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  1. - Top - End - #481
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    DigoDragon's Avatar

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    Default Re: New kids in the class. Let's watch and discuss, Star Trek: The Next Generation

    I've read that Patrick Stewart completely ad-libbed the part when Picard walks over to the dedication plaque and checks it for dust before answering the call.

    It's such a power move. :3
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  2. - Top - End - #482
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    ElfRangerGuy

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    Default Re: New kids in the class. Let's watch and discuss, Star Trek: The Next Generation

    It really is just a very satisfying moment where Captain Picard has been dealing with these guys' nonsense for the whole episode and then finally gets to use their own nonsense against them for a minute.
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  3. - Top - End - #483
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    SamuraiGuy

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    Default Re: New kids in the class. Let's watch and discuss, Star Trek: The Next Generation

    Season 3 Episode 3
    "The Survivors"
    Stardate: 43152.4

    [Plot]
    the crew respond to a distress call from a human colony. as it turns out, everyone is dead (Dave), aside from the guy that actually happens to be an alien. with all of the details the crew find out, like that alien guy wiped out a race of aliens and feels bad about it.

    Meanwhile, Troi deals with the elevator music from hell.

    [Rating]
    1 - Bad episode: Multiple weaknesses (bad acting, bad story, disasterous effects, poor connection to lore)

    {Episode Commentary}
    this is a terrible episode mostly because it just treats the entire affair as something mechanical. It really fits the line made by Stalin (Maybe) that: "A million is a statistic". There is no real exploration of what happened. yes, those alien Husnocks were wiped out or whatever, but we don't visit them at all. Aside from the ship that attacked the human colony, nothing is known about them at all. And given that the alien guy lied about being an alien guy...

    It makes him an unreliable narrator at best. the Husnock could have treated better than discount Klingons and some exploration made of them and their motives in attacking the colony. It comes across rather more like the alien guy just stepped on some bugs a whole lot opposed to getting rid of a sentient species. Treating it with such emptyness, it completely makes the alien guy having some kind of remorse or guilt meaningless.

    apparently, the alien guy could make illusions that have power, and take out races or something. Why didn't he just get rid of or remove the Husnock attacking the colony? He could provided his power to help while having the colonists employ peaceful self defense means (Federation weapons all have stun settings) and done that. Instead, he just messes with the Husnock ship, doesn't explain his actions to them, nor does he do anything to fix the issue. Nor is any explanation given for why the Husnock showed up to the colony, or if they had planned to attack it anyway.

    The story portrays the Husnock as basically discount Klingons, full of aggression. Nothing in the story sells that it was actually wrong to get rid of them. no attempt is actually made to define them beyond a small bunch and so one is struck wondering, what does it even matter? There are little reasons for not exploring Husnock (s) in some way because selling the moral wrong of what happened is such a major theme of the episode

    which is promptly wasted. Why do we care about the exploration of what happened beyond, everyone died, and just leave it at that. We actually don't need anything about the alien guy or the things got wiped out. Just let us know something destroyed the colony, and have the crew just figure that out. Then they can try to find them to figure out an explanation or get one.

    due to the events or the story itself, you could probably just drop the episode and not lose anything. There is nothing here that really matters even the slightest bit. and the episode just fails to generate sympathy for alien guy. Why should i care about what happened, when we get no exploration of anything: about the alien guy, about why he may be a pacifist (It seems that nearly every powerful alien that is not Q is some peace-nik hippie), why the wiping out of a race matters, and so on.

    I don't think that any thought was put into why it matters what happens verse looking at what happens with detachment. given how the crew is regularly, i think that it really undercuts the point of the episode's plot, which was what exactly? Alien guy can wipe out a race, and does for reasons and then feels bad? Why do we need to care or care, about this?

    So? Do fellow playgrounders agree? Disagree? Comments of your own? Get some discussing going on

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  4. - Top - End - #484
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    BlackDragon

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    Default Re: New kids in the class. Let's watch and discuss, Star Trek: The Next Generation

    I think the whole reason that he didn't act against the Husnock ship that attacked the colony was a vow not to use his power, which promptly got forgotten when his *wife* was killed and it became personal. Which is a sort of understandable motivation, albeit a very weak one. It also has to be said that the power to wipe out an entire species with a thought is, as far as we know, even beyond what the Q can do--to all intents and purposes the guy here is God, and that's just silly.

