By Joel Croteau on Monday, November 23, 1998 - 04:52 pm:

Another reference to the 20th century. The Ferengi are compared to yankee traders. This episode also conflicts with "Captain's holiday" and almost every episode of DS9.
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By Keith Alan Morgan on Sunday, April 18, 1999 - 07:37 am:

Joel: I thought Yankee Traders was a term from the 18th or 19th century, not the 20th.

Picard does not recognize the shape of the Ferengi vessel, also when the ship fires it looks very distinctive, unlike any other races' weapons, but again Picard does not recognize it. However, in The Battle, it is revealed that Picard was attacked by a Ferengi vessel commanded by DaiMon Bok's son. So did the Ferengi change their ship and weapons in the time between the Battle of Maxia and this episode?

On page 112, of the NextGen Guide II, Phil wondered how the Turbolift knew La Forge was going to Engineering and not one of the workstations. Clearly the Turbolift heard Picard order La Forge to go to Engineering.

On the Bridge, Troi mentions that they have focused all their attention on the Ferengi, but have overlooked the planet below, but then in the conference room, she talks as if it is the Ferengi who are responsible for the energy drain.

Earlier Yar opened hailing frequencies, but just prior to surrendering it is Data, sitting at Ops, who opens hailing frequencies.

How did the children get in the conference room? Isn't the conference room next to the Bridge on Deck 1? Are there other Turbolifts which take people to Deck 1, besides the ones seen on the Bridge? Shouldn't there be some kind of computer override that keeps children from taking the Turbolift up to Deck 1?

There are two doors to this room. One is by the Captain's seat and, from the viewers' point of view, the wall of Enterprises is on its right and the windows are on the left. The other door is at the other end of the room, with the wall of Enterprises to its left and the windows to its right. In this episode, the Bridge crew enters from the first door near the Captains seat and the children run out the room the same way. In the episode Peak Performance, Riker leads the Zakdorn through the back of the bridge, from the Turbolift on the right to the door on the left and appears to walk straight into the room through the second door, with the wall of Enterprises on the left. Does either door connect to the bridge, or does the crew just use whichever door suits their fancy?

The Ferengi DaiMon pronounces his title Di-Mon, so why in later shows does everyone pronounce it Daymon?

In the NextGen Guide II, Phil commented on the Ferengi's image staying on the viewscreen several seconds after Tasha closes the frequency. Clearly the image is the result of some kind of Ferengi information gathering system. If you watch the image, you will see it quickly look around the Bridge.

The Ferengi claim Gamma Tauri is their territory, but Gamma Tauri is only 158 light years from Earth, close enough that it could have been explored during the 23rd century. Also in Encounter at Farpoint Groppler Zorn mentions the Ferengi, which implies that they must be known of in the area of Deneb, 1,600-1,836 light years away, almost on the opposite side of the sky from Gamma Tauri. Which would mean that the Ferengi have done business in the majority of the Alpha quadrant without running into any Starfleet personnel until this episode. Clearly accepting the Ferengi claim without argument was just a way to keep the Ferengi talking and hopefully friendly.

The Ferengi claim that Gamma Tauri is theirs, but when flying away, presumably toward Ferenginar, they pass by Delphi Ardu and power is drained from their ship. If, as they claim, Gamma Tauri is within their territory, why did they fly by a planet that they should have known would drain their energy?

In the NextGen Guide Phil wondered why the energy to produce artificial gravity isn't affected, but he missed three other energy sources. One, Data is an android, but he doesn't have his energy drained. Two, Geordi's VISOR functions throughout the show with no problem. Three, Picard has an artificial heart.

The planet is supposed to M class, but the fog on the planet appears to be a heavier than air type gas like Carbon Dioxide, and it forms on the higher levels of the planet, which means that the valleys must be filled with this stuff leaving no room for oxygen. So, what exactly are the standards for declaring a planet to be M class?

The blast from the Ferengi energy whip strikes Geordi, zaps Data who is holding him and even affects Riker who is a few feet away, then Riker takes the full brunt of the next blast. So why is Riker the first one to recover?

Why are Data's arms frozen in position? If the energy blast temporarily froze him into position, shouldn't Data remain standing?

