ST:TNG Season Two, Episode Two "Where Silence Has Lease"

ST:TNG Season Two, Episode Two "Where Silence Has Lease"
Production Order: 28
Air Order: 28
Stardate: 42193.6
Original Air Date: November 28, 1988

When we open, Picard is worried. He leaves the ready room, looks like he's going to make an announcement to the bridge crew, stops, looks like he's going to re-enter the ready room, then stops again and sits in his chair.
We have no idea what his deal is.
Troi asks him if he's concerned, and I wonder how tedious it must get for her sometimes, asking someone a question when you knew the answer when they walked in. Patience must be her A-game.
"I am worried," admits Picard.
"For Riker or Worf?"
"Both."
Okay, whatta we got? Clearly, this is an away mission, right?
"I think it is best to be ignorant of certain elements of the Klingon psyche," he continues.
Whut?

Are Riker and Worf there to catch people having sex on the holodeck?

(Dude, you know it happens. More than one thousand people on that ship, and no one has a kink that can't be handled in their quarters? And some Gold shirt maintenance guy has to come by later to mop it up when some kid slips in it playing Pareses Squares.)

Riker and Worf wander through this jungle setting with some kind of half-broken metal structure. They look like they've been through the ringer. Worf puts on this spiked gloved thing that reminds me a bit of the one Yar wore in that garbage racist episode. Then he and Riker fight a live-action Koopa.

Also, Skeletor-Without-Affirmations.

They each beat down one, then Worf goes after Riker with a battle axe. Riker calls the exercise off, but it isn't until he pulls ranks that Worf knocks that shit off. You're supposed to think that they were down on some planet's surface, facing monsters on an away mission, but it's just some calisthenics program of Worf's.
(BTW, when's the last time you heard the word "calisthenics"? Was it the 80's? Yeah, me too. Rabbit hole: it still exists, because it's just a bunch of free-form exercise, but now it's grouped into other categories, like parkour or pilates.)
Dramatic music for some reason! Opening credits break!

Picard's Log 42193.6: "Going to the Morgana Quadrant, which has been unexplored thus far by a manned Federation vessel. Gonna check that shit out."

Right off the bat, there's a weirdness: Data detects something that can't be. Riker tells Picard that it's an area of blackness, and it appears and reappears randomly. They put it on screen and Riker points.
"There it is."

Fucking where, dude? It's space.
Everywhere is a patch of blackness.
That's like pointing out the guys in red-striped shirts in a Where's Waldo book.
Maybe it's a Magic Eye drawing, and if we stare into space long enough, we'll see the picture of a patch of blackness... come the fuck on.
Even Picard is like, "Are you kidding me with this shit?"
They magnify one spot and come up with this:

"It's like a hole in space," says Wes.
Picard asks Data what the sensors say.
"Nothing," says Data.
"Not possible," says Picard. "Maybe there isn't any matter there, but there is never nothing present."
"Bitch, did I stutter?" asks Data. "The sensors report that there is nothing there."
"But there is something there," argues Riker.
"Maybe. Maybe not."
"That's not very scientific," protests Picard.
Data pulls out a sick Neil DeGrasse-Tyson burn: "Captain, the most elementary and valuable statement in science, the beginning of wisdom is "I do not know." I do not know what that is, sir."
"Hey," suggests Wes. "If this was any other hole in space, wouldn't we be able to see what's behind it?"
There's a weird moment here where Picard and Riker exchange a smile at this, and Picard pats Wes on the shoulder, and I'm not certain if they're being patronizing or not. It certainly seems that way, but then Wes smiles at Riker and Riker smiles back. Did they take this as being a smart idea, and their smiles say, "That was awesome, Wes, good thinking"? Or did Wes confuse it as being this way, that they are patronizing him, and he just doesn't realize it?

Picard asks Troi if she gets anything off of it, but she replies in the negative.
So Picard asks Data if anyone has ever encountered anything like this.
Okay, here I have to protest - they're attributing Magic Vulcan properties to Data, just like they did with Spock in TOS. As though he automatically knows everything. Now, it's possible that he has all of the information that Starfleet has (like everything), but they've never been consistent about it. Sometimes they send him off to do research on stuff that would be included in Starfleet history (and that he would therefore have already in his memory banks), and sometimes, like now, they just ask him to look stuff up in his own brain. Which is it, you guys? Is he a Magic Vulcan, or does he have informational storage limits?
Data stares off into the distance for a moment, then says that no other Starfleet vessel has ever encountered anything like this.
*cough, cough* Bullshit *cough, cough*
Hello? How about "The Immunity Syndrome"? Big-ass hole in space? Amoeba eats the ship? Once again, TNG, you've forgotten past canon and you should be paying more attention.

"Cool," says Picard. "Let's fly real up close to it, and poke it with a stick launch a probe."

So they launch the probe. It makes a sort of dull echoing ding sound for a second or so, then stops abruptly as it enters the whatever-it-is.

Worf flips out. "Let's go to yellow alert!"

"Why?" asks Picard, puzzled.

Worf looks embarrassed. "NM. Forget it."

"Seriously - what?" demands Picard. "You're head of freaking security! You can't just scream "yellow alert!" and then say never mind."

"Okay, ummm..." He hedges. "So there's this like, Klingon legend about a big black space blob that eats ships." Riker gives him a look. "Yeah, it's dumb, I know."

"O...kay," says Picard. "Let's launch an even fancier, more expensive probe at it to see it disappear into the void."
You can guess what happens to that probe.
Wes says, based on where the probes disappeared, that he can plot the boundaries of the space blob. Picard sends them in closer.
"Let's launch a photon torpedo!" says Worf.
Dude, calm down. I'm glad you're head of security, but not captain, cuz you've got an itchy trigger finger.
So they're sitting there, and the damn blob thing darts forward and freaking envelops them.
There's a collective "...the hell?" from the bridge crew.
Dramatic music! Commercial break!

Picard's Log, supplemental: "So even though it's obvious to the audience that that thing ate us, I'm gonna give it the benefit of a doubt and say that we managed to "move past its boundaries." Anyway, communications ship-wide went out for a moment, but are back on."

Riker and Picard have a philosophical discussion about how ancient mariners used to think that the Earth was flat, and you could sail off the edge.

