This episode is called The Dauphin, but I don't remember seeing Flipper anywhere in the show.;-)

If Salia is the Head of State, then why don't Picard and Riker wear their dress uniforms to meet her? In Manhunt the regulations required that Picard wear his dress uniform for mere Delegates, and to greet an Ambassador, Picard and Riker had to wear dress uniforms, so why is a Head of State treated with less respect? (Then again, Manhunt is a later episode so those regulations may not have been written yet.)

At the end of the episode we learn that Salia is not even vaguely humanoid, so why was she attracted to Wesley, who looks nothing like her? (I know, the point of the episode was that who you are inside is more important than surface appearance, but Salia was attracted to Wesley after she saw him, not after she talked to him.) I suppose she could have been attracted to Wesley the way people are attracted to a cat or a dog? ("Sit up, Wesley. Roll over. Fetch.")

Data was left in charge of the Bridge, when Picard and Riker go to greet Salia. Wesley bumps into Salia when returning to Engineering with the SCM. Then we see Wesley talking to Data in his quarters and the scene ends with Geordi asking Crusher when he's going to get back to Engineering with the SCM. Is it just me or was something a little funny with that sequence of events?

If a Federation ship carried Anya and Salia to Klavdia III, then why doesn't the Federation already know about their shapeshifting abilities? Presumably Salia was just a kid when they went and probably lacked any mastery over her shapeshifting abilities and someone would have noticed and made a note of it. If Salia was too young to shapechange, then she would have looked like a bundle of light like she does when she beams down to Daled IV and someone would have noticed that and made a note of it.

Worf is shown screaming on the Bridge, but none of the background people seems to notice or even react to it.

I loved the scene with Riker and Guinan in Ten Forward.

So why didn't Wesley ask any female crewmembers about love?

This could also go in the Where No One Has Gone Before entry, but what do they mean when they say they have charted 11 or 19% of the galaxy? They have broken up the galaxy into, at least, four quadrants, all of which have been visited and identified using stars as landmarks. If these far flung objects haven't been charted, then how could they determine if they are in the Gamma Quadrant (Deep Space Nine) or the Delta Quadrant? (The Price, and Star Trek: Voyager) I suppose it is possible to mean charted in the sense of actually sending someone there to make sure everything is accurate, but I think they are using the word wrong. (True, some stars are not bright and/or big enough to be seen from too far away, but other stars are and they are charted.) At the very least they have charted more than 25 % of the galaxy, because Captain Sulu returned from the Beta Quadrant in Star Trek VI.

Pulaski, the sick man, Anya and Salia are all in Sick Bay. How could the air filtration system prevent transmission of the disease to everyone who is in the room? The rest of the ship may be safe, but if someone is coughing up germs, everyone in the room is breathing unfiltered air. Then Anya turns into a beast to, apparently, rip the poor guy to shreds, but wouldn't splattering the diseased tissue all over the room increase the risk of spreading the disease? Not much of a protector, kill the diseased person with your 'bear' hands and become infected yourself. At the end we learn that Salia is some form of energy being, so how would a disease affect her anyway? Couldn't she turn back to normal and fry the little buggies?

When Wesley is showing Salia the asteroid belt of Rousseau V, a big deal is made about the harmonic resonance of the neutrino clouds, but isn't the asteroid belt in space, where there is no air, and doesn't sound need air for people to hear it?

There is a scene where the Enterprise rises up from the bottom of the screen, just like the opening, but the Observation Lounge is all blue, a bright blue that doesn't seem to match any colors in the Observation Lounge. Is this just a shot of the Observation Lounge with the shades drawn? (I know, it is probably the blue screen they use to put in the image of someone walking.)

So why hasn't Odo of DS9 talked to the allasomorphs of Daled IV?

One of the actors had a very good name for appearing in a science fiction show, Peter Neptune.

