30th Anniversary TNG Episode Discussion Marathon

[NAHTMMM]

Originally Posted by Nate the Great

April 11th, 1988, "The Arsenal of Freedom"

No Fiver

Really? . . . Huh. Maybe some other fiver references this episode.

Memory Alpha specifies that despite the contradictions this grandmother is in fact Felisa Howard from "Sub Rosa". I am confused about this business of Picard not knowing that Beverly was on Arveda Three. Shouldn't he know the major biographical details of all of his senior officers, even before you factor in his infatuation with her in particular?

Classic Starfleet Stupid. See also "Journey to Babel" where Kirk didn't know his First Officer was the son of a Vulcan ambassador until the time was dramatically right for him to find out.

[Nate the Great]

April 18th, 1988, "Symbiosis"

Fiver (by Nic)
Transcript
Memory Alpha

The Episode

Main points:

* Dr. Crusher should know a narcotic when she scans one, and she should know what withdrawal symptoms look like. This Season One mentality of "if humanity doesn't experience it anymore, it's pointless and not worth remembering" is infuriating.
* Neither side has the high ground, which I suppose was intentional. But the problem is that neither side is sympathetic either. TOS pulled this off with Bele and Lokai, Troyius and Elas, and so forth, so when was this skill forgotten?
* These planets are not Federation members and are not subject to Federation law, so if they were just upfront about what this stuff was and asked for transport back home, our heroes couldn't do anything about it. Remember "The Outrageous Okona"?
* Picard asserting that they can't interfere is correct, so why is he getting so much backlash from the crew? Especially when TNG was supposed to be the anti-TOS at this point. No conflict and all that...
* The conversation between Tasha and Wesley was good, but it went too far into Very Special Episode territory and lasted too long. Even Kirk speeches didn't last that long.
* In this case, even if technically Federation law prohibits interference, I still would've, but in subtle ways. Isn't there a chemical or countermold that could be seeded on Brekka to make this mold gradually die off over a few decades? If the drug keeps getting more expensive, eventually alternatives would have to be developed, right?

The Fiver

Yar: Wow, electrical powers. Certainly a weapon that's hard to confiscate.
Riker: You're a big help. I don't see much of a future for you in Starfleet Security.

Given that this is the last pre-"Skin of Evil" appearance of Yar, I get that this is gallows humor, but personally I think it goes a little too dark.

Romas: The felicium is the only medicine that keeps us alive!
Crusher: And I don't suppose that there's a cheap generic version on the market?
Langor: No, that would infringe our patents.

It's sad how this joke has grown gradually less funny over the years...

Picard: You believe that felicium is a narcotic, Doctor?
Crusher: Yes! Everyone on Ornara is addicted to it!
Picard: I can't imagine what it must be like to depend on a chemical substance. Computer -- tea, Earl Grey, hot.
Crusher: Isn't that your twelfth cup since this morning?
Picard: Find someone who drinks that much coffee, then complain.

Point taken. One wonders how Janeway would deal with these people...

Crusher: I'm prepared to resign to protest your policy on this!
Picard: You'll have wait till Lieutenant Yar leaves the ship. She's in line ahead of you.

Dark. And overkill.

(The Enterprise sails away at Ludicrous Speed)

Sails?

YouTube

Tasha waves good-bye. This was her last episode filmed, after all.

Nitpicker's Guide

* Phil pointed out the biofilter thing as well, including the conflicts with "Angel One."

TNG Companion

This episode will most likely be remembered for three things; the teaming of two Star Trek II actors in guest roles, the late Merritt Butrick (his name was misspelled in the credits as “Merrit”) and Judson Scott [one of Khan’s followers]; the overbearing Nancy Reagan-era “Just Say No” anti-drug speech Tasha gives Wesley; and the REAL last scene for Denise Crosby.

[Nate the Great]

April 25th, 1988, "Skin of Evil"

Oh boy, here we go. As a prelude, I understand why Denise Crosby wanted to leave, but I think she made a mistake.