    Oh, and for extra fun, see if you can count how many times Worf says the shields have failed when the Enterprise is being attacked by the fake Husnock warship...

  5. - Top - End - #485
    Ettin in the Playground
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    Default Re: New kids in the class. Let's watch and discuss, Star Trek: The Next Generation

    I really don't think "pacifist super-powered being commits genocide in a monet of wrath" really needs that much setup.

    It is all in the delivery, and I think the actor here delivered it very well. And Patrick Stewart did an admirable job of portraying just how overwhelmed Picard would be at dealing with that.

  6. - Top - End - #486
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    Default Re: New kids in the class. Let's watch and discuss, Star Trek: The Next Generation

    Quote Originally Posted by factotum View Post
    --to all intents and purposes the guy here is God, and that's just silly.
    The original series had several god-like beings and I don't believe they were this powerful to just wipe out civilizations with a snap.

    A very forgettable episode in my opinion.
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  7. - Top - End - #487
    Eldritch Horror in the Playground Moderator
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    Default Re: New kids in the class. Let's watch and discuss, Star Trek: The Next Generation

    With all the Trackers in the Tracker Tracker, I'm surprised we don't yet have a Godlike Alien Beings tracker.

  8. - Top - End - #488
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    Default Re: New kids in the class. Let's watch and discuss, Star Trek: The Next Generation

    Quote Originally Posted by The Glyphstone View Post
    With all the Trackers in the Tracker Tracker, I'm surprised we don't yet have a Godlike Alien Beings tracker.
    Well, it's not TOS.
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  9. - Top - End - #489
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    Flumph

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    Default Re: New kids in the class. Let's watch and discuss, Star Trek: The Next Generation

    Quote Originally Posted by Peelee View Post
    Well, it's not TOS.
    TNG had it's fair share with the Cytherians, Nagilum, the beings that created Armus, the Traveller, the Dowd (natch), the Q (duh), whatever that was in "Justice" protecting the Edo,

    Spoiler: And of course
    Show
    Wesley Crusher (probably)


    The counter would get pretty high from just the Q episodes.
    Last edited by Dire_Flumph; 2022-01-19 at 11:56 AM.

  10. - Top - End - #490
    Eldritch Horror in the Playground Moderator
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    Default Re: New kids in the class. Let's watch and discuss, Star Trek: The Next Generation

    Yeah, specifically a Non-Q Godlike Alien Beings counter I guess.

  11. - Top - End - #491
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    BlackDragon

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    Default Re: New kids in the class. Let's watch and discuss, Star Trek: The Next Generation

    Oh, I fully realise that godlike aliens are par for the course in Star Trek, but Kevin Uxbridge is so far beyond the others in terms of power that you have to think he's particularly stupid to think that the only way he could get the Enterprise-D to leave would be to have a bigger, badder ship attack it. Or, for that matter, how he couldn't figure out a way to repel the attacking Husnock without harming them, thus saving his wife. It's the disconnect between the part of the story where he allowed his beloved wife to die and the part where he genocided an entire space-capable species that annoys me.

  12. - Top - End - #492
    Ogre in the Playground
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    Default Re: New kids in the class. Let's watch and discuss, Star Trek: The Next Generation

    I didn't have a problem with this episode. The lack of development for the Husnock doesn't bother me because they're really not important - there's no shortage of aggressive species out there, and there's no reason to assume that Kevin's description of them is a complete or accurate one anyway. All that matters is that they attacked the colony, killed the others, and Kevin obliterated them in revenge.

    It's true that his act of genocide is a larger display of power than anything we've seen from the other various godlike beings, but there's no indication that it's more than those beings are capable of, either. The very first time we meet Q, he's threatening the entire human race, after all.