OK, so Anya turns into a creature to kill that guy. Just as we cut to a commercial we see Worf reaching for his phaser. Next thing we know, Worf is trying to choke Anya. I may have missed something but why didn't Worf use his phaser? It would've ended things really fast.

This episode gave us another reason to hate Wesley. Once he finds out that his sweetie can change her shape, he turns grumpy. I, for one, would be shocked but, ultimately, understanding in such a case.
I certainly wouldn't ask her(as Wesley did) if she can love simply because she isn't human!

What about being excited about her being able to change her apperace, just imagine the possibilitys that it would offer.

KAM: At the end of the episode we learn that Salia is not even vaguely humanoid, so why was she attracted to Wesley, who looks nothing like her?

Luigi Novi: Perhaps having taken human form, she is subject to the peculiarities of its biology, including hormones and other drives?

KAM: So why didn't Wesley ask any female crewmembers about love?

Luigi Novi: Doesn't Guinan qualify as female? (Or are you alleging that she is in the middle of a major operation?) True, she's not an officer, but is there something in your opinion about pips and a uniform that makes someone more qualified? (I guess a good question would be why he didn't ask Troi. You could say that Riker is his mentor, I guess. As for Guinan, chalk up another mark on the "Scenes Guinan steals from Troi Tote Board." )

As far as the charting thing, yes, I assumed they meant actually being there in person to examine the stellar phenomenon. If charted is the wrong word, then so be it. As for Sulu, just because someone's been to another quadrant doesn't mean his native one's been completely charted.

The blue screen: Where and when during the episode is this shot?

Anonymous: This episode gave us another reason to hate Wesley. Once he finds out that his sweetie can change her shape, he turns grumpy.

Luigi Novi: Once he finds out that she deceived him he turned grumpy.


