There was one thing that I did not get. Was that an asteroid field, or the wreckage of the planet? If it was the planet, how could it have been laced with those assimilators?

Could any technology experts out there tell me what the odds are that data stored on a data storage device would even be partially readable centuries from now?

In the later episode Galaxy's Child Geordi meets the real Leah Brahms and finds out that she's married, which disappoints him. Wouldn't her personnel file (which he looked at in this episode) state that she is married?

Her personnel file probably mentions it. But perhaps that's just an item he missed or intentionally (though subconsciously) overlooked. Remember Guinan's talk in "Galaxy's Child" about his older VISOR that allowed him to see what he wanted to see?

I thought this was a very good episode, but of course, there are nits to be had.

I can't believe that Geordi would be trying to outsmart the trap all by himself. He has a engineering staff and the other departments as well to brainstorm with. But we see him walking around talking to himself about what to do. What a hero! I think in reality I'd have Data and Wesley and any other smart person helping Geordi with a plan, considering the seriousness of the situation. Of course, if he did that, there wouldn't have been a sub-plot.

Also, Picard, Worf and Data beam over to the battleship, and there is good air to breathe and the artificial gravity is still working! After 1,000 years? I can imagine what the smell was like in there with those corpses.

If Iralius IX was the sight of the final battle were they fought to their mutual extinction, who was left to tell people about it? Either there were survivors or spectators.

In one of the Guides Phil asked who placed the assimilators? I think it is possible that some Menthars survived the final battle, but didn't realize that it was the final battle and mined the debris field.
Of course, if I recall the episode correctly the Promellian captain was trapped and his own ship was drained of energy, which means that his ship had to miss the final battle and for some reason flew into the debris field.

As for the distress call operating for thousands of years, maybe the last surviving Menthar hooked an assimilator battery to it after the Promellian ship ran out of power, and the crew died? (You don't think these Menthar were pink bunnylike creatures, do you?)
Still, where did Picard and company get their information that this was definitely the final battle where both races mutually perished?

Why is Picard amazed at the simplicity of the Bridge of the Promellian ship? Earlier he said he was amazed that the propulsion units were intact and even revealed that he had built a Promellian ship in a bottle, so obviously there must be some records of what Promellian ships looked like, Are we supposed to believe that there were plenty of records of the ship's exterior, but none of the interior?

There is no such thing as All Stop in space, because everything drifts. So why has the Promellian ship stayed in the middle of this booby trap for a thousand years?

Geordi tells the computer to recreate Utopia Planitia on Holodeck 3, without even checking to see if anyone might be using it.

When Data is feeding the data coils into the computer, there are no asteroids floating by the bubble window on top of the Enterprise. If there are no asteroids above the Enterprise, then why not point the ship straight up and activate the impulse engines?

To make Holo-Leah's personality more realistic Geordi has the computer use her debating caucuses from Chia VII. Why would the ship's computer have this information at all? If it is not taking up space in the computer's memory, then the ship's computer would have to connect to Chia VII's computer for those records, which it receives instantaneously, but if the ship can contact outside sources then why doesn't the crew contact Starfleet to see if they have any ideas on how to get out?

Wouldn't photon torpedoes work better than phasers against devices that can absorb energy?

When the computer created Utopia Planitia, the sliding blueprints were in the center of the room and Geordi walked all around the room. When the Holodeck shuts down Geordi and Leah are standing in front of the blueprints, but the black and yellow room shows that the blueprints were nextto the wall.

There doesn't seem to be any asteroids outside of Picard's Ready Room window.

At the end, Picard replaces Wesley at his post. They are in the middle of a crisis, but they leave an Acting Ensign at his post?

Holodeck Leah is created with a... shall we say, forward and friendly personality, and yet `she' was created from debating records and a Starfleet personality profile. The real Leah in Galaxy's Child might be described as forward, but I would hardly describe her as friendly. So who wrote that Starfleet personality profile and what was she debating on Chia VII?

