By Johnny Veitch on Sunday, February 28, 1999 - 01:28 pm:

When Geordi is put in command, Worf is at the Ops station. Next time we see the bridge he`s at the conn, and at the end of that scene he gets up from the Ops station!
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By Keith Alan Morgan on Sunday, April 18, 1999 - 09:04 am:

It took seven years for them to find the remains of the freighter? Didn't the Odin file a flight report?

Data says how long it would take the escape pods to reach Angel One, down to the second. Now while the movement of stars and planets is known and time and distance of this movement can be calculated, presumably the ship's remains also drifted through space, and unless the exact time and position of the ship's accident and when the pods left is also recorded, I fail to see how Data can accurately calculate the travel time down to the second. Especially since, I believe, we are also talking about more than one pod and I doubt they all entered the atmosphere at the same second. Also there may have been objects in space whose gravity sped up or slowed down the travel time. Data may have been able to calculate down to the minute, plus or minus, but with all the possible variables in space, calculating down to the second is unlikely.

Yar's tricorder must be malfunctioning. She says that there were no listening devices in the room, but then how did the camera crew record this scene? On a less frivolous note, aren't ears listening devices? If someone had been listening through the wall, would the tricorder pick that up?

On this world, women are bigger and stronger and the men are extremely slight. The size difference between men and women on Angel One is greater than between human men and women, but most Earth men feel intimidated by women who are larger than them. If an Angel One man were built like an offworld man chances are he would be regarded as a freak and yet, both Ariel and Mistress Beata were highly attracted to these 'unnaturally' large men. I didn't get a chance to study the other women in relation to the Odin men, but Riker was taller than Beata and Ramsey is taller than Ariel, (I think her name is Ariel. I forgot to write it down and it took a few days before I could type up my notes.) and when they are embracing, the women allow the men to hold them 'protectively,' with the man's big, strong arms around the huddled up woman. I couldn't help, but think that some man just assumed it would be natural for women to fall for big, tall, strong men.

When Ariel is revealed as the 'traitor,' Beata tells her to stand with her "husband." Was Beata just guessing about this, or did Ariel marry Ramsey before they became criminals? If Ariel did marry Ramsey before he was declared a criminal, then why was Ariel left on the council?

For a man, Trent seemed to exercise a lot of power at the execution. (No pun intended.) He motioned to the guards to put Ramsey in the disintegration chamber and he was the one who activated it. Trent seemed to be nothing more than Beata's secretary, so can you imagine a President's secretary or even a Prison Warden's secretary having such power? ("Miss Johnson, would you like to pull the switch for the execution?" "Oooh, can I? Which way does the lever go?") In our world, which seems less oppressive to equality between the sexes than Angel One, I cannot imagine women, especially secretaries, being given the power to take life. ("That's a man's job!")

Wow, they really bent this episode! :-) "Angle One"?

"They're right, acute and oblique, and they work for me. My name is Charlie." -- Charlie's Angles!

(Title corrected by your moderator)

Not a nit, just an observation. In the Next Gen Guide II, a notice is made to Yar and Troi's reaction to Riker's outfit, mentioning that if Crusher or Troi had to meet someone, the males shouldn't laugh. Well, the novel "Dragon's Honor" takes place on an extremely patriarchal planet based on ancient China. Troi and Crusher volunteer to wear dresses which are very long and uncomfortable. Strangely, Troi hates it, while Crusher doesn't mind (I know, that was mean). And no, the males didn't laugh.

As Yar, Data, and Troi beam out from their meeting in the cave with Ramsay, they deliberately turn away from him to they are facing the same direction as they beam out. Not only is there no good reason for them to all be facing the same way (aside from BILC, of course. . .), but their turning their backs to Ramsay to face the camera just looks rude.

Re. Ariel as Mrs. Ramsey-
Ramsey did say that he and others had "taken wives." Knowing Beata, she probably forced that information out of him during his trial...
Or maybe she was meaning it as a derogatory term- she knew they weren't married but were still very close and saying "husband" would make Ariel feel all that more guilty (since she loved him but hadn't gone far enough and execution would prevent them from ever going far enough... This is getting very convoluted: I'll sign off here!)

Keith Alan Morgan - what do you mean that how did the camera crew record this scene???? This is TV, we HAVE to see it. yeesh, some people.

Some people have no sense of humor.

What about the Prime Directive?
Doesn't Geordi say that the world is about as advanced as mid-twentieth century Earth? I thought the high-and-mighty Federation wasn't supposed to make contact with civilizations that did not have warp technology.