Why are the Ferengi so amazed that Human females and males work together and that Human females wear clothes? Most races in Star Trek have men and women working together and most races clothe their females. (True, some races clothe their women in very little, but I think the Ferengi would consider G strings and pasties to be clothing.) On the other hand, the Ferengi DaiMon never says anything about Tasha and Troi wearing clothes, yet both are on the Bridge. Even if the ship's 'camera' is focused on Picard and not the whole Bridge, Tasha is standing right behind Picard and Troi is sitting next to the Captain's seat.

Obviously the DaiMon was lying when he said he was sending down a three person science team. None of those three Ferengi looked bright enough to know which end of a microscope to look through.

Portal takes shape and says, "Biped, excellent!" but then he seems to lean on his staff most of the time. If he has such trouble standing erect, why does he think it is excellent to be a biped?

Why are Data, Geordi and Riker playing with those finger puzzles at the end of the show? Why are Geordi's fingers trapped in the puzzle, didn't he see how Picard got Data of it earlier?

How bad is this episode?
The crew 'discussion' scenes early on- pedantic and pointlessly dragging out the show.
The continuity, given what happens later on in TNG and DS9- lax (my thought- they should always have kept the Ferengi like this as now the ones in "The Last Outpost" seem very much out of character).
The scenes involving the Portal- crazy.
The snide comments on the bridge- at least the ones we saw occasionally on TOS worked.
I always crack up when Worf says his line:
"immobilised by the •••• Ferengi".
What do other pit-nickers think?

Keith :
An hypothesis on why the portal said "bipedal, excellent" :
Could it be that he wanted to assume a form resembling his visitors? He seemed to prefer human instead of Ferengi, though : )

Oh, one other rather important but unfixable nit in this show:
the energy drain from the T'Kon planet is shown slowly shutting down all the power systems on the Enterprise and Ferengi vessel. All, that is, apart from the antimatter containment fields. How convenient- the series would have been over pretty quickly if the Portal had been draining power from AM containment!

The Ferengi seem shocked that other species would clothe their females. However, DS9 implies in several episodes (Things Past, Wrongs Darker than Death or Night) that Quark has been on the station at least 5 years prior to the series. This would imply that the Ferengi knew that other species did clothe their females.

Then again, when this episode took place there was no DS9, no Quark... WINK WINK!

Well, Quark *WAS* in this one :-) At least Armin Shimerman was.

Hm, now that you mention it, in the DS9 episode "Shadowplay" Kira mentions Quark's cousin Kono, whom we did not get to see. I wonder if this was Kono, or at least related to him?

I'm surprised that nobody's commented on Keith Alan Morgan's claim that 'the Ferengi would consider G strings and pasties to be clothing.'
Pasties are a type of food, at least in England, and I really don't want to go into the train of thought to which KAM's suggestion leads...

Obviously you never saw my Cheeseburger Pattie picture in the LICC Art Gallery II. ;-) ;-) ;-)

Here in the states pasties are a form of breast covering that is 'pasted' onto a woman's breast.

From a pure plot standpoint, this ep isn't all that bad. Dullish, yeah, and talky, but not too bad.

As a vehicle for the intro of the drumroll please Ultimate Threat to the Federation, i.e. the Ferengi...well.

(This is one of those eps where I'd've loved to have been at the preproduction meeting: "We'll put 'em in ratty fur, so they'll look savage!" "Yes! I love it! And phaser whips will make them look even cooler!")

And there's also that scene at the end where Riker just sorta...stands around being the Flower of Humanity, which somehow so impresses the Portal that he decides his race is worthy to be released.
Am I the only one who thinks that's a fairly inefficient way for an automated sentinel to behave? ("Hmmmm...you're obviously an advanced race, in an armed starship, with the capability to pose a threat to us. But...you talk a good game, so...what the heck, go in peace.")

This episode actually starts off pretty well, although it is a bit derivative of the TOS episode Arena. The pursuit of the Ferengi vessel is well done, as is the sequence when the crew realizes that they are unable to move and power is being drained from the ship. (I love Worf's line, which goes something like: "Paralyzed, by the d*mn Ferengi!) But as soon as we meet the Ferengi, the episode starts falling apart. The Ferengi look and act so goofy that it is impossible to take them seriously as a real threat. And the "Oh-Isn't-Humanity-So-Wise-And-Wonderful" ending left me wanting to retch.
Still, it's interesting how a bad episode like this one stays in your mind for so long. So in an way, its a "fun" bad episode rather than a real stinker.