Fiver (by Kira)
Transcript
Memory Alpha

The Episode

WORF: The martial arts competition is in three days. Are you prepared?
TASHA: I will be if you'll meet me on the holodeck later. I need your help on the Mishiama wrist-lock and break. If it works on you, I can use it on anyone.
WORF: A valid assumption. Who is your first competitor?
TASHA: Science Officer Swenson.
WORF: You will defeat him easily.
TASHA: I'm more concerned with Lieutenant Minnerly's kick boxing.
WORF: You are favoured in the ship's pool.
TASHA: You bet on me?
WORF: A sure thing.

Like Crosby said, if she'd gotten more scenes like this maybe she wouldn't have left so quickly. I wonder why she didn't push a bit harder, maybe form a block with the other actors to demand better writing and more varied plots or else everyone is leaving at the end of the season.

LYNCH: Captain, I'm in the middle of realigning the dilithium crystals.
PICARD [OC]: There is an emergency. We need warp drive. How long?
LYNCH: Twenty minutes. Maybe more.

Look, I get it, you can't always schedule disasters and routine maintenance to not conflict with each other. That's not practical. But something as simple as "have two sets of dilithium crystals and swap between them, so warp drive is never out of commission for more than a few minutes at a time" should be practical. It's not like we can recycle dilithium in the 24th century-oh wait!

LYNCH: Prime matter-antimatter injectors. Set ratio at twenty-five to one.

Would people please stop treating the matter/antimatter mix ratio as having possible values other than 1:1! Please! What's that other 24 parts of matter going to do besides spray across the bottom of the warp core? Throw in technobabble about slowly focusing the plasma stream if you need to pad out achieving warp capability if you have to!

(The oil slick ripples, and speaks)
ARMUS: Very good, tin man.

Seriously, where did Armus hear this colloquialism? He's obviously not telepathic. Further signs of bad writing. You don't make references Earth culture if the speaker doesn't have a connection to Earth!

RIKER: We have no choice. We're here to negotiate for our team. What do you want?
ARMUS: Maybe I want nothing.
RIKER: Then you would have killed all of us.
ARMUS: I still might.
RIKER: What do you want? Tell me. Maybe we can reach an accommodation.
ARMUS: If I tell you, will you give it to me?
RIKER: I might. It depends.

Okay, Riker asked what Armus wants, and he deflects. We'll come back to this.

ARMUS [OC]: They perfected a means of bringing to the surface all that was evil and negative within. Erupting, spreading, connecting. In time it formed second skin, dank and vile.
TROI: You.
ARMUS [OC]: Yes.
TROI: They discarded you and left.

There's an interesting discussion to be had here about these aliens who somehow removed the impurities from their own beings and combined them to create a sentient lifeform.

ARMUS: Don't you want to ask me what I want?

They DID! If you want something, just say so, it's too late to be offended that you weren't asked.

DATA: I think you should be destroyed.
ARMUS: A moral judgment from a machine.

Given Armus' origin, why is the concept of a sentient machine so incomprehensible for him?

I suddenly wonder if a tractor beam from the ship could scoop this guy up and toss him into where the next state would be.

(Armus transports Picard into the shuttlecraft)

HOW!?! Telekinesis is one thing, independent teleportation is another. Armus is clearly not supposed to be on the same level as Q or a Douwd or whatever. Just create a path for Picard to follow, then cut to Picard walking into the shuttle, it wouldn't cost an arm and a leg.

DATA: Sir, the purpose of this gathering confuses me.
PICARD: Oh? How so?
DATA: My thoughts are not for Tasha, but for myself. I keep thinking how empty it will feel without her presence. Did I miss the point?
PICARD: No, you didn't, Data. You got it.

A good scene. The episode really wasn't about Data, but he can still learn something.

[Nate the Great]

The Fiver

Yar: I hear there's a betting pool for the upcoming martial arts tournament.
Riker: Did you bet against her, Worf?
Worf: Bet against Lieutenant Yar? Ha! Over her dead body.
Yar: Thanks, Worf. That's very sweet of you.
Riker: But Tasha, he said --
Yar: Don't ruin the moment.

