When Picard see's Wesly in the turbolife as beverly walks onto the bridge, he comments that this is the first time he has seen him since Jack died. Problem with this is that is untrue, in a scene only a couple scenes ago, he saw him just outside of the hollow deck dripping wet from falling into the water in there.
Maybe Picard didn't recognize Wesley the first time? It had been a while.
You are all invited to the memorial service for Keith Alan Morgan, who quite probably threw himself off a tall building on learning that the entire Next Generation board had had to be taken down. Whatever the reasons for this, and whether it's the "fault" of Discus or someone else, my heart goes out to Keith after all his diligent work in posting huge long entries for every single episode over the last few weeks. Keith, you have my sympathies.
(OK, I know everyone must be equally honked off, but Keith in particular seemed to have posted reams of stuff lately)
Callie: Didn't you know there is a Save Frame As feature under File in the menu? I have a copy of my posts and can repost.
Keith - well, I'm very relieved to hear it! No, I didn't know about such things, but I'm VERY glad that you did!
As far as blame it was either a program fault in Discus or a major hacker prob because I don't even have the access to delete the main page and have it link directly to the sink which is what happened.
Callie: When you lose enough documents because of computer problems, you become a bit paranoid about not having backups. I'll repost the nits I have saved.
By Hans Thielman on Wednesday, November 4, 1998 - 12:05 pm:
Another example of money usage is found in this episode. At the mall, Dr. Crusher purchased a bolt of cloth and requested the merchant to send it to her ship and charge it to herself (Dr. Crusher).
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By Chris Thomas on Tuesday, November 10, 1998 - 10:03 am:
Did anyome notice a guy running around in a uniform, in the background, in a uniform similar to Troi's except it was red? (i.e. a kind of dress) What was that all about? Some hidden indication gay characters do exist in Star Trek, despite what we've seen? Or that it's perfectly okay for a Starfleet Officer to wear a dress, without pants, if he desires? (Love to see Worf in that get up during a Klingon confrontation)
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By Chris Thomas on Tuesday, November 10, 1998 - 10:07 am:
When the creature is attacking the Bandi, the Enterprise's shields are up and it's firing the good ol' photon torpedoes. But the away team is beamed back to the ship - how? I thought the ship couldn't transport if shields were raised.
Also, does anyone notice Data saying "we're" at one point instead of "we are" or is his diction bad and he sort of runs the two words into each
other?
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By Jorel on Friday, November 20, 1998 - 11:50 pm:
In the book The Continuing Mission, there are original design drawings for the series, and yes there's a picture of a male wearing the skirt dress getup, which makes Troi's outfit seem less of a sexist thing looking back.
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By Chris Thomas on Saturday, November 21, 1998 - 12:12 am:
So why did they drop the idea? Poor viewer reaction?
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By Jorel on Saturday, November 21, 1998 - 04:22 am:
Who knows, I for one would've loved to have seen Riker,Worf or Picard sporting them Best legs anyone?
How about a vote.LOL
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By Vince Hamilton on Sunday, November 22, 1998 - 09:07 pm:
Of course there are the formal uniforms which put a whole new spin to the term "dress" uniform.
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By Johnny and Jenny Veitch on Wednesday, December 9, 1998 - 04:18 pm:
Picard says that the Bandi have captured the secend Shapeshifter`s mate. That`s a rather quick assumption! It could be it`s child (as in "Devil In The Dark") or parent, or anything!
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By Keith Alan Morgan on Saturday, April 17, 1999 - 01:39 pm:
The male 'skirt thing' is called a skant.
When Q comes aboard why is the first person to pull a weapon Lt. Torres? Isn't this the job of Security? Yar and Worf just stand there, but the guy who's job is to man the Conn just happens to have a Phaser on him?
Q wears a modern military uniform and says that centuries earlier humans killed each other over tribal god images. Centuries earlier? Did he just ignore the Arabs and the Israelis? Not to mention all the other Twentieth century atrocities that have been committed in the name of God. (Many of which happened before the writers penned this episode.)
In order to keep Q from knowing what they are going to do, Picard orders no more transmitted orders, then after this makes a shipwide order.
The whole paper printout order never made much sense, since the order would have to be spoken into the computer or dictated to someone, then the message is sent electronically, to be printed on a sheet of paper that anyone could read. Would this really fool Q? ("Well, sure he's an omnipotent being capable of appearing anywhere on the ship, but that doesn't mean he can read.")
Picard orders the surrender broadcast in all frequencies in all languages. How long would that take? Are they really broadcasting in languages such as Binary, Linear B, Welsh?
In the 21st century courtroom Troi says that everything is real. How does she know? She is an Empath, she detects emotions. Do walls and chairs have an emotional state that Betazoids can detect?
On page 102 of the NextGen Guide II, Phil asked why Data was included in the trial for the crimes of humanity and came up with some theories why Q grabbed him. Some other theories are: One, Q is not as omniscient as he claims and didn't realize Data was an android. Two, he knew Data wanted to be human, so included him. Three, he knew Picard would need Data's abilities to ensure a fair trial. (More on this later.) Four, Troi as a 'half-breed' and Data as an 'artificial man' were two of the Crimes of Humanity. (Humans will mate with anything and they like to play God.)
There is a couple of odd things that happen after Picard, Data, Troi and Yar are returned to the Enterprise. Data asks what their heading is and O'Brien seems surprised that Data even had to ask. As a matter of fact, O'Brien acts like the encounter with Q never even happened, and yet he's on the Battle Bridge, not the Main Bridge. Why did he think it was no big deal that the saucer section was missing? Most importantly though, the Enterprise was heading toward Farpoint when they met Q, then they turned around, sent the Saucer section on to safety and stopped to surrender and yet O'Brien acts like they have always been heading towards Farpoint. Am I the only one confused by this?
Riker goes to Groppler Zorn's office to ask some questions, then leaves without asking them.
How did the creature create the "Earth delicacies" that Zorn offers Riker? Deneb is somewhere around 1,600 to 1,836 light years away from Earth so how did the creature learn to make an apple that tasted like the real thing and didn't give Riker some intestinal problems?
On page 102 of the NextGen Guide II, Phil wondered if the creature made the apple out of itself, but later in the show it's stated that these creatures turn energy into matter, so the fruit and the gold pattern on Crusher's fabric were probably just waste energy that the creature needed to expel.
Dr. Crusher thinks that the fabric would look good with gold, then suddenly the fabric has a gold pattern. How did the creature know that that pattern would be what she wanted? It was, after all, a rather garish pattern. Speaking of that fabric, what did she ever do with it? Does anyone remember ever seeing anything made out of that stuff? And what was she going to do with it? Does anyone ever remember seeing a sewing machine on the ship?
Riker's refusal to let his previous captain beam down to Altair III, deserves study. Altair is a star about 16 light years from Earth, so I would think that all the planets in this system have been thoroughly studied and cataloged, and any possible danger easily accessible to any captain thinking of beaming down to the surface. So what exactly was Riker worried about?
Data is concerned that the docking with the Saucer section will be done manually with no automation, but Data is one of the crew handling the controls. As an Android wouldn't his actions be a form of Automation?
On page 104 of the NextGen Guide II, Phil asked why Wesley should have to clean up his mess when the ship supposedly cleans itself. Well, maybe that function had not been added yet? Up the Long Ladder was a show from the Second season. (Maybe so many lazy people dripped water on the floor, that it was easier to invent a self cleaner than have Security lurking in the hallways looking for mess makers. "Mr. Worf, I appreciate your concern in catching the water spillers, but it's much harder to remove the blood stains afterwards.")