KAM: Here in the states pasties are a form of breast covering that is 'pasted' onto a woman's breast.

Except for Michigan's Upper Peninsula, where pasties are a kind of food.

Also in the UK, I believe. At least Rosamund Pilcher's relentlessly nostalgic novel Coming Home references 'Cornish pasties' as a lunch item.
(I'm almost afraid to ask what the term for stick-on breast coverings is in the Land of Benny Hill...)

BTW, Jesse, in case nobody's mentioned it yet - welcome to NitCentral! From <shameless plug mode on> the moderator of Non Sci-Fi Novels - stop by anytime! <shameless plug mode off>

Ok, so when they finally saw the Ferengi, why didn't either Data (with his computer memory) or Riker (who read all the logs of previous Enterprises) say, "Hey! those are the mysterious aliens who attacked Archer's Enterprise in 2151!"

Here, again, the usual continuity errors:

At the beginning of the episode, when the Enterprise is hunting the Ferengi ship, Tasha’s position changes. In the first shot she is standing in behind of the tactical station, hands crossed. In the following scene she is suddenly working the controls of the station.

The same happens, when DaiMon Taar identifies himself. In one scene, Tasha’s arms are hanging down, in the next one she is working the controls…

… and again when Picard wants to see DaiMon Taar via viewscreen…

…and once more shortly before DaiMon Taar reveals himself.

When Picard and Taar are talking for the second time the position of arms is changing again. From Tasha’s viewpoint his arms are hanging down, from DaiMon Taar’s viewpoint, he is holding his hands “Janeway style”.

When Riker, Tasha and Word want to fire their phasers on Delphi Ardu they are looking straight forward, in the direction of the Ferengi in one shot, in the following shot they look towards the energy absorbing crystals, to the right.

And when Letek fires his whip, one can see that it is still bend, like he is holding both ends of it, in one shot, in the next shot his whip is fully erect. (the plasma whip, I mean of course! ;-))


Geordie changes position when Portal begins to materialise. In the first shot, he is standing about to meters in front of Data, in the following shot, he is suddenly standing directly behind Data.

When Portal begins whirling through the crowd, Tasha is standing next to Riker in one shot, and next to Worf in the following one.

When Tasha wants to kick Mordoc, Data is standing behind the three Ferengi, than he isn’t, than he is again and so on. This changes from camera angle to camera angle.
That's all for today

This is the first and last time we see the Ferengi laser whips. Too bad...It was kinda cool.

Yeah, the whips themselves had possibilities...but not as wielded by the Ferengi!

(John Vornholt's otherwise mediocre NextGen novel War Drums postulates Romulans with the same whips...which IMHO is definitely much more cool.)

Actually John we do see a working phaser whip in the Enterprise epsiode Acquisition, and we sort of see a phaser whip in the DS9 episode Ferengi Love Songs. (It's a toy phaser whip with Quark's Maruader Mo action figure. ;-)

Of course, the big question is WHY is Data fooling around with the Chinese finger puzzle at all? I mean, the ship is being held by a force field of some kind, there's a Ferengi ship perched on their "doorstep" and Data is fooling around with a Chinese finger puzzle?!?! Not a good idea.

its part of data's ability to multitask effectively. Further proof that data runs under linux.

The name of the composer Dennis McCarthy is spelled wrong in the closing credits. It reads "MCCARTHEY" instead.

Sounds like Mr. Scpipt is at it again!

NANJAO: When the Portal swings his weapon, it appears that TPTB sped up the film from the actual speed that the actor was twirling the weapon.

That appears to be exactly what happened. I guess in context it is meant to indicate that the Portal has unnatural speed with that polearm he carries. What is awe-inspiring is that Riker could stand with no reaction while a hostile alien who seems determined to destroy his ship swings a heavy, sharp weapon at his neck. The best explanation I can think of is that he fully expected to die so the Enterprise would be released.