Picard: "It's even said that crews threatened to hang their captain from the yardarm if he refused to turn back."
Riker: (grinning) "I'm sure no one has that in mind, sir."
Picard: (in a clipped, sarcastic tone) "How comforting, Number One."
Wes lets them know that they don't have any communications outside of the void, and they decide to gather their information and get the hell out of Dodge.
Pulaski enters the bridge... like we need her there. She's the freaking CMO, why does she need to be on the bridge? (And yes, I never complained about McCoy or Crusher illogically taking up real estate on the bridge when it wasn't necessary, but neither McCoy nor Crusher pissed me off on a continuous basis.)
Picard says he assumes she's been briefed, and she says she has, but she's confused, so they go to Data's station and ask him to magnify the picture a bunch of times. But all they're looking at is an inky blue-black, so the image never changes. Pulaski keeps asking Data to increase magnification, to no avail.
And I'm sitting here with the video paused and I don't want to unpause it because I know what that bitch is going to say next and I want to fucking scream.
I hit play.

She's talking about Data. In the third person, to Captain Picard, as though Data weren't sitting right fucking there. She refers to him as "it" not once, but twice, and her question implies that Data does not know how to do his job, all because she doesn't understand that magnifying on nothing gets you more nothing.

Fuck this bitch. Fuck this dumb, small-minded robophobic bitch.

And Picard lays it all out on the table for her in no uncertain terms:

So she tries to save face, and she back-peddles, now addressing Data again,

Pulaski: "Forgive me, Mr Data. I'm not accustomed to working with nonliving devices that... forgive me again. Your service record says that you are alive and I must accept that." 

Oh, how generous of you, Pulaski! You said that will minimal resignation in your voice, too!

I'd like to cut a bitch with my Starfleet-issued Bowie knife.

Data makes the tiniest smile and gives an almost-imperceptible nod.

Picard calls Geordi to find out how it's going in Engineering, but Geordi says wherever they are is having no affect on any of the equipment.

So here's where we get a bit philosophical again. They ask Data to speculate on the nothingness.

"This void has a total lack of dimension. Therefore, by any accepted standards, it does not exist; yet being within it denies that conclusion."
Riker: "Might we have moved into another dimension?"
Data: "Could a lack of dimension be another dimension in itself?"
Fucking A. Is this Star Trek Goes To Flatland?

"Annnd, I'm over it," says Picard with finality. "Let's check out the rest of the quadrant as per the orders. Starfleet can send back a science vessel to check this thing out."

Wes is told to flip a uey and fly them out, but after a few moments of still seeing bluish-black, they call Geordi to make sure the engines are working properly. He says they're fine, but out of concern, transfers his controls to the bridge to join them. Both Data and Wes confirm that they have traveled quite a distance by now, and that they should have reached past the pint where they came in.

But you didn't go in, Jonah. You flew right up next it to, and that thing jumped out and ate you.

"What if we drop a beacon in space here, and then fly away from it?" suggests Data. "Then we can gauge how far we're going and how fast."

Picard agrees, and they drop the beacon. They can hear it making these dull gong sounds, which fade as they move farther away, There's silence for a moment as they move away, then Data says that the sensors are picking up something dead ahead. And that gong sound slowly comes back.

"What's that?" they all go.

Geniuses, what the fuck do you think that is?

Yeah, it's the beacon you just dropped.

"Did you go in a circle?" asks Picard.

"Nope, straight forward," says Wes.

Oops, what's that up ahead? Decloaking warbird!

The Romulans fire on the E, and everyone rushes to battle stations.

The E returns fire, and the warbird blows up.

"Too easy," declares Picard, as Worf reports zero debris from the explosion.

And look, another ship! This time, it's their sister ship, the USS Yamato.

"Um, the Yamato isn't anywhere near here," says Wes, skeptical.

They hail the other ship and get no response. Data's scan turns up a fully-functioning ship with no life signs aboard.

"This is weird," Picard says to Riker.

Geordi Sassy Moment: "Like the rat said, Keep the cheese. I just want out of the trap."

"I want to board the Yamato with an away team," Riker tells Picard.

"Okay," says Picard. "But only take Worf."

Dramatic music! Commercial break!

Picard's Log, supplemental: "All the stuff we talked about just before the break."

We get another rare sighting of Chief O'Brien, running the transporters. Worf suggests that they be beamed to the back of the bridge of the Yamato, in case there's someone on the other ship.

"There's no one on the other ship," argues Riker.

"Still," persists Worf. They set their phasers for stun.

O'Brien beams them over.

But they don't appear on the bridge. Riker appears in a random corridor. He starts running when he hears Worf scream from somewhere else. They finally meet up, Worf with his phaser cocked, or whatever it is that phasers do.

"Don't shoot, it's me!" yells Riker.

They both conclude that each heard the other scream.

Riker calls O'Brien, but gets mostly static. He tries the bridge, but Picard gets mostly static as well.

Picard requests that O'Brien beam them back, but nothing doing. Worf figures out that the Yamato computer is down. The computer on the E goes down as well. Geordi leaves to return to Engineering.

Riker and Worf are making their way to a turbolift while Riker scans the corridors. he concludes that the Yamato (or whatever the hell it is) isn't a Federation ship, because the walls are made from something that is beyond their technology. They go through a door and find themselves on the bridge... but I'm pretty sure that no doors lead to the bridge. Only turbolifts.

Also: "This bridge should be four decks up," says Riker.

They turn to go back through the door, and see another bridge.

They enter the second bridge through what should be the door to the observation lounge, then walk around, wondering aloud which one is real.

Back on the E, power has returned to the computers.

There's a new guy sitting in Wes' pilot chair. His name is Haskell, and he's wearing a red shirt. You totally know what that means.

He says that he sees stars, and the viewscreen shows a starfield through an opening near the Yamato.

But when Picard checks with O'Brien, O'Brien says that he does not have a lock on the away team. They cannot go through.

On the Yamato, Worf gets close enough to the door they came through, that it opens to reveal that other bridge... only this time, the view is that of the bridge from the other turbolift, near the ready room. And he sees Riker, despite the fact that Riker is standing behind him, at the opposite end of the bridge.

Worf loses his shit. "A ship should have ONE bridge! One! One bridge, and one Riker!'

He goes through the door, and Riker, appearing to be the same Riker, asks what the hell is going on. Unfortunately, the camera moves in such a way to block the turbolift door behind him, through which we might have seen another Worf.

Worf is over this shit. He goes to the door and tries to go through it, but it attempts to close. He tries to pry it open, losing his mind as he goes.

Heeeeere's Worfy!

When Riker pulls him back, Worf growls at him for a moment, then barks "At ease, lieutenant!" at himself.

On the E, the opening to the starfield is closing. They cannot establish a lock on the away team.