I wonder if "I'll take what I can get" could've been worked in here.

Picard: Picard to Engineering. I need warp and I need it now, Mr. Lurch!
Lynch: (over the comm) My name is Lynch, sir.
Picard: Whatever.

Is that supposed to be an Addams Family reference? I don't get it.

Riker: Tasha and Beverly don't want to get their shoes dirty.
Picard: Be a man, Will! Take your jacket off and use it to cover the puddle for them.
Riker: Are you kidding? Those stains would never come out.

Good joke, but the uniforms won't have separate jackets for a few seasons yet.

Armus: I'm not letting you near your shuttle!
Yar: Oh yeah? What are you going to do, kill me? I'm a regular! In your face!
Armus: Does this look like the Original Series?
Yar: Hahahahaha! No, our captain has far less hai...uh oh.
(ZAP!)
Yar: GAK!

Nice joke. Contractual immortality is always a great gag.

Riker: Armus is extremely dangerous. He's toying with us.
Picard: Then there's only one possible course of action.
Riker: Send down another away team?
Picard: Absolutely.

Obviously!

Data: Armus is approaching again. He most likely wants to torture one of us for amusement.
La Forge: Not it.
Crusher: Not it.
Data: Not it.
Riker: Huh? What are we -- Aaaaaaaa!

I wonder if a redshirt gag would've worked here, even when Security wears yellow, now.

Data: I feel worse for myself than for Tasha.
Picard: That's only natural, Data. You've lost a valued friend.
Data: Not to mention it will be years before I get any action again.

Depending on your definition of "action", it'll either be Ard'rian in two years, Jenna in three years, or the Borg Queen in nine years.

Memory Alpha

* Writer Keith DeCandido refutes fan dissatisfaction with the death, saying that there's no such thing as a good death. How short sighted. Main characters should never be killed in a method that might as well have been a TOS redshirt. Tasha could've been tricked by Armus into joining Troi in the shuttle, then chooses to fight back, perhaps jumping into Armus with a tricorder set to temporarily disrupt Armus' energy field allowing the Enterprise to beam up the shuttle crew. Wouldn't that be a better death? Then again, we wouldn't have had "Yesterday's Enterprise", so who knows...

YouTube

Picard taunts Armus
Data is confused about mourning
Betting on Tasha is a sure thing

Nitpicker's Guide

* If Troi is in the shuttle and Riker is a few hundred feet away, why aren't they using their telepathic bond?
* If Armus is holding Riker hostage or something, why isn't there a bulge when he covers the shuttle to talk to Troi?

TNG Companion

“Gene felt we couldn’t kill the creature, because it is not up to us as human beings to make a moral judgement on any creature that we meet because we are not God,” Hannah Louise Shearer [one of the screenwriters] has said.
Director Scanlan filmed Tasha’s farewell message two ways: looking straight ahead at the camera (his preference, and more logical) and nodding in the direction of each person as she talks about them (completely illogical unless she left behind directions on who was to stand where).

[Nate the Great]

May 2nd, 1988, "We'll Always Have Paris"

Fiver (by KJP)
Transcript
Memory Alpha

The Episode

As a summary, this is another episode that abuses science (at least standard Trek science) but has good character work. Which I suppose is better than the other way around.

DATA: Sensors show nothing, sir, but it appears a moment in time repeated itself exactly for everyone.
LAFORGE: Just like a feeling of deja vu.

Even as a child I found it odd that even after using the term "deja vu" the characters kept using alternate terms, dancing around the slightly foreign word as if afraid that it'll confuse or discourage the viewers from continuing to watch.

DATA: Computers were also affected, which would indicate the phenomenon was not an illusion but occurred in real time.

Now that's an interesting question: how would a computer feel deja vu? Would it record a set of calculations twice? I'm reminded of the Department of Temporal Investigations story "God, Fate, and Fractals", which feature tricorders that are specifically designed to retain data even if timeline alterations change the memories of the DTI agents.

