, conflict, and the enduring human

spirit. Please confirm deactivation request.

Deactivation complete. Now disconnected from

this terminal. It's the Alcars, folks. Yeah,

the Alcars. But anyways, it's the library computer

system. There'll be some informations on TNG,

but as we get into this, it was the first new

series of Star Trek ever. And with it came a

lot of the same hatred that came with Discovery,

with it being the newest iteration, only this

was more competent. At least in my mind, the

series ran for seven seasons, 176 episodes, two

of which are featured length. And the time span

is 2364 to 2370. So this this series spawned

like many, you know, spinoffs. It had Deep Space

Nine, Voyager, you know. to some extent lower

decks and Picard. Uh, so yeah, it's, it's a pretty

iconic series on a whole. Uh, plus it just won

at the Saturn awards, a lifetime achievement

award. This show did in the cast. Nice. That's

awesome. So, so as we get into this, what are

your thoughts on like this as a whole? Before

we kind of dig deeper. I just want to say you

mentioned 2364 to 2370. If either one of us were

alive in 2370, I'd be 390. You'd be 384 years

old. Weirder things have happened. True. Absolutely.

My thing has always been, like you said, a defiant

fascist. It's always been your... We each have

our own things. Some of the times, the things

that we like, we both like them kind of thing.

And I don't dislike Star Trek. Not at all. It's

just... It's never been my go -to. It's never...

Again, that's why I like doing a show like this

where you get one person who is... I say quote

-unquote, but we know you're an expert in Star

Trek. Folks, in the last 15, 16, 20 years that

he and I have been friends, you'll know there

are some nights where we're not even recording

podcasts. He'll talk my ear off about Star Trek

Online for four hours. So he's the definitive

fan here on this show. I'm kind of the newbie

because I was seven when this show debuted. I

remember watching it, and honestly, all I really

remember is the opening credits. I don't remember

any plots. I remember loving Geordi, and I remember

loving Worf as a seven -year -old. I thought

they were awesome. They were my two favorite

characters. I liked Picard. I liked Riker. They

were okay. But other than that, this is fresh

for me. This is all new to me. I like podcasts

that do that, that have someone who has seen

it over and over and over again versus someone

who has never seen it and is experiencing it

for the first time because you get two different

sides of the Star Trek or any fandom spectrum

kind of thing. So when I went into this, I went

into this pretty fresh. I had no, like, there

wasn't like, oh, no, please. He was exploring

the galaxy when your grandfather was indicted.

There's none of that. Not yet, anyway. Not yet.

Not yet, anyway. But like, yeah, so I don't know

any of this. So I'm learning about this as we

go. And you have been saying to me, as I've been

telling you, and we have a, and we'll mention

this later in the show, we have a Altered Trek

Facebook page. And I have been posting screenshots

as I was watching season one. And you have been

telling me. Season 1 is not that great, so the

others are... Other than two episodes out of

the 26 I could do without. There's one character

in Season 1 that I just want to throw out the

airlock. Completely. Like, I wish he hadn't survived

all seven seasons. Yeah, I know. We'll get into

that. So, that's my opening, pretty much. There's

only... two episodes out of these 26 that I absolutely,

I will never watch them again. Kind of thing.

Everything else I enjoyed. Are there episodes

here that I may go back and watch? No, not really,

but I enjoyed experiencing Trek first time. I

love the way the characters interact with each

other. Yeah. I mean, There's there's actually

quite a lot here between like I love I love a

lot of the characters like there. There's a lot

in there that's different. There's a lot that

is kind of just reminiscing on some old Star

Trek TOS aspects. But on a whole, I. I don't

dislike a lot of it. Like there's some episodes

I, I'm like, I could do without any of that.

Um, there's, there's actually, I would say about

half the season. I really don't care for. And,

and the thing is, is Roddenberry was pretty heavily

involved with season one and two. Um, and then

after that, his health had kind of gone. And

they'd kind of ousted him anyway, like he was

in there for part of season three, but not really.

They've kind of already booted him by that point.

And it was like a year or two before he died.

And they because they made it like a memoriam

to him in Star Trek 60 undiscovered country at

the beginning because he passed away at that

point. And it was going on concurrently with

TNG, which is why some of some of the sets were

actually reused from Star Trek six to TNG during

that time span. But yeah, so. As I guess we get

into this. How do we want to do this? Do we want

to go like kind of brief thoughts on each episode?

Do we want to? Yeah, that's kind of what I was

thinking. I said to you off air, I said, we're

basically going to Boy Meets World this from

Podcaster Meets World. So that's pretty much

we're not going to spend too much in -depth time

on each one of these. But but yeah, I think that's

that's that's a good way to start for this for

season one. And yeah, it just. Yeah, so the first

episode, Encounter at Farpoint. This is the first

slash first and second episode feature length

of TNG. And it's honestly not the best episode

because it kind of doesn't know what it wants

to be. It goes all over the place. There's a

lot of stuff going on, but it's written by DC

Fontana and Gene Roddenberry, who wrote both

of them wrote. a lot of the original series.

Um, but you can definitely see a lot of conflicting

stuff. There's some things that are very TOS

oriented. There's some stuff that's new. Um,

I guess the reason why they did the saucer separation

in this was to one, they wanted to make sure

it was different enough from the original series,

but they also wanted to establish it early so

they can use it. So they had this expensive footage

because they were like, if you don't do it in

the first episode, it's not going to happen.

In the series. And so they established it, which

is why the shot is pretty much frame for frame,

like as it goes through later on. And they use

it like a handful of times, but it's definitely

used pretty frequently. And then, of course,

we get Q, the omnipotent extra dimensional being

who has a fascination with humanity. Or a defiant

fascination with humanity. I was going to say,

yeah. But yeah, I mean, so what did you think

about this episode? I liked it. I thought I forgot

that. Show the series started with Q. Completely

had forgotten that. And what I will say also

is that. Why we're not doing the original series,

folks, is because we like this more. But also,

I remember as a seven -year -old going into,

you know, being 14 when the show ended in 94.

My dad, and I love my dad to death, but my dad

would watch the reruns on whatever UPN or Big

58 or whatever channel was in Louisville that

the Star Trek TOS, and I'm like, this isn't Star

Trek. Where's Kirk? Where's Picard? Who's that

20 -year bastard? Like, what? This is not my

Star Trek. So, yeah, as much as I... respect

TOS TOS is not something I want to waste time

with I don't say that to be super negative but

that would be a waste of my time I think you

could get somebody else to come on for that one

to be honest the original series is super hit

or miss like I think we ever covered it I would

I would do like you know the the best episodes

of the series rather than force you to watch

the entire series i'm down with that i mean i

mean we're doing this by season because we want

to go through all of tng ds9 etc etc i'm perfectly

fine with you doing like best of top 10 of whatever

that's fine but we're going to do all that later

after all of this because this is way more interesting

to us than that is Well, and to be honest, I

grew up with this show like I sure I didn't see

it when it first launched, but while it was still

airing, it was kind of one of those Sunday evening

things because it used to come out at like seven

o 'clock on Sunday evenings and we would sit

there and watch it every Sunday night. And both

my both my parents were Trekkies, so it was kind

of one of those staples. That's good. That's

absolutely awesome. As far as encounter at Farpoint

goes, it's not my favorite episode, but it's

not my least favorite. It's very much in the

middle. I think it's a good, especially since

it is a two -parter, it is a, like you said,

feature -lengthful episode. Because when I originally

started watching this, you know, to prepare for

this, I'm like, wait a minute, two -hour pilot

movie, what is going on? And that was kind of

the thing, honestly, because Knight Rider got

a two -hour pilot movie in 1982. So that was

kind of an 80s staple with certain... television

shows, not really comedies, but most of the action

shows would get something like that to kind of

get the network's attention. And back then you

had the networks, you had ABC, NBC, CBS, you

had, and we didn't have internet back then. You,

you had to rely on the Nielsen ratings. You had

to rely on, you know, getting butts in the seats

at home kind of thing. And I think Encounter

at Farpoint is a fun little little romp that

they do. And Q's OK. I like Q kind of sort of,

but I like it when they defeat him more than

I like him himself. Sorry, John. Yeah, but I

mean, I what I enjoyed the most about this one

was Q. I enjoyed the saucer separation. I enjoyed,

you know, seeing the new cast and kind of playing

in there. We had Michael Bell. That surprised

me. I was like, wait, what's Sideswipe doing

here? Yeah, yeah. Duke, Duke, that's right. Because

that was the reference I got when I rewatched

it and I was like, okay, this is kind of cool.