"But we can go through!" gripes Haskell.

"Can't do it," replies Picard.

When it closes, Haskell gives Picard some major side-eye.

Riker and Worf beam back over.

Worf and Riker storm back onto the bridge. When Picard asks if they're okay, Riker yells at him that they need to get the fuck out of here, because he's so done now.

Introspective music! Commercial break!

When we return, Riker rants briefly about the Yamato, and Data adds in that weird thing with the Romulan warbird. They all have cabin fever, Riker most of all.

Haskell says the starfield is back. He inputs the coordinates, but then Data loses the signal, and the starfield hole closes. Another starfield opens nearby, but the same thing happens. Haskell is mildly bitchy. When it happens a third time, Picard gets annoyed and tells them to just stay there.

He asks Troi if she senses anything. "Maybe an intelligence so vast that you had trouble sensing it?"

She thinks for a moment, then confirms that it feels that way.

"Like rats in a maze," suggests Pulaski.

"Ugh, yes," agrees Troi. When Picard is confused, she and Pulaski describe being tested by some higher form of life... a form of life that's mostly just fucking with them.

"Let's just hang out then," decides Picard.

Annnd, here we go -

"Why are you all so alarmed when I've gone to so much trouble to look like you?" demands the thing in space.

Yeah, no.

Data reports there's actually nothing out there.

Geordi Sassy Moment: "Sure is a damned-ugly nothing."

Picard, not knowing what else to do, follows protocol, and introduces himself. "Sooo, who are you?"

"Nagilum," answers the monster.

Picard tries to get Nagilum to answer who he's with, or what he represents - you know small-talk - but instead, Nagilum ponders why Data is different than everyone else. Then he goes around the bridge, naming off the people there. When he reaches Pulaski, he notes that she is also different, and then she spins and twists, ending up at the bottom of the ramp, against the wall. Worf checks to see if she is okay, and she haltingly tells Nagilum that she's a female.

"That's how we propagate our species," Picard explains.

"Show me," says Nagilum.

"Go fuck yourself," replies Pulaski.

Worf looks like he's gonna cut a space monster bitch.

Nagilum is unfazed by this answer. "Is it true you only have a limited existence?" he (it?) asks.
"Huh?" asks Picard.
"Death," replies Nagilum.
And Haskell starts shaking like crazy, grabbing his head and screaming. He falls to the floor shaking, then dies in the fetal position. Pulaski rushes forward to hypo him, to no avail. Dude is dead.
"That's really interesting," says Nagilum.

"Hey, fuck you!" yells Picard. "You can't do that!"

"Look," says Nagilum, as though he's being logical, "if I'm gonna understand death, then I need to see every kind. I should really only need to kill a third of your crew. Okay, maybe half - tops."

Dramatic music! Commercial break!

Picard's Log, 42194.7: "Well, we're fucked. This thing sees us like ants on a sidewalk, and it's a sadistic kid with a magnifying glass."

Picard calls a meeting of the senior officers.

"Thirty to fifty percent casualties is acceptable in a battle," offers Worf.

"Maybe, but not here," answers Picard. "And we're not going to stand around watching fifty percent of our colleagues die around us. Were gonna blow up the Enterprise."

And I hate to even give it to her, but... Sassy Pulaski Moment: "Why do I get the feeling like this was the wrong time to join this ship?"

They all kind of sit there open-mouthed, staring at him, but he's the captain, and it's his decision.
"I guess it's better than standing around, seeing if we survive," offers Riker.

Picard and Riker go to Engineering, which is oddly empty. I guess maybe the announcement has already been made to the crew, and they're with their families? Anyway, they're giving the order to the ship to self-destruct, and when they go to set it, the computer does something it hasn't done before: it asks for a time-frame. We haven't gotten that before on Star Trek. It typically gives a few minutes and begins a count-down.

Picard now has a conundrum - how much time to give people who know they are going to die? He and Riker go back and forth before settling on twenty minutes, feeling like this is adequate time to give people to say goodbye to their families and loved ones.

Picard, having no loved ones on board, goes back to his quarters to listen to some music and chill. Chimes at the door, and he tells Troi to come in.
She tells him that Nagilum won't change his mind if they kill themselves.
That brings up a question - is Nagilum just watching what they do? Why hasn't he decided to just start killing them off while he has the chance? Has this decision caught his attention to the point where he would watch eagerly like some kind of live-action reality show?
Picard asks why she's so sure now, and why didn't she tell him that before he set the self-destruct program?
She replies that it was wrong not to tell him.
Door chimes again. It is Data.
"I have a question, sir. What is death?"

Picard gives Data a minor philosophical talk about the descriptions of heaven and how some believe that death means moving into non-existence. When pressed, he admits that he personally thinks death must be bigger than either of these ideas.

There is a pause, then Troi says "We should not let ourselves die, Jean-Luc."

He gives her a weird look - why is she questioning the captain, and did she seriously just call him by his first name?

"It is wrong of you to force us," adds Data, "...Jean-Luc."

"This is weird," says Picard, "Heeey, computer. Where's Data?"

"On the bridge, yo," replies Majel Barrett.

"Busted, you freakish space monster!" says Picard.

Fake-ass Data and Troi disappear.

The Real Data calls from the bridge to say that they are clear of the blob-thing, almost immediately followed by Riker.

"So, hey - we can cancel self-destruct, right?"

Picard s wary. "No, not yet."

"Um, but -"

"I said not yet!"

Picard enters the bridge just as the computer announces one minute left to go.

Data repeats that they've left the void, but Picard ignores him to tell Wes to go to warp six, any direction, right the fuck now.

Everybody is on edge, badgering for him to shut off the auto-destruct. He checks with Data - on course at warp six. He checks with Troi - nope, she doesn't feel Nagilum nearby anymore.

With ten seconds to go, Picard finally calls it off. But Riker has to also agree, because you gotta have two to run the thing.

"Yes, absolutely, I do indeed concur wholeheartedly," he replies.

The self-destruct cancels.

"A simple yes would have sufficed, Number One."

"I didn't want there to be any chance of misunderstanding."

"Of course." You can practically hear him add "smart-ass."

Picard, so sick of this shit, retreats to his ready room.
Hey look, you guys! Nagilum Skypes! Isn't 24th century technology amazing?

"Thanks, fam. You gave me a lot there. It's been real."

Picard considers Nagilum. "Why'd you let us go?" he asks suspiciously. "You could have seen us deal with death."

"Didn't need to. You taught me a lot just by your reactions beforehand. You wanna know what I learned?"