Was I the only one who thought Troi was too obsessive in wanting to be near Riker?
Why would a living creature need such ornate passages inside itself?
Worf says that there is no computer record of anything even resembling the alien vessel. Oh, really? You mean the computer has no records of thousands of people reporting Flying Saucers? And Worf was just commanding the Saucer section of the ship on the way to Farpoint. Doesn't the computer think that the detachable Saucer of Starships resembles the alien 'vessel?'
Let me get this straight. Admiral McCoy, Riker, Dr. Crusher, and Geordi all come to Farpoint Station on the Hood, right? If that is true, then why does Riker seem surprised to learn about the Admiral who has been examining the Sickbay? Was the presence of the Admiral on the Hood a secret? Also there is a scene where Dr. Crusher is examining Geordi and talking about how she has read about his case, as if this is the first time she has met him. Did Dr. Crusher not know that Geordi was on board the Hood, or is she just very strict about not doing medical work until she is officially on duty?
Data picks Wesley out of the stream, a close up of Wes seems to indicate that his body is horizontal, almost as if there were some kind of ceiling mounted wire wrapped around his waist. Also Data is holding on to Wesley's sweater so his hand forms a fist against Wesley's chest. Wouldn't it hurt to have all your weight supported by a closed fist on your sternum? Finally, if Wesley is soaking wet, then why doesn't Data have a wet sleeve and spots of water on the rest of his uniform?
Early in the show Dr. Crusher admires a bolt of purple fabric, then comments that she thinks a gold pattern would look good on it, suddenly it has a gold pattern and she asks that it be sent to the Enterprise. Apparently, plain purple cloth is in demand on Deneb IV, because later when Riker and Data are walking through the marketplace the merchant is displaying another bolt of purple cloth in the same position.
Picard orders the ship taken between the alien 'vessel' and the planet with full force fields. I believe force fields are what they use inside the ship and shields are what they use outside the ship.
On an open line, Picard suggests kidnapping Groppler Zorn, an action that Picard himself admits is "illegal." Why does Picard even need to bring up the illegal act of kidnapping? Zorn was just begging the Enterprise to help him, so call it a rescue and grab him. I doubt he would consider being taken to safety a violation of his rights. By mentioning kidnapping Picard could get in trouble with Starfleet.
The first time I saw this episode the ending bothered me, it seemed like Q was helping Picard figure out the mystery of Farpoint station. Of course, in All Good Things he definitely admitted to helping Picard save humanity, so in hindsight, it seems that Q had a soft spot for humans even at the beginning. (Maybe that was the real reason he was kicked out of the Continuum?) This even explains the continuity error caused by Q promising to stay out of humanities way in Hide And Q and his reappearance in Q Who. Remember Picard's comment at the end of Q Who, "What we most needed was a kick in our complacency. To prepare us for what lies ahead." So Q didn't get in humanity's path, he just kicked them down it, to help them prepare for the Borg. (Which is more than can be said for Guinan and her people, who never once said, "Oh, yeah, you want to watch out for this nasty race of machine people who travel in these big old cubes.")
The Away Team is in the alien, communication has just been cut off and Q tells Picard that they are out of time. Picard, worried about his people, makes a deal to do Q's bidding if Q returns them. The alien transports them over and Q says "We had a deal." and Picard agrees, then Troi says the deal is invalid. How would she know? She wasn't
there when the deal was made and Q and Picard never repeated the terms of the deal after she appeared. Troi has no idea what kind of deal Picard agreed to, and yet she declares it to be invalid? On what basis?
Q had a lousy haircut in this show.
Picard and company were not the first to meet the Bandy. According to Where No Man Has Gone Before Gary Mitchell got into trouble on Deneb IV.
Good points on Q being better than Guinan in forcing the Borg issue on the Enterprise-d crew. If Guinan was such a friend to Picard, why didn't she brief him on a deadly foe out there?
Re: Data's sleeve should be wet. Maybe the android, like the ship, cleans itself.
There seems to be a problem with the stardates. at the beginning it`s 41153.7, then a few minutes later he makes a supplemental entry. Obviously, it`s still 41153.7. But later he gives the stardate as 41153.7 again. And on Farpoint Riker gives the stardate as... 41153.7!
Just after Riker arrives on the battle bridge for the first time there is a reaction shot of Data. In the background you can quite clearly see that Picard is no longer in his chair even though he was there before this shot and is there after it.
Picard, Master of Invisibility!
I'm glad that they finally got rid of those scanty uniforms by the 2nd season. (though it did look good on the women ;)
Actually it seems that the uniforms get heavier and heavier
(cheap/thin spandex long sleeve long pants, heavier long sleeve shirt and pants with collar, Turtle neck DS9/Voyager uniforms with jacket,
Much heavier versions of that uniform in First
Contact and later episodes of DS9.
Who`s this Odo`ital bloke? He seems a bit too sensible for me.
I was disappointed that we didn't see a Denebian slime-devil in this episode. I wanted to see if it really looked like Capt. Kirk!
These creatures are really nice. Riker and Data both fire on the force field holding Zorn, releasing him. Since we later find out that everything on the ship is part of the living creature, Riker and Data actually fire upon the creature. Yet, the creature willingly returns the Away Team and Zorn!
My "nit-picks" are as numerically proceeds:
1) Lt.Comdr. Deanna Troi is donning stalkings on both legs during the commencement of the first part's episode. For starters, one would think human and/or betazoid civilization have reached a point at which females no longer have to expose their legs nor encase them within clothes unless they so desire. And secondly, the stalkings vanish all together during the remainder of the first part's episode and all throughout the second part's episode.
2) That one gun-wielding security guard for Q in Q's courtroom, who threatens Lt. Tasha Yar to sit and is consequently subdued by Lt. Tasha Yar, is shot by another security guard. However, there are no gunshot wounds on the security guard's body as he is being dragged out of sight. How amicable of Q to censor mishaps that occur in his own courtroom.
...civilization have... = ...civilization has... Typo.
...stalkings... = ...stockings... Another typo.
Maybe they were "Silk stalkings".
Picard makes some odd comments about the Ferengi. He suggests that the Ferengi might find the Bandi "as tasty as their past associates." Huh? Sounds like the Ferengi were intended to be some sort of predatory species, completely different from their later character. But hey, it's the pilot episode.
The ship's computer is also FAR more interactive and shows greater personality than it will in later episodes. This reduction in personality was probably removed along with the left-right error.
When leaving the holodeck Riker tells Picard Data "has agreed to join the away team." Huh? Riker outranks Data, shouldn't he simply be ordered to go? It's not like they expect it to be so dangerous they need to call for volunteers.
It's a dim scene and my reception is bad, but when Riker is comforting Troi in the caves it looks to me like he has only two rank pips on his collar.
Picard tells Wesley not to touch anything on the bridge, then lets him sit in the captain's chair and touch the controls (before yelling at him). I found this odd for someone who seems to dislike children, even if Wesley is the son of his friend.
General Rumination: My UPN affiliate is showing TNG in reruns, and just went from the final episode to this one. I must say, the biggest shock was Picard suddenly having hair.
>Picard tells Wesley not to touch anything on the bridge, then lets him sit in the captain's chair and touch the controls (before yelling at him). I found this odd for someone who seems to dislike children, even if Wesley is the son of his friend. <
I think he allowed this because of his past with the Crusher family. Picard may feel a bit responsible for Jack Crusher's death, so he felt like he should allow Wesley to see the bridge. Also, it would score some good brownie points with Beverly!
I just saw this for the first time in quite a while. It's interesting to have seen how much is changed over the years.