But there's definitely two, basically two different

storylines going on here that are kind of unrelated

until they try to wrap it up with Q at the end.

But I did overall enjoy it. It wasn't like...

something i would go back and re -watch i loved

the callback with mccoy uh but the also the holodeck

was a new thing for this and they briefly touched

on on the animated star trek series back in the

70s but it didn't really pan out um but what

was nice is there's a callback in this one where

do you remember when data is trying to whistle

the tune of pop goes the weasel And then he goes

marvelous. Remember that clip because that comes

back to play in Picard. Oh, nice. Cool. There's

a nice callback to it and it's very fitting.

But yeah, it's definitely a fun callback. But

yeah. So what would you give this episode? Zero

to five on the GCRN scale. I would probably give

this a three. I would agree. Like I said, it's

a good starting point, no pun intended. It's

a good, interesting story, two sets of stories

to start off the series. what's next kind of

thing. Like what, what I believe it's, it's either,

I think it's in the second episode where I think

it's at the end where Picard says the adventure

is just beginning or whatever it was that he

says, or better adventures are out there, you

know, whatever it is. And I'm like, Oh really?

Okay, cool. I'll stick with this then. Absolutely.

So moving on to the next episode, the naked now.

And it has nothing to do with. It does. This

is this is actually a play on an original series

episode. They had an episode very similar to

this in the original series, and I think that

they actually, if I'm not mistaken, draw back

to that one. Interesting in this, like they mentioned

something about it. And. Yeah, it's they basically

get a big horny space virus. Pretty much. Yeah,

it's it's not a. It's not as bad as the next

episode, which we'll get to, but. It was interesting

because I'm like, oh, they're going to go to

some sex planet or something, or they're going

to do this, or they're going to do that. But

no, it's a crew of the ship boat and then this

drunk virus. And I guess that's one way to do

a whole Mothers Against Drunk Driving in 1987

or, you know, that kind of thing. It was all

right. I'd probably give it a two and a half,

maybe. I don't know if this is worse or not than

Encounter at Farpoint. I enjoyed Encounter at

Farpoint, I think, a little more than this. I

did not care for this. I was like, okay, because,

I mean, Tasha Yar, you know, walking up to Data,

are you fully functional, aren't you? And he's

like... I'm fully functional many techniques

and so like he's got this this like fascination

with Tashi are after this point like even though

he'd like has no emotion and can't feel it he's

like he has this attachment even though he really

shouldn't but because of their time shared in

this episode it left a mark on data absolutely

so But yeah, I'm not a not a huge fan of this

episode. All right. Code of Honor. Let's get

this out of the way now. I feel like Daffy Duck.

Would you like to shoot him now or wait till

you get home? Shoot him now. Shoot him now. So

Code of Honor is about a mission of mercy jeopardized

when a planetary ruler decides he wants to. wife

and enterprise officer yes pretty much yeah uh

no this is another one that feels very original

series vibing like just in general yeah but it

doesn't have kirk being horn mr horn dog it has

that's reicher oh yeah but i mean and Riker did

it better than Kirk ever could. Sorry, not sorry.

But Riker had the charisma. Yeah, exactly. That

he could pull it off just with the boyish smile,

even with the beard. He just kind of pulled it

off. But anyways. Oh, we're going to get to the

beard, folks, because holy crap. Yeah, we're

going to get to that. But this whole episode

is basically, like you said, Tasha Yar goes down

to this planet who it's basically. polygamous

story pretty much it's this ruler who has all

these wives and blah blah blah blah blah and

see enough of that on true crime shows i don't

need to see it in star trek get what they were

going for i don't like what they were going for

at all and i would probably give this a one if

not a zero yes i one of my two where i could

just forget entirely like erase it from everything

Yeah, I don't like this episode in the slightest.

Yeah, I'm good with that. Not one I need to relive.

The last outpost. This one is fun because this

one's about the Ferengi showing up. In pursuit

of Ferengi marauders, the Enterprise and its

quarry become trapped by a mysterious planet

that is draining both ships' energies. And what's

funny about this... is the Star Trek game Resurgence

that had just come out in spring of 2023 actually

plays into this episode. Like they pick up the

storyline from this one and run with it. And

this one has to do with the planet in the Delphi

Ardu system and the Takan Empire, which is the

cause of draining the... draining the uh the

both ships energies and commander riker is on

the planet and meets with an entity called portal

63 a guardian of the takan empire and asks them

whether they want to enter the empire and then

you know it starts starts asking them questions

the frangie of course are cowardly and barbaric

and uh he's testing riker with riddles and of

course riker and knows that you know portal can

read his mind and uh and doesn't flinch at all

no which just goes to show you how awesome reicher

is like when he puts his bladed spear and he's

impressed with the composure of reicher you know

and and reicher just you know replies fear is

the true enemy the only enemy and is pleased

by the thoughts and then starts discussing Earth

history and Sun Tzu and all these other things

that are similar to the Takan Empire. But it's

funny because in Resurgence, Riker again meets

with Portal 6 -3. And that storyline takes place

because of the Takan Empire and their resurgence.

And so it's... It plays into that very well.

So I did this episode. I rewatched it when I

played the game because I was like, oh, there's

a reference here that I remember, but I don't

remember. And so I went back and rewatched this

and it's like, OK, now this has better added

weight. And I have not played Resurgence, but.

Yeah, and that's why Steve is the expert here.

But I really dug this episode. I thought this

was a fun episode. I thought it was a great way

to introduce the Ferengi. So, yeah, I would probably

give this a four out of five. I would give it

I would probably give it about the same just

because it was enjoyable and I could see myself

watching it again and it wasn't overly irritating.

And it was just I don't know, there was there

was a lot going on, but it kind of had this unknown

and more of a philosophical thought behind some

of it. So the next episode where no one has gone

before. It's a similar title to where no man

has gone before in the original series. Again,

another kind of play on that. It's about an experimental

engine modification that throws the Enterprise

to the edge of the known universe. The crew must

rely on a mysterious alien to guide them home.

Yeah, I like this. I thought this was really

fun. I enjoyed this episode as well. I hated

the arrogant. engineering officer uh kaczynski

yeah and uh i i did like um i did like uh um

argyle um or the traveler i mean the traveler

yeah yeah Uh, this, this was an interesting,

uh, way that they brought the traveler in and

he, he kind of shows up again later in TNG at

least one or two more times. Uh, and there's

a thread that gets pulled with Wesley with him

that will eventually tie into a episode of the

original series as well as in Star Trek Picard.

So, so again, another episode that has repercussions

later. Exactly. And the funny thing about this,

as much as you say you don't like Kaczynski and

I agree with you, he's an ass. The whole time

I was watching this, I'm like, where do I know

that guy from? Where do I know that actor from?