"No. Get the fuck off my ship."

"Sure, you do," answers Nagilum. "You're curious, so I'm gonna tell you. Also because I'm not human, I don't know that proverb about guests and fish, so I'll hang out for a bit."

Here's his run-down for humans:

-selfish

-value loyalty

-can't find tranquility in anything

-struggle against the inevitable

-thrive on conflict

-rash

-quick to judge

-slow to change

Interesting. Usually, when "superior" species are on Star Trek, they'll simply dickishly state that they are superior. This one came with a list of complaints, then is amazed that humans have survived.

"Whatever," he concludes. "We don't actually have anything in common."

Oh, damn. He wasn't finished.

-hostile

-aggressive

-militant

Then Picard gets a bit Sassy. He's checking out paperwork to signify how many fucks he gives right now, and casually mentions that he's been evaluating Nagilum as well.

"Oh, yeah?"
"Yeah. And I think the thing we have in common is curiosity."
Dammit, I was really hoping for for more of a Fuck You moment there instead of a poignant one ("we all have things in common - yay!"), but I'll take it.
Nagilum chuckles and agrees.
But then Picard finishes a bit stronger with a "don't trap my ship in your dumbass maze again" and Nagilum leaves.

Picard goes back to the bridge. "Let's get the hell out of here. I'm so done."
Riker pats Wes on the shoulder, and advises him to steer clear of holes.

Man, I don't know about this one. There wasn't a lot of science, but quite a bit of philosophy. Philosophy I like, and I found the conversations about dimensions and death to be interesting. But two things kept this episode in the realm of Meh for me.
First: Pulaski trotted out the robophobia in spades this episode, referring to Data as "it," and sighing because she'll just "have to" accept that Data is a living being. Awww, poor you, Pulaski. Go eat a decroded piece of crap.
The second was Nagilum himself (itself? I dunno. He didn't seem to know much about gender). Now, this guy is a villain, so we're supposed to be afraid of him a bit. Or at least cautious. But frankly, I see him as a slightly less annoying Bem. And I never took him seriously as a frightening force to be reckoned with because of this character:

For the uninitiated, that is Tasha, a short, bipedal, anthropomorphic dinosaur mascot-thing from the 1990's reboot of the show "Land of the Lost." Tasha appears to be a puppet head on top of a full costume, which either housed a little person or a child. Tasha, much like Nibbler from Futurama, talks in squeaks and burbles. Do you know how much "Land of the Lost" I watched as a kid? Even though chronologically Star Trek: TNG came first, I did not watch it until years later, meaning that Nagilum's appearance on-screen made me laugh nostalgically.

Red deaths: 1
To date: 1

Gold deaths: 0

Blue deaths: 0

Obnoxious Wes moments: 0

Legitimate Wes moments when he should have told someone to go fuck themselves: 0

Sassy Geordi moments: 2
To date: 2

Sassy Wes Moments: 0

Sassy Worf Moment: 0
To date: 2

Sassy Riker Moments: 0
To date: 2

Sassy Picard Moments:2

To date: 4

Sassy NPC Moments: 0
Sassy Data Moments: 1
To date: 3
Sassy Pulaski Moments: 1
To date: 1

Number of times that it is mentioned that Data is an android: 2
To date: 4

Number of times that Troi reacts to someone else's feelings: 1
To date: 3

Number of times that Geordi "looks at something" with his VISOR: 0
Number of times when Data gives too much info and has to be told to shut up: 1
To date: 1

How Many Episodes Until We Get Rid of Pulaski?

Fun Facts:

- Riker mistakenly calls O'Brien "lieutenant." I guess his non-com canon had not been established yet. He also still does not have a name.

- The music that Picard is listening to in his quarters while waiting to die is Gymnopedie No 1. Lent et Douloureux, which translates roughly into "Slow and Painful." Seems appropriate.

- The title of this episode comes from a line from the poem The Spell of the Yukon by Robert Service.

- Nagilum is "Mulligan" spelled backward. Richard Mulligan was originally supposed to play Nagilum.

- A nice bit of continuity here - they are visiting the Morgana quadrant, and at the end of The Child, Picard mentions the Morgana quadrant as being their new destination.

- Parts of the musical score from TOS' "Amok Time" fight scene between Kirk and Spock are reused for the calisthenics fight scene with Worf and Riker.

- Patrick Stewart used quotes from Picard's talk with Data about death when he spoke at Gene Roddenberry's memorial service.

- This episode is a bottle show. A bottle show is one where few new guest stars or sets need to be made to shoot the episode. There are typically one or two of these per season, and they are done to save money on special effects and other costly items needed for the rest of the season. Other bottle shows include TOS' "The Naked Time" and "The Doomsday Machine" and TNG's "Lonely Among Us."

- Worf's scary mythical Klingon blob-monster thing may have been the space amoeba from The Immunity Syndrome. It'll come up again in DS9.

Dear Curie, I can't push the ottoman and chair together when

you sleep between them. This isn't 128 hours.

ST:TNG Season One, Episode Twenty-Five "Conspiracy"

ST:TNG Season One, Episode Twenty-Five "Conspiracy"
Production Order: 25
Air Order: 25
Stardate: 41775.5
Original Air Date: May 9, 1988

Let's be honest: I could have posted this for the last 49 weeks, and it would still be true.

*******

Riker's Log 41775.5: "Going to this one planet  - Pacifica - with a bunch of beaches. Gonna do some science stuff, yeah, but also, gonna do some swimming and tropical vacay things while we're there."

So right off the bat we know two things:
1. They're not going to Pacifica.
2. What they're going to be waylaid with is going to be unpleasant.

Because this is Star Trek, anytime they tell us that they're going on shore leave, or they're going to be visiting someplace nice, you know they're going to get side-tracked. There isn't money in Star Trek's ever-shitty budget to ship them all to some lovely place where they'll film on location, and there also seems to be some kind of weird formula that states that the nicer their intended location, the worse the actual destination will be. For instance, last week the E was headed for some bona fide shore leave, and where do they end up? Some rock out in BFE.

Down at the front of the bridge, Geordi tells Data a joke. We only hear the punchline, but it doesn't sound like it's all that great a joke, so no worries. What we're supposed to be looking for here is Data's reaction - how does a dude with no sense of humor, but a sense of irony, deal with a joke? He dissects it. And in this case, he decides that it's probably funny, and he starts laughing. It's the fakest, creepiest laugh ever.
Data, I love you. Never make that noise again.