The music in this ep was much more obvious (sort of original series-esque).
Also, the unnamed crewman at the con talks about finding something on the "sensor-circuits," a phrase not used again.
How come Q doesn't know about the Organians and Picard doesn't mention them or any of the other superpowerful races who previously knew and tested humans? Isn't there a newsletter the superpowerful races pass around to each other on this stuff?
Nobody asks what the Q stands for. I know, a fan whose last name starts with a Q.
But still.
Darn you Chris Thomas! You beat me to the punch by two days! (three years, and two days) I was watching the rerun tonight of Farpoint and wasn't really watching, but suddenly realized what Data said to Picard "At least WE'RE aquainted with the judge." And here I thought I had noticed something no one else had, since it's not listed in my Nitpicker's Guide to NextGen. Pooh on you.
LOL
Hi. I was just watching "Encounter At Farpoint" again tonight and noticed yet another place where Data uses a contraction. When he's talking to Dr. McCoy, he says "I'm an android." It's not a big thing, but I was just pleased with myself for noticing. I guess that's when you know you're really a Trekker.
Data used a lot of contractions early on. His hair was more flattened down in the early ones. Did Brent Spiner eventually require a hairpiece?
The tubular glass and metal shelves in the Farpoint Station store were the same shelves that were used in Kirk's apartment in "Wrath of Khan" and "Search For Spock."
The less elaborate quarters without the big picture windows (e.g. Worf's quarters) was the same set used for Kirk's and Spock's quarters in the first three movies.
The saucer doesn't have warp drive (the nacelles are on the main part of the ship).
1. How can they separate at warp? If you look, the stars are streaks during the separation sequence indicating warp.
2. Somebody (Data or O'Brien?) indicates that the saucer will be back in 51 minutes, even though they travelled quite a bit at Warp 9, and the saucer is at impulse.
Patrick Stewart's hairline has not really changed over the years. It is just that his remaing hair has gotten grayer, and he keeps it cut very short.
Picard makes some odd comments about the Ferengi. He suggests that the Ferengi might find the Bandi "as tasty as their past associates." Huh? Sounds like the Ferengi were intended to be some sort of predatory species, completely different from their later character. But hey, it's the pilot episode.
Remember, at this point in the show's history, the Ferengi were being hyped as the new Ultimate Threat to the Federation. There were all sorts of references in the creators' interviews and (as above) onscreen to how vicious and ruthless they were.
Then they finally showed up, in 'The Last Outpost'.
Little orange guys. With those ears. Wrapped in what looked like ratty badger pelts...and wielding energy whips.
There were one or two more half-hearted stabs at Evil Ferengi plots, but eventually TPTB wisely allowed them to settle into comic relief.
A question: would anyone have liked the pilot and continued to watch the series, had Dennis McCarthy used his original Next Generation theme (as featured in this episode's OST) instead of re-using Jerry Goldsmith's Star Trek theme? As far as I'm concerned, the jury's still out on that one.
OST?
Original Soundtrack?
I know this has been mentioned before, and I thought I'd see it on this page, but it's not here. Allow me:
Wesley is dripping holographic water onto the Enterprise's carpet... after he's left the holodeck. (D'oh!)
Has anyone noticed how Q prefers to appear in a costume of authority such as a soldier, a general, a judge or a Starfleet captain's uniform? He appeared in nothing when he was without his powers, Corbin Bernsen wore something bland, but in Voyager another Q wears a captain's uniform not because it suits him but probably he saw Q wearing one.
Q's uniforms, at least in this ep, were apparently meant to demonstrate his a)familiarity with and b)contempt for human authority figures. B
Good point about the second Voyager Q. I'm guessing there's a certain amount of 'hero-worship' of our Q among young and impressionable members of the Continuum.
About the holographic water...
Isn't much of the matter in the Holodeck created using the replicators (and then dematerialized when necessary)?
This would be the reason water could leave the holodeck.
There's one point in the episode in which just before the "Commercial", Picard is STANDING in front of the viewer...when the action resumes, he is SITTING.
I guess he walked over to his chair durring the comercial break.
JUST A THOUGHT: I'd like to have seen Admiral McCoy & Q square off. That'd be interesting!
(Why DIDN'T they do that anyway?)
Why would they?
As I understand it, the pilot was originally meant to be 90 minutes long. When Paramount decided to change it to 2 hours, so they could rerun the whole thing in syndication, Q was created to pad it out for thirty minutes longer. I'd say the Admiral McCoy stuff had been written long before there was a Q. (Of course, McCoy didn't really fit into rest of the storyline either.)
I just thought it'd be interesting to get McCoy's reaction about Q...that's all. I think it'd be amusing.
When Riker go to the holodeck first time, there is a problem. He enters the deck, at this moment his shadow points into the holodeck landscape. When the perspective changes, his shadow has switched to the alternate direction and point to the holodeck door.
When that apple appears, Riker swears. Why? Well, I have a possible explanation. He was thinking, "Rats, some superpowerful alien just created an apple. This is going to be another cliche episode with a cliche superpowerful alien hiding himself for some lame reason, and it's gonna make trouble for us just to test us, or some such thing..."
But then I don't remember him mentioning the apple to Picard, did he?
What's the use of separating the two parts of the ship? Wouldn't Picard think Q is powerful enough to put the two parts of the ship together again? And why didn't Q re-attach the two parts?
Hey, I just noticed in the cast list here, there's a Lt. Torres. Somebody shoulda come up with a way to connect that with B'Lanna Torres on Voyager. Well, they don't *have* to, but still...
Nit: That's B'Elanna.
What's the use of separating the two parts of the ship?
All together now... BILC!!!!
I don't know if this was brought up in Phil's book, or if anyone else here noticed, but theres a question about Troi's rank in this episode.
At one point when they first meet Q Picard refers to Troi as "Commander". When the space creature fires on the bandi later in the show, Riker orders most of his away team to beam up. Troi contests this for a moment and Riker replies "You have your order LEIUTENANT."
Now, Picard could have called Troi "Commander" because a Lt. Commander would be addressed that way sometimes. But that means Riker just plain got her rank wrong.
On a side note, given Q's acts in the final episode, Q's behavior in the first episode can be seen in a different way...even though Q seems to be intentionally insulting and interfering, determined to screw with Picard's mission, his jibes could also be seen as prodding the Enterprise to the solution. Perhaps he meant all along to help Picard through some kind of negative enforcement?
There's also someone with the last name Janeway somewhere in the series. I'll look it up and let you know where.
Since the point was brought up in the movie Nemesis, does anyone remember what tune Data was trying to whistle when Riker first met him in the holdeck? It'll save me from having to drag my old VHS tape out (and since I recorded it in 1987, I can't be sure how well it's held up).
Wasn't it Pop Goes The Weasel?
Yep.
I just re-checked my tape (It's not in good shape). It was 'Pop Goes the Weasel' Thanks everybody
I believe that Janeway was in the episode "The Loss."
Actually Ensign Janeway was mentioned in "Man of the People" (and was played by Lucy Boryer).
Ah, knew it was one of those "Troi goes mental" episodes!
Cubmon, I think you're thinking of a bridge officer in this episode whose name was Torres.
Puzzling nit:
In the opening credits TPTB printed, "Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes..." etc. instead of: "Patrick Stewart as Capt. Jean-Luc Picard, Jonathan Frakes as Cmdr. Riker...." etc.
Why did they do this? How are we supposed to know who is playing whom? I mean, it's an all new show...It'd sure be nice to know who is playing whom.
Thankfully by the next episode, they correct the credits
Most shows/movies (including Enterprise) don't list the characters' names in the opening credits. I will grant you that some (maybe even most) shows have an image of the cast member to accompany his/her credit.