    I like this episode because it puts the Enterprise crew and the Federation in general in perspective - for all that we see them heroically running around the galaxy saving planets and defeating bad guys, there are just some beings that are so far out of their weight class that they can't even comprehend the implications of those beings' actions.
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  13. - Top - End - #493
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    Lord Vukodlak's Avatar

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    Default Re: New kids in the class. Let's watch and discuss, Star Trek: The Next Generation

    Quote Originally Posted by Velaryon View Post
    I didn't have a problem with this episode. The lack of development for the Husnock doesn't bother me because they're really not important - there's no shortage of aggressive species out there, and there's no reason to assume that Kevin's description of them is a complete or accurate one anyway. All that matters is that they attacked the colony, killed the others, and Kevin obliterated them in revenge.

    It's true that his act of genocide is a larger display of power than anything we've seen from the other various godlike beings, but there's no indication that it's more than those beings are capable of, either. The very first time we meet Q, he's threatening the entire human race, after all.

    I like this episode because it puts the Enterprise crew and the Federation in general in perspective - for all that we see them heroically running around the galaxy saving planets and defeating bad guys, there are just some beings that are so far out of their weight class that they can't even comprehend the implications of those beings' actions.
    If his power was comparable to Q he could have hurled the alien ship across the Galaxy. Or teleported the colony somewhere else.
    Most responders to this episode are making the argument if you can blow something up it’s equally easy to build it.
    Nale is no more, he has ceased to be, his hit points have dropped to negative ten, all he was is now dust in the wind, he is not Daniel Jackson dead, he is not Kenny dead, he is final dead, he will not pass through death's revolving door, his fate will not be undone because the executives renewed his show for another season. His time had run out, his string of fate has been cut, the blood on the knife has been wiped. He is an Ex-Nale! Now can we please resume watching the Order save the world.

  14. - Top - End - #494
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    ElfRangerGuy

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    Default Re: New kids in the class. Let's watch and discuss, Star Trek: The Next Generation

    Quote Originally Posted by Gnoman View Post
    I really don't think "pacifist super-powered being commits genocide in a monet of wrath" really needs that much setup.
    I'm not too familiar with Monet's paintings, but I'm really curious what this one would look like.
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  15. - Top - End - #495
    Barbarian in the Playground
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    Default Re: New kids in the class. Let's watch and discuss, Star Trek: The Next Generation

    Quote Originally Posted by KillianHawkeye View Post
    I'm not too familiar with Monet's paintings, but I'm really curious what this one would look like.
    thickly pixellated flowers smeared with blood and feces

  16. - Top - End - #496
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    SamuraiGuy

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    Default Re: New kids in the class. Let's watch and discuss, Star Trek: The Next Generation

    Season 3 Episode
    Who Watches The Watchers
    Stardate: 43173.5

    [Plot]
    the crew go to help a bunch of guys that have been watching some natives on a planet. the thing breaks down and ends up injuring a guy and a native. the native gets beamed up and healed by doc crusher. then she fails to wipe the memory of the native. the event gets the natives to start believing that Picard is the Overseer, who is the "God" for the Mintakans, who inhabit the planet. The natives naturally run into problems. Mostly over wanting to access the Power of the Picard.

    Riker and Troi are sent down to help out, after a third member or another member of the watcher guys is found by the natives. The natives don't know what to do exactly. Troi causes a distraction, and Riker carries off the Watcher guy. they get beamed up

    Picard who had resisted any attempts to pose as a god, must listen and figure out a way to help Troi, who the natives are holding to deal with for the The Picard. one native ends up suggesting that Troi be sacrificed to the The Picard. Picard beams up Nuria, leader of the Mintakans and tries to talk to her.

    Nothing works to get through her thick skull until Picard takes her to visit Sick Bay and a Watcher Guy dies. That convinces Nuria of the power and ability of the The Picard. When they go down to the planet again, in try to free Troi, Nuria mentions how Picard has power and ability but is not the Overseer or a god.

    The native that had gotten healed, Liko, ends up shooting Picard with an arrow, after Picard basically dares him. He accepts dying to support his actions. Liko ends up shooting him in the shoulder.

    Picard, with his arm in sling, talks with the Mintakans. He explains about what purpose the watchers were doing, and why Picard's people were on planet. A Mintakan asks for technological assistance. Picard points out that would be another kind of interference. Nuria mentions learning about stuff has shown that her people can develop as they need to. Picard speaks with them some, and did earlier tells the Mintakans about the Prime Directive.