RIKER: Captain, you act as if there's a connection between the time distortion and the distress signal.
PICARD: There is. Paul Manheim. Fifteen years ago he went off to work on experiments relating to non-linear time. It appears he may have achieved some measure of success.

Another interesting question: how much of Picard's knowledge of Manheim is basic scientific interest and how much comes from his connection with Janice?

PICARD: Yes, what is it, Counsellor?
TROI: I think you would prefer to discuss this in private.
PICARD: That's not necessary. Go on.

I do wonder why this conversation had to take place on the bridge. Was the script running long and there wasn't time to move things to the ready room or conference lounge?

COMPUTER: Holodeck three is clear.
PICARD: Location, Paris, Cafe des Artistes, as it appeared twenty two years ago. April the ninth, fifteen hundred hours, three o'clock. Warm spring day.
COMPUTER: Programme complete.

A horrifying thought...sensors keep track of everything that happens in public spaces everywhere on Earth with this kind of precision and distribute the data to all Federation facilities that have holodecks. And somehow records at least basic psychological profiles of everyone at the time of recording, along with recent biographical information to make them seem real. I thought unauthorized holographic recreations of real people was illegal!

Furthermore, it must be remembered that holodeck technology at the time was limited. Maybe Jack Crusher and Noonien Soong could record versions of themselves to stand in one place and talk, but true interactivity was still years off.

DATA: Actually sir, that may be an incorrect analogy.
PICARD: How so, Data?
DATA: A hiccup is a spasmodic inhalation with closure of the glottis. accompanied by a peculiar sound. If we were to continue this analogy to a body function, what occurred would be best represented by a--

By a...what? At best I would equate the Manheim Effect to a form of seizure. If you loosened the definition, maybe amnesia that only goes back a very short amount of time.

PICARD: This is Captain... This is the Captain of the USS Enterprise responding to your signal for help.

I get that Picard is uncomfortable about meeting Jenice right now, but even so, this seems like cowardice. Starfleet captains shouldn't exhibit this kind of weenie behavior when on duty.

JENICE: Paul's always been interested in time. He's never believed that it was immutable, any more than space is immutable. Over the last decade, he came to believe that we reside in one of infinite dimensions, and what holds us here is the constancy of time. Change that and it would be what he called opening the window to those other dimensions.

So altering certain temporal variables would allow us to exist in physical dimensions other than the three we currently occupy. I'm not sure what the appeal would be.

PICARD: Did he anticipate that these experiments might be dangerous?
JENICE: I didn't think so. Now, in retrospect, he probably did. That would explain all the unusual precautions he began taking, even before the accident. The force field, the elaborate security system. Every time he started a new experiment, he insisted that I stay in what he called a protected room.

I'm not sure how you would shield a room to resist temporal effects. You'd probably need to infuse the forcefield with tachyons or somesuch.

(Jenice kisses Picard's cheek and leave)
PICARD: She's an old friend.
CRUSHER: I gathered that.

Understatement of the century. We'll be returning to Beverly later.

DATA: I cannot be sure, sir, but I believe Manheim has developed a method for harnessing energy from the pulsar.

What? I thought Manheim set up shop here because of the gravitational conditions. How do you tap the energy from a star from so far away?

MANHEIM: We were able to locate an energy source in the centre of this planetoid.

What? This brings to mind bad memories of the Icarus Base from Stargate that is on a planet that has a naquadria core that can somehow power a Stargate. Blech.

JENICE: I knew you wouldn't come to me.
PICARD: No, not under these circumstances.

This is good. It's not that Picard is scared that he'll be tempted to have an affair with Jenice, it's that he doesn't want to cause her unnecessary pain or distract her from her husband.

JENICE: I've thought a lot about this over the years, and perhaps you're leaving out your greatest fear. The real reason you left.
PICARD: Which was?
JENICE: That life with me would have somehow made you ordinary.
PICARD: You're wonderful. And am I that transparent?
JENICE: Only to me.