But many don't. Off-hand... Seinfeld, Frasier, 3rd Rock from the Sun, I Love Lucy, Cheers...
M*A*S*H didn't identify Alan Alda as Hawkeye, Wayne Rogers as Trapper, McLean Stevenson as Henry, etc. in its opening credits.
Yeah, but IIRC both the pilot ep and second-season opener contained an elaborate 'roll call' epilogue matching character to actor.
Still an' all, it's true that the practice of matching names to characters, even in pilots, is much more the exception than the rule (as you must have noticed by now, John A. ).
It may also be pertinent that NextGen's debut was accompanied by such massive publicity that the target audience and a good chunk of the rest of North America already knew perfectly well 'who was playing whom'.
"Yeah, but IIRC both the pilot ep and second-season opener contained an elaborate 'roll call' epilogue matching character to actor." - Auntiem, er Kerriem 
True dat, but those role calls ran at the end of the eps, not at the beginning.
Okay, you and KAM wouldn't have anything to do with my six-year-old nephew's sudden obsession with tornadoes, now would you?
I'll never tell, auntiem. 
If nothing can leave the holodeck then how does Wesley stand outside of it dripping wet from falling in the holodeck?
Replicators
Or maybe he never left? Maybe the rest of the series is nothing more than a big long holodeck fantasy?
(Insert Twilight Zone music here.)
Excuse me, but does anyone see anything wrong with this credit:
Female Computer Ensign- Chuck Hicks
Heh...
Chuck Hicks played the drugged military officer.
Geez, just what the hell did his buddies do to him after they drugged him?
Snippety doo-dah...
Does anyone else think that when Q introduces himself as 'we call ourselves the Q...' it actually sounds much more like 'we call ourselves the Cube...'?
Or is it just my tape?
TvTome lists Evelyn Guerrero as playing an ensign in this episode. If this is true, the show really pulled out the stops in the pilot by getting a big guest star--Mrs. Pat Morita!
Yes, Mike, it's true. She plays the ensign Riker asks for directions near the beginning of the episode.
We know from the attack scenes that Groppler Zorn's office is located within the Bandi City, and is not a part of Farpoint Station.
That said, how was the creature able to create the apples in Zorn's office? And how would it have heard him when he scolded it?
Its powers are far reaching, as well as its hearing?
Does anyone else own the Star Trek The Next Generation The Complete First Season on DVD? I've already been through all seven seasons, but started over again today. It is nice to have Encounter at Farpoint in its oringinal 2 hour format instead of the cut version you'd see on Spike TV.
I believe I have this episode on VHS from Columbia House, which retains the format of its original airing. In general, such tapes retain the format of episodes originally shown as two-hour eps.
The alien transports them over and Q says "We had a deal." and Picard agrees, then Troi says the deal is invalid. How would she know? She wasn't
there when the deal was made and Q and Picard never repeated the terms of the deal after she appeared. Troi has no idea what kind of deal Picard agreed to, and yet she declares it to be invalid? On what basis?
Troi was telepathic. Like many things that changed after the pilot, they toned down her abilities after this.
Q is obviously a new life-form, yet Picard addresses him with harshness and impolite mannerisms and makes no attempt to study the new life form aboard his ship. Granted, Q put a force-field in front of the ship and froze a crew-member, but Picard's pompous attitude is EXACTLY what Q expects from humanity. If Picard REALLY wanted to impress Q, he would've welcomed Q openly and began diplomatic relations.
Has anyone ever nitted the phrase "New life & new civilizations" in the openings of Classic Trek & NextGen?
While Q is a new life-form to the Federation the Q are not "new" as this episode implies they have been around for quite some time.
Admittedly "previously unknown to us life & civilizations" doesn't flow as well, but it is more accurate.
"New life" in the opening was never meant to mean that the life form was new to the galaxy, it means new to the Federation. "Previously unknown to us life" would be saying EXACTLY the same thing as "new life".
As for how Picard handled the first contact with Q, lets see: Q threw a force field up in front of the Enterprise, froze a crewman and put the crew on trial for the crimes of humanity. This is hardly the time for Picard to walk up to Q with an outstretched hand and say, "Im Jean-Luc Picard of the Starship Enterprise, we welcome you to the Federation with open arms".
I always understood the word "new" to mean new to us.
Hell, even we humans aren't "new".
Riker's refusal to let his previous captain beam down to Altair III, deserves study. Altair is a star about 16 light years from Earth, so I would think that all the planets in this system have been thoroughly studied and cataloged, and any possible danger easily accessible to any captain thinking of beaming down to the surface. So what exactly was Riker worried about?
Depends on what's happening down there. Look at what happens here in the USA, we've had our own people terrorize our nation (Tim McVeigh, Eric Rudolph) we've had people from other nations terrorize us (9/11.) Heck, remember the ST episode Gambit, with separatist Vulcans, and Vulcans are a founding member of the federation.
Also there is a scene where Dr. Crusher is examining Geordi and talking about how she has read about his case, as if this is the first time she has met him. Did Dr. Crusher not know that Geordi was on board the Hood, or is she just very strict about not doing medical work until she is officially on duty?
Well the Hood should have several hundred crew members, and I don't think she would examine a guy on that ship just because he's got some stuff that she's never seen before. That scene seemed to me that he came in asking her if she could do anything about the pain the VISOR caused him, something he wouldn't do until they had access to her sick bay.
1) Lt.Comdr. Deanna Troi is donning stalkings on both legs during the commencement of the first part's episode. For starters, one would think human and/or betazoid civilization have reached a point at which females no longer have to expose their legs nor encase them within clothes unless they so desire. And secondly, the stalkings vanish all together during the remainder of the first part's episode and all throughout the second part's episode.
Fashion is fashion. Why do we (men and women) have to (or feel the need to) spend so much time on our hair (even putting it into styles that will get messed up with the slightest bit of everyday life.) Why do cultures who live in the equatorial regions of Earth feel that full nudity is totally OK but wearing simple bits of fabric (which cover almost nothing) in order to be proper when in front of other. Why are skirts that come to mid-thy and a cleavage shirt unacceptable for an elementary school teacher, but a bikini with bottoms that bare the entire leg, part of the butt and a top that only cover a small triangular part of the breasts totally OK when you take those same elementary school kids to the pool?
The reason is that what's OK and what's not, what's appropriate and what's not, and what's expected and what's not is totally arbitrary and I don't see that fact changing in the next 400 years.
As we all know, Marina hated the "cosmic cheerleader" outfit. The reason why she hated it because she said, "My legs were exposed to draw attention away from my stomach because the producers thought I looked fat." (Ref: Star Trek Chicago Convention 2007)
Riddle me this, Batman.
How come the Q were all so worried about humans spreading out into the galaxy, yet they left more aggressive races, like the Cardassians, alone?
It wasn't humans who conquered and exploited Bajor for half-a-century, after all. If the Q were worried about damage to the galaxy, wouldn't the Cardies be a bigger threat (along with the Romulans, the Borg, the Domionion, etc.), than we humans?
Just wondering out loud.
In the long run Humans in Star Trek are more dangerous because they make friends and influence other cultures in subtle ways.
Cultures on Earth that have maintained power through strength alone tend not to last very long. This is because they make enemies of just about everyone, so when their strength falls there is always someone waiting to take advantage of the situation.
Rome fell because they kept power through their Legions, when the power of the Legions fell ultimately so did Rome - the reason Rome didn't fall earlier was because they had both technological advantages and no organized opponents.