Well, at least he didn’t tell ‘em they were all old bald guys with French names and British accents
When Anya asks Picard what species they are, he says, "human." Shouldn’t he say that the Federation is composed of over 150 worlds, and specify that he for example, is human?
Quick, Anya! Jump onto my bed and I’ll say you’re a really big teddy bear!
In the beginning of the show, Picard contacts Salia, and asks if he can activate the viewscreen. A while later, he makes the same request, and Anya, in her furry form, runs and hides in order not to be seen that way. Curiously, Picard never before does this when speaking to someone over the comm line in their quarters, nor does he ever do so again. (The only reason he did so in this episode was to create some tension with a scene involving Anya having to hide. The creators even had Picard do this one time before the second instance with Anya hiding in order to set up that second time, but the external contrivance still shows!)
You know how many hormones that takes?
And why does Anya have to run and hide when Picard wants to speak with Salia? Why doesn’t she just shift back to her woman-form?
Gotta use that FX budget!
What’s with all the pointless shapeshifting that Anya does when in her quarters with Salia? First, she shifts into a young Terran woman. Then an oversized teddy bear. What purpose does this serve? Why does Anya shift into that short furry being while in hers and Salia’s quarters? I could understand if she wanted to be more comfortable, or something, but then wouldn’t she just shift into her true form? Maybe she was just exploring different forms, or something, but given her statement to Salia went Worf came to their quarters that she was very old, wouldn’t she by now have already explored all these different forms? And if she still wants to do more, is it really appropriate to do so right after she just arrived in her quarters, having barely settled in, on the last leg of her duties protecting Salia, and while in the middle of a conversation with her, one involving assuaging Salia’s doubts about her duties?
Or is that thing just a painting?
In Act 2, when the scene cuts from Wesley asking Geordi in Engineering for advice to the bridge, when he asks Worf for advice, the stars in the ceiling window are motionless.
Yeah, don’t hold me back, Worf! Don’t hold me back…
Anya sure is full of it. She orders Pulaski to kill Henessey at the end of Act 2. Pulaski refuses. Anya morphs into a tall hairy beast. In the beginning of Act 3, She lunges toward Pulaski and Henessey, which makes sense, since she wanted Henessey dead, but then, she turns around to face Worf! Is she blind in that furry form, or something? Did she forget what it was she originally wanted to do? Or did she change her mind, deciding to instead attack the guy who could put up a better fight?
Kinda reminds me of the time she visited a farm and tried to milk a male cow
After Anya attacks Pulaski and Henessey, Pulaski says, "There is mention, in the Galactic Zoological Catalog, of a species called allasomorph, which is supposed to possess the power to alter their molecular structure into other lifeforms." This wording makes it sound as if the crew is unfamiliar with shapeshifters, and that the only thing Pulaski can think of is an obscure entry in a scientific text. Why doesn’t she just assume that Anya is one of the inhabitants of Antos IV from Whom Gods Destroy(TOS), or the Chameloids from ST VI? Her furry forms even look similar to the Chameloid furry form, as do their shapeshifting signatures. It’s just coincidental luck that she picked the right race.
I wonder if Risa is up next…
Wesley takes Salia to the holodeck, and shows her some of the planets he’s visited while on the Enterprise. One of the first ones we see is a planet with no atmosphere! We know this because all the stars are visible, as well as a Saturn-like planet incredibly close to it! How could Wesley have ever step foot on such a planet? Wouldn’t the presence of another planet so close create catastrophic gravimetric and tidal disturbances? Did Wesley really visit this planet, or is he just trying to impress Salia?
In space, no one can hear you trying to hit on a pretty girl
And the second environment he shows her is Rousseau V, an asteroid field that features chime-like sounds. Excuse me, but would you mind telling me how sounds could exist in an asteroid field, given that asteroids are located in the vacuum of outer space?
Riker and Picard should attend Humans Only Anonymous,
Picard: "Hi, everyone. My name’s Jean-Luc, and I think everyone’s human."
Everyone: "Hi Jean-Luc."
Riker: "It all started when I was a kid, reading about James Kirk, and then I read about what he said to Spock right before they arrived at the Khitomer Conference. You know, that line where he says that "Everyone’s human"…
When the Enterprise arrives at Daled IV in toward the end of Act 4, Riker says, "How can anyone exist in an environment so totally hostile to human life?" Isn’t this a really dumb thing for Riker to say, given all the different types of alien life that humans have encountered, as well as the fact that Anya and Salia are not human?
Jump out the window!
After Salia goes to see Wesley in his quarters at the end of Act 4, Anya shows up, and morphs into her beast form. Salia urgently tells Wesley to leave. How does Salia expect Wesley to do this? Anya is blocking the door!

Maybe Salia thought Wesley could contact a transporter room? ;-)

Don't remember exactly when the blue screen is seen, but it comes after the asteroid belt since my nits are, more or less, in chronological order. (If you've got it on tape just fast forward till you see the Enterprise rising from the bottom of the screen & watch the Observation Lounge. Rewind if necesary.)

Why doesn’t she just assume that Anya is one of the inhabitants of Antos IV from Whom Gods Destroy(TOS), or the Chameloids from ST VI?

I dont know why Pulaski forgot about the Antosians, but as for the Chameloids, remember that TPTB hadn't invented them yet. (I know, Nitpickers don't deal in reality).

True, she's not an officer, but is there something in your opinion about pips and a uniform that makes someone more qualified? (I guess a good question would be why he didn't ask Troi.

I can think of several very good reasons for a young man to not want to talk about male-female relationships with a woman in a skin tight bunny suit who can read your mind, could prove to be embarassing if you catch my drift. If I was Wes I would be talking to Riker, if for no other reason than to ask this question "Commander, we will be droping her off in just a few days so what do I do to get my chance with her before we arrive at that planet."

Maybe Wes had a small crush on Troi and would have felt too embarrassed to ask her those questions.

Yeah, Wes and MOST OF THE HETEROSEXUAL MALES on the ship!

Actually, I always found Dr. Crusher more attractive...

But Ensign Lefler was YUMMY!