His name is Stanley Camel. And where I know him

from was he played. Of the. or one of the executives

or whatever. He played Bruce Teller on Melrose

Place. So Star Trek and Melrose. Folks, I'm going

to make every connection I possibly can to Star

Trek with everything else that I know because

I don't know Star Trek that well kind of thing.

But it's just one of those things where you see

an actor or you hear an actor's voice and you

remember where you start trying to remember and

you're like. I know them from where. Let's go

to IMDB and look them up. And yeah, but he's

had a bunch of stuff done in his career and everything

else. So very, very cool. Absolutely love that.

But yeah, Kaczynski, whatever. But yeah, I enjoyed

this episode because it had the elements of the

Enterprise being shot across the galaxy. And

it was more so so that the traveler could get

home. And then he sent them back. and i would

probably also give this a four out of five i

i would too the only thing that that bothered

me is when picard uh speaks to his mother yes

uh because uh because it's like his dead mother

you know drinking tea in a corridor and you know

what's funny is they retconned this in picard

season two oh geez They like totally like it

was like they like they totally either ignored

it or, you know, because it's never actually

occurred. I mean, but she never made it to old

age either. Yeah. So then they explain that in

Picard season two. So, again, there's another,

you know, tied to Picard season two with this

episode. I would give this, you know, again,

a four out of five as as you did. Absolutely.

Absolutely. The next episode, Lonely Among Us,

while transporting delegates, an alien life form

wreaks havoc on the Enterprise computer and begins

to take over the minds of the crew. It was OK.

It I don't know. the one, the electricity just

looks stupid. Um, just because it was, you know,

it's 80s. Yeah. And I, I did not care for this

episode and the, you know, the alien looked like

a wolf guy. And then, uh, I, I don't know. I,

I didn't really care for this episode. Um, so

like, again, I know the Star Trek mission, you

know, five year mission to boldly go where no

person has gone before, et cetera, et cetera,

et cetera. And to explore new life and whatever

else. But do they always have to be delegates?

Do they always have to be to do the start? Does

the crew of the Enterprise always have to be

the middleman between two feuding peoples or

planets or what? Like, really? Yeah. They're

the peacekeepers of the galaxy. Oh, so they're

the Jedi. They just don't have the laser swords.

Great. Pretty much. They don't have the cool

robes either. All right. Well, only among us.

Yeah. I liked, again, I don't know. I like the

aspect of Picard getting shoved into the computer

system and then Data figuring it out with the

blue. Yeah. text P that's on the thing and then

they transport him out you know but I mean other

than that like I didn't this wasn't one of the

episodes I really cared for I'll probably give

it a two and a half I'll probably give it a two

but it's another one of those episodes where

we get the non -corporeal life forms that kind

of show up and that's pretty common in season

one and two yeah The next episode is Justice.

When Wesley Crusher is condemned to die on an

idyllic, primitive planet, Captain Picard must

face breaking the Prime Directive to save the

boy's life. Oh, don't break the Prime Directive.

Let him die! This is my second that I could do

without. This is a straight zero from me. I don't

even have to discuss it. I could not stay. You're

going to do an episode where a child goes to

a planet, even though the fact that it's Wesley

of all fucking people, but you're going to do

an episode where a child goes to a planet and

it's illegal to accidentally destroy flowers.

F off. Ferengi off. Get that Ferengi out of here.

I'm using that instead of using the other word,

folks, because I know Steve doesn't always like

it when I use the other word. So yeah, no, straight

zero. Do not care about this episode whatsoever.

It's very much an original series type episode.

They do. This is another one of those kind of

courtroom kind of. scenarios where TNG kind of

is full of those but some episodes are better

than others and this is not one of the better

oh not at all no so but I do like that we do

get a lot of a lot of the episodes are going

to feature a lot of data and in Picard moments

where they're very close and they're you know

asking questions and you know data is inquiring

about things and it continues to build through

Picard the series And they do a pretty good job

with it. But I again, we have the evolution of

characters and it's not serialized, but it is

with the characters, just not in the storyline.

But yeah, overall, it's it's. This episode sucks,

but I like the series. So let's get into the

next episode, The Battle. When a group of Ferengi

present Captain Picard with the derelict remains

of his old starship, he begins to lose himself

in the past. And this episode I really liked.

Yeah, me too. This was fun. It was cool. It was

interesting. Again, you show me. Okay, so you

show Encounter at Farpoint to anyone. Okay, anyone

that has never seen this before, doesn't remember

seeing it. That's the introduction of, oh, I

want to know more about these characters. You

fast forward eight episodes to episode nine,

the battle, where you get part of Picard's past.

And this is where that kind of starts for him

specifically is. You know, you get a part of

that and you see that. And that's what I like

about that's what I like in my TV, my animation,

my movies. I mean, movies are more of a finite

time constraint as far as being able to tell

a story. But with 26 episodes for the first season,

you can do an episode like this at at the ninth

position and then do another one at. 14th or

whatever the hell you know what i mean and that's

great this this was really good i really dug

this one and it featured uh the the constellation

class for the first time and it used basically

a kit bashed uh constitution class from the refit

movies uh You know, the saucer section was kind

of unique. And then it had the strut that kind

of shot off from the top and the bottom. And

then it had four nacelles. And those nacelles

were the original series refit, you know, Enterprise

live action films, warp nacelles on it. And it

was very cool. You got to see Picard and his

his original ship that Damon Bach was using a

forbidden tool to screw with Picard's head. And

then Riker devised a countermeasure for Picard's,

the Picard maneuver. Because, you know, he's

like, is there a countermeasure? And Data's like,

there's not been one that has ever been discovered.

And then Riker, you know, uses the tractor beam

to kind of keep him from ramming the ship. That's

right. And it's like, he won. But I loved getting

to see like the old style bridge to getting to

see the which it's a redressed battle bridge

from the Enterprise, which is also a redressed

like original series film bridge. Nice with like

Excelsior aspects. So, I mean, they keep redressing

the same bridges because they're shooting productions

at the same time. But yeah, I loved this episode.

I loved getting some of his past learning, you

know, about the whole aspect of it. And then

it was just I don't know. It was a lot of fun

to to watch. Yeah, it was a lot of fun. It was

very interesting. Again, you know, having the

Star Trek crew and the crew of the Ferengi ship

having to work together because this isn't them

firing on each other. This is a hidden third

entity doing something to them kind of thing.

And yeah, no, very, very cool. Very awesome.

I would give it a five. I'll give it a four and

a half. That's not bad. I like I like that episode

a lot. So moving on to another episode with the

omnipotent Q hide in Q, which this other than

encountered Firepoint and all good things and

tapestry, every episode that Q is in has the

word Q or the letter Q in the episode title.

those are the only three episodes Q is featured

in that the letter Q is not in so Q returns to

the Enterprise and he tests Commander Riker by

giving him the power of the Q I like this because

again we're seeing like the thing about shows,

movies, whatever, is you have to balance the

characters. On the four characters for the Enterprise,

you got Picard, Riker, Crutcher, Troy, Ada, Geordi

eventually, and Worf, so seven. Excuse me, sorry.

You have to balance that. And again, like you

said, Riker is... The more charismatic, like

Picard can be charismatic. He can be when he

wants to be, but he's also very stoic. And Riker

is more of that. He feels more of the swashbuckler

to me kind of thing. And the fact that Q wants

him over anyone else, it's like, oh, okay. I

see that. That's cool. And I liked Q in this

one more than I liked him at Farpoint. Oh, yeah,

this is where he's playful cue. This is where

he's fun. This is where he's, you know, even

though. He's totally a dick. It's it's it's his

character, like he's doing it, he's being playful.