The Mongol's and Alexander the Great both managed to conquer vast areas of the world. But in both cases these empires fell apart with the deaths of their leaders. (Where they remained stable for any length of time was the areas where the invaders effectively became part of the pre-existing government/culture - such as that part of the Mongol empire that was in China).
Revolutionary/Napoleonic France (1793-1816) conquered almost all of Europe, but fell when all of those nations joined forces to fight them - in fact one of the main factors that lead to France falling in 1815 was their conquest of Spain. The Spanish turned against the French to such an extent that the French had to deploy huge numbers of troops just to keep the roads open, this drained the French armies of many of their troops who would have been better used fighting in Russia.
Nazi Germany expanded its borders through its armies as well, and like Napoleonic France ended up having to deploy large numbers of troops to protect those territories it had taken while at the same time making enemies of almost everyone else.
Even more recently the USSR discovered that maintaining power over territories through force can't be maintained for ever. When the strength of the USSR fell many of the counties that were part of it parted company with it.
From Earth history therefore we can see that 'Aggressive' cultures go through the same pattern. They expand and take territory, have to deploy troops to maintain control of those territories, they weaken (The cost of maintaining an armed force to maintain control is always greater than what you get out of that area), then an uprising takes place normally coupled with attacks from other cultures on the outside. This leads to the collapse of the aggressive culture. The only way around this is to be able to provide things in the conquered areas that the populations didn't have before coupled with allowing them with a voice at how things are run (At least at a local level). The Romans were very good at doing this, which was another reason why the Roman Empire lasted as long as it did.
In the Star Trek universe the Cardassians fall into the Earth history pattern of aggressive cultures - they grew strong, took territories, had to deploy troops to keep control, lost strength, had to deal with uprisings (Bajor) while dealing with an external threat (The Federation) and ultimately had to give up what they'd taken. (The calculations done in Statistical Probabilities (DS9) as to what was likely to happen if the Dominion defeated the Federation would also be in line with what happens to aggressive cultures in the long run).
Romulans and Andorians are also aggressive cultures in Star Trek, but both seem more interested in keeping hold of what they have than in taking new territory. Romulans don't seem to be opponents of the Federation because they want to take over their territory (Vulcan aside), but because they don't want someone near them who is potentially strong enough to take their territory. (This is all quite in keeping with everything we've seen or heard Romulans have done on the shows up until Nemesis).
Klingons are something of an exception, being aggressive yet apparently not really taking that many worlds in the course of the shows. There are several possibilities here, including that they are/were on the decline by 2151, that they had learnt how much trouble keeping worlds could be so they picked their targets carefully or even that the nature of Klingon culture is such that much of their energy goes into fighting themselves.
The Borg are the real exception, as technically there would be no populations to rebel. However since we have seen two different Queens we might postulate that the collective goes through periods where it splinters into fractions lead by different Queens and they fight. It is also possible that after the events in Unimatrix Zero (Voy) that the collective can grow so large that some of the assimilated break free of the collective.
And what does this have to do with humans in Star Trek?
Well, the Federation is a culture that is expanding rapidly (100 members in 2364, 150 by 2373 - that's 5.5 new members per year for 9 years between Encounter at Farpoint and First Contact). Unlike other cultures however the Federation is not expanding through the strength of its military.
The heart of the Federation has always been humans, they were the ones who convinced other species to work together for the first time, even with species that had been enemies a very short time before. In effect Humans have 'conquered' other cultures with an idea (We are stronger together) and a philosophy (We are all equal). The defensive/military arm of the Federation is Starfleet - originally a Human organisation - most of Starfleet seems to be comprised of humans, the Federation is based on Earth and so on.
In other words the Federation could easily be seen as being a Terran Empire by another name, and more tellingly one in which other races have been 'conquered' by convincing them to join of their own free will rather than through force of arms.
If the basis of the Federation is Human ideals then you have to look at those ideals to get an idea of where the Federation is likely to go. If those ideals are a lie then so is the Federation, and humans *may* be able to use those lies to convince the other species that are part of the Federation to take actions that they would have never taken on there own.
Q's actions are to get humans to look at themselves to see if the ideals they live by are, in fact, lies or can be twisted. A good example of the sort of thing Q is trying to get humans to look at can be found in ST VI. There Chekov says that the Federation believes that all species have 'Inalienable human rights', which the Klingons note is a racist comment but none of the Starfleet officers considers a strange or unusual comment to make. Other versions of Startrek also include use of 'Humanity' towards individuals who are clearly not human. It could therefore be argued that if the Federation is using such terms it is judging other species by human standards - making it racist, or if not they are heading that way in subtle ways. Words can be dangerous if misused, they can also tell you a great deal about a culture's true ideals. 'I like Bolians because they are very humane' is in itself a racist comment. You are comparing them to humans while touting the ideal that everyone is equal.
In a modern day example there are plenty of of people who say things such as ' I am not racist, I have plenty of black friends'. If they really were not racist in the slightest they shouldn't be noting what colour of skin their friends have. If you want to make them understand what racism is and can be you start by getting them to think about what they are really saying. This is what Q seems to be trying to do. Almost every appearance he makes (At least in TNG) seems to be to force the Enterprise crew to look at themselves.
Cybermortis: However since we have seen two different Queens we might postulate that the collective goes through periods where it splinters into fractions lead by different Queens and they fight. It is also possible that after the events in Unimatrix Zero (Voy) that the collective can grow so large that some of the assimilated break free of the collective.
Luigi Novi: In the first place, I do not see how the fact that we've seen more than one Borg Queen, means anything about splintered factions. As for In the second, I don't see why this would preclude the Q wanting to stop them from spreading throughout the galaxy. It is questionable whether Unimatrix Zero is able to offer a credible defense against the Collective.
Me, I think that the Q desire to test the Federation because they're the most enlightened organization in the galaxy, and may fancy themselves to be such, and thus, the Q may feel that they need to be tested and reminded of their limitations, their history, the effect they have on others, etc. I think you do touch upon this when you mention that the Federation does colonize worlds, and that because of this, they need to be reminded of the implications of their actions, whereas the Romulans, Klingons and Cardassians may not colonize as expansively as they do, but this still leaves the problem of the Borg.
Cybermortis: In a modern day example there are plenty of of people who say things such as ' I am not racist, I have plenty of black friends'. If they really were not racist in the slightest they shouldn't be noting what colour of skin their friends have.
Luigi Novi: Observation of the race of some of your friends is not racism.
the station that scratched the Tos remastered is
now showing tng, this episode.
I caught it switching channels at 3pm after cbs
tennis
Well that's a really cool syndication choice!
uh, maybe- so I'm programming my vcr to get it on 3-5pm today see what's on, Zarm-
, usually Judge judy or judge Alex...or the other lady judge
sorry, judge joe brown is on at 3pm so we are
back to normal, then judge judy then the nice lady judge..
Great Line that was never used:
*Crusher inspecting Gordie's Visor* "your visor is---"
LaForge: "Is an amazing piece of Engineering that allows me to quote see much of the EM spectrum, ranging from Infrared to X-rays ect ect.. and forgive me doctor if I have heard this a hundred times before"
Crusher: "No I was going to say your Visor is Banana Clip.
LaForge: "WHAT?"
Crusher: "Your "Visor" is really a Banana Clip, someone must have switched it on you. Seriously you have been walking around half the day with a hair clip on your face...how did you even make your way through the hallways???
1) Did the Enterprise-D have a first officer before Riker? If not, then it must have been operating for more than 6 months without one: The Enterprise was launched from McKinley shipyard in Earth orbit, Deneb is located about 1,400 light-years from Earth, and in "Q Who" Data claimed that at maximum warp it would take more than 2.5 years to travel 7,000 light years.
