When Stars and Stripes forever plays, Data says it is on all communications channels. Picard shuts off power to the bridge. Does this mean that Sousa is still playing on the rest of the ship?

In this episode, the Nanites try for retribution by flooding the main bridge with Nitrous Oxide. Riker clears the bridge of it before everyone dies, but the effects of Nitrous Oxide are not explored in this episode. "Nitrous Oxide" is the stuff named by early 20th century alchemists as "laughing gas". (The same stuff still used today by many dentists)If, after Riker clears the bridge of it, shouldn't the bridge crew have a "high" for several hours afterward?

Maybe they've developed nitrous oxide that won't give that effect in the 24th century?

But then wouldn't it be something different chemically and so have a different name?

Maybe they added a special isotope to it? That would give it the same name? Or maybe they release another gas at the same time, that counters the laughing effect of the nitrous oxide.

It should have a different chemical name if, for instance, another oxygen atom was added, then it would be NO3 instead of NO2. But, if another isotope was constucted, it would still be named by it chemical name with a subscripted number stating how many protons are in the nucleus. Such as Uranium 238. In either case, the episode did not do either one, it simply said nitrous oxide. I suppose when Riker cleared the bridge of it, that process may have included another substance that would counteract the effect. (But of course, that is not explained to us 20th century folk because its taken for granted by 24th century folk)

At the dentist once I had nitrous oxide. The only effect it seemed to have was a buzzing sound/sensation. I didn't laugh, I still felt pain, and didn't act high in any way (that anyone commented on, anyway).

On page 201 of the NextGen Guide II, Phil proposes one method of accurately determining when the neutron star would blow given that humans could only have observed this twice. However, some other race may have kept records on when this star has exploded in the past. Also with warp drive it is possible to fly away from the star faster than light, reach a point and wait for the light of the star exploding to get there. Do it enough times and you would know how accurately she blows.

Stubbs calls the Neutron star the interstellar counterpart to Old Faithful. The problem is that Old Faithful has been getting less and less faithful. I believe an earthquake affected it's old schedule and the last I heard it was becoming less faithful.

Data says, that "There has not been a system wide technological failure on a starship for 79 years." What about the Iconian computer virus in Contagion, the year before? (Or did the alien program erase the events of that episode from Data's mind?)

I liked Paul Stubbs line to Troi, "Please turn off your beam to my soul."

The Nanites have gigabytes of memory. Why would these things need gigabytes of memory? (And where do they keep it?)

The Nanites are supposed to be medical tools, so wouldn't it make more sense for a doctor to be in control of them? Giving the Nanites minds of their own is like computerizing a scalpel and letting it perform surgery without a doctor present. What if something went wrong in a Nanite's programming? Would a doctor be able to stop it before it did irreparable harm?

So do we take Guinan's story of knowing Dr. Frankenstein as an allegory or did Dr. Frankenstein really exist in the Star Trek universe?

Considering the relative size of the Nanites to the ship, does anyone else think the nanites move way too fast? I forget at the moment just how small they were supposed to be (Molecule-sized? Atom-sized? Something like that.) However wouldn't a foot to a human be more like a mile (or a couple of miles) to a nanite? Are they traveling through the ship at Warp 1?

Also considering their size, how effective would the nanites really be at surgery? Relatively speaking wouldn't cell & membrane walls be incredibly thick & tough to cut through or repair?

Data says, "Souza, a composer of band music in the early 20th century. Except that Souza was a band leader at the end of the Civil War and was also writing music in the late 19th century.

About using gamma radiation to stop the Nanites, Data says, "A high level would kill them." Since they are not considered a lifeform at this point shouldn't Data say 'destroy' instead of 'kill?'

How did the Nanites know that Stubbs killed the others? When they see Stubbs through Data's eyes, they have to ask if he is the one.

Was it just a coincidence that the Nanites began communicating when Picard was about to gamma irradiate every system? (I don't think so.)

Earlier Picard wanted to move the ship away because of danger from the nova, but at the end of the show the ship is in the same spot.

"About using gamma radiation to stop the Nanites, Data says, "A high level would kill them." Since they are not considered a lifeform at this point shouldn't Data say 'destroy' instead of 'kill?'"

Well, perhaps Data sympathizes with them, as he too is a machine?

Welcome back, Dr. Beverly Crusher!

Why thank you, Mr. Lang.

HMMM. It appears that NOBODY on the Enterprise is glad to see Dr. Crusher's return. NOBODY says, "Welcome back, Bev." or ANYTHING of that nature. PLUS...there is NO explanation where Pulaski went (what Starbase..etc)

WHY didn't Wesley report the escape of the Nanites immediately and WHY wasn't he repremanded in some way afterwards?