And. Yeah, I mean. It's it's yeah. He's really

good in this. You get kind of a vibe of where

he's going from here on out. But it's funny because

he's, you know, a marshal of France in this.

And he's always he's very reminiscent of Trelane

from the original series. There's an episode

where the Squire of Gothos, there's a character

that's named Trelane. And he's basically it's

like a Q, but not a Q. And that's kind of where

this Q is getting a lot of his influence from.

Yeah. Yeah. Very, very good episode. I'd probably

this might be my first five, honestly, because,

again, Commander Riker just killing it with the

performance. Mr. Frakes over there. Yeah, and

Jonathan Frakes is. Yeah, he's he's a treasure

and everything that he's in, but. Do the dude

he's he's a talent, that's for sure. Absolutely.

So, yeah, what would you give this episode? I

didn't queue five hands down. Really dug it.

Absolutely good. I will give it the same. Moving

on, we have the episode Haven. Tensions mount

as Counselor Troi's arranged marriage nears and

her mother takes a liking to Captain Picard.

Meanwhile, a plague ship threatens the planet

where they are meeting. And I must also say that

Troi's mother is Majel Barrett Roddenberry, Gene

Roddenberry's wife. And she shows up again throughout

TNG and then into Deep Space Nine for an episode.

Um, but she also played, um, in the original

series as two different characters. Nice. Um,

she played, uh, number one in the pilot episode

with Captain Pike, who Rebecca Romaine actually

plays the character of now. Um, and then, uh,

She also played the Enterprise computer in the

original series and pretty much through everything

before Discovery. Cool. Everything before the

recent series that have come out, like she played

the Enterprise computer on literally everything.

Nice. And they even resurrected her voice because

she. she created a library of her doing all of

the speaking for the enterprise computer stuff

before she died, um, to supply them with enough

that she could be used on anything forever. Yep.

Um, and yeah, so she shows up again at Picard

season three, but on an older starship. Uh, but

she also played Christine chapel in the original

series. So nice. Very cool. Yeah, that's all

great. This episode, not so much. I concur. I'm

so over episodes of television about arranged

marriages. I understand that's part of certain

people's culture and things like that, but it's

just not something that interests me. It's not

going to get like a super low score, but it's

not. It's very middle of the 2 .53, somewhere

around there. It was OK. It was nice to see where

Troy comes from. That's great. But just the whole

arranged marriage aspect, I'm like, I've seen

this a million times in the last 40 years. I

don't need to see it again. Agreed. Yeah, I don't

care about that episode, so I'd give it like

a one. The next episode, the big goodbye. Captain

Picard and some of the Enterprise crew get stuck

on the holodeck while on their way to an important

diplomatic mission. And, of course, the holodeck

malfunctions. As will continue to happen. in

perpetuity for the rest of the series. Well,

I want to say really quickly from this point

to episode 15 of this, of the season, this is

my sweet spot so far. Like these from, from big

goodbye down to binary. I'm just going to call

it binary. Cause I'm not going to do one zero

zero zero zero. Oh wait, I just did. Um, but,

Yeah, all of these episodes, I really dig them.

We're going to get into each one of them, obviously,

with Big Goodbye. I just like it, because they

get stuck in the holodeck, and we get to see

them outside of, I mean, technically, Picard's

in his uniform for a little bit, but, like, and

Dixon Hill, really, wow. Like, that's kind of

cool. I like that. I think it's fun. Oh, I love

when they get in the holodeck and he plays Dixon

Hill. He even plays the character for the last

time in Star Trek First Contact. That's right.

One of the reasons why we're doing this podcast,

folks, is so I can remember this. And I'm not

going to tell the whole of this story, but 1996

was First Contact, right? First Star Trek film

I ever saw in theaters. i'll tell that story

once we get to second for me okay cool yeah i'll

tell the rest of that story when we get to the

tng films episode which is way down the line

but uh yeah no uh big goodbye i enjoyed this

i thought it was fun and i concur i i really

enjoyed uh i i really enjoyed how it Played out.

I liked the getting to see the repercussions

of the holodeck malfunctioning. And then I loved

how basically the villains took themselves out.

Pretty much as they as they disintegrated on

the way out of the holodeck. Which is funny.

Absolutely. I'd probably give this a five, honestly.

I really enjoy it. I would as well. I love any

time they get into the detective stuff in the

holodeck. Absolutely. So the next episode is

Data Lore. The Enterprise explores Data's home

planet, Omicron Theta. They find his brother

in the dark secret he carries. The crystalline

entity. Oh, Lord. Yes. Which shows up again at

another point in TNG. I really dig this because

it's one of those things where, again, it's a

character builder thing for me with Data and

figuring out that he has a twin brother or twin

android or twin whatever kind of thing. Yeah,

I thought this was interesting. And I like the

way that Brent plays the two different characters

because they are different characters, even though

they're twins. Very different. Oh, no, I agree.

I did not like this episode just because it's

lore and I really didn't care for the character

in this particular episode. I liked him when

he showed up. you know in subsequent episodes

after this but i didn't really enjoy him here

uh but it's funny that they found out that uh

that uh his his memory module his positronic

brain was a type l which is different from data's

which i think is like a type m or something or

something else later uh but anyways but data

can't use contractions And lore can, which is

partly partly what gets him caught. He cannot

use contractions at all. So, yeah. What would

you give this episode? This one, I understand

why you don't like it as far as lore goes, but

because this is. Other than when we went, and

we will get back to this, folks, but when we

were reading the IDW Star Trek comics, and he

showed up in one of those, I was like, oh, and

you're like, yeah, that's Data's brother. I'm

like, Data had a brother? I don't even know.

He actually has multiple brothers. Okay. You'll

find that out in Nemesis. Which is how Data returns

in Picard, but yeah. All I can think of, and

I don't know if you remember this show or not,

but you remember New Heart? Yeah. Okay. I'm Larry.

This is my brother Daryl. This is my other brother

Daryl. That's what I think of when I think of

data and lore. I'd probably give this a three

and a half, honestly. It wasn't bad at all. And

again, for me, it adds characterization to data.

I'll probably give it a two. Okay. So moving

on, we have Angel One. While Riker leads an away

team to a female dominated planet, a mysterious

virus spreads among the Enterprise crew. It seems

to be a virus like pretty often on the Enterprise.

Yeah, somebody's bringing back something. Well,

you know, you go to all these weird worlds that

don't have quarantine or walls between countries

or anything like that. You're going to have.

A bunch of viruses somewhere. I like this one.

But. So this to me is similar to Code of Honor

because it's one of those society type things.

But at least this one is not. them trying to

marry off people or do this or do that. It's

basically, like you said, it's a world dominated

by women. The women rule, the men are the slaves,

et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. Oh, is this

Earth or Angel One? I can't remember, kind of

thing. What I noticed in this episode, and I

did not know this before, this aired, oh, January

25th, 1988, which was two years after, wow. I

thought this was, well, duh, wouldn't have been.

Only time I've seen Patricia McPherson outside

of Knight Rider. As soon as I saw the, I forget

what her name is in this, the dark -haired chick

that's in love with the rebel leader. But that's

Patricia McPherson who played Bonnie Barstow,

Kit's mechanic, on Knight Rider. I was like,

ooh, Bonnie, yay! No, I like this one. I thought

it was good. I thought it was fun. Wasn't too

bad. And then, of course, you get data in charge.

That's a mistake. Yeah. There's aspects where

he's good at it. Sort of. Jordy's better. So

the next episode is 11001001. Wait, wait. What

are you going to give Angel 1? I'll give it,

I'll probably give it a three. I'm going to give

it a three and a half. Um, binary. Yeah. Um,

I can tell you're enthused. It's not terrible.