2) "Farpoint" is a strange name for the station. Picard says it is located at the edge of the "great, unexplored mass of the galaxy", but if this is the basis of its name, then as the Federation-exploread area expands, the name will inevitably become obsolete. And that should have happened already: As noted upthread, there are references in TOS episodes to humans having visited the Deneb system, 100 years before TNG.
The Bandi in charge of the station says that the planet is the Bandi "home world". If that is the case, why does Picard refer to it as "Deneb IV"? Presumably the Bandi have a name for their planet, so why doesn't Starfleet use that name?
1) Why are the Enterprise crew so amazed by the phenomenon on the station, of objects suddenly appearing after they had expressed a desire for them (Picard charcterizes it as "almost magical"), when this could have been accomplished with replicator and transporter technology?
Also, Riker assumes that the Bandi have been trading surplus geothermal energy for the materials used to construct the station, he doesn't mention the possibility that Bandi simply replicated them. Maybe the Bandi don't have replicators?
2) When Riker asks an ensign to help him find Data, she comments that he must not be familiar with Galaxy-class ships, and shows him how to ask the computer to locate someone aboard. Why would this relatively simple feature only exist aboard Galaxy-class ships?
Also, rather than tapping her communicator or saying "Computer", as is usually done in later episodes when the computer is being asked to locate someone, the ensign initiates the request by touching the strip running down the corridor wall.
3) If the animated series is canon, then Riker shouldn't be so amazed by the forest environment on the holodeck. According to TAS episode "The Practical Joker", the "rec room" aboard the original Enterprise had similar capabilities, back in the 23rd century.
Regarding things appearing out of thin air on the planet, I figured they thought it odd because there was no characteristic energy signature or telltale sound effect. I also got the impression that holodecks were new, and not as widely commonplace by 2364.
The animated series is not canon. I guess this might be largely moot now that live action Trek has been scaled back to a revamped TOS film series set a time travel-alternate timeline, but Paramount considers only live action Trek to be canonical.
But the crew seem astounded by the simple fact of something appearing when they mention it- even though this is what happens every time they order dinner from a replicator- not just the manner in which it appears.
I get the sense that the creators hadn't come up with the idea for replicators yet when this episode was filmed (for example, Picard likens the creatures' ability to create "specific patterns of matter" to the transporters, not replicators). What was the first episode where replicators appeared?
1) Why do Riker and Picard assume that the creatures are "able to convert energy into matter", as opposed to rearranging subatomic particles (as replicators presumably do?)
One kg of matter converts to as much energy as 20 megatons of TNT, and vice versa. Therefore, if in fact the creature was turning energy into matter, just creating the basket of apples for Riker would have required more energy than the largest nuclear bomb ever exploded. Yet supposedly the creature was being near-starved of energy by the Bandi.
2) How many Bandi civilians- including innocent children- were slaughtered by the second spaceship creature when it was firing on the city? Imprisoning and mistreating its mate, does not justify mass murder, yet Picard displays nothing but sympathy towards it. Other than a brief mention of the Enterprise preparing to beam down medical teams, the attack on the city is largely glossed over. Although Troi is overcome with the emotions of great joy and gratitude from the reunited spaceship creatures, she apparently doesn't sense any pain and anguish from the Bandi survivors of the attack.
Maybe you're right about the stuff appearing out of nowhere.
However, I doubt that replicators were not conceived by the pilot episode. Such a thing would probably have had to have been written into the series bible, and been integrated into how certain sets like Picard's ready room were built.
1) Perhaps Troi not sensing the Bandi's suffering could be explained by her being too far away. Seems odd though that Troi is nearly weeping with joy in the aftermath of an atrocity. Yeah it's great that the creature got its mate back, but what about all those dead Bandi kids?
2) When Picard gives the order to move the Enterprise between the starship creature and the Bandi city, Q prevents it from being carried out. Why? And why doesn't Picard confront Q with the hypocrisy of accusing humans of savagery, when they are the ones trying to protect life and he is the one causing a slaughter to continue?
3) Upthread, KAM asked: "Why would a living creature need such ornate passages inside itself?"
Perhaps it was actually synthetic, if Troi can sense emotions from non-organic beings. A synthetic creature probably wouldn't have a mate, but Picard just assumed that to be the creatures' relationship.
4) In Picard's log entry at the start of the episode, he mentions that he is becoming better acquainted with his new command, implying he hasn't been aboard long. But as I noted upthread, the travel time from Earth to Deneb at maximum warp is about 6 months, and it doesn't appear that months pass between that log entry and their arrival at Deneb.
5) If the saucer section lacks warp drive, how did it reach Deneb IV after the separation, in days instead of years? I think I recall that in other instances where a ship lost warp drive, it dropped out of warp immediately- which makes sense given how warp drive is supposed to work. Did the saucer only gradually slow to sublight speed after separation? If so, it was very convenient that they were able to execute the saucer sep at just the right distance from Deneb, that the saucer would drop out of warp close enough to quickly complete the journey at impulse.
1) Perhaps Troi not sensing the Bandi's suffering could be explained by her being too far away. Seems odd though that Troi is nearly weeping with joy in the aftermath of an atrocity. Yeah it's great that the creature got its mate back, but what about all those dead Bandi kids?
Adults died too. Just because they're over a certain age doesn't make their deaths any less tragic.
Given that Deneb is 1400 light years from Earth, the name "Farpoint Station" makes even less sense when you consider Picard's statement in First Contact, that the Federation is spread across 8000 light years.
The animated series is not canon. I guess this might be largely moot now that live action Trek has been scaled back to a revamped TOS film series set a time travel-alternate timeline, but Paramount considers only live action Trek to be canonical
Actually, there seems to have been a fundemental shift in Paramount's policy in regards to the animated series, at least in the Trek novels.
Starting around 2006, the novels began to refer to events that happened in TAS, and TAS characters such as Arex and M'Ress began showing up in the novels. Maybe, as Luigi suggested, this is because it seems we're done with Trek Reality Prime for now. But, as I said, this began happening in 2006, long before the JJ Abrams movie came out.
Since the suits at Paramount are now allowing this to happen (they have to approve all the novels before they allow them to be published), it seems they now consider TAS canonical.
I just watched the TNG pilot again for the first time in years, and these are my comments.
I think the casting of Patrick Stewart as Jean-Luc Picard was brilliant. He had already done films like "Dune", "Excalibur", and "Lifeforce" (that one sure was interesting!), and when he showed what he could do on a syndicated TV series, well, I'm really glad that it all worked out for him. And Picard is probably my favorite Trek Captain ever.
And John de Lancie as the recurring character Q was also an excellent casting decision. I read somewhere that he "embraced a role that would have died in the hands of lesser actors", and that I thought was pretty accurate. I dont think anyone else could have brought the character to life the way de Lancie did. Kudos to him!
I already said that I respected Will Riker but not Jon Frakes. I only say that because of what Frakes eventually became many years later, and that goes for Marina Sirts as well. But as for Riker and Deanna Troi, I really liked those two characters for the most part. I thought it was interesting that Jeffrey Combs, who went on to play Tiron, Weyoun, Brunt, Penk, and Shran in later Trek, was almost cast as Riker. I have to say that I'm glad he didnt get the part, because Frakes did it really well. But Combs also brought one of my favorite horror novel characters to life as Herbert West, the Re-Animator! I loved the first two films, and From Beyond as well. H.P. Lovecraft books made some pretty cool movies, I have to say!