In the NextGen guide, Phil wonders at the insubordinate (or at least disrespectful) comments by Geordi when he's hanging from the cave roof. In response to Riker's asking if he is conscious, he says something on the lines of "do I look conscious?" Well, given that the VISOR covers his eyes, and he didn't appear to be moving actively until Data and Riker showed up, I'd say that not only was Geordi's comment rude, it also didn't have the kind of effect that it was meant to. After all, with those effects, Geordi did actually look unconscious.

-JM

A lot of familiar faces in this episode.

Portal is played by the same actor (Darryl Henriques) that was Romulan Ambassador Nanclus in Star Trek VI.

Also, Mike Gomez (DaiMon Taar) was everyone's favorite plot convenience, Jorge Concepcion, in the X-Files episode "Little Green Men.

And here's what Armin Shimerman has been in outside of the obvious:

He was a villainous alien named "Weezul" in a sci-fi B-movie called "Arena" which also had Marc Alaimo in it.

He also played a dog breeder in an episode of "Married...With Children" who wanted to pay Al Bundy $10,000 to let him breed Buck with one of his dogs.

And of course, he was Kramer's caddy in the "Seinfeld" episode where Jerry and Kramer wreck George's car while looking at Sue Ellen Mischke.

Of course, the most important question to come from this episode:

"What have bright, primary colours got to do with it?"

I can't believe the writers didn't have a guide book to tell them the function of each station and what tasks each crewmember performs. This is because, yet again, we have more than one person involved in communications. Data and Yar attempt communications, and Picard asks Worf at Science 1 about communications! Huh? Who's the boss? Just anybody you happen to look at? This occured again and again early in the series. That's like asking Uhura, Chekov and Sulu all to hail the other ship.

Data has superhuman strength and...he can't get unstuck from the finger puzzle. Riiiight.

Riker asks for the ship to be released, Portal looks up at the sky for a moment, and says it is done. Pretty trusting guy, that Riker! I've got a bridge in Brooklyn built by purple-skinned Aztecs that I'd like to sell him!

Geordi must have had alot of coffee that day, because he was so excitable and lippy. Quite a contrast from the calmer, cooler LaForge of later seasons.

And speaking of which, does it make sense to send your helmsman to engineering? Shouldn't he be ready to fly the ship out of danger? And just where is the ship's Chief Engineer? He wasn't even contacted, just 'Engineering' by Picard. Then once he's down there, Geordi acts like he's the Chief Engineer, and even gives instructions to a crewman at an engineering station. Shouldn't this plan be cleared with the Chief?

Just who have these Ferengi been trading with that they find the human features so repugnant? They act like they've never seen humans before, but after 28 combined seasons of the 5 Trek series we know that the general human shape and facial features (barring the odd forehead bump) is similar in about 95 % of the intelligent races they could expect to encounter and trade with, even as far as the Delta Quadrant.

Picard and Beverly have the crew and kids huddling for warmth as the ship loses power...in an outer room. Does this make sense? Instead of huddling in the core of the ship, where dozens of walls and decks could insulate the crew from the icy cold of space, they sit around in a room that has windows, separating the deadly cold from them by mere inches.

So many things wrong, and yet I find it a decent episode, probably from a nostalgic, early episode.

End Credits Screw-up:

It lists: "Music by: Dennis McCarthey"

It should be: "Dennis McCarthy"


(Could this have been the TOS "Scpipt Supervisor Snafu" guy again?)

I doubt it.

Picard notes that they will be making "First Contact" with the Ferengi.

Doesn't Archer's encounter with the Ferengi in "Acquisition" count?

They didn't know that those aliens were the Ferengi. Those aliens never introduced themselves or mentioned what the name of their species was.

I blame T'Pol's tight uniform for missing that fact.

Just noticed today - When they beam down to the planet for the first time, look in the top far left of the screen. It looks like you can see some equipment or part of the soundstage!

"This is the first and last time we see the Ferengi laser whips. Too bad...It was kinda cool." - John Lang

I thought so, too, John. But then, as Phil said, later in the series, the Ferengi would discontinue using the whips and begin using more conventional-looking weapons. Like in "Rascals", the Ferengi Phaser debuts (which one of the renegades uses to knock Worf out), and then one of them is using what appears to be a *Romulan* Disruptor Rifle when forcing the crew to beam down to Ligos VII. It's just something I noticed.