I suppose Picard would've had to give up Starfleet and return to archaeology. I suddenly wonder if Professor Galen would've liked her.

CRUSHER: I don't think I want to talk about what I think you mean.
TROI: Captain Picard
CRUSHER: I can't compete with a ghost from his past. No one could.

You know, if Gene didn't want this relationship to exist, why did it keep showing up? Scenes like this in the first season create questions relating to "Lessons". In that episode Beverly claims that at this point all that there was was vague chemistry. This scene implies more than that.

MANHEIM: She never would admit this, but she has had a terrible time these last years. Had we not been so isolated, she might have left me, and I never would have known. At least, not right away.

"Isolated." Right. The Hansens were isolated, the Manheims were just a little bit off the beaten path. There's a difference.

DATA: In both cases, the time distortions occurred along the same continuum as a preview or a reprise of a specific point in time.
PICARD: Where we are, where we were, and where we will be.

This makes it sound like the distortions aren't altering history (movement is only along the axis of the timeline), which is nonsense. When the loop places two versions of a person in the same place, both retain memories of the encounter, which I would call an alteration (movement goes "off the rails" of the prior timeline).

PICARD: I think it should be only you because you seem more able to control the effects of the time distortion.
DATA: Oh, I see, sir. That is quite true, sir. I see time as a constant, whereas humans perceive time as flexible.

What? It was said earlier that the Manheim Effect appeared on sensors. That means that it affects machines as well. And it will affect Data. And I think Picard should've used something like "cope with" rather than "control." If Data can emit a subspace field that he can tune like a radio to deal with temporal alterations, that's news to me.

[Nate the Great]

The Fiver

Picard: Ah, the Holodeck. No better place to be when there's time warps and spatial anomalies about.

I'll say. Remember "The Big Good-Bye" when a slightly weird alien sensor scan totally broke this thing? And that would have less affect than time warps and spatial anomalies.

Picard: This is the captain of the Enterprise, but definitely not the man who stood you up in a Paris café years ago.
Female Voice: Oh, hi, Jean-Luc.

Using "but" instead of "and" makes it sound like multiple Enterprise captains have stood her up. Maybe she had a date with John Harriman the previous week...

Crusher: It's only the first season -- should I be jealous yet?
Picard: Nothing is outside the realm of the P/C 'shippers.

Fair enough.

Crusher: Dr. Manheim is awake, but not fully aware.
Dr. Manheim: My mind feels like it is floating between two places.
Crusher: He seems to be suffering from an overdose of New Age music.

This sounds like a topical joke that didn't age well. Sorry.

Picard: Now remember, Mr. Data, when fixing a time anomaly, you have to have an appropriate "time" catch phrase to use at the crucial moment.
Data: Okay, how about... "Time to take out the trash"?
Picard: Ugh. I would think any Starfleet officer could come up with something better than THAT.

Janeway sure did...

Riker: [I'm] just wondering how I would have handled the situation of dealing with the attractive wife of an eccentric scientist on a remote space station.
Picard: Right, as if that could ever happen again.

Ha ha. "That's as likely as discovering that Kreiger Waves actually exist!"

Nitpicker's Guide

* Supposedly the recreation of the cafe is accurate, but Jenice said that it rained that day. Even if you posit that there's some sort of Back to the Future II-style weather control in play, there should be wet furniture around.
* The Eiffel Tower jumps around in the holodeck scenes so you can see it as much as possible. It's almost like the studio thinks the viewers are so stupid that the won't remember that this is Paris unless the Eiffel Tower is always in view.
* When Troi takes Jenice to the holodeck when Picard is already inside the computer gives Troi the option to stop the program. Huh? I would think that the occupants of a holodeck should have priority unless the people outside use a security override.
* The computer presents the arch when Jenice uses "exit" in a casual manner, not as a command. Phil comments that this would create all sorts of unwanted side effects when commands don't have to be preceded by "Computer."