NANJAO: A new season & new opening credits...the starfield/planet shots look different slightly.

HMMM. It appears that NOBODY on the Enterprise is glad to see Dr. Crusher's return. NOBODY says, "Welcome back, Bev." or ANYTHING of that nature.

That one's easy. Evolution was not her first day back. For all we know, that episode might have taken place a week, or more, after her return. However, I do wish they had mentioned where Pulaski went.

^ That's no mystery at all. She fell down a turbolift shaft. (I know, I know, old joke.)

"Computer, fix the food slot."

It appears "Mother Goose"'s stories will suvive well into the 24th century...there is a reference to "Humpty Dumpty" in this episode.

Writer Michael Wagner (co-story credit here) was also a writer and producer on Hill Street Blues.

I think the reason nitrous oxide would be dangerous because, if you pump enough of it into a room, it would make the atmosphere unbreathable. It's not poisonous in the usual sense, but it's also not something the human body (or those of many other species) is designed to breathe.
About isotopes, they have different atomic weights, which is what the 238 in U-238 indicates, but the same atomic number, the number of protons. If an atom had 238 protons, it would not be uranium, which has less than 238 protons.

Come to think of it, they could easily have changed the whole chemical nomenclature system another 15 times by the timeframe of this episode. Until recently nitrous oxide was called "Dinitrogen Oxide", for instance. If it changed again, "Nitrous Oxide" could now refer to something completely different (although presumably something containing nitrogen and oxygen).

Funny thing: In a chemistry lecture the other day I found out there is actually a substance called 'dilithium'! (short for 'diatomic lithium'). No word on whether it allows you to travel faster than light, though.

Chris Diehl: I think the reason nitrous oxide would be dangerous because, if you pump enough of it into a room, it would make the atmosphere unbreathable. It's not poisonous in the usual sense, but it's also not something the human body (or those of many other species) is designed to breathe.
Luigi Novi: Kinda like carbon dioxide?

Ken Jenkins (Dr. Stubbs) can currently be seen as Dr. Kelso on "Scrubs." He's had dozens of character roles in films like "The Abyss," "The Tailor of Panama," and "I Am Sam" (as the judge).

Scott Grimes (Eric) was the star of the first two "Critters" movies as Brad.

Amy O'Neill (Annette) was one of the shrunken kids in "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids."

Yes, Luigi, exactly like carbon dioxide. Large quantities just swamps your lungs so you can't get enough oxygen...whereas cyanide (e.g.) actually reacts with your haemoglobin so it can't pick up any oxygen, so you only need a tiny amount of cyanide to kill you.

I think Phil questioned why Wesley would have been able to obtain Academy credits for his time on the Enterprise, which he mentions in this episode, despite the fact that Wesley has yet to be accepted into the Academy. This makes a lot of sense, really, as Wesley's experience would probably be equalivent to Advanced Placement (AP) credits.

I am SO glad that Dr. Crusher is back as of this episode! And who really CARES where Dr. Pulaski went? Im just glad that she is gone! NEVER to be seen or heard from again!

Are you just watching these for the first time now???

Oh god no!

And besides, how would I know that Pulaski was never seen or heard from again if this was my first time?

I am sure that the Enterprise is heading towards the binary stars, on the external view, that when they open the shuttle bay door (on the back of the hull) you can see the binary stars through the door! Also a moment later the external shot shows the doors closed again...

At the beginning of Season 2, Wesley seemed OK to stay on the ship without Bev and letting her stay at Starfleet Medical. Now that Bev came back, Wes begins yelling at her for "not being there for him". What happened?

>>>By Keith Alan Morgan (Kmorgan) on Tuesday, July 10, 2001 - 1:53 am:
On page 201 of the NextGen Guide II, Phil proposes one method of accurately determining when the neutron star would blow given that humans could only have observed this twice. However, some other race may have kept records on when this star has exploded in the past. Also with warp drive it is possible to fly away from the star faster than light, reach a point and wait for the light of the star exploding to get there. Do it enough times and you would know how accurately she blows.<<<

Something simlar was done in TNG computer game A Final Unity. There you (well, the crew) has to work out alien time units, unfortunatly the only information they have with which to work this out involved using a star that had gone supernova fifty years before.
The way around this was to simply fly fifty lightyears from the star, since it would still appear to exist at that distance.

You could do the same here, in fact given the size of the Federation you might not need a starship - just ask any planets or colonies to look in that direction and note if they spot any light from the star in question.