    Before he leaves, Picard is given a Tapestry [A new tracker appears!] from the Mintakans.

    [Rating]
    4 - Good episode: A few parts of the episode are above average - good plot points, clever use of effects and so on.

    {Episode Commentary}
    So, first off, we get to add a tracker about the various gifts that Picard will end up receiving over the series and will put on display. The Mintakan Tapestry will be joined by the Hyksos from Professor Galen, and the flute from Kataan/Katann courtesy of the Probe from the "Inner Light" episode (THat should be the episode where Picard becomes an alien and experiences a life drawn from the history of the planet right before the probe launches and gets encountered by Picard and the ship), and the dagger from the Tamarians from "Darmok" episode.

    This episode is a bit mixed, in that the story works really well, and probably one of the most human and not annoying or idiotic observations of the Prime Directive and how it was supposed to work in practice and principle, before the PD (Prime Directive) turned into the later mess and the whole "Let's have an entire civilization get destroyed because we can't be bothered to help any or not". The PD really turns into a problem later on, as different people have different ideas of having to make it work or whatever.

    The story with Picard is about his desire to avoid any religious trouble element, but due to weird, Picard acts more like the idea of religion is bad. The focus is really supposed to be on how Picard doesn't want to play god, but his dialogue always talks about how Religion or belief in the supernatural will somehow be putting the mintakans in superstition and fear and ignorance. It makes for a weird element that should have been cut with the greater focus about how doing the suggested God thing goes against Picard's principles. especially in regards to Truth.

    Sadly, the show instead goes for making the Federation appear to be anti-religion. that somehow the Federation became the Federation by tossing out religion. that just never made sense because it employs lazy arguments of Picard's line about "superstition and ignorance and fear". this is all Gene and his personal opinion floating in. later episodes will include Federation religious stuff.

    really, a much greater look at Picard being angry with being treated as a god and getting a way to help fix things while carefully keeping the Federation and its sense of self righteous morality in check. eh, that will be done better, later

    So? Do fellow playgrounders agree? Disagree? Comments of your own? Get some discussing going on

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    Rank of Miles: Ensign, Two Gold Pips
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    Riker "Patrick Stewart Speech": 1
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    Pithy Aesops: 1
    Klingon Proverbs/Beliefs/Sentiments: 1) Drink not with thine enemy; A) Several in the Episode, "Heart of Glory";
    Worfed (Worf loses to establish danger): 2
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  17. - Top - End - #497
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    Lord Vukodlak's Avatar

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    Default Re: New kids in the class. Let's watch and discuss, Star Trek: The Next Generation

    Picard is not a god, pretending to be a deity and going to those people to lay down a set of religious canon would be casting those them into. Superstition, fear and ignorance. Because it’s a lie.
    Nale is no more, he has ceased to be, his hit points have dropped to negative ten, all he was is now dust in the wind, he is not Daniel Jackson dead, he is not Kenny dead, he is final dead, he will not pass through death's revolving door, his fate will not be undone because the executives renewed his show for another season. His time had run out, his string of fate has been cut, the blood on the knife has been wiped. He is an Ex-Nale! Now can we please resume watching the Order save the world.

  18. - Top - End - #498
    Ettin in the Playground
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    Default Re: New kids in the class. Let's watch and discuss, Star Trek: The Next Generation

    I despise this episode. Restricting the reasons to board-appropriate criticisms, the entire plot not only relies on a ludicrous level of coincidence (that the Starfleet officer witnessed mid-transport by a native just happens to have the same name as a mostly-forgotten local deity is patently absurd), but also on an incredible level of gullibility and stupidity on the part of the natives.

    The woman who saw The Picard had no hard evidence - he didn't leave any evidence behind, they didn't find the ruined observation base, there were no mysterious healing or deaths by strange means. Nothing more than one woman rushing into town saying "guess what I saw!". This same woman is also unwilling to accept that Picard is not a god after being taken aboard the Enterprise and given a "we're not gods, just people that have really, really good technology" tour. This is enough to significantly revive the forgotten beliefs not just in this one village but threatens to become a major cultural phenomenon. This is a culture that is said by Vulcans to be impressively logical, after a major disaster that push everyone to an enormous level of stress.