Also, I rememeber reading that Sirtis almost played Tasha Yar and that Denise Crosby almost played Deanna Troi. Hmm, I wonder how that would have played out, and I wonder if Crosby would have wanted to leave the show if she had played Troi instead of Yar? It's a situation for a Marvel Comics "What If?", isn't it?
Brent Spiner as Data, that was also really good casting. Previously he had done a recurring role on "Night Court", and I just thought that Data, when he was just himself, with no alien possession or emotion chips interfering with the way he naturally was, had to be one of my all-time favorite Trek characters.
LeVar Burton (Geordi La Forge) and Michael Dorn (Worf) were also well-cast, although I didnt really care for how their characters were portrayed in the first season. It would get a whole lot better for both of them, and I am really glad about that.
And then there were the Crushers. Cheryl McFadden played Beverly really well, but her first season mannerisms were fairly annoying and awkward. When she left for season 2, it gave us time to miss her, and then we were happy to see her again in season 3. And Wil Wheaton playing Wesley, who apparently was based on what kind of person Gene Roddenberry would have liked to have been growing up, was originally going to be a girl named "Leslie". I wonder what that would have been like? Another "What If?" that didnt happen, I suppose. As for Wheaton, I sympathize with his situation. Wesley had/still has many haters, but he also had quite a few fans as well. I have to be honest and say that no, I never really HATED Wes per se, but when he could upstage the senior staff and other adult crew and somehow do things that they couldn't, well, I have to admit that was just a *little* bit annoying. But kudos to Wheaton for enduring this and continuing his career and being successful, and not ending up like all the disgraced former child actors who became destitute addicts, or even worse, dead!
Also, regarding the character of Groppler Zorn, Michael Bell previously did the voice of Prowl, an Autobot in the pre-movie Transformers 80's cartoon series (Prowl was killed in the movie). And then he was Zorn, and afterwards he did the voice of Lex Luthor in the Ruby-Spears Superman cartoon series in the late 80s. I wonder what he has done since then.
I also wonder what became of the Bandi after the spaceborne life-forms departed Deneb IV. Would the Federation aid them in any way after what had happened? I wonder about that.
Anyway, this is probably my favorite Trek debut episode, with Caretaker being a close second. I was nine years old when TNG debuted, and as I said elsewhere, there were things I liked about it, and many things I didnt quite get about what was happening, being a kid. ANd the nay-sayers who all said that this new Trek would not work and that it wouldn't be successful like TOS and their films, well, I sure am glad they were wrong!
In closing, I think I will say this:
"Let's see what's out there...Engage!"
Great essay Andre. I pretty much agree with everything you said. I'm glad they toned down Troi's "emotions" after the pilot though.
I thought it was interesting that Jeffrey Combs, who went on to play Tiron, Weyoun, Brunt, Penk, and Shran in later Trek, was almost cast as Riker.
quote:
That's the first I've heard of this. I had read that Billy Campbell, who would go on (12 years later) to play divorced dad Rick Sammler on my beloved Once and Again, was the second choice for Riker.
At TV Tropes, there is a category called Executive Meddling, which refers to studio suits sticking their noses into a production of a TV show or movie. Sometimes it's good, other times, it's bad.
It was thanks to Executive Meddling on the part of Paramount that we got Q.
Originally, this was supposed to be just a one hour show, which dealt with the mystery of Farpoint Station. Gene Roddenberry and Dorothy Fontana had already finished the script when the suits at Paramount told them to "make it a two hour show."
So more stuff had to be added to stretch the story out. Gene came up with Q, and the rest is history.
Whether this was a case or good or bad Executive Meddling depends on whether one likes Q or not.
I think Q Worked for TNG. The problem is that When the writers couldn't figure out how to make Voyager go, they decided "instant success, just add Q" and did so for a nauseating number of episodes. Q worked on TNG because you only got a taste of him. an episode or two a season. Once you make him common place he looses his shine.
Q only appeared in three episodes of Voyager. I'd hardly call that common place.
I think the problem with Q on Voyager was that the writers tried to flesh out the Continuum which was... less than inspired ("Everyone's been the scarecrow!") and weakened the Q concept overall.
Q, & Q-like characters, work best as Forces of Nature, Diabolus Ex Machinas, or even just basic Plot Complications, that the main characters have to deal with during the story, and they fail when you try to show things like their home life or try to make the audience identify with them.
I had a vague fan theory (possibly someone else has had the same theory and developed it more) that there is actually only one Q, the one played by de Lancie. The other Q do not really exist- or they do exist, and genuinely believe themselves to be Q, but in fact they were all created by the one true Q, and they do not really possess any powers of their own.
This theory is based on:
A) The fact that Q repeatedly refers to himself as omnipotent, which doesn't make sense if there are many other Q who are each as powerful as he is, and collectively much more so.
B) The inconsistent portrayal of Q's relationship with the rest of the Continuum. Sometimes he acts as if he is free to do whatever he wishes, other times he seems to be merely an emissary or agent, constrained by rules the Continuum imposes on him.
The history of humanity's relationship with the Q is also inconsistent: In "Farpoint" Q says this is their first meeting, but according to "True Q", two Q took on human form, settled on Earth and procreated, more than a decade before "Farpoint".
C) The fact that I like the idea of a solitary Q better than the rather lame depiction of the Continuum in Voyager.
The simplest explanation for why Q would pretend to answer to a group of fellow godlike entities, is that it is just part of the elaborate games he enjoys playing with Picard and other lesser beings.
Unfortunately, that won't work, because there are at least two instances in TNG ("Deja Q" and "True Q") where he is shown talking to another Q, and acting as though they have authority over him, when no non-Q is present to witness it.
Maybe Q got bored and lonely with only primitive mortals to interact with, so he created a group of pseudo-equals?
Interesting theory.
Jonathan - Q repeatedly refers to himself as omnipotent
Just because he says it, doesn't make it true.
The history of humanity's relationship with the Q is also inconsistent: In "Farpoint" Q says this is their first meeting, but according to "True Q", two Q took on human form, settled on Earth and procreated, more than a decade before "Farpoint".
Yes, but humanity didn't know those two were anything but human. As far as humanity knew this was the first meeting.
Also I believe Quinn in Voyager had interacted with some humans in the past, but I don't remember if he had identified himself to them as Q.
Sometimes he acts as if he is free to do whatever he wishes, other times he seems to be merely an emissary or agent, constrained by rules the Continuum imposes on him.
The rules could always be there, it's just sometimes he has more freedom to act, not unlike certain Starfleet captains.
I like the idea of a solitary Q
I seem to think that even in this first episode there was the implication that Q was just a representative of a larger group.
Unfortunately, that won't work, because there are at least two instances in TNG ("Deja Q" and "True Q") where he is shown talking to another Q, and acting as though they have authority over him, when no non-Q is present to witness it.
Except the audience... Do you doubt that Q has the power to see past the fourth wall? ;-)
Going back to an earlier post...
Tim - Originally, this was supposed to be just a one hour show
I heard it was 90 minutes before they "padded" it out with Q.
That being said I think the addition of Q worked as it added a tension & serious consequences that were lacking from the otherwise ordinary "mystery of Farpoint station".
Just because he says it, doesn't make it true.
But if he were lying to exaggerate his power, why even mention the other Q?
It makes more sense the other way around: His claim to be the representative of a higher authority is an elaborate charade, and his occasional descriptions of himself as omnipotent are the truth slipping out.
I think I first came up with this "One True Q" theory based on the exchange in "Tapestry" where Q claims to be God, and Picard responds by saying he doesn't believe it because "the universe isn't so poorly designed".