You're forgetting the Kirk Amendment "... or really big hooters." ;-)

Actually, the Prime Directive doesn't apply to contacting this planet since this world had already been contacted decades (centuries?) earlier.

IIRC it had been 60 years since the Federation had last made contact.

So Picard's contacting the planet in this ep are no different than Kirk contacting Sigma Iota in A Piece Of The Action.

Actually, the odd thing is when Data says that the Prime Directive does not apply to the Odin crew (and hence, they could not be removed if they didn't want to go) because they are not members of starfleet. I really couldn't believe it when I heard it.

Starfleet apparently thinks Angel One is really strategic and important, and they want to keep good relations- so they ignore it for 62 years?

Moderator: The episode is "Angel One", but "Angel" is spelled "Angle" on the episode list board and on this board. Just thought you might want to know

Already mentioned, Spellchecker. See the second post on this board.

My apologies. I skipped over that huge first one and went to the bottom, occasionally glancing at some along the way.

No sweat. We get a lot of duplicate nits.

So, to all our female (and gay male) nitpickers... Did this episode achieve its titillation purpose with Riker's chest?

No, but on behalf of the Hair Club for Men, I'd like to make Riker an offer.....

Spockania: Actually, the odd thing is when Data says that the Prime Directive does not apply to the Odin crew (and hence, they could not be removed if they didn't want to go) because they are not members of Starfleet. I really couldn't believe it when I heard it.

What I took this to mean was that you can only hold a Federation citizen to the PD, and if the Odin renounced their citizenship, they're on their own. They may be human spacefarers, but they're not Starfleet, so if they break local laws, they have to fend for themselves.

I wasn't so impressed with Riker's chest. I'm not a fan of hairy chests!

Aarararrrarg!
Translation: D A M N!

Okay, I'll make an exception for the Wookie!

WEWRADARH!

(Translation: Hubba, Hubba!)

(blush!)

So when is the wedding? :p

ROOMF FRAAKA! FWEAR SATT WFA WERAAFFAKAK TAT FAAIGHGEAAA, OMFAFA AFDFAFAFAAA AA AFAF.RAF.

(Translation: Next spring. For those who want to buy gifts, I'm registered at Pets.com.)

After beaming down to the planet and meeting with the governing council, Riker, Data, Troi and Yar are shuffled off in to a holding room where they engage in a discussion of their strategy. Data asks "What if they deny the existence of survivors?" Riker responds "Let's not go looking for problems." Does this sound like something a first officer would say? Wouldn't an experienced and competent executive officer explore all potentialities so as to prepare for any foreseeable problems?

In the Nitpickers Book, it has a Nit saying that "When beaming down, on the transporter pad, Yar has her hands to her side, and then when she arives, they are at her side." This is not the case, there is no shot of Yar materializing, on the planet, only a shot of her walking into the room.

Could be that the creators caught the mistake at some point and fixed it. I think they've gone back in the past to fix stuff like misspelled names, so deleting a scene would be no problem.

So, to all our female (and gay male) nitpickers... Did this episode achieve its titillation purpose with Riker's chest?

Wellllll...as nice as it was to see a male Trek castmember in a plunging neckline ...I can't really say I was titillated, no. Jonathan Frakes isn't my type.

I'm sorry, I can't resist.

MISSED OPPORTUNITY: Yar and Troi, after giggling to each other concerning Riker's appearance, look at each other in a jealous rage. Just then Yar slaps Troi in the face and yells out:

HANDS OFF! HE'S MINE!

Hey, that's MY line!

So, to all our female (and gay male) nitpickers... Did this episode achieve its titillation purpose with Riker's chest?

Also concerning Phil's comment on Yar and Troi's comments: I wasn't impressed by Riker at all. There must be men out there who would look quite cute in such an outfit, but this hairy first officer? I guess that Yar and Troi want to cover their initial reaction of "yeargghhh" because he is their superior officer. (Besides, before changing, riker tells what strange local costumes he already has worn, so he somewhat set the tone.)

I found Picards comment at the beginning a little strange, too: Because the women are stronger, they have to be careful. Does this mean if they were weaker (like the average woman), the starfleet crew would just rush in and take what they want?? That's not the impression I got of the federation.

So the impression the people of Angel One get of the Federation is:
they have a prime directive, but ignore it
they give their word of honor, but don't keep it, instead they argue around to change local laws.

Picard (I believe, I'm working from memory, might be someone else)says something along the lines of, "Angel One might be a member of the Federation soon."