    The equivalent on Earth would be if a single UFO sighting instantly created a UFO craze far larger than the one we had after thousands.



    There's a workable core to the story - "Thou Shalt Not Impersonate A Deity" is a perfectly valid component of the Prime Directive, and the Enterprise crew being revolted by the possibility of doing so even accidentally is also perfectly valid. They just didn't put it in a framework that actually makes logical sense.

  19. - Top - End - #499
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    Default Re: New kids in the class. Let's watch and discuss, Star Trek: The Next Generation

    I mean, who wouldn't want to have the power of the Picard? :3

    I thought this was an okay episode. It does need work, but the basic frame is probably one of the better examples of how the Prime Directive should work, as earlier said.
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  20. - Top - End - #500
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    Default Re: New kids in the class. Let's watch and discuss, Star Trek: The Next Generation

    Quote Originally Posted by Gnoman View Post
    I despise this episode. Restricting the reasons to board-appropriate criticisms, the entire plot not only relies on a ludicrous level of coincidence (that the Starfleet officer witnessed mid-transport by a native just happens to have the same name as a mostly-forgotten local deity is patently absurd),
    You’re absolutely correct except that didn’t happen in the episode.
    The deity was called “The Overseer” he only got the name Picard. Because Liko heard them call the captain by name.
    “I believe I have seen the Overseer. He is called the Picard”
    And Liko and his daughter would have been written off as dreaming if they hadn’t found Palmer.

    NURIA: “Remarkable. You were speaking the truth“

    For a comparison, two of your friends claim they were just abducted by aliens, then someone comes in dragging the body of and unconscious alien.
    Nale is no more, he has ceased to be, his hit points have dropped to negative ten, all he was is now dust in the wind, he is not Daniel Jackson dead, he is not Kenny dead, he is final dead, he will not pass through death's revolving door, his fate will not be undone because the executives renewed his show for another season. His time had run out, his string of fate has been cut, the blood on the knife has been wiped. He is an Ex-Nale! Now can we please resume watching the Order save the world.

  21. - Top - End - #501
    Ettin in the Playground
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    Default Re: New kids in the class. Let's watch and discuss, Star Trek: The Next Generation

    Maybe it has been too long since I've seen it. I distinctly remember them referring to "The Picard" as a known myth from their past, but maybe I'm remembering wrong.

  22. - Top - End - #502
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    SamuraiGuy

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    Default Re: New kids in the class. Let's watch and discuss, Star Trek: The Next Generation

    Season 3 Episode 5
    The Bonding
    Stardate: 43198.7

    [Plot]
    the crew lose a crewman under the command of Worf. the crew start dealing with it in their way and Picard has to tell Jeremy Astor that his mom died. some stuff

    then aliens

    then Worf adds Jeremy into his house/family as a brother

    [Rating]
    this episode had parts that could have made it:
    4 - Good episode: A few parts of the episode are above average - good plot points, clever use of effects and so on.
    or
    5 - Excelent episode: Episode excels in most or all ways - major character development, good story and so on

    however due to choices made by writers or possibly Gene..
    Finished episode is:
    1 - Bad episode: Multiple weaknesses (bad acting, bad story, disasterous effects, poor connection to lore)

    {Episode Commentary}
    By Q, this is a horrible episode. it could have been a good or great episode but they had to put in aliens. after that, the episode became as bad as Neelix making cheese that almost destroyed the ship by making it sick or the episode "Code of Honor". just complete and utter garbage.

    I liked and wanted to see everything about the crew dealing with losing somebody and how things would be handled. The different reactions, the explorations of Worf, and Picard, the others. The learning about how Wesley feels about Picard in relation to his own father. That part all worked out well. And Picard dealing with and trying to help Jeremy actually process and grow through his grief. That would have been rather nice.

    But Aliens...

    Seriously, this was about the worst of all possible decisions to have made. Whenever Fake Mom showed up and was around, it just completely killed any interest that i had in the episode after. She just completely ruins every single one of the dramatic plot beats and makes the whole thing entirely dumb. Why did we need to include them, those aliens? It completely throughs out the dramatic work that appears and tosses it out. Then the story tries to work. It simply doesn't.