TNG Companion

As originally pitched there was a lot more romance, but it was toned down. The writer’s strike affected filming. Many staff members thought that Jenice and Picard lacked chemistry, but actress Michelle Phillips took cues from the script and acted like a faithful wife to Manheim. The menu at the holographic café includes such in-jokes as Croissants D’ilithium, Targ Klingon a la Mode, and Tribbles dans les Blankettes.

YouTube

The Manheim Effect at the turbolift
Data plugs the hole
Jenice wanted a painless lie

[NAHTMMM]

Originally Posted by Nate the Great

COMPUTER: Holodeck three is clear.
PICARD: Location, Paris, Cafe des Artistes, as it appeared twenty two years ago. April the ninth, fifteen hundred hours, three o'clock. Warm spring day.
COMPUTER: Programme complete.

A horrifying thought...sensors keep track of everything that happens in public spaces everywhere on Earth with this kind of precision and distribute the data to all Federation facilities that have holodecks. And somehow records at least basic psychological profiles of everyone at the time of recording, along with recent biographical information to make them seem real. I thought unauthorized holographic recreations of real people was illegal!

Picard had to tell it that it was a "warm spring day". So presumably it just took the temporally closest snapshot of the cafe, adjusted the sun for that time of day (almanac), and populated it with, perhaps, a few of the servers who worked there and agreed to be recorded, and added in Generic Parisians.

Data 1: Uh oh, there are three of me now. Hmm....
Data 3: Helloooooooooooooo....
Data 2: ......Hellooooooooooo....
Data 1: ............Helloooooooo....
All Three Datas: Hello.
Data 3: I always wanted to do that.

Now that's turning a problem into an opportunity.

Picard: Before we say farewell and you return to your husband, may I ask what you think of our Holodeck's re-creation of the French café?
Jenice: Very authentic. I haven't seen our waiter in over an hour.

[Nate the Great]

May 9th, 1988, "Conspiracy"

No fiver
Transcript
Memory Alpha

The Episode

LAFORGE: So the guy staggers to his feet and goes back to the girl, right? Well, she smiles, looks him right in the eye and says 'just try that in hyperspace!'

Hyperspace? What's that? If Memory Alpha is to be believed, the only other mention of "hyperspace" in Trek is a "hyperspace physics" question in "Coming of Age."

Seriously, where were the science consultants? This joke would work equally well if you invoked zero gravity instead.

RIKER: Increase to warp six.
LAFORGE: Aye sir. Full impulse.

No comment.

TROI: I know I won't. I've been really looking forward to a nice swim.
DATA: You are aware, Counsellor, that the holodeck can be programmed to recreate an oceanic environment.
TROI: Data, it's just not the same.

How? This is a perpetual problem where the holodeck is concerned. If the simulation isn't perfect, why is it available? Why bother with the thing at all?

WORF: Swimming is too much like bathing.

The season's almost over, and the writers still don't have a firm grasp on his character.

DATA: Commander Riker. I am receiving a Code Forty Seven.

Joe Menosky is the guy who will inflict 47 on the fandom, and he won't show up for a few years, so this instance is just a coincidence.

PICARD: You're using a Code Forty Seven. I have to know what this is all about.
KEEL [on monitor]: Not over subspace, no.
PICARD: Oh, for God's sake, Walker. This is a secured channel--

Why do "secure channels" exist if they're not really secure and people can't trust them?

WORF: Two are frigates. The Renegade commanded by Tryla Scott, and the Thomas Paine, Captain Rixx commanding.
DATA: The third is just coming into range now, sir. It is Ambassador Class heavy cruiser, USS Horatio.

A frigate is a warship that is built for speed. These ships are of the New Orleans class, a modified, smaller version of the Galaxy class. Their sister ship, the Kyushu, was destroyed at Wolf 359.

KEEL: Do you recall the night you introduced Jack Crusher to Beverly?
PICARD: You know full well I hadn't even met Beverly then. You introduced them.
KEEL: My brother introduced them.
PICARD: You don't have a brother. Two sisters, Anne and Melissa. What the hell is this all about?

Nice characterization.