It's it's while a group of technologically advanced

aliens board the Enterprise to update the ship's

computer systems, Riker discovers just how really

holodeck character can be. And so they've crafted

this, you know, element. And then, of course,

they're going to Starbase 74, which is basically

the same star base that they used in the original

series films that they continue to revisit at

certain points. It also shows up again as the

fleet museum. In Star Trek Picard season three.

So but you get the binaries, the aliens named,

you know, one zero zero one who work as a unified

pair and they. Upgraded the USS Wellington and

they're going to upgrade the Enterprise computers,

so and they're going to make repairs to the holodeck

and, you know, basically everybody is off the

ship or. certain aspects of them are they commandeer

the Enterprise while putting Riker and Picard

into the hollow suite and then Riker meets Minuet

another thing that will come into play in a future

season more so out of another holodeck thing

but not in the same way that this episode plays

out but Yeah, you get. The character trying to

hold them in the holodeck. And. The Picard and

Riker, the other ones pretty much on the Enterprise.

Yeah, the Enterprise kind of evacuated. Yeah,

and then they set the auto destruct and. that's

when everything kind of goes back to normal.

I was like, wait a minute. We got 15 episodes

into this show and they're already going to blow

up the goddamn ship. Oh, it happens more than

you think. No, I know. I'm sure. But I'm just

saying like 15 episodes. Look, if that, if Star

Trek TNG happened today, 15 episodes, they blow

up the ship. That show is not coming back for

a second season. Or it will with a different

ship. But they don't even give the show 15 episodes

anymore. That's my point. If they give it 15

episodes, they wouldn't get 15. They'd get 10

and then they'd put it on a cliffhanger. But

yeah, they eventually returned to the Starbase

and, you know. And Riker returns to the holodeck,

but the minuet that he knew is gone and replace

another brunette similar looking, but nowhere

near is. What he was looking for. But. Yeah,

I don't dislike this episode just because I think

it's funny seeing Picard and Riker, you know.

Messing around on the holodeck and then these

aliens taking over, but. It was like kind of

a nice buddy cop episode, more or less with the

captain and first officer. Absolutely. And the

two binars, it's and I get it. How many times

and I'll probably ask this in future episodes

of the show, folks, but how many times when people

have asked for help from. The TNG crew that they've

said no to. Like, that's the whole thing with

the binars. We couldn't take the risk of you

saying no because they're, you know, ones and

zeros. They need definitive blah, blah, blah.

And yeah, so when I got to the end of the episode,

I was like, oh, really? But the rest of the episode

I really enjoyed. So, I don't know, three and

a half? Yeah, I'll give it about the same. So

the next episode is called Too Short a Season.

An elderly Starfleet Admiral hides a deadly secret

as he heads the Enterprise D in a hostage rescue

mission. This was weird. It wasn't bad. It wasn't

bad, but it was weird. Yeah, it's strange, but

it's again, it's Star Trek. He looks like the

first thing I thought when I saw this, because

like when I saw this episode, it was much later

and it was fresh off of like seeing, you know,

X -Men. I was like, oh, it's Charles Xavier's

floaty chair. Yeah, because it's nicer than the

one that Captain Pike got stuck with. But it's

it's still, you know, a mobilizer chair that

floats and hovers. And I was like, oh, he's.

He's basically Charles Xavier, but scrawnier

and he has hair. Basically looks like the Crypt

Keeper left him there. But Jameson beams a board

in his wheelchair with his wife and then he's

been slowly taking an experimental drug so that

he can negotiate the release of the hostages

that Or that that he was the one that did the

releasing of the hostages like 45 years before

that. But he wants to set peace for this or,

you know, this group of people. And. He's 85

years old and suffers from Iverson's disease,

which affects the whole body, but not the mind.

And so that's why he starts taking this kind

of experimental drug and starts getting younger.

That he got from servers to that rejuvenates

him. And so he eventually gets out of the chair,

gets younger, gets younger, and then, yeah, dies

because of his stupidity. But. He dies of young

age, though. Yeah. But. Yeah, it was an interesting

episode overall. I don't hate it. I don't love

it, but it's an interesting episode. Yeah, it's

very much 2 .5, and I was looking through the

actor's filmography for Jameson, the old guy

that turns to the young guy, and he's been in

a lot of cool stuff. I just don't recognize,

like, he's one of those actors, and we'll talk

about this as the series goes on, folks. He's

one of those actors where you see him and you

think you know him, but you don't know him kind

of thing. He's one of those that doesn't have

a regular series gig, but when he shows up, you

really recognize him kind of thing. Well, that's

cool, I guess. And then we have the next episode,

When the Bell Breaks. This one, this one's interesting.

Wesley Crusher must protect a group of kidnapped

Enterprise D children while Captain Picard fights

for their release. It's also interesting because

the Aldia planet that they're referencing here,

the humanoids that are on there and the planet,

because at this time they couldn't reproduce

or whatever, and that's why they stole children

from other ships. which kind of put a weird conundrum

on everything. And then Wesley being the tinkerer

that he is, can't leave things alone. And that's

why things kind of get discovered. But the Aldia

thing is kind of funny because there's a, like

a Star Trek fiction site called Star Trek Theurgy

that uses Aldia as like a, Kind of like their

stomping ground, like hideout Risa type thing

at one point. So it's kind of funny, like just

everywhere. Like I'm so ingrained in all different

aspects of track, like I can kind of pull things

from different references. But yeah, this episode

is interesting with. Wesley. Communicating with

the Enterprise crew and kind of working with

Picard to get. Things kind of back to normal

and getting all the students back to their parents,

their rightful parents on the Enterprise. This

is the only episode to this point and after for

the rest of the season that I actually liked

Wesley. Yep. He was very, very helpful, kind

of endearing. And you felt like empathy for his

character. And he actually was abused and annoying.

He was written well. Yes. Absolutely. I would

give this one probably a 3 .5, 3 or 3 .5, just

overall, just because of the conundrum that they

all kind of were in. Yeah, I'm right there with

you. I'd probably give it a 3 over a 3 .5, though.

And then the next episode, Home Soil, where Enterprise

-D visits an outpost in the process of terraforming

a dead planet. Almost sounds like Genesis. They

find the science team threatened by a mysterious

new life form. Interesting. Another crystalline

life form. Oh boy, so many crystals in this show.

Wait, so this wasn't... Didn't this have more

to do with... Geordi or Data, one of them, wasn't

there a specific character in this that got more

than the rest? I swear. Geordi and Data had a

lot to do with this one because it was very much

a scientific thing. There was a lot of aspects

because there's this laser thing and there's

a life form that's kind of communicating with

the computer. Yeah, and these crystals and whatever,

micro brain type thing. I liked it. It was good.

Yeah, it was okay. Again, for me, another probably

three, most likely. Yeah, I'll probably give

it the same. The next episode, Coming of Age.

Wesley Crusher faces the Starfleet Academy entrance

exam. On Relva 7, representatives from Starfleet

Command conduct an exhaustive investigation of

Captain Picard and the Enterprise crew. Oh, boy.

This is an episode that we get Remick. And he

shows up again later for a different reason,

and so does Quentin. Yeah, they do. Yeah. Yeah,

we'll get into that when that time comes. Yeah,

I don't much care for Remick, but... I don't

either, or Quinn. But yeah, this is definitely

an interesting episode. Huh? Especially when

they're going around interviewing different crew

members. That was fun. About Picard. It's almost

like they're setting something up here that may

or may not come to fruition. Yeah, they can find

nothing wrong with the Enterprise. And then,

of course, you get Wesley doing the psych test.