    We don't need to include anything that the Aliens provide. In fact, they should have been excised and something had Jeremy's mom die due to some leftover bomb or device, establish that it had been leftover from some previous conflict by aliens, and simply leave it at that. We don't need some aliens showing up over stuff about the bomb or whatever. We don't need them showing up about whatever. Just explain that the bomb was there because a conflict happened, and focus solely on the emotional element of grieving.

    The episode would have been watchable at that point, because as soon as Fake Mom showed up, I just checked out. I didn't have a good impression that the writers were going to give the story that was starting up any dramatic props that it needed, when she made her appearance. I can't remember any of the plot anymore, aside that things were going on with fake mom and also that Worf lights the candles to add in Jeremy to something.

    This episode suffers heavily by needing to fulfill the Science Fiction element of Star Trek TNG, when it should have focused on the dramatic, and avoid aliens like the plague. the aliens did major damage to the story and made it seem like the subject matter of death and grieving was something that the writers really needed to mock thoroughly. The aliens or whatever the fake mom deal was, seems to (or seemed to) me existed solely to mock the grieving process at best. to make as much fun of it as possible and make it (the process) be treated as weird and wrong and not worth doing or to be done. It just made it seem like the writers wanted you to come with the sense that shedding tears over someone dying makes you a retard or stupid or just some other insulting thing.

    This is made worse with the Picard speech about people/humans needing to grieve or whatever, but the episode basically takes a crap over all of Picard's comments, and frankly I can't see Picard having given a speech, as much as the writers suddenly realizing the whole episode script that they wrote is garbage or just straight up weird, and they need Picard to read the writers' comments. Which make no sense given everything else that happens already.

    We don't need the aliens, and we don't need them to carry the story, as it would have worked without any aliens. Even Fake Mom, or seeing what Jeremy's mom looked like was completely unnecessary. Just mention her and then go on. Don't cast anybody and don't use this kind of story about alien whatever. I couldn't keep myself wanting to watch the rest of the episode because of how insulted i felt for when Fake Mom showed up. Like the writers had just spit on me.

    Why did we need this episode? Given how it got executed, it should have been cut before it aired. Even worse is that it was supposedly written for how having a red shirt die and having the crew/mainCast care about that, was supposed to happen. Nothing of that sort appeared or was conveyed at all.

    Was Gene smoking something? this episode just feels like it was made to take Star Trek's message of exploration of both the external and internal and see how much side message could be pissed on or crapped on.

    Maybe a better episode could have been made, but only after certain of the writers were shot? I don't know. The episode feels completely more like Gene doing some seriously dumb stuff in the episode and pissing on everything.

    the Aliens added stuff is just so bad, so bad, and not in the so bad it's good fashion. Just straight up super bad.

    So? Do fellow playgrounders agree? Disagree? Comments of your own? Get some discussing going on

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  23. - Top - End - #503
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    Default Re: New kids in the class. Let's watch and discuss, Star Trek: The Next Generation

    Tangential, this episode reminds me of the theme that Worf seems to lose crew or ships when he's put in command of something (hence the trope, The Worf Effect).

    Anyway.... yeah, the aliens plot point really did not need to be in this. It could have been fine focused on how space exploration is inherently dangerous, connecting the show to real world exploration, and then maybe leave on an upbeat note about explorers are heroes or something.
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  24. - Top - End - #504
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    Default Re: New kids in the class. Let's watch and discuss, Star Trek: The Next Generation

    Yeah, this was a stinker, but notable for being the first script written by Ron Moore who would go on to doing great things on TNG, DS9 and later the Battlestar reboot.

    The aliens weren't in the original script, which revolved around Jeremy struggling to deal with his Mom's death by creating a replacement of her in the holodeck. Gene supposedly changed it to aliens because he thought kids in the 24th century would just be able to handle their parent's death better.

  25. - Top - End - #505
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    SamuraiGuy

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    Default Re: New kids in the class. Let's watch and discuss, Star Trek: The Next Generation

    Quote Originally Posted by Dire_Flumph View Post
    The aliens weren't in the original script, which revolved around Jeremy struggling to deal with his Mom's death by creating a replacement of her in the holodeck. Gene supposedly changed it to aliens because he thought kids in the 24th century would just be able to handle their parent's death better.
    Actually, according to memory alpha wiki:

    The part with the holodeck was changed because the crew (filming) had done a holodeck show and did not want to do one. So that got a change.