BTW, in the First Edition of the Star Trek CCG, there was an "Ferengi Whip" Equipment card, and it's lore read:

"Unconventional hand weapon. High-energy plasma discharge renders victims unconscious. Difficult to wield, it was phased out of use after a number of embarrassing accidents."

That pretty much sums it up, I think!

Ferengi using Romulan weapons makes sense. Ferengi like to buy and sell things. Romulans are a paranoid and rather warlike culture; they probably make great disruptor. How many citizens of other countries use Russian made AK-47s?

I really didn't like the way Geordi acted in this episode, the way he just kept giving his opinions of the Ferengi within earshot of them. And with the ears they have, they must be able to hear really well.

I mean, he also says "Whoo Whee!" at one point in Engineering because he's really psyched about trying to restore power to the ship, but it seemed really weird that he reacted the way he did. As for his "Do I look conscious" remark, that bordered on insubordination. I was surprised that Geordi would say that. As for why he was hanging upside down, just what was he hanging from? Why would he materialize upside down in the first place?

Also, I really glad that the people involved in the making of this episode acknowledged how unthreatening the Ferengi were as enemies, and how that would make sure that they would never be taken seriously as such. I read this on Memory Alpha, and the fact that the TNG Ferengi were pretty much a joke is why they were slightly tweaked for their later appearances. Like I said elsewhere, their culture as a whole were given more depth and detail on DS9. And I dont recall ever seeing any DaiMons commanding Marauders visit the station, I think the Ferengi military were specific to TNG only, and it was mainly the civilians and various VIP's that were shown on DS9.

Anyway, this episode was not one of my favorites. But at least Wesley wasn't in it, and that was one of the reasons I liked "Too Short A Season"!

Why doesn't the DaiMon understand the word "swap"? The concept of trade isn't unfamiliar to him. Was there a malfunction in the Universal Translator?

* Why has Picard never heard the word T'Kon before? Later episodes reveal that he's an expert in alien archeology.

* Although the Portal refers to the T'Kon "Empire", in his earlier briefing, Data described the T'Kon as a "federation".

* Data tells the Portal that the T'Kon Empire was destroyed three "ages" after the "age" the Portal believes it to be. Why had the Portal already been asleep for "ages", before the Empire fell?

* An observation, not a nit: When Data states that the T'Kon federation's population was in the trillions, Picard repeats "Trillions?" in a surprised and impressed tone, thereby implying that the UFP population is considerably less than 2 trillion.

* Correction: The term "Tkon Empire" first appears on the hologram map that Data displays during in the briefing, as he is describing the Empire as a "huge space federation".

* If by "huge" Data meant the Empire's physical dimensions, the implication is that they exceeded the UFP's. And according to Picard in First Contact, the UFP was spread across 8000 light years. So if the Empire's edge was around 150 light years from Earth (the vicinity of Gamma Tauri), then there would probably be thousands of light years of Federation space containing former Tkon worlds.

It is possible though, that Data was referring only to the size of the Empire's population, and although that was larger than the UFP's, it may have been contained within a much smaller area (perhaps the Tkon had a Trantor/Coruscant-like capital).

* After Data tells Picard that the Tkon Empire ended when "their sun went supernova", Picard asks "Could this planet have escaped that", and Data replies that it "may have been the most distant outpost, but it shows no life form readings". The implication is that the supernova physically destroyed the entire Empire, which doesn't make sense.

The heat and blast effects of a supernova would, of course, be limited to the planets of its own stellar system. In systems up to several dozen light-years away, the radiation might have a significant environmental impact on Earthlike planets, by damaging their ozone layer. But FTL capability would give them plenty of warning to prepare for the wave's arrival. And for a civilization with the resources to move stars, which the Tkon could supposedly do, shielding worlds against supernova radiation doesn't seem like a very difficult feat.

* Re: Data's statement that the planet "shows no life form readings". None at all, not even microbes?

Two episodes earlier, the Enterprise was at Deneb, 1400 light years from Earth. Given the speed of maximum warp stated in "Q Who", how did Enterprise get from there to Gamma Tauri (150 light years from Earth) so quickly?