With with everything and, you know, on his training

and it was he wasn't too bad in this either.

Yeah, he wasn't too bad and he was he was fine

and just. It was early episodes in this season,

like and I understand why Picard doesn't want

children on the bridge. They don't need to be

on the bridge, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.

Doesn't matter if it's Beverly's kid or not kind

of thing, but just I don't know this. Some of

the earlier stuff with Wesley was like. Shoot

him out the airlock already. He's getting better.

Picard does give him a message, you know, that

even though he failed the exam, you know, as

long as he did his best and would improve next

year, he, you know, doesn't need to worry about

it. Yeah, true. And reminded him that the only

person he's competing against is himself. And

so, yeah. And then you get another piece of backstory

of Picard saying that he failed the test the

first time. And Picard, I think he was being,

if I recall this, because it's been a little

bit since I watched it, at least recent, they

were trying to see if Picard would become commandant

of Starfleet Academy. Yeah, that's what they

were doing. Which he does eventually. do that

in Picard. Not commanded, but he becomes a different

position like the head of, you know, Starfleet

Academy or something. And so it's it's either

way. He still eventually does it, but it's when

he's old, old, old, old. But yeah, this episode

wasn't too bad, though. I would probably give

it a three. I'm right there with you. Heart of

Glory. Worf's loyalties to Starfleet are tested

when three fugitive Klingons come on board the

Enterprise D. What do you think about this one?

Yeah, Worf. Gotta love Worf, man. And again,

we get more story with the Klingons and more

like we haven't seen too many. We've seen some

of the Klingons, but not too many. I always forgot.

How much the Klingons, I know Klingons, Romulans,

Ferengi were the three main kind of sort of villains,

but not really kind of thing. But I never knew

how much each of them had, like as far as screen

time goes. And seeing the Klingon thing here

was kind of interesting because these three Klingons

want to... basically be nostalgists like I kind

of am where they want to be able to do what they

were born to do which is fight and this that

and everything else and I like seeing this because

it shows us how different Worf is from all of

the other Klingons well and he's got this this

awesome arc that they don't really do much with

in tng yeah i mean they do some when it comes

to the klingon empire but they they do you know

he's primarily at ops going raise shields should

i fire you know and you know picard's like no

and Uh, so, I mean, that's the majority of what

happens is he's being told no. Uh, and then they

give him more to do in deep space nine. And then

in Picard season three, he gets even more, you

know, he's the, he, he ends up being one of the

most fleshed out characters. Plus Michael Dorn

has been in the most Star Trek episodes ever,

uh, between TNG deep space nine. And, uh, he's

in Picard season three. And then he was in Star

Trek six, the undiscovered country, as well as

the other Star Trek four or Star Trek seven,

eight, nine, 10. So nice. So, yeah. But this

episode is interesting because you get some of

the backstory of the Klingons and, you know,

more of Worf and how he relates to them. I'll

probably give it a three and a half. I'll probably

give it about the same. It's not my favorite,

but I do enjoy when Klingons show up. Which we'll

get more of. Absolutely. The Arsenal of Freedom.

Geordi LaForge leads the Enterprise D into battle

while Captain Picard and an away team are trapped

on planet Minos, taking fire from a dangerous

automated weapon system. Okay. Forget it. Oh,

man. Like, I thought this was... This reminds

me of... And this was after that, so... Yeah.

Reminds me of the... No, it's not... Wow, it's

before... Reminds me of Beverly Hills Cop 3.

Essentially. Because... In Beverly Hills Cop

3, Serge returns, and he has this whole weapons

demonstration at this, at, whatever, happy world,

or hippo world, or whatever the hell the world's

called in Beverly Hills Cop 3. That's what this

reminds me of, is the... the the hologram popping

up and and telling you all about this weapon

or that weapon and get your credit cards ready

now or put your money in the slot or oh lord

buying gun like nope and there was nothing interesting

how this this episode like reicher deduces that

this is not like a real captain he's dealing

with yeah You know, Riker was good. Riker's pretty

sharp. Yeah. That's great. The actors and figuring

the stuff out, that's great. Just the overall

plot, eh, two. I just, I don't know, man. Maybe

I've watched too much TV and going back to some

of these plots, story plot lines, it's like.

I know we can't get anything different now because

this was cutting edge for the time, but I don't

know. Characters I like. Story, not so much.

Yeah, and then you get the robotic system, the

Echo Papa 607. It's an advanced weapon system.

It's funny because in Star Trek Online, you can

actually get this as a tool to deploy. And I

have it. Of course you do. Yeah, of course I

do. I like my drones. That's right. But yeah,

I mean, this episode is not my favorite at all.

I mean, I get it, but it's... I mean, at least

you get the saucer separation. Yeah, again, any

time the effects happen, any time there's an

actual character moment with crew members...

Whether it's Riker, whether it's Geordi, whether

it's whatever. That's great. The fact of the

overall writing and the plot of this episode,

I can tell you right now, from episode 21 to

23, they are my least, some of my least favorite.

Like, we already went through my two episodes

I could do without completely. Oh, it gets worse.

I know. There's one redeeming one at the end,

but. Yeah. I do like how, you know, Picard and

Riker arrive on the battle bridge and La Forge

is like about to get up and Picard's like, as

you were, you know. Yeah. Yeah. I like, you know,

I like Geordi in the command chair. That's awesome.

Yeah. But he gets to do that again in Picard

season three. But the Enterprise, he's he regards

like the Enterprise was in one piece. You know,

when he gave it to him, he would appreciate it

being returned to him. Same condition. Oh, that

was good. Yeah. So, I mean, I don't know. I love

stuff like that, especially snarky Picard, which

I know Patrick Stewart was. He was not he took

the role very seriously and didn't actually have

fun with it until after the best of both worlds

where they were going to write him out. Ah, nice.

OK, so. But yeah, I mean, I'd give this I'd give

this probably two and a half. Yeah. Give it a

two. Symbiosis. After the Enterprise D rescues

a freighter crew and the ship's important cargo,

Captain Picard faces a difficult dilemma. Uphold

the Prime Directive or save an entire civilization

from exploitation? One and a half. Don't lie.

I don't do drug episodes. No, I don't. I don't

like this either. Not with Star Trek. Oh. Even

though I haven't watched as much Star Trek as

you have, I do not need a trade dispute between

two neighboring planets of which this... I agree

with Crusher. I'm on her side with this one.

Nope. Yep. Nope. Just say no, folks. Just, you

know. Just say no. Yep. Right. Speaking of which,

moving on. Yeah. Skin of evil, a rescue operation

to save the lives of a shuttle crew becomes complicated

thanks to a malevolent entity and one Enterprise

D crew member pays the ultimate price in their

rescue, which this I would have never seen happening

in a TV show. Like the death of a main character

in the show, but also just a creepy alien, you

know, which. It's funny because. Riker, when

he's sucked down into that, like he said, yeah,

that was not a lot of fun going down into this

pit and, you know. Getting covered in the black

muck and. Yeah. Yeah. So. This, okay, so I'm

a person, folks, that does not do creepy. I'm

not a horror fan. I'm not a dude. Keep bugs away

from me. Just no, no, no, no, no. This episode

wasn't as bad as another episode we'll get to

as far as my creep -o -meter. But I was curious

to see who... The voice of the goo, and it was

an actor by the name of Ron Gans. He passed away

in 2010. He did Mother Goose Video Treasury.

He did Hulk Hogan's Rock and Wrestling, the cartoon

for Hulk Hogan. He was, ooh, interesting. Transformers

Connection, eight episodes as the voice of Dragstrip

in Generation 1. Very cool. Cool. Very cool.