    As for Gene, he believed that people would evolve to where they wouldn't grieve at all or something. I mean, I get if it (death) was seen as being more natural occurrence but it sounded more like Gene intended them to become stoic robots. I don't know, just an overall odd way for them to be based on however Gene wanted it.

    Ron Moore did some decent stuff when he was able to do TNG and DS9, especially when Gene was out of the picture. Which can be both a wonderful thing or a terrible thing. Depending on your view of events.
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  26. - Top - End - #506
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    SamuraiGuy

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    Default Re: New kids in the class. Let's watch and discuss, Star Trek: The Next Generation

    Season 3 Episode 6
    Booby Trap
    Stardate: 43205.6

    [Plot]
    we see geordi strike out on a date. then there is a alien ship, and we get to watch geordi have a relationship with the computer while trying to save the ship from some problems

    [Rating]
    3 - Average episode: OK to watch, but nothing amazing. This should be the default score.

    {Episode Commentary}
    this episode is mainly about geordi's love life and also it introduces us to Picard loving old stuff. the part about geordi working the problem and ending up hooking up with the computer. that bit i remembered quite a bit but the rest of the episode is forgettable and you don't need to care because the crew will survive because we are only 6 episodes in of the season. The production crew won't kill them off

    So? Do fellow playgrounders agree? Disagree? Comments of your own? Get some discussing going on

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    Klingon Rituals/Rites: 1
    Poker Playing: 2
    Gene Roddenberry ruins Star Trek: 4 ()
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    Rank of Miles: Ensign, Two Gold Pips
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    Holodeck Mishaps/Breakings/Issues: 1
    Actually Alien Aliens: 1
    Lore's Appearances: 1
    *Data's Emotions: 3
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    Polarize the Phase Inverters: 1
    Last edited by russdm; 2022-02-08 at 03:25 PM.
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  27. - Top - End - #507
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    Default Re: New kids in the class. Let's watch and discuss, Star Trek: The Next Generation

    Quote Originally Posted by russdm View Post
    and you don't need to care because the crew will sur
    Did something get cut off there?
    Warning: This posting may contain wit, wisdom, pathos, irony, satire, sarcasm and puns. And traces of nut.

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  28. - Top - End - #508
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    BlackDragon

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    Default Re: New kids in the class. Let's watch and discuss, Star Trek: The Next Generation

    The only memorable thing to me about this episode is how much of a contrast there is when the real Leah Brahms turns up in a later episode. Mainly because that was hilarious, although it does raise a question of just how bad the Enterprise's computer is when it gets someone's personality so utterly wrong despite being asked to base them on the real person's psychological profile--or maybe Starfleet psychiatrists are just rubbish?

  29. - Top - End - #509
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    ElfRangerGuy

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    Default Re: New kids in the class. Let's watch and discuss, Star Trek: The Next Generation

    Quote Originally Posted by factotum View Post
    although it does raise a question of just how bad the Enterprise's computer is when it gets someone's personality so utterly wrong despite being asked to base them on the real person's psychological profile--or maybe Starfleet psychiatrists are just rubbish?
    Well I'm pretty sure the computer DOES warn Geordi that it doesn't have enough data to give the hologram the real person's personality. I don't think a psych profile is really enough to recreate anyone's personality by itself anyway.

    The more interesting issue, which is also addressed in a Lt Barclay episode, is the implications of creating hologram of a real person and being able to program it to do whatever you want. Star Trek barely brushes on the topic of holographic pornography (mostly in DS9), but in reality this would become squicky really fast. Just imagine Rule 34 in the 24th century.
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  30. - Top - End - #510
    Ogre in the Playground
     
    SamuraiGuy

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    Default Re: New kids in the class. Let's watch and discuss, Star Trek: The Next Generation

    Quote Originally Posted by Manga Shoggoth View Post
    Did something get cut off there?
    Yes, it was. I fixed it
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