Troi tells Riker that she's looking forward to a moonlight swim at Pacifica, and Data relays back that the holodeck has programs that she can use to get the same effect. She says it isn't the same and tries appealing to Worf, who looks disgusted and states that swimming is too much like bathing.
And you know, I feel like that's kind of a cheap shot to insist that Klingons (or even just Worf) is anti-hygiene because he's a big warrior-type. Seems like a stereotype, and one that's kind of tired.

Data suddenly reports that he's getting a Code 47 message, and because we need to know what that is, Troi gives Riker a worried look and says "Code 47 - for Captain's Eyes Only."
He wakes up Picard to alert him to the message, which Picard accepts in his quarters.
Apparently, we need further exposition, so Majel Barrett spells it out: the captain can't discuss the message with other officers. Also, there won't be a record of the message, and it's on a secure channel. Picard has to agree before he can see it.
When the computer screen clears, it's his friend, Captain Walker Keel. They greet each other warmly, but then Keel switches it up and says that he needs to see Picard about something. He's being super mysterious, and refuses to say what this is all about, even on a secure channel. He tells Picard to meet him immediately on Dytallix-B before signing off.
Dramatic music! Opening credits break!

Picard enters the bridge and immediately asks Data about Dytallix-B in front of everyone. Data relays back that it's in a nearby system, and that it's one of several planets that was mined by the Dytallix Mining Company. Picard tells Geordi to plot a course there, and that there will be no record of them going there. Riker objects - they're supposed to be going someplace else, but Picard shuts him up and locks himself in his ready room.
Later, on their way to this new destination, Data tells Riker that he has pulled up the info he requested on Dytallix-B. It's the same info, just some more about the set-up of the mines, and how there isn't anyone left there. Data tells Riker that it is a worthless hunk of rock, ect. and gets a "Thank you, Data" for his troubles. Riker informs Picard that they have arrived. When Picard comes back onto the bridge, Worf reports that there are already two frigates in orbit around Dytallix-B, and that a third ship is coming into orbit, Walker Keel's ship.
"Oh, hey," says Riker. "Isn't that your buddy?"
"Um, yeah," says Picrad shiftily. "I'm gonna beam down for a few. Hold down the fort."
Riker is a smart officer who knows the rules, so he tries to object, but Picard puts the smack-down on him and climbs into the lift.
The bridge crew exchanges looks.

Picrad had Data scan for life-forms, and when Data found three, Picard has the transporter chief plug those in as beam-down coordinates. He re-materializes in the entrance of a creepy old mine shaft.

I'm really digging this mine shaft set.

Picard descends down the ramp, and three people come out of the shaft toward him: Walker Keel, Tryla Scott, and Captain Rixx, an alien. Rixx and Scott have their weapons trained on him.
"What the hell?" Picard asks Keel.
"Where did we meet?" responds Keel.
"Tau Ceti III. It was a bar, and quite an exotic one, if I remember. What do I win?" he asks sarcastically.
"What about the night you introduced Jack and Beverly Crusher?"
"I didn't introduce them. You did."
"Um, it was my brother," puts in Keel.
"You don't have a brother!" roars Picard. "WTF, Walker?"

"It's cool," Keel says to the others, and they lower their weapons. He introduces Rixx, but Picard says they met at some conference. Apparently, he gets this right, because Rixx nods.

Then Keel introduces Tryla Scott, but Picard knows about her: "It's said you made captain faster than anyone in Starfleet history, present company included. Are you that good?"
Scott smiles. "Yes, I am."
Fuck, yeah! Get it, girl! I love the fact that she doesn't pull out some bullshit modesty thing here. She knows she's good, and she admits it.

We finally get around to the reason they called him there: something weird is going on with Starfleet command. They can't prove anything, but there's been some strange things happening - an evacuation of a starbase with no explanation, the moving of personnel, a handful of deaths chalked up to accidents. Picard admits that this is news to him, as the E has been on the "outer rim." They tell him that they think the E will be targeted. Keel says some top officers at Starfleet are acting weird, and Rixx puts in that they "tested" Picard because these changed officers often don't have complete memories, and try to "bluff their way through talk of old times."
Picard is skeptical.
Keel says he doesn't trust his own crew anymore, that he feels several of his own crew are changed as well.
Scott begs him to keep on the lookout, and Picard agrees.
Keel tells him to say hi to Beverly for him, which is going to be difficult, seeing as how he then tells Picard not to say anything to anyone about this meeting.
Picard agrees to think about it, and beams out.
And so, the formula works: they were headed for paradise, and they ended up on another rock in the middle of nowhere.

Upstairs, Picard decides to tell Troi. He starts out by talking about his own Three Musketeers: Jean-Luc Picard, Walker Keel, and Jack Crusher. This is why he trusts Keel implicitly - they're hella old friends.
Troi plays Devil's Advocate and points out that Picard risked his career by meeting with the others, that they were breaking a ton of Starfleet regulations. He counters by telling her that, if this thing goes all the way to the top, then they'll need to break some rules and ignore some orders to find out. When she asks if he plans to tell the crew, he declines - he doesn't want to drag them down with him if it's all crap.

They go back out to the bridge, and Picard tells Geordi that they should head off for Pacifica now. Then he tells Data that he's going to give him a special assignment. Data seems as pleased as he can for a guy who is trying to fake all of his emotions.
Data sits at the ready room computer and asks it to give him all of Starfleet's communications from the last six months.
Crusher enters the bridge and says she heard the Picard met up with Keel's ship.
"Did you see Walker?"
"No,"lies Picard. "No time."
"Aw, too bad," she sighs, and sits in one of those non-seats to the left of Troi's chair.
Oops, now there's a "disturbance" in a nearby quadrant. They're already ten hours late arriving at Pacifica, what's a few more hours while they rubber-neck?
They come up on some wreckage, and Worf guesses that it could only be Keel's ship, completely destroyed.

Picard's Personal Log 41776.1: "This sucks. Like, a lot. And now I'm wondering if Walker was right. I told Riker about Walker's suspicions."

Picard and Riker meet up in the observation lounge. Riker is also skeptical.

"Okay, yeah, I get that," admits Picard. "But remember when Admiral Quinn was here before, and he was all like, "something weird is going on" and we weren't quite sure what the hell he was talking about? What if that's the same thing?"

Riker is still not buying what Picard isn't sure he wants to sell.

Back in the ready room, Data is still scanning through all of those Starfleet communiques.

He starts whispering how they're "fascinating," and the computer is all, "Huh?"