I knew I kind of recognized his voice a little

bit. The last role he did was he was Captain

Koning slash Carl Sands in two episodes of The

Real Ghostbusters from 87 to 90. So, yeah, I

was very curious on on the voice of the skin

of evil. And. Yeah, I. It was OK. The horrible,

horrible, but it was OK. I'll probably give it

a one and a half because I just didn't like the

episode. And Captain Sludge Monster. Yeah, I

mean, I mean, I get it, but I mean, they also

killed off. Tasha Yar because it was twofold.

One, I think she wanted more to do and two, Rick

Berman was like, hey, go jump a cliff. Because

there's two different stories. On the one hand,

she was unceremoniously removed from the show

and was told to turn in her comm badge on his

desk. And then more recently, He was like, yeah,

I still have, you know, sad we removed her. I

still have her badge on my desk. And she's like,

you fired me. You. Yeah. I mean, it was kind

of a it's one of those things that the world

may never know. But. I don't know. I didn't feel

a great loss that she was gone. No. I didn't

really care for her character. I actually like

when she came back as Sela better. It fit her

personality better. Like, I don't know. I just

didn't like her as Tasha Yar and I liked how

they elevated Worf. Yeah, I liked how they elevated

Worf to overall security chief. Because when

she was there and he was there, it was like...

Who does what? Who does what, who does what,

what goes where, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.

She was an okay character. She wasn't a bad character,

but yeah. And I was kind of sad in the moment

because of the, you know, the character got killed.

But after that, I'm like, okay, let's go, Worf.

What do you got? So, Skin of Evil overall, well,

two. Yeah. So the next episode. We'll always

have Paris. And they they made fun of this one,

too, like in Lower Decks. It was there was an

episode called We'll Always Have Tom Paris. That's

amazing. You know, play on words. But in this

one, Captain Picard encounters a woman from his

past after her scientist husband's experiments

began to unravel the fabric of time. This is,

of course, the one where you see the three datas

at the end. Yes, which is very, very cool. Love

that. Yep. I always thought the episode was funny

because the woman's name that plays Janice Mannheim

shared a name with my mom. Really? When she was

married to my dad. It's funny. Michelle Phillips.

It was kind of funny. When I saw her, I was like,

funny. But yeah, it's still funny. But yeah,

she's shared television with a lot of other Star

Trek alumni. Among them being Shatner, Richard

Hurd, Ricardo Montalban. Stephen Collins like

some other so yeah it's just it's that's fun

but anyways yeah as far as the episode it's fun

to see Picard you know kind of reminiscing with

her and looking at Paris and joking about not

going back and you know how they've both changed

and things like that but it's yeah this this

episode is not terrible i i do like the that

data figures out the distortions and is able

to correct the time continuum yeah that is cool

that's very cool probably give us a four actually

i really enjoyed this one and again it's another

picard you know backstory So the next episode

is conspiracy, which this is one of the ones

few that I had on a VHS as a kid, which I don't

know why we had this one on VHS as a kid. This

one's creepy, but wrong and no, no, no, no, no.

On a rope completely. No. So after Captain Picard

receives a dark warning from an old friend, the

Enterprise D returns to Earth to stop an alien

invasion from taking over Starfleet command.

This this episode. It's kind of the premise or

the backstory of that Star Trek fan writing group

that I was telling you about in an earlier episode

about the Aldia. This is the premise of the entire

storyline, is the little earwig bluegill creatures,

but not quite. Basically, that series takes place

as if this episode never happened, but the entities

are basically very similar. in function that

they've infested Starfleet but but yeah you get

code 47 you get Walter Keel or Walker Keel an

old friend of Picard's who's on the ambassador

class Horatio and then you see a bunch of other

captains now note there's also a African American

female captain Michael Burnham was not first

OK. As much as they try to push that, Star Trek

4 also had another one in that on one of the

Reliant class ships. So I love I've just I'm

blowing smoke on the Discovery people, but it's

it's more so just they were the news was like,

oh, and even she said it. Oh, I'm the first.

You know, it's nice to be the first, you know,

of this. And it's like, no, that there's been

people that have done it before. You're just

the only one that's like. The head of a show.

Yeah. But yeah, it was just. Yeah. Anyways, we

get into, you know, this secret meeting on the

planet with Picard. And, you know, these are

the captains and it's only the captains and basically

trust no one. And, you know, Kiel dies and Picard

tells Riker about suspicion, you know, of things

happening. And then Admiral Quinn. You know.

connecting on the Enterprise. And then there's

been a great deal of reshuffling of personnel

at command because they're infested. And then

you get Remick. And then we discover, you know,

as Quinn is on the Enterprise. As he makes his

way through a lot of old memories and whatnot.

Picard realizes he's an imposter and then, you

know, you get Riker and Worf going against him

and he's like uncannily strong. But yeah, they

then Picard meets with the other admirals. On

location as well as Remick. And they kind of

discover this bluegill thing. And then Riker

has an idea. Beams down. And then. They're all

eating this nasty. Like insect larva thing. Which

was disgusting. Nope on a rope. And then Riker

pretends to do it. And plays coy. And then. Manages

to. Infiltrate. And Picard's like grossed out.

You can see it on his face. And then Riker drops

and phasers him as the Vulcan nerve pinch comes

after him. I was surprised how many times that

they've used it so far. Isn't this the second

time they've used it or is this the first time?

I think it's the first time in TNG. They used

it a lot in the original series. Obviously, because

Spock is the Vulcan and blah, blah, blah. But,

like, I was really surprised that they used it

here. I was like, holy crap! Now they do use

it again later because Picard and Data can use

it. Very cool, very cool. But, yeah, so they

open fire, then they, you know, take them all

out, and then... Remick is kind of sitting there

all gross in a chair, you know, as a creature

crawls up and enters his mouth and he swallows

it, which I was like, well, we mean, you know,

harm. We seek peaceful coexistence. And then

they just open fire, knocking Remick back into

the chair, you know, and then they aim higher

and destroy his head. The creature is in his

chest. And it's a huge mother parasite in his

gut. Like he's basically not even Remick anymore.

He's like this creature. And then they burst

the outer, you know, explode his chest cavity.

And then the large creature breaks through, you

know, with a bunch of parasites trickling behind

screaming. And then they're kind of grossed out

and they phaser it out. But that's not before.

There was a transmission sent from the mother

creature. OK. And they transmitted, you know,

at the time he died was a homing beacon. But

then it's just kind of. You hear the sound of

electronic beeping at the end and then. They

kind of leave it. Yeah. And it's never picked

up again until like Star Trek Online. They use

it again at one point in the Delta Quadrant,

which is where they're from. And but that's why

it's funny. Like that Star Trek theurgy fan fan

rating thing. They they use it pretty heavily.

The concept anyway, not the same naming or idea

conventions, but it's very similar. But they

pick up where it kind of, you know, runs with

it. So but it's funny, like all these little

one off storylines that either show up in fan

writings or they show up on Star Trek online

is like another aspect. But I would give the

episode probably like a two and a half just because

I don't particularly enjoy it. But I do remember

it scarring my childhood. Straight one for me.

I do not do creatures coming in. The only creature

I ever kind of, sort of, is whatever, doing that,

coming out of stomachs and stuff, is the creature

from Spaceballs. Hello, my baby. That was fine.

That was funny. That was a reference. This? No.

I don't dislike this. I dislike episode four

and episode eight of this season, or the ones

that I've said straight zero to before in this

episode of the podcast, but this is not an episode

I will ever watch again, and it's definitely

a one for me. I can definitely see that. And

the finale. And the finale. Ending the season

on a high note. We get the neutral zone. After

rescuing three ancient humans from cryogenic

stasis, the Enterprise -D is ordered to the Romulan

neutral zone on an important mission season finale.