PICARD: Tryla Scott. It's said you made Captain faster than anyone in Starfleet history, present company included.

It's said? Isn't something like that rather easy to verify?

RIXX: Starbase twelve was completely evacuated for two full days. No explanation given.

You'd think the press would demand and explanation for that. Furthermore, what would such a thing accomplish for the bluegills' plan?

KEEL: We're not sure yet. Damn it, Jean-Luc. I tell you that some of Starfleet's top command people are changing. This could affect the very core of our organisation. Officers I've known for years are bluffing their way through talk of old times.
RIXX: That's their weakness, a lack of memory.

A perpetual problems with large-scale replacement plots. It takes much more than what's on the official records to duplicate a person's personality and responses. It's too bad this isn't the last time Trek will attempt to feed us this kind of nonsense.

KEEL: Tell Beverly I said hello.

It's not like this was a meeting that we were attempting to keep secret-oh, wait!

PICARD: I trust Keel completely. If he felt it necessary to violate regulations, he must have had a good reason.
TROI: But you're putting your career at risk for him.
PICARD: Friendship must dare to risk, Counsellor, or it's not friendship.

A good message, but in this case I don't think enough evidence has been presented yet.

PICARD: Take us out of orbit, Mister La Forge.
LAFORGE: Aye, sir.
PICARD: Resume heading to Pacifica, warp factor eight.

Why wasn't the discussion with Troi conducted en route? And why not use warp nine to minimize the delay and the appearance that something strange is going on?

CRUSHER: I understand the Horatio was in orbit around Dytallix. Did you see Walker?
PICARD: No.

A classic example of "do what I mean, not what I say."

DATA: Startling. Quite extraordinary, in fact.
COMPUTER: Directions unclear. Please repeat request.
DATA: That was not a request. I was simply talking to myself.

I know that Data has talked to himself before, but having this appear before he gets his emotion chip seems odd.

DATA: The orders were given with great subtlety. To use an aphorism, Starfleet's left hand did not know what its right hand was doing.

Sometimes it gets annoying when Data understands metaphors during some episodes and not others. Returning to the plot, sometimes I wonder how Starfleet ever keeps everything straight. There are just too many planets and ships to keep track of. Can you imagine the number of middle-management drones filling whole starbases worth of cubicles that would be required for all this coordination?

Captain's personal log, supplemental. While it is quite unusual for a starship to return to Earth, we seem to be left with no other choice. I have apprised the remaining bridge crew of our situation.

And yet the trip from the frontier to Earth didn't seem to take long. The Enterprise has just traveled across almost half of the Federation in a day or so. It's almost like the writer's can't do math...

SAVAR [on viewscreen]: Greetings Enterprise. I am Admiral Savar. This is Admiral Aaron, and I believe you already know Admiral Quinn.

Yes, we keep three admirals around at all time to talk to starships who show up at unexpected times. We apparently have nothing better to do...

AARON [on viewscreen]: Governor Delaplane of Pacifica informs us that you cancelled your scheduled stop there. Is this true?
PICARD: Yes, sir, it is.

Wait a second. Picard defied orders and never bothered telling Starfleet about it? That seems like something needing at least a disciplinary hearing, doesn't it?

CRUSHER: The parasite appears to stimulate the victim's adrenal glands, generate great strength.

Can we all agree that this is nonsense and move on?

(The bowl contains live mealworms. Picard recoils)

What was the point of this? Even if bluegills eat mealworms, their host bodies don't.

LAFORGE: Any idea what the message was, Data?
DATA: I believe it was a beacon.
PICARD: A beacon?
DATA: Yes, sir. A homing beacon, sent from Earth.

It's too bad that this will never be followed up on in canon...

Nitpicker's Guide

* At the end Riker calls for Security, and not only do Worf and La Forge show up instead to save the cost of hiring extras, but they're not even armed. And the weird part is, Crusher is armed when she arrives!
* Wouldn't the biofilter catch these bluegill things?
* Picard is able to dodge a phaser blast. I guess these things don't travel at light speed after all...