Data corrects himself: "Sorry, computer. I was talking to myself." Then he pauses. "Dude! I was talking to myself!" He's pretty stoked that he picked up another human idiosyncrasy and was using it without thinking.
"Huh?" asks the computer again.
Data begins listing off all the reasons why a person might talk to themselves, and the computer interrupts him with a "Thank you, Mr Data."
Damn. Twice in one day.

Data busts in on Riker and Picard, who are now arguing over whether or not Keel's ship was destroyed by sabotage.
"I found that thing you asked me to look for," Data tells Picard.
He busts out another one of those laptops, and shows them how there's been a weird "reshuffling" of Starfleet personnel, usually at command level, and all of the new people have spent time with the upper echelons of Starfleet command. These people were all sent to take over command of starbases, colonies and ships within a certain cone-shaped area.
"Dude... like, an invasion?" asks Riker.
He now believes because... well, they put an android on the case. If you want yourself some truth, you get an android.
"Possibly," says Data. "But there isn't enough info to say who's behind it."
"We can't just walk into Starfleet Headquarters and demand to know what the fuck is up," says Riker reasonably.
Data considers it. "Porque no?"
"Yeah, why not?" asks Picard. "If shit's going down, then sooner or later we're going to have to walk the fuck in there and find out what the deal is."

Picard's Personal Log: "Going to Earth. Told the rest of the bridge crew."

Dude, there's an awesome shot here, where the E flies between Earth and the moon.

Starfleet headquarters calls. It's three admirals, including Quinn. The other human is Aaron, and the Vulcan is Savar.

"Hey, whut up, Enterprise. Fancy you, in this neighborhood."

Picard and Quinn exchange pleasantries.

"Sooo, what's the deal?" asks Savar. "You guys are supposed to be at Pacifica, but the guy in charge there says you guys canceled."

"Yeah, I wanna talk about that in person," answers Picard.

Wait, WTH? What is that dumb motherfucker doing here?

Remmick slides in and whispers some sweet nothings into Savar's pointy ear, then Savar is all, "Gotta go. Gotta talk secretly for a few."
When he signs off, Riker is immediately behind Picard. "What's that little brown-nosing asswipe doing here?"
Picard asks Troi what she thinks, and she says someone is hiding something, but it's super-vague. Everyone agrees that the admirals are all acting pretty normal, but Geordi thinks it's weird that they're not getting the smack-down for canceling on a mission and just randomly going home.
The admirals call back.
"Okay, cool. Let's do dinner, in like twenty minutes. Bring your first officer. It'll be fab."
"Sweet," agrees Picard.
"Oh, hey," adds Quinn. "I can't go to the dinner, but I want to beam up to see the E again and say hello."
Picard agrees and they all sign off.
"Well, that's good news at least," remarks Picard. "If Quinn wants to talk to us without the others there, then it means he's still on our side."

Another sweet-ass matte painting here of Starfleet Headquarters. Some real nice establishing shots in this episode.

Quinn goes into the transporter room and opens what looks like a Trapper-Keeper on steroids. There's this weird, wiggly Play-Doh bug inside. Then he closes the Trapper-Keeper when Remmick walks in, and the admiral says he is ready to beam up.
Dramatic music! Commercial break!

Quinn transports up with his bug-thing, where Picard and Riker meet him.
Picard and Quinn greet each other warmly, and Picard says he looks great, not tired like he was complaining about before.
"Naw, I was tired of the same old-same old," says Quinn. "Feeling energized now. Pep in my step."
They're walking through the corridors, and Picard brings up what Quinn said earlier, about thinking that there was a vague threat to the Federation that would destroy everything.
"Aw, man. You took me literally! I'm sorry about that," says Quinn. "I was just talking about bringing new worlds into the Federation, and how stressful that can be."

"Oh, okay," replies Picard.
But you can tell he thinks Quinn is full of shit. A guy complains that there's a threat that may destroy their organization, but then brushes it off by saying he just meant that it was stressful bringing new people in? That's not even the same thing, not by a long shot.

"So I want to freshen up, then look around," says Quinn.
"Okay," answers Picard. "How about I go downstairs to Headquarters to meet the others, and Riker can stay here and give you a tour?"
Riker seems surprised, and Quinn says he totally doesn't have to stay, but Picard insists, and says that Riker can pop down when he's done.
They all agree, with Quinn adding that he might want to stay awhile.
Yeah, that's not fishy as fuck. You can't make a dinner in twenty minutes, but you have plenty of time at the exact same time to freely roam the Enterprise?

Quinn goes off to his quarters, and Picard pulls Riker down the corridor and back into the transporter room.
"So that's not Quinn," Picard tells him. "I want you to watch him like a hawk, and see if you can get Crusher to do a full medical eval on him."
"Um, that's an admiral," Riker points out.
"I don't give a shit if he's the queen," argues Picard. "Get some info on him, then come downstairs."
"...are you beaming down unarmed after giving me that warning?" demands Riker.
"I can watch out for myself," he replies.
Then he looks beyond Riker and says "Energize," which means that they just had a super-secret talk in front of a transporter chief.
...I don't even know what's going on with this organization.

Picard meets Admirals Aaron and Savar, and freaking Remmick.
He questions the lack of activity in the space where they're meeting, and Remmick says pleasantly that it's a quiet night.
Okay, seriously: why do evil people make the worst small talk ever? It's not enough that Picard has to deal with these people at all, now he also has to suffer through crap small talk as well.

Upstairs, Riker reports to Quinn's quarters and asks if he's ready for his tour. Then he asks what Quinn has in his Trapper-Keeper.
"It's this cool thing," says Quinn. "I brought it for Dr Crusher to check out. Maybe you want to see it, too. It's this life-form we came across while checking out planets in uncharted territory. It's a superior form of life."
Wait, how do you know? Did this life-form tell a human that it was a superior form of life? Did a Vulcan agree with it, even if no Vulcan was around a moment earlier? Those are really the two things one needs on this show to confirm a superior life-form, Quinn.
Suspicious, Riker says that maybe the science officer would want to take a look at it instead.
Quinn gets aggressive and grabs Riker by the wrist. "It won't like your science officer! It will like you!"
Wow, look who's declared himself the eHarmony of aliens. The science officer does not Match, Riker. Only you and Crusher.
Quinn then proceeds to beat the ever-loving shit out of Riker.

Riker manages to comm for security, but he's knocked out and crushes a glass table before anyone arrives.