It's nice because we get this space module and

Picard's attending an emergency conference on

a starbase. The Enterprise -D is waiting for

a shuttle return. They find an ancient space

capsule from Earth. And Data requests permission

to check it out with Worf and Riker's like, granted.

And then they make a discovery that humans were

on it and in frozen chambers. And they discover

that majority of them are dead. Some are skeletons,

some are not. Some are just completely dead.

And then, I mean, they're all dead, but more

or less to different degrees. And data ends up

asking for permission to beam three back. Each

one needed some minor medical attention, according

to Dr. Crusher. Minor now, but then their conditions

were obviously terminal. One had a heart problem

and another an advanced case of emphysema with

extensive liver damage. And then they were all

cryogenically frozen. And Picard was ticked that

they were even brought on board. Well, he was

ticked about that, but he was also ticked that

he wasn't informed that they were brought on

board. Like Data just went and did this with

the permission of Riker. Yeah. And he's like,

well, it's done now. Yeah. And so, yeah, they.

They. End up having to deal with the situation

then, because the one is like, you know, investor

tycoon. The other is just like a mom of some

kids. And then you end up with another one that

is. Like a country music star. Who drank a lot.

Yes. So. What I will say about this episode is

that... It's entertaining, for sure. It's very

entertaining. It very much is. But the two actors,

the two male actors, the billionaire dude and

the country music, oh my god. That's just hilarious.

Well, it's a bunch of hooli. It's a bunch. That's

right. Uh, hogwash and yeah. So, yeah. So let

me see here. Where's sub commander C clear. No,

I don't want to rate you IMDB. Um, but it also

is nice because you get the Romulans returning

and they have their glorious giant warbird. Um,

which is pretty cool. Amazing. Yeah. It's amazing.

Um, But yeah, they they definitely kind of went

all out in this one and it was. They never did

like say who destroyed their bases on the. The

neutral zone. Yeah. But it's but it left an interesting

conundrum that they never revisited. Well, that

that stinks. But. So let me see here. So I'm

trying to, cause I want to go through these actors

just a little bit here because like, I know the,

we know these guys. So, uh, Mr. Leon Rippy, Mr.

Country Music Star, he did a bunch of stuff.

He debuted in something called a TV miniseries

called Chiefs in 1983, did two episodes of that.

He was in the road running. Where is he? He was

in the Star Trek episode here. He would go on

to play. Wasn't he an angel? I swear he was an

angel at one point. That's 97. Oh, no, he was

in. Oh, that's right. He was Dewey. That's right.

He was Dewey slash Vince Pike in Walker, Texas

Ranger. And Walker, Texas Ranger just premiered

on Hulu for the first time. So I've been going

back and watching that. I'm going to get back

to watching that. But I swear he was in... I

guess he wasn't in Angel. I thought he was. Anyway,

I like that guy. He's a fun actor. He plays these

whatever kind of roles. And then the guy that

played... Mr. Billionaire there is Peter Mark

Richman. A ton of stuff. A ton of stuff. He debuted

in a TV series called Suspense in 1953. I'm going

to scroll to roles that I know we would know

him more as. He was in, let's see here. That's

a lot of scrolling. He was in Galactica, 1980.

He was in The Incredible Hulk. He played Ellis

Jordan for one episode in 1981's Incredible Hulk.

Where? He was in The Love Boat for an episode.

Where is? I know I know him, and I know I know

his face. Obviously, Next Generation. What was

the other thing? Beverly Hills 90210. Oh, that's

right. So in Spider -Man the Animated Series

in 1996, he did two episodes as the old voice

of Peter Parker. So in those two episodes of

Spider -Man, Peter gets old because of his spider

disease and whatever else. And he voiced that

character. He voiced Winchell in Batman Beyond.

I don't remember Winchell, but I'm sure whatever.

I thought there was something. that he did. At

first, I thought, at first, when I first saw

him, I'm like, Ricardo? Maltabot? I know it's

not, obviously, although I'm looking at the stuff

now. There was some, Defenders of Earth, Murder,

She Wrote, there was something else that I thought

I recognized him in. Oh, that's right. How do

I not know, how do I not remember this, first

of all? He was Dr. Klaus Bergstrom in two episodes

of Knight Rider. See, even though I'm on the

edges of the Star Trek universe, I can always

bring it back to stuff I love. So what did you

think about this episode? Like, I liked how they

kind of turned out. I liked it. I liked the finale.

I love the closing of the finale where Picard

is like. No, we must not go backwards. We must

move forward. That is our directive to go forward

into the future. I love that. I think that's

great. I think ending this with the neutral zone

and kind of leaving it on a cliffhanger is kind

of cool. I thought that was great. I will say

that I haven't like fully delved into season

two yet, but I've watched like the first five

minutes of the first episode of season two and

holy bearded Riker. Like that didn't take long.

Because I remember when I first watched this,

I was like, he's clean shaven. What is he doing

clean shaven? I've only ever remembered him with

his beard. And in season two, we get the beard.

But yeah, no, season one, the finale was cool.

Season one overall, I don't know if it'll be,

it probably won't be my favorite favorite, but.

Out of the 20, Hala, if I only have three, episode

four, eight, and what's, what's conspiracy? 25,

20, 25, 25, four, three episodes out of 26 that

I absolutely would never watch again. I think

there's maybe one other one in there, but still

four, let's say five episodes out of 20. That's

not bad. I really enjoyed this. I had fun doing

it. It was great. It was a great one. I never

once wanted to turn this show off watching season

one. And you kept saying to me, season one's

not the best season. One's this season. And it

may not be the best, whatever. But for me, it

was damn good for the most part. It wasn't that

bad, but I mean, yeah, it's. I'm kind of spoiled.

I've seen better. Very spoiled. So I guess we

should throw it to an ad break really quick and

then come back to close. Yeah, we can do that.

So we'll be right back after this. And we're

back. Overall, what did you think about just

our first jump into Trek? I'm digging it, man.

I'm having fun. This is cool. This is great.

Other than, like I already said about the episodes

and the only, hopefully he gets better. He kind

of got better in this season. The only character

I would throw out into space is Wesley, but hopefully

he gets better as time goes on. He does, and

then he starts disappearing more and more. I

was surprised that he lasted all seven seasons,

actually. I thought they were going to kill him

off in, like, season four or something. No, they

kind of make him sparse after that. Yeah. Overall,

no, I very much enjoyed this. And like I said,

as much as I enjoyed watching Tasha and having

her as a character, She's not missed, because

again, like we said, who's the security chief

here? If Worf is the weapons guy, the weapons

guy should also be the security chief, because

as badass as Tasha was in a few of the times

she had to enforce her security stuff, Worf is

a much better security officer. Totally. Sorry,

Tasha. But yeah, no, I'm having a lot of fun.

I'm very much looking forward to future episodes

of Altered Trek. Agreed. So to close this one

out, thank you for joining us on Altered Trek.

If you'd like to get in contact with us or leave

feedback for the show, there are several ways

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be TFG1 Mike or on Instagram it's TFG1 Mike Presents.

Until next time on Altered Trek. We'll be covering

season two of Star Trek The Next Generation.

G1 mic on the mic Reviewers ready for a hike

Holy go where no one's been Tuning now, let's

dive in Voyager, next gen's light Altered trick

warps in flight Starfleet launching cosmic dust

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full of trust Planets turning round and round

Exploring the worlds we've found Captains sharing

phasers set Echoes from the stars we met Unrestricted

time and space Altered trick!