While that's a good line, Picard could also have asked what seems like an obvious question: "If you are God, who are all those other Q who you take orders from?"
Then it occurred to me that Picard might not take for granted that the other Q exist, since he has no evidence that they do other than Q's word.
From the synopsis - "Picard uses the Enterprise's phasers to free the creature,"
Actually, the Enterprise transmitted energy, not phasers, to help the creature.
Riker arrives on the battle bridge for the first time, and he views a series of videos to get up to date. The only problem is that they were from all the weird TV camera angles that we, as viewers, saw. He shouldn't see so many rapid shots and camera angles (like the one near the floor where the frozen Lt.Torres falls towards. The log also left out about half the details of the encounter, so he's STILL not up to date on what happened!
The gun-wielding security guard for Q in Q's courtroom keeps firing his machine gun into the air and even onto the floor, but we never see the results, namely pieces of ceiling or floor and debris rise up.
John A. Lang - "I just thought it'd be interesting to get McCoy's reaction about Q...that's all. I think it'd be amusing."
What a missed opportunity! I would have loved to see that, too!
After re-watching my absolute favorite scene of 'Star Trek-First Contact' last night, which is Picard's shouting match with Lily ('The line must be drawn HERE! And I will make them PAY for what they've done!"), I realized that it really wasn't out of character for Picard to be so livid and angry. It's as if 5 years of controlling his temper has finally boiled over and he's released it; because after rewatching this pilot, it matches up! Picard is short-tempered, arrogant, snide, makes terse remarks, and is irritable-- a far cry from the calm, refined Picard we would see in future seasons.
By Somebody who likes to make up long elaborate pseudonyms and turn them into mini-essays, thus making them not actually pseudonyms; they would therefore be pseudo-pseudonyms; since they're not actually pseudonyms they must be nyms instead. Let Spock figure that one out. on Friday, August 10, 2001 - 9:46 pm: Nobody asks what the Q stands for. I know, a fan whose last name starts with a Q.
Real Life: English Star Trek fan Janet Quarton - Gene Roddenbery named the character in her honour.
In-universe: Possibly a reference to the word Question.
Nemysis on Friday, January 24, 2003 - 5:20 pm:
I don't know if this was brought up in Phil's book, or if anyone else here noticed, but theres a question about Troi's rank in this episode.
At one point when they first meet Q Picard refers to Troi as "Commander". When the space creature fires on the bandi later in the show, Riker orders most of his away team to beam up. Troi contests this for a moment and Riker replies "You have your order LEIUTENANT."
Now, Picard could have called Troi "Commander" because a Lt. Commander would be addressed that way sometimes. But that means Riker just plain got her rank wrong.
Either Riker wanted to emphasise his seniority, or the 'You have your orders' remark was actually intended for Tasha, due to her position as Chief of Security.
This is one of the errors that I have attempted to explain in the Explaining Errors in Star Trek wiki entry for this episode, (http://explaining-errors-in-star-trek.wikia.com/wiki/Encounter_at_Farpoint).
While preparing to separate the saucer section, Picard orders firing a number of photon torpedoes at Q's ship, clearly specifying that their detonations should be timed to blind Q and conceal the separation manoeuvre. Yet, the saucer's separation and subsequent turning around of the Enterprise to confront Q all happen well BEFORE the torpedoes detonate.
Comments have been made about how unconcerned the Enterprise's crew seem to be about the casualties in the old Bandi city. It's quite possible that there were no real casualties at all, that the space creature took care to avoid targeting the inhabitants, that it only wanted to scare them, not kill them. It was perfectly capable of pinpointing their locations as it demonstrated when it beamed Groppler Zorn away.
NANJAO The space creature in orbit above Deneb IV is depicted as pink, while the one on the planet's surface is depicted as blue. I believe this was meant to convey that the creature in space is female and the one on the planet is male, even though their respective genders are never explicitly addressed during the episode, both being referred to as "it".
Rewatching the remastered version of "Encounter at Farpoint" recently, I noticed a small change. I could be wrong, but I think I remember the recap of the events with Q that they show to Riker when he first comes aboard including footage from the trial that Q put them under. This is a nit, as the implication when they come back is that no one else was aware of any change, and they had just been going to Farpoint uneventfully the whole time. When I watched the remastered version, there was no footage from the trial though. This fixes one nit, but it introduces another one, as one Riker goes to talk to Picard afterward, he acts like he knows about the trial and how Q has put them on notice, but he didn't get any information about this.
"Let's see what's out there!"
Picard's final words in the show are either inspiring or odd, depending on your perspective.
They're inspiring from the point of view of the viewer, who gets to see the 24th century of Star Trek, decades after Kirk's time.
Odd from the perspective of a guy who's been in Starfleet for about 30 years and already knows 'what's out there'.
Add to that that the Enterprise is about to spend about 75 % of its time in known space and not 'where no one has gone before', and will act many times as a mere passenger ship or cargo ship, and Picard's sense of wonder about the future is kinda misplaced.
That first season was just awful, wasn't it. Roddenberry had clearly lost is touch (and he wasn't a well man at this time). He, or should I say is lawyer, pushed away key writers like Dorothy Fontana and David Gerrold (Roddenberry and Fontana never spoke again).
And, to top it all off, the season was cut short by a writer's strike.
Talk about a perfect storm of bad luck.
I don't know that I would call the first season awful.
It had its problems, but I believe most of that came in the first half of the season and was improving in the second half.
I believe the writer's strike happened toward the end of the second season, Tim, not the first.
I believe the writer's strike happened toward the end of the second season, Tim, not the first.
No, it happened at the end of the first season, from March 7 to august 7 1988. It is, among other things, the reason why the Borg are what we know them as. Originally, they were supposed to be the insect like parasites we saw in Conspiracy. Season 2 was supposed to be all about them and their aim to conquer the Federation. The writer's strike put an end to the project and we got the season 2 we got. And the Borg evolved from revision to revision until they became the cybernetic humanoids we we introduced to in Q-Who.
I forgot about the writer's strike. It affected STNG's airing dates, starting with episode 18, 'Coming of Age'.
17 - 'Home Soil' - Sat, Feb 20, 1988
18 - 'Coming of Age' - Sat, Mar 12, 1988
19 - 'Heart of Glory' - Sat, Mar 19, 1988
20 - 'The Arsenal of Freedom' - Sat, Apr 9, 1988
21 - 'Symbiosis' - Sat, Apr 16, 1988
22 - 'Skin of Evil' - Sat, Apr 23, 1988
23 - 'We'll Always Have Paris' - Sat, Apr 30, 1988
24 - 'Conspiracy' - Sat, May 7, 1988
25 - 'The Neutral Zone' - Sat, May 14, 1988
There's a 3 week gap between episodes 17 and 18, and another 3 weeks between 19 and 20.
Earlier, however, after episode 10, 'Haven', on November 28, 1987, the show was in repeats for 6 weeks, until episode 11, 'The Big Good-bye', but I'm guessing that was a scheduled break as the post-production got caught up?
Season 2 must have been delayed, as episode 1, 'The Child' didn't air until November 21, 1988.
I guess I misremembered. Whoops.
Season 2 must have been delayed, as episode 1, 'The Child' didn't air until November 21, 1988.
The Child, iirc, is a recycled script from the Star Trek: Phase II series that was never made. One of its scripts was turned into Star Trek:The Motion Picture, the others were shelved, until The Child was adapted for TNG to tide them over until new scripts were made after the conclusion of the writer's strike. Ilia was originally to be the one impregnated by the alien. Season 4's Devil's Due is also an adapted Phase II script.
Strike really messed things up.