Downstairs, Picard and the admirals come upon a little table set with glasses and Andorian tea. Remmick excuses himself and disappears into another room. Aaron and Savar toast to Keel's destroyed ship. Picard doesn't so much drink the tea as regard the glass suspiciously. Probably smart - it could contain iocane.

"Oh, um. I wanted to talk about that ship," says Picard. "Do we know what caused it be destroyed?"

"Yeah," replies Savar. "Implosion. Extreme negligence of the captain."

Picard knows that that's crap.

Aaron talks about the tea, because again, terrible small talk.

Upstairs, Worf races through the corridors, going to the call that Riker made for security. Geordi is hot on his heels because, I dunno, in addition to being the ship's pilot and also frequently the chief engineer, he's also security?
When they make it to Quinn's quarters, he lies and tells them that Riker slipped and hit his head. They call Crusher. Quinn tries to excuse himself, and when Geordi asks if he shouldn't stick around for the doctor to show up, Quinn just fucking throws him through the doors.
I mean they weren't open. Geordi's body flew through the air and knocked them over like cardboard. (Okay, technically they were, but still.)

"WTF?" asks the look on Worf's face.
"Let's go, bro," Quinn says to him.
Dramatic music! Commercial break!

Worf fights valiantly, even actually using that two-handed punch that Kirk liked so much. Nope. Quinn has apparently been taking Geezer-Fu classes at Starfleet's Rec Center, and he beats the snot out of Worf as well.
So who takes his ass down? Beverly fucking Crusher, that's who. She shoots him with her phaser set for some kind of heavy stun - a bunch of times - and he crumples on the carpet.

Our boys get up and Crusher scans Riker to make sure he's okay. Then they haul Quinn's Chuck Norris-channeling carcass back to sick bay.

Crusher runs some tests and confirms that it's actually Quinn, but Geordi points out before he leaves that Quinn just beat the shit out of the three of them.

She's administering some kind of hypospray on the unconscious Quinn when she finds something squirmy sticking out of his neck.

Gross.

Downstairs, the admirals start talking to Picard about conspiracies in general.
Aaron says something pretty interesting: "When a machination is real, no one knows about it. And when it's suspected, it's almost never real."
That's true, Admiral Creeper. What about it?
"Except of course in paranoid delusions, for those who believe," adds Savar.
Ohh, I see. You guys plan to gaslight Picard.
Remmick comes out into the corridor to let them know that dinner is served.
While the others go in, Picard stays in the corridor to call Riker and let him know that he should beam down.
But instead of Riker, Crusher picks up, asking first if she can speak freely - smart! Then she gives him a quick run-down: Riker was attacked by Quinn, who is currently being piloted by some weird bug-thing that's wrapped around his nervous system. The bug-thing breathes through that tail that hangs out of a hole in the back of the human host's neck.
"Look for that," she says. "Should be visible on anybody with a bug. It messes with the adrenal gland, which makes that person extra-strong. But so far, I don't think I can remove it without killing Quinn. You're gonna have to set your phaser on kill. Sorry."
"Not as sorry as me," replies Picard. "You don't beam down to Starfleet Headquarters armed."
*cough,cough* warned by Riker *cough, cough*

I'm pretty sure this animation is part of the remastering. Looks a bit too snazzy for mid-80's.

Picard gets called into dinner. He loudly tells Crusher to tell Riker to join them downstairs when he's ready. Then he goes in to dinner.
From the look of the cool little pot in front of Picard, they're having pho - yum!
But no. The lid comes off, and -

Mmmmmm, mealworms!

The admirals pop open their own bowls, and start eating handfuls of worms. (For the squeamish in the audience, you can tell they're actually eating sauteed onions.) The random security Gold in the corner takes an empty seat, and they gorge themselves like zombies on brains.

Picard pushes the bowl away in disgust, and tries to leave, but Riker comes up behind him.

"You're not going anywhere," says Riker, pushing Picard forcefully back in the room.

Aaron is pissed off. "You were meant for the doctor!"

He checks the back of Riker's neck, and finds that tail thing.

"Nothing to be done," replies the first officer. "Riker walked in on us."

"Whatever," shrugs Savar. "The doctor will be here soon, anyway."

Wait, how? Quinn only took one upstairs with him. They'll have to get another and sneak it back up on the E.

The door opens again.

Aww, man. Not her.

They all sit down to dinner again, and the admirals tell Picard that they were aware that he knew something was going on.

Savar also says that they let him come to them, rather than go after him.

Scott then says that their two species both appreciate theater, and that Picard put on a good show.

"What species are you?" asks Picard.

She deflects. It doesn't matter, apparently.

Savar starts talking about how they've been going slowly for a while now, and then they strike when it's too late.

So they're like... monologuing, but it's being done by several of them at the same time... dialoguing? I dunno. Anyway.

Riker chimes in every now and again, with a "yeah, that's right" or "you'll soon find out."

Savar encourages Riker to eat, and Riker takes a whopping handful of mealworks. He's just about to dump it down his gullet, Picard cringing, when Riker uses the action to cover up the fact that he's reaching for his phaser.

Riker takes down the security Gold before anyone can react. A fight breaks out, and he manages to nail Scott right in the chest.

Maaaan, I really liked her, too.

Then, because this shit wasn't fucked up enough already, Scott's mouth opens and the bug crawls out. The bug animation is very Ray Harryhausen, making it all the creepier.

Savar attempts to pinch Riker all Vulcan-style, but Picard grabs the fallen Gold's phaser, and tags Savar in the chest. In the meantime, Aaron has taken off down the corridor. 

Interesting. The superior life form with the strength of ten men is now fleeing the scene. Did the bugs have a staff meeting before their invasion?

"Don't piss this species off. They used to be really brutal to one another a long time ago, and they could revert back if you make them angry."

Every now and again, it totally works in humanity's favor that we can be complete dicks to each other.

So the next part makes me think that these bugs are totally not superior: Aaron is running down the corridor, and he actually has a phaser. Picard and Riker are on his heels, and Picard yells out, "Aaron!"

That dipshit stops and actually turns to look back at them.

Then he fires at them, but hits a painting on the wall behind Riker.

And you can guess what happens now - they both fire at him, killing him instantly.

Dumbass.

They run up to Aaron's body, and the bug crawls out of his mouth, but this time, they watch where it goes.

It crawls under a nearby door. (Pretty convenient that all of the doors in this show go all the way to the floor, but this one has a gap sufficient enough to fit a bug under it.)

Let's see what's behind Door Number One!

Aw, shit. It's the booby prize.