A wizard did it.

* Why does Worf mutter "Immobilised by the •••• Ferengi", as if it is especially humiliating that the Ferengi are responsible, when they have not yet seen the Ferengi, and know little about them?

* Re: "Yankee traders", why are 24th century "scholars" describing the Ferengi with an expression which was already obscure in the 20th century?

* It's hard to believe that the Ferengi could have enough contact with other species to establish a reputation as unscrupulous traders, without anyone ever discovering what they look like.

* Data's quip that he doubts the Ferengi "wear red, white and blue, or look anything like Uncle Sam", seems out of character for him.

* After Tasha asks about the relevance of "bright primary colours", Picard explains that competing countries used to be represented by colors. Would this really be an unfamiliar concept? Are the colors of the Federation flag, the Klingon flag, the Romulan flag, etc, not symbolicly associated with their respective interstellar powers?

* Picard adds that the United States used red, white and blue, while the French "more properly" used blue, white and red. Apparently, Picard is a French version of Chekov. His comment doesn't even make sense, as the US flag has no blue stripes, and doesn’t read from left to right.

* When Riker suggests that they suddenly accelerate from "slow-reverse impulse" to top warp speed, Geordi reacts as though this is a brilliant idea, even pumping his fist and exclaming: "Woo-wee!" However, the concept of trying to accelerate faster than the field could adjust, isn't actually very complicated. Why would Riker, who isn't an engineer, think of it before Geordi?

* Is the Universal Translator offline when Picard says "Merde"?

* When Picard solicits advice from his senior staff, Worf and Tasha suggest attacking the Ferengi, and Troi suggests telling them something they want to hear (surrender?). Picard then asks Riker for his assesment, leading to this exchange:

RIKER: I believe we've covered every available alternative, Captain. Are there other options that you want to analyse?
PICARD: The only one remaining is the one that needs no conversation. The only one we must avoid.
RIKER: Sir?
PICARD: The one that leads to total annihilation.

What is Picard talking about? Doing nothing? Blowing up the ship? Why not just say what he means, instead of being so cryptic?

* This must be a very unusual group of Ferengi, if they really prefer death to the "dishonor" of unconditional surrender.

* Did the Ferengi abandon their custom of no visual communication after this episode?

* The mention of profit by DaiMon Tarr, causes Data to turn to Geordi and say knowingly: "Yankee trader". To which the DaiMon responds: "What means Yankee traders?". Geordi then whispers to Data in an astonished tone: "He heard that!"

Is the DaiMon's mangled grammar, the result of a UT malfunction? Also, Geordi shouldn't be so surprised, since Data actually spoke at a normal volume.

* Why can the away team beam down to the planet, but not beam back again?

* In a Captain's Log voiceover, Picard says that it has been six hours since the away team beamed down, and conditions on the ship are rapidly worsening. Would the Enterprise really lose that much heat in six hours? There is no convection in space.

* Why do six hours pass before the Ferengi remove and inspect one of their captives' commbadges?

* Mordoc asks Letek: "Has what we've done broken our agreement with their captain?" Despite allegedly being the member of a science team, Mordoc must not be very bright, if he can't figure out that an unprovoked attack upon persons you had agreed to co-operate with, is a violation of that agreement.

* Why did the Ferengi attack, anyway? They appear to believe that their DaiMon would not approve.

* Why does Letek tell Riker: "You appeared and attacked us", as if Riker wouldn't know this is false? Does he think Riker may have amnesia from the phaser whipping?

* Are these the Ferengi version of "augments" (minus the enhanced intelligence)? While holding Letek aloft, Data warns Riker that the Ferengi are much stronger than they look, and they quickly proceed to demonstate that. First, one takes Riker out of the fight with a single punch. Then, after Worf is unable to defeat two Ferengi acting together, one of the two pulls Worf to the ground and single-handedly keeps him occupied, while the other retrieves his whip. However, I don't recall any Ferengi demonstrating greatly disproportionate strength, in any future episodes.

* Data's performance during this fight should be an embarassment to androids everywhere. Why does he just stand there holding one Ferengi in the air? He should be able to easily knock out all three by himself in seconds. Or at least, grab a second Ferengi and hold him in the air too. Also, why does he release the Ferengi and fall backwards (and why does he exclaim "Ooop!" as he falls)?