Oh, Noooo!!! ScottN is really Hannibal Lector! Aaaaaaaaaa.... (crashes through wall trying to get away)

••••

Hannibal the Cannibal, if he was commenting on her being "yummy".

Ensign Lefler was YUMMY!

But I'd hate to find out how many rules she has about....ya know.

But I'd hate to find out how many rules she has about....ya know.

I don't know I think it would be a small price to pay to have to listen to some crazy rules to get to....ya know with her.

Yeah, Gates McFadden's beautiful too. Those cheekbones and those eyes. She looked AWESOME at the end of Attached(TNG). But Marina Sirtis is a bit younger, and can pull it off without makeup.

I've read the Nitpicker books and scanned all the posts on this site that I could, but I haven't seen my nit mentioned.

"Dauphin" is the title given to the heir to throne of France. (See Shakespeare's Henry V or look up Joan of Arc.)

The Creators used this title as their title because Salia is the heir to the throne of her people.

However, under the Salic law that governed the succession of French kings, only males could inherit. The word is masculine and can't be feminine.

So in this episode Wesley has not only fallen in love with a non-humanoid alien, she's a boy!

Not that there's anything wrong with that...

Actually you could also look up the definition of Dauphin in a Dictionary or Encyclopedia.

First off, the meanings of words do change over time and/or through misuse. In the US we use the masculine Italian word Bimbo to describe a woman when we should use the feminine Bimba. It even got to the point where people were using terms like Himbo & Male-Bimbo to describe men because no one realized that Bimbo was meant to describe men.

Secondly, we don't really know anything about Salia's race so we don't know if they have a division of sexes or if there are only 2 sexes.

Thirdly, wasn't the point of the episode that external appearances were less important than what's inside?

Also it fits the fine English language tradition of misusing French words when we steal them. In Tennis a score of 3 to 0 is called 3, love. love stands for zero in this context because the frence used the word l'oeff which means egg (and is of course round like a zero). When the sport came to english speakers they basterdized the word l'oeff into love (which makes no logical sense to assocate with a score of 0)

There is in fact a feminine form of the word 'Dauphin' - it's 'Dauphine', applied to the wife of the heir to the throne (a la Dauphin Louis and Dauphine Marie Antoinette).

Observations: 1) The creators probably figured that the distinction would go right over most heads, and thus opted to stick with the familiar masculine form; and 2) It wasn't the word that indicated the ruler must be masculine, it was the Salic law, and as that isn't in place here (and hasn't even been in France for several hundred years), the Klavdians can call Salia whatever they want.

Also don't forget that Trek is the same place where Savack was called Mr. Savack and female officers are called 'sir'.

That's naval terminology, Brian. If my understanding is correct, it happens in the US Navy too.

When the Enterprise picks up Salia and Anya from the first planet, they beam up in human form. When they arrive at Klavdia III, Salia tells Wesley that she can't arrive on the planet in her current (human) form (presumably because of the toxic atmosphere). But the atmosphere on both of the planets (that first one that they picked them up on and Klavdia III) have identical atmospheres! What gives?

Would the BRIG be a better place for the shape-shifting alien that attacked Worf?

I certainly wouldn't mind a girl that can change shape either. However, she might get tired of the "Marina Sirtis Mode" after awhile.

Well, John, you can have her go into "Grace Lee Whitney Mode" then.

Or the "Jeri Ryan Mode", the "Nichelle Nichols Mode" or the "Kate Mulgrew Mode", or....uh...excuse me, I gotta find a cold shower now.

GREAT SCENE: Worf's explanation of Klingon mating rituals...even though it's a nit. (See "Hide & Q")

How so?
'Men do not roar, women roar...then they hurl heavy objects and claw at you.'
Sounds exactly like what was going on between Worf and the warrior babette in 'Hide & Q'! Well, except for the heavy-objects part, but I imagine that was just lack of opportunity.

Or lack of heavy objects, for that matter.