I would have been happier with a lifetime supply of Rice-A-Roni. (The Starfleet Headquarters Treat - ding, ding!)

Remmick is all Happy Helper Cog and good customer service toward the upper officers.

Picard spots the bug crawling across the floor, and he tries to warn Remmick, but then that motherfucker swallows the bug WHOLE. Like, he lets it crawl in his mouth.

WTF? Is this Intergalactic Fear Factor?

Then his neck starts doing this bulgy shit.

He starts monologuing about not meaning them any harm, and then he yells, "WE SEEK PEACEFUL CO-EXISTENCE!"

The hell you do.

So Riker and Picard do they only thing they can do: they tag-team him with phasers.

The death of Remmick is not only satisfying, but special-effects-wise, it's actually pretty fantastic.

First, we get some Indiana Jones face-melting action:

Then the head completely explodes.

And somehow, he hasn't disintegrated like other people hit by phasers set on stun. Instead, he starts burning from the inside out.

Annnndddd, cue the monster popping out of the chest!

"Oh, fuck THIS shit," says Picard.

He and Riker fire on the Mecha-bug.

Mecha-bug disintegrates, and it seems that Remmick was filled with the little bugs, like Oogie Boogie. Gross.

Also, I think his wrist might be broken. It lost like Harry Potter's arm when all of his arm bones disappeared.

Picard's Log 41780.2: "So that sucked. We had to kill those people. But here's the good part: when that Mecha-bug died, all of the little ones did too, so Quinn is fine again."

It's real crappy that they didn't discover that before they shot Scott. Remmick, though... he was a real douche bag, so who gives a shit about him?

Up on the bridge, Riker tells Picard that Crusher was the one who suggested the fake bug tail in his neck to fool the others. Picard says it was effective.

Data approaches The Chair.

"So, um, I took a look at the message that Remmick was sending when you interrupted him. I think it was a beacon."

"A beacon?"

"Yeahhhh... a homing beacon, sent from Earth..."

And instead of going straight into the ending credits music, we see the Enterprise slowly fly by, then the camera pushes just as slowly into the stars, with a background noise that sounds tinkly, mechanical, and like some kind of code. It's creepy. And highly effective. Good ending.

So every time I watch this episode, my reaction is the same: why is this a one-off? Why is this not an arc or a cliffhanger season finale? It bothered me so much that, instead of just complaining about it in my review, I went looking for the answer in Memory Alpha. It gives a decent explanation, but the overall feeling remains - this really needed to be a longer story.
Okay, here's the deal. Writer Tracy Torme originally wanted to do an episode that was commentary on the Iran/Contra Affair that involved treason within the Federation and higher-ups violating the Prime Directive. Both ideas were nixed. The Iran/Contra comparison was thought to be too controversial, and Gene was really, really opposed to the idea that the Federation was less than perfect. I have problems with both of this dissensions. Firstly, it's Star Trek. Star Trek is famous for getting away with commentary on current events and controversies. Why the hell stop now? Secondly, no governing body is perfect. They all fuck up sometimes. Except maybe Canada. But the idea of the Federation as untouchable is not only unrealistic, it closes the door on what could be some really killer episodes. (Not to worry, friends: DS9 gives the finger to this idea, and does a two-parter that covers it.)
Torme starts looking around, because he's got some story, but no substance. Gene adds in the alien bit. Now we have the outline of the problems-within-Starfleet story, but instead of the issue being corrupt Starfleet officers, it's that those officers are playing host to some kind of invading alien race. It was followed by idea of "Eh, let's tie it back to what Quinn said to Picard in "Coming of Age." He said he was worried about issues within the organization, so let's make it this alien thing that he was referring to."
But then they left it unresolved. No mention of the actual alien race - that question was deflected by Infected Scott. And the ending was fabulous, but there was never any follow-up. No invasion came about. It's never mentioned again, save to name the admiral who discovered the parasites. This open-endedness actually drove enough people nuts that several forms of Star Trek fiction have been written about it, either ending the story arc, or suggesting where the bugs came from and what purpose they served.
The whole thing feels a bit... sloppy. Tying it back to "Coming of Age" was pretty smart, because that establishes a continuity that we haven't seen much of yet. But it never goes anywhere. They figure out why certain people in Starfleet are acting weird, but beyond the initial bugs, there isn't any real threat. No bugs ever show up at Earth for the take-over, and presumably, no more Mecha-bugs implant in Starfleet officers for another attempt to take over. What a waste of a possible story arc. Nobody stepped forward with that idea? That's really annoying. I detest wasted potential.

Red deaths: 5

Gold deaths: 1

Blue deaths: 0

Obnoxious Wes moments: 0

Legitimate Wes moments when he should have told someone to go fuck themselves: 0

Sassy Geordi moments: 0

Sassy Wes Moments: 0

Sassy Worf Moment: 0

Sassy Riker Moments: 0

Sassy Yar Moments: 0

Sassy Picard Moments: 0

Sassy NPC Moments: 0
Sassy Data Moments: 0
Sassy Crusher Moments: 0

Number of times that it is mentioned that Data is an android: 0

Number of times that Troi reacts to someone else's feelings: 0

Number of times that Geordi "looks at something" with his VISOR: 0
Number of times when Data gives too much info and has to be told to shut up: 2 - once by the computer!
I think this might be the most TNG deaths we've have so far.


Fun Facts:
- Rixx marks the first appearance of a Bolian on TNG, though the race won't be given a name until a later episode. The name Bolian comes from Cliff Bole, who directed this episode.
- That awesome matte painting of Starfleet Headquarters was a re-use from The One With the Whales.
- Remmick's chair is a redress of that hella-expensive wheelchair they made for the Mark Jameson character in "Too Short a Season."
- This episode marks the only time the computer speaks in the first person. (She seems annoyed with Data's meandering explanation of "talking to oneself" and replies "Thank you, sir. I understand.")
- This is the last episode with this particular admiral's uniform, with the triangular pips. We'll get a different one in season two, then the ones worn in season three will become the permanent uniform.
- The star chart behind Remmick's chair shows several star systems mentioned in TOS and TAS. This is the first time it appears in TNG, and it will later be used in the pilot episode of Doctor Who's spin-off series, The Sarah Jane Chronicles.

- This episode won an Emmy for make-up. No surprises there.
- The first time this episode aired in the UK, several minutes were cut, most notably Remmick's death. Don't know how they might have resolved the episode without it, though.
- This is the only episode of TNG that Canadian sci-fi channel Space precedes with a viewer discretion warning.

Sleepy stripe-amese Caymin