Really? It seems as if the government is not only discriminatory, but a brutal oligarchy at worst (some things Beatta says suggests that it might be a theocratic oligarcy, but either way, it seems very totalitarian and resistant to change.) and a military junta at worst. I've always been under the impression that while the Prime Directive forces the Federation not to interfere in the interal policies of non-members, a world had to have a much more. . .for lack of a better term. . .progressive and democratic government. Or are they willing to make the exception because of "strategic importance?"

Should the planet be referred to as Angel I according to normal Star Trek naming conventions, i.e. the first planet orbitting a star called Angel?

I don't understand why nobody has held up this episode as an example of a blatant continuity error: in it a Romulan incursion is suspected, yet just a few episodes later in "The Neutral Zone" Picard acts like this is the first report of Romulan activity for decades. (There's also the incident mentioned in "Yesterday's Enterprise").

Maybe this episode was supposed to be a lead up to "The Neutral Zone"? If so, it was rather poorly placed IMO.

Since this ep came first then The Neutral Zone becomes the continuity error & it is mentioned on that board.

When did 12 episodes become "a few episodes"?

It is if you use base 16!

When the Enterprise arrives at Angel One, Picard asks Data, "So what sort of place is this, anyway?" Wouldn't it have made sense to do that sort of research beforehand?

PICARD: So what sort of place is this anyway, Mr. Data?
DATA: Captain, according to the Federation database, Angel One is equipped with automated quantum torpedo launchers which have been known to fire at any approaching vessels.
PICARD: Wouldn't that have been useful to know before we approached the planet?
DATA: Yes, Captain, but you did not ask.

CUT TO: Enterprise exploding.

Thande...

Actually, wouldn't "12" represent the equivalent of 22 in a base 16 system (or something like that...I'm a little rusty)? On the other hand, in base 3, 12 episodes would be "a few episodes."

No, 12 base 16 = 18 base 10. 12 base 10 = 0C base 16.

*Ahem* Which is exactly what I meant. Not pulling a number out of the air at random, or anything...

Eeeek! It's math! Run away!

its a continuity error no matter how you add it up.

How convenient that the leader of the planet was standing right there beside a space transceiver, so that she was personally able to speak with the Enterprise-- weird, since I don't believe the ship hailed them before Picard spoke to Angel One.

Also covenient that Mistress Beata was young and attractive, and didn't look like Margaret Thatcher or Barbara Walters! How quick would Will have been to snuggle with a leader that looks like that, rather than someone that could pass for Jennifer Aniston's sister?

If Angel One society has reversed male and female roles, shouldn't the men have worn dresses, and the woman only wore pants or business suits? The males were the ones that used perfume, but the females still wore makeup.

Data was going to take the Enterprise to the site of the Romulan conflict, despite the fact that the ship was losing important bridge crew left, right, and center. She wouldn't have lasted 5 minutes in battle, if Data had been left alone on the bridge.

Picard has to drink his medicine? Beverly couldn't create an hypospray dosage?

Regarding Starfleet, non-Starfleet people, and the Prime Directive, it's obvious that nobody could ever prevent every single planet from being influenced by Federation citizens, but I think a good idea would be that if a Starfleet officer discovers an officer or civilian citizen breaking the Prime Directive, they should be dealt with the same way; in this case remove the Odin crew and try to correct whatever damage is done. If a police officer from the U.S. visits London, England, and discovers people from the U.S. breaking the law, should he just shrug his shoulders and say, 'Oh, well. Not my country, not my problem.'?

Actually, the odd thing is when Data says that the Prime Directive does not apply to the Odin crew (and hence, they could not be removed if they didn't want to go) because they are not members of starfleet. I really couldn't believe it when I heard it.

Starfleet's regulations are only binding on members of Starfleet, because members of Starfleet have agreed to be subject to them. Federation civilians have not made such an agreement. The crew of the Odin were not part of Starfleet so they are not subject to its regulations. Unless there is some Federation law duly approved by the Federation Council to apply to all Federation citizens, there is nothing that can be done. Now, why isn't there such a law? This would seem to be a good idea, perhaps a law saying as a condition of booking passage on a private vessel you have to agree to not interfere with other cultures.

Didn't the Odin file a flight report?

Apparently not. Seriously, perhaps they did, and looked along it already. I don't believe any mention was made about the search area.

how did the camera crew record this scene?

With a dampening field to block the tricorder. Also a holographic duck blind.

a Romulan incursion is suspected, yet just a few episodes later in "The Neutral Zone" Picard acts like this is the first report of Romulan activity for decades

Perhaps the activity in this episode did not result in an incursion or conversation, maybe the Romulans just set off the sensors and left.