It's a nit because of what Worf SAID in "Hide & Q"..."She's from a world now alien to me"...which means...Worf should not be explaining Klingon mating rituals.

Mmmmmm...can't quite see why he shouldn't be explaining them (as opposed to participating in them)...but overall you're right, that line in 'Hide & Q' is problematic re: Worf's later pride in his Klingon-ness.
I guess the best we can do is assume that the humiliation of the babette suddenly being forced on him - in effect, Riker's just provided him with a hooker right in front of his fellow/superior officers - led Worf to say whatever would get her out of his life PDQ.

Maybe Klingon "women of the night" (which apparently do exist, according to Gowron in "Redemption"), as depicted by the lady in "Hide and Q", have no honour, and are shamed and ridiculed in Klingon society. Worf, it seems, is more of a gentleman than people realise...

Then again, as for a world now "alien" to Worf, which world would this be? Wrigley's (sorry, Orbit's) Pleasure Planet? Maybe he was referring to his ill-explored, half-buried, secret seedier past - a world of debauchery, fornication, and making merry, the randy wee bu-- [Watch it - everyone]

Then again, as for a world now "alien" to Worf, which world would this be?

Kling?!

Madchen Amick (Young Anya) played Shelly Johnson on "Twin Peaks," and it looked for a while like she could become a reasonably successful actress. She was in the underrated "Fantasy Island" remake as Ariel.

At one point, Picard tells Wesley not to see Salia anymore. He agrees. However, a few scenes later, Salia comes in to see Wesley & he begins to talk with her again. Why didn't he tell her, "I'm sorry, Captain Picard told me not to talk with you anymore. Please leave"?

Hi,
Again I just saw that one and I have my 2 cents to add :-)

LUIGI: Doesn't Guinan qualify as female?

MARKA: I suppose she does, but Wesley never asked her to help. He asked Riker and it was the latter who said: "Guinan, we need your help."

LUIGI: What’s with all the pointless shapeshifting that Anya does when in her quarters with Salia?

MARKA: It reminded me of the concept we've seen in other eps ("Frame of Mind" and "Mediator", I think): different people speaking for different aspects of personality - emotions, logic, actions. Perhaps, apart from giving the audience the prove that she actually IS a shapeshifter, it was done to comfort Salia? Anya apparently has different shapes when she wants to be Salia's protector, her mother, her confidant friend and her teddy bear :-)

NEON: When the Enterprise picks up Salia and Anya from the first planet, they beam up in human form. When they arrive at Klavdia III, Salia tells Wesley that she can't arrive on the planet in her current (human) form (presumably because of the toxic atmosphere).

MARKA: I never thought about the atmosphere being the cause of this. I thought rather about the cultural aspects of that planet: if people of "Day and Night" have been fighting there for years, surely the appearance of their future monarch is bound to be important. Then, we see Salia as "pure light" (Wes's words). I actually thought she was a mixture of light and shadow - that would make perfect sense, wouldn't it?

JOHN A. LANG: Would the BRIG be a better place for the shape-shifting alien that attacked Worf?

MARKA: True. My reflection was, if you can seal someone's quarters with the force field, why didn't they do it immediately after the incident in sickbay, thus preventing any further problems?

Why throw someone in the brig when you can seal them in their quarters in the same way you keep them in the brig?

Because it would be like sending a kid to their room when they have a tv and playstation in there. The brig is 4 walls, a floor, a ceiling and themselves. Not as pleasant a place to hang out as their cabin with all their stuff.

Acually, the brig only has 3 walls, the 4th is where the forcefield is!

But if they break the 4th wall they're in your living room.

"Dauphin" is the title given to the heir to throne of France.

This episode is improperly titled. Since the heir to the throne in this case is female, the episode title should be "The Dauphine".

Maybe there's more to the situation than we know........

good 1215402228014

She was only taking female form on the Enterprise.