>>>By John A. Lang (Johnalang) on Monday, October 08, 2007 - 6:35 pm:

At the beginning of Season 2, Wesley seemed OK to stay on the ship without Bev and letting her stay at Starfleet Medical. Now that Bev came back, Wes begins yelling at her for "not being there for him". What happened?<<<

He hit puberty.

John A. Lang - "At the beginning of Season 2, Wesley seemed OK to stay on the ship without Bev and letting her stay at Starfleet Medical. Now that Bev came back, Wes begins yelling at her for "not being there for him". What happened?"

He's also tired and stressed and likely is showing signs of it. Being short tempered etc.

Josh Gould - "I think Phil questioned why Wesley would have been able to obtain Academy credits for his time on the Enterprise, which he mentions in this episode, despite the fact that Wesley has yet to be accepted into the Academy. This makes a lot of sense, really, as Wesley's experience would probably be equalivent to Advanced Placement (AP) credits."

What I found odd was Wesley's comment that he was going to receive credits for the Academy by serving on the Enterprise, 'but it's just not the same'. The idea of the Academy is to prepare you for service aboard a starship, but since Wesley is already aboard a ship and in the middle of several adventures, how could the Academy be an improvement?

I liked Beverly's comment about Wes's girl friend being very interested in him (I think the word is 'passionate' that she uses), then asking Guinan "What do you know about this girl?"
It would have been funnier if the girl in question actually had been clinging to him or holding hands, or touching his arm, but she seemed to just be walking beside him, meeting other teenagers.

Picard worries me. By the fourth act, we know the nanites are evolving and it would have been a shame to destroy them, but this is a tv show. I totally agree with Dr. Stubbs that these little things aren't alive and should have been dealt with much sooner.
Can you imagine if a million ants got aboard the Enterprise-D, started mucking around with the computer systems, and Picard said, "Just wait, let's not hurt them! They're living beings!"
Ants are definitely living biological lifeforms; I'm still not convinced the nanites could be categorized as the same.

Stubbs says that he'd rather die than miss this stellar event. Picard smugly replies that that feeling probably isn't also held by his crew.
I submit (smugly, as well), that the crew wouldn't feel the same as Picard where the Nanites existence is concerned, when the ship is rocking about, experiencing critical malfunctions, endangering every single biological and mechanical life form aboard!

What's the deal with those bridge officers, sitting there choking on nitrous oxide, until Riker and Picard smell the odor and save the day? The doors should be sound-proofed and sealed to the point that in case of an emergency someone could seek safety in the ready room. Instead, the odor travels through the gaps in the door like your average house. The gas had to have been there for almost a minute or even more until faint whiffs of it entered the ready room, making the no-name bridge personnel look pretty dumb.

Ken Jenkins (Paul Stubbs) would go on to play the head doctor dude on "Scrubs", a show I personally did not find very funny.

Also, my nitpick is about Dr. Crusher asking Picard all sorts of things about Wesley, things that seemingly she would not know about him because she has been away for a year or so. Didn't Wesley keep in touch with his mother through subspace communication? Wouldn't he have informed her of at least the basics about how he was doing? I can understand that maybe he might not have wanted to discuss his social/love life with her, he is still a teenager, after all.

However, I kind of thought that Picard would have told Beverly about the notable experiences Wesley had, such as "The Dauphin" (alien girl breaks his heart), "Pen Pals" (he is given command of his first mission), "The Icarus Factor" (he gives Worf the Age Of Ascension holodeck program), and "Peak Performance" (he joins Riker's crew in war games and gives the Hathaway warp drive when they need it most). And those are the examples during the season that I can remember off the top of my head!

As for his attitude towards his mother when she presses him for information, he is tired and under stress, so his reaction is understandable. However, I can definetly tell that he had a small level of resentment towards her for being away for the past year. Plus, she didn't have to deal with Pulaski the way the rest of the crew did.

Although I also wonder if Dr. Crusher ever found out about Picard's problems with his artificial heart, which Pulaski was able to fix, therefore saving his life. I don't know if she knows about that, but by the time "Tapestry" came along and Picard's heart was fused by a compressed teryon beam, she tried to save his life and failed. Thanks to Q, though, Picard awakened with new experiences that he would not soon forget!

Did anybody notice that when Picard was chewing out Stubbs on the Bridge after some of the nanites were killed, the bridge shook violently whenever somebody said something the nanites didn't like?

Clearly, they were listening in on the bridge, but this was before Data managed to get a translation-matrix working, so how were the nanites able to understand what they were saying?