Just a note: I felt it was unprofessional & rude for Deanna Troi and Tasha Yar to giggle at Riker in that outfit. They should've said, "Yummy!" or something like that.

At one point, Riker says, "It's not my position to seduce or to be seduced" (or something like that?

Who's he trying to kid?

For a person not wanting to seduce or be seduced, he's doing a pretty lousy job at it!

Drop it, Crusher.

Why was my post deleted? According to the post by Phil that you also deleted, observations about cleavage are ok as long as:

1) You don't go on about what you would like to do with that cleavage (which I didn't).

2) The observation about the cleavage is true (which it was).

Do these rules, posted by Phil himself (that you deleted for some reason), only apply to John A Lang and not to everyone else?

It was not deleted. It was moved to the Moderator's Two Sheds/Cleavage thread with the other posts about this matter.
You complained about the JAL posts. I felt they didn't violate boards guidelines. You disagreed and I brought the matter to Phil's attention. He agreed that they weren't against the board guidelines. You made a complaint and the decision went against you. You don't have to like it, but I'm not going to tolerate childish, trolling posts by you about the matter. I will not allow you to turn this into an ongoing argument.
Either return to making posts that are on topic or I will ban you from the boards I mod.

The post that I made on Friday was on topic. It followed right along with the last post that was made right before it (on 10-1-07). I was not continuing any argument, I was making an observation, which according to the post that you removed from Phil, is ok here as long as the observation is true.

Did you even read the post that I left on Friday, or did you just see that it was from me and automaticly remove it?

Yes, I did read it. No, I wasn't fooled into thinking that it wasn't an attempt to start the disagreement again.
You made a complaint and the decision went against you. Either accept that you lost and move on or I'll ban you. I haven't forgotten your long, ongoing arguments with others here in years past. I will not engage in them or tolerate your continuing to try and bring the matter up again.
This is your last warning.

I was not trying to start a disagreement again. I accepted that I lost my complaint and I was continuing the conversation that was going on at the time. Read the 10-1-07 post and you will see that that is true. Please explain to me how you think I was trying to bring up the matter again? Are you trying to say I can't continue a conversation if it has to do with that subject matter?

You made a post of the same type that you had complained about. Don't expect me to be foolish enough not recognize it for what it was. Plausible deniability may work for politicians, but I'm not buying it here.

Hey I figured if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. Phil said its fine with him to post observations like that, so theres no reason why I can't. It seems now you are trying to stop me from posting things that Phil says is ok?

You've decided to embrace that which you characterized as filth so recently? Again, I'm not buying it. I warned you above not to continue this and what I would do if you did. So be it.

You are banned from the boards I moderate.

I should have mentioned, any time a poster is banned, that poster's messages are either moved to The Garbage Dump or deleted without explanation or warning. Even if the posts themselves are not contrary to the rules of NitCentral.

Note to others: Posts about banned users are not allowed either. No matter whether they are lighthearted in manner or not.

This episode as reviewed by Whil Wheaton:
http://www.tvsquad.com/2008/03/28/star-trek-the-next-generation-angel-one/

Note from Moderator: This link contains adult language.

Oh, yeah. Sorry. Link does contain adult language- in fact, there are reviews for most season 1 TNG episodes by Wil on that site- all hilarious- but they do contain some strong language.

"Really? It seems as if the government is not only discriminatory, but a brutal oligarchy at worst (some things Beatta says suggests that it might be a theocratic oligarcy, but either way, it seems very totalitarian and resistant to change.) and a military junta at worst. I've always been under the impression that while the Prime Directive forces the Federation not to interfere in the interal policies of non-members, a world had to have a much more. . .for lack of a better term. . .progressive and democratic government. Or are they willing to make the exception because of "strategic importance?""

See 'The Cloud Minders' (TOS) for more examples of the bizarre Federation sense of who's 'ready' to join. :-)

In the TNG era they are also allies of the Klingon Empire, which forbids women to serve on the high council, conquest is a way of life, "noble houses" rule in a feudal system and fights to the death are an acceptable way to resolve conflicts.

Not to mention A Piece Of The Action where Kirk & Spock decided it was better for Sigma Iotia to have a one world government led by mobsters then some kind of honest government.

Riker dresses up like the locals in order to butter up Mistress Beata and dismisses Troy and Yar’s criticisms by stating that he is required to done the attire of the local head of state that he is meeting with and then sites examples of having worn feathers and furs in previous meetings with other heads of state.