* After Tasha appears with her phaser drawn, and the Ferengi back down, Riker and Worf draw their phasers as well. Did they forget that they had them earlier? Why didn't the Ferengi disarm them when they were unconscious?

* If the reason that Dr. Crusher didn't sedate Wesley, wasn't so he could "meet death awake" (as she implies it wasn't, by asking if that is a "male perspective"), what was the reason?

* In response to Ferengi accusations, Riker admits that the Federation has withheld modern technology from some worlds. Then, for some reason, he volunteers: "And we still have more faults". Data follows Riker's lead, saying the Ferengi should also have mentioned: "Starfleet has permitted several civilisations to fall. We have at times allowed the strong and violent to overcome the weak."

Why do Riker and Data seem to want to make the case against the Federation better than the Ferengi have? If they are hoping Portal will reward honesty, shouldn't they still say something in their defense as well?

Also, why does Riker characterize the Federation's non-interference policy as a "fault"? Does he oppose the Prime Directive?

* Portal's challenge to Riker consists of repeating verbatim the quote from Sun Tzu that Riker previously mentioned to Picard ("He will triumph who knows when to fight and when not to fight"), and asking him to provide an "answer". How does Portal expect him to do that, when the quote isn't a question?

* Riker's immediate response to the challenge is to ask Portal: "How do you know my name?" Has he forgotten that he shouted his name to the Ferengi?

* Somehow, Riker does manage to provide an answer to the challenge that Portal finds satisfactory: "Fear is the true enemy, the only enemy." Is this supposed to be another quote from Sun Tzu? Because it isn't, there is no record of Sun Tzu ever saying that or anything similar.

It's also unclear why Portal considers this a valid answer. It has no logical relationship to the actual Sun Tzu quote at all. Would Portal have accepted any supposed Sun Tzu quote that sounded good to him?

* Portal tells Riker: "Unlike these little ones who close their minds, your mind holds interesting thoughts." If Portal can read Riker's thoughts, why did he accuse him of deception, when he said that the Empire was dead?

Why can the away team beam down to the planet, but not beam back again?

Because they were already close to the minimum energy levels needed to use the transporter. Going down and staying a useful amount of time meant they could not beam back.

In a Captain's Log voiceover, Picard says that it has been six hours since the away team beamed down, and conditions on the ship are rapidly worsening. Would the Enterprise really lose that much heat in six hours? There is no convection in space.

No, but there is radiation. The ship would radiate away its heat as infrared radiation. However, heat loss through radiation is much less efficient than through convection or conduction, so the ship could retain heat for a good long time. There are also about a thousand crew member onboard who are producing their own heat, enough to compensate some of the heat loss, especially if they gather in small sections of the ship as they did.

This episode's director, Richard Colla, also directed Gene Roddenberry's TV movie/unsold pilot The Questor Tapes. Colla is apparently retired; IMDB lists no directing credits for him past 2000.

Jonathan - * Data's performance during this fight should be an embarassment to androids everywhere. Why does he just stand there holding one Ferengi in the air? He should be able to easily knock out all three by himself in seconds. Or at least, grab a second Ferengi and hold him in the air too.

Or use the Ferengi as a weapon. ;-)

* If the reason that Dr. Crusher didn't sedate Wesley, wasn't so he could "meet death awake" (as she implies it wasn't, by asking if that is a "male perspective"), what was the reason?

Wesley had an idea that would solve the problem in two seconds flat & Dr. Crusher knew she needed to sedate him to prevent Short Show Syndrome. ;-)

* Because they were already close to the minimum energy levels needed to use the transporter. Going down and staying a useful amount of time meant they could not beam back.

Maybe, but then Data should have said: After X amount of time we won't be able to beam you back.

* Where is the Chief Engineer in this episode? Why is the ship's navigator being treated as though he is in charge of Engineering?

* Why isn't Riker curious how Portal knew the same Sun Tzu quote he'd used with Picard?

* Since Portal can read Riker's thoughts, couldn't he determine Riker's worthiness to enter the Empire that way? What was the point of a verbal test? Was Portal just messing with Riker?