"What’s with all the pointless shapeshifting that Anya does when in her quarters with Salia? First, she shifts into a young Terran woman. Then an oversized teddy bear. What purpose does this serve? Why does Anya shift into that short furry being while in hers and Salia’s quarters? I could understand if she wanted to be more comfortable, or something, but then wouldn’t she just shift into her true form? Maybe she was just exploring different forms, or something, but given her statement to Salia went Worf came to their quarters that she was very old, wouldn’t she by now have already explored all these different forms? And if she still wants to do more, is it really appropriate to do so right after she just arrived in her quarters, having barely settled in, on the last leg of her duties protecting Salia, and while in the middle of a conversation with her, one involving assuaging Salia’s doubts about her duties?" - Luigi
I got the impression it was forms to comfort Salia- a teenage human like herself (currently) to relate to her, a fuzzy teady-bear creature from her childhood to comfort her... as part of the conversation, not a distraction.

"And the second environment he shows her is Rousseau V, an asteroid field that features chime-like sounds. Excuse me, but would you mind telling me how sounds could exist in an asteroid field, given that asteroids are located in the vacuum of outer space?" - Luigi
There appears to be a gas cloud of some sort... perhaps it an atmosphere does exist, or is being artificially maintained? (Doesn't Melora from the DS9 episode of the same name have a similar situation?)
Also, is it possible that an artificial atmosphere exists on the too-close planet, or that it has a very clear atmosphere at night? And perhaps is the moon of a VERY large that just looks like it is too close to a normal-sized planet? I know all of these are kinda stretches... but these are supposed to be the wonders of the galaxy, so I doubt they're supposed to look 'normal'- and we're assuming a lot based on what they appear to be to 20th century Earth eyes... :-)

I was surprised to learn that Jamie Hubbard was 26 when she did this episode, and not 16 like Wil was. Because that's how old Wesley was in season two. So why did they not cast a younger actress for this role, I wonder. Is it OK for teen actors to have romantic scenes with people in their twenties? Apparently so!

BTW, I liked seeing Madchen Amick as one of Anya's alternate forms. She was like a "BFF" for Salia, kind of like a peer that was on her own level, to discuss important matters such as becoming ruler of a whole world. That was cool, they were *both* attractive.

The one scene I have to nitpick is when Anya becomes the large beast in Sickbay, and threatens to kill Hennessey just because his disease *may* be contagious. What I don't get is why Worf did not react more quickly, and why he allows Anya to get her paw around his neck. She could have snapped it right then, and I wonder why Worf did not put more of an effort to fight back. And then when Picard appears (although I don't remember him being called to Sickbay from the Bridge) only then does Anya call off her attack and revert back to her old woman form. And then when Worf raises his arm up against her, why did he do this? It would not have made any difference, as she lated remarked, she was more powerful then he. I'm thinking that Worf could have possibly fired on Anya with a moderate stun setting right after she became the beast, and I really wonder why he did not react differently.

Oh well, just a few things I was wondering about.

So why did they not cast a younger actress for this role, I wonder.

Probably because they liked her the best out of whoever auditioned. It's also pretty common in Hollywood for producers to cast an actor/actress who's over 18 to play a teenage character because child labor laws do apply and can cause issues with a shooting schedule.

Is it OK for teen actors to have romantic scenes with people in their twenties? Apparently so!

It is. If there was nudity or a hot sex scene things can get problematic, but all they did was kiss. Mila Kunis was 15 when they started filming "That 70s Show" & had several make-out scenes with Ashton Kutcher, who was 5 years older than her.

Another thought I just had: It sure is too bad that Anya didn't stay in her "attractive young woman" form the whole time, instead of her "homely old woman" form! And what was that little furry creature that didn't talk that she turned into, I wonder?

Oh well. Her "large beast form" was intimidating enough that Wes was frightened. And I guess that's what really mattered!

Mädchen Amick is now known for playing Alice Cooper, Betty's mother, on Riverdale.

Always singing "School's Out Forever"

Yup.