He doesn’t really expect the ladies to buy this does he? Where in the next 7 years do we ever see either him or Picard practice this custom? When Picard meets with the Leader of Malcor III he is in his Standard Uniform. When he takes a shutter to mediate a dispute between mining leaders he is wearing his regular uniform. When goes off to meet the Iyaarans he is wearing his normal threads(albeit with a sports coat) so not only does Picard not dress in the local attire when meeting with heads of state he doesn’t even put on a dress uniform!

Not the same thing. Riker's point was that local custom REQUIRED that men dress like that. It happens. 125 years ago women were required to wear dresses and women in pants would have been arrested or at the very least not taken seriously. In Saudi Arabia women are required to cover from head to toe and not allowed to drive cars. The US military had an issue with that during the first gulf war when women in tank tops were doing army work in view of a park and people were raising hell because it was a "family place" and that level of exposure wasn't OK for the locals. Heck Picard has to learn a special greeting in the Sheliak language because if he flubs it (not natively speaking the language) they might attack the Enterprise ("The Ensigns of Command")

I believe that was the Jarada in The Big Goodbye not the Sheliak (although their language was also difficult.)

A good a logical argument but I think if we re-shot the episode with Bee Arthur Playing the role of Mistress Beata....well lets just say I have a feeling that Will would have found a reason to keep his uniform on

I think that this was the first and last time in the series that the crew was attempting diplomatic negotiations on the homeworld of a species with whom the Federation didn't seem to have to have much contact.

In all other cases I can think of they were either talking on or from the Enterprise, or dealing with species who seemed to know enough about the Federation to expect the crew to be wearing uniforms. (First contact, the episode, might be the exception. But that contact was made in secrecy and didn't involve the crew walking around in view of the public).


Anyway. Riker's decision to wear local clothing here shows a shrewd diplomatic mind at work.
By dressing up as a local he would put the leaders more at ease, making negotiations easier. It might also help in that they might be more likely to underestimate his abilities, which could give him a significant advantage if they try to throw up roadblocks or pull a fast one.

I just saw this one again and I remembered that I had not yet given my thoughts of it here yet. So here it is.

Along with "Datalore" and "Home Soil", I believe that this episode was one of the most poorly-written of the first season. And guess what: We now *finally* know, thanks to the special features on the new Blu-Ray releases of the first two seasons, just why Gates McFadden left TNG and was replaced by a female McCoy-wannabe. Apparently she spoke disparagingly of many of the first season episodes and their substandard scripts (this one in particular) and Paramount convinced Gene to get rid of her. However, she would return a year later after Pulaski failed to get over as a believeable member of the Enterprise crew. And for that, I am extremely glad!

As for the B-plot, I didnt care for the mentioning of the Romulans in the awkward way that it was done, it just didnt seem like it was needed here. Of course, at this point we did not yet know that they had gone into self-imposed exile after the Tomed Incident of 2311, and that was confirmed at the season's end. Also, the idea of Romulans returning and cooperating with the Federation concerning the destroyed outposts along the Neutral Zone, which was originally supposed to involve the neural parasites that infiltrated Starfleet Command in "Conspiracy", and how they were intended to be the first wave of an insect-like attacking force that would have featured in Season Two, well, that whole plot development was scrapped largly thanks to the 1988 Writer's Strike, as well as the fairly negative response to the episode that featured the parasites, and the NZ outposts were later found to have been destroyed by the not-yet-seen adversary that would be revealed as the Borg. I have no real nitpicks with that observation, I just thought I would mention it.

Also, the idea of comparing Angel One's level of technological advancement to that of 20th Century Earth, where it is revealed that they are in possession of a device that can disintegrate solid objects, which they intend to use to execute the stranded Odin survivors? Well, I wasn't aware that we humans were capable of creating that sort of thing in the last 100 years. A device like this that can use energy in that manner is not something we have available to us on this planet at this time. Therefore, it would be safe to say that Angel One is in fact, more sophisticated than that of 20th Century (or current) Earth.

In closing, regarding the virus the crew suffers from that leaves only Data able to operate the ship, I think I will include one of my all-time favorites of Phil's Changed Premises":

"I could make a big deal about Dr. Crusher's speech in 'The Battle' how backward humanity was in the 20th-21st centuries because they were still suffering from the common cold. I could point out that 'respiratory virus' sounds suspiciously like something we would suffer from now. I could also point out that the way the virus affects the crew even looks like a bad cold or a case of the flu. But...I believe I will postpone."

And Riker conducting "diplomatic relations" with Mistress Beata? Mmm-mmm! Nice work if you can get it, am I right?