The Leah in this episode came off like a man's fantasy; she treated Geordi like an old friend; she massaged his neck; she said, "Wait'll you try my fungeli.", which could be considered a flirtation; and she compared the ship to herself and when he touched it he was touching her. (Hmmm, maybe Holo-Leah was really the ship's computer flirting with Geordi? "Yes, my Chief Engineer! Fondle my consoles! Insert your dilithium crystals! Yes! Yes! Yes! Take me to Warp factor 10!")

Is it Worf's markmanship or is it the Federation targeting scanners that pretty much suckz? When Riker orders the destruction of the trap and specifies the Promelian cruiser as the target only one of the 4 torpedoes hits the cruiser, the other 3 hits asteroids.

Once again the crew of the Enterprise destroys an old space wessel instead of saving it for examination. Apparently these Promelians and their conflict with the Menthars was quite legendary in the AQ or at least in the Federation. Wouldn't it be a scoop out of proportion for any museum or historian to actually have a real Promelian cruiser. Picard himself notes that the Promelian design is remarkably simple and efficient. Yet they villingly destroyes the ship instead of preserving it for study.

Yes yes, I know that they was thinking about the trap, but would it be that difficult to establish some kind of warning signal around the asteroid field until the assimilators could be disabled?

Riker don't trust the computer in it's abillity to make decisions, yet he trusts Data when he make a decission. Or has we stumpled into the real reason why Data has never risen above the rank of Lt.Cmdr. Riker continously sends bad reviews to Starfleet Command about Data because he don't trust him.

GREAT MOMENT: The Enterprise heading at a faster pace for the large asteroid, then Picard fires the thrusters and "spins" the ship around to slingshot it out of harm's way. The manuver is so smooth you can skate over it.

The crew are aware of the possibility that phasering the assimilators will increase their output.

So why do they shoot 3 assimilators at once? Why not shoot one assimilator and see what happens?

If I heard correctly, Leah Brahms addressed or debated the Intergalactic Caucuses. According to my dictionary, a caucus is a meeting within a political party. So there's a political body which encompasses other galaxies???

Once the Enterprise breaks free of the booby trap, Picard orders the destruction of the ancient ship. Excuse me, Picard...it was the asteroids surrounding the ancient ship that was the cause of the problem...not the ancient ship itself. Why not just destroy the asteroids? Like Picard said at the beginning, "That ship belongs in a museum."

Presumably, most ships would avoid navigational hazards like an asteroid field. Unless, of course, some Good Samaritan spotted what seemed to be a ship in distress trapped in the field.

I agree with Darth. Picard wanted to destroy the ship to prevent anyone else from becoming curious about it and end up trapped also.

So why not post warning bouys to warn of the trap? Why not fire photon torpedoes at the asteroids to blow up the assimilators? Why not attach GAS canisters onto the Promellian ship? (As air is expelled from the canisters they will move the ship.)

And, to use an example from Star Wars, what if some ship is under attack from other ships, the pilot thinks, 'Hey, I can use that asteroid field to try and avoid their weapon fire!' and then ends up dying a slow death as the assimilators drain all his ship's energy?

Well, yeah, I guess that would work too!

The first thing I have to say is that I am extremely frustrated/annoyed... I just composed an entire response to KAM's post. I checked the preview... it all looked great... hit POST and then it told me that I cannot post without a username (even though it was on the previous screen) and the text box where the post should be was empty. And when I hit the BACK button, it didn't work. But I will try to recall everything I said...


So why not post warning bouys to warn of the trap? - KAM

Who's to say they didn't? I assumed they had, as they tend to do in virtually all instances where they encounter navigational hazards. There are many Standard Operating Procedure that we never hear the characters commenting on, but we assume they do it. We never hear the captain instruct the navigator to avoid obstacles like stars and planets when plotting a "direct course," but we can assume that they do.


Why not fire photon torpedoes at the asteroids to blow up the assimilators? - KAM

First, they might have feared (like the phasers), firing photon torpedoes might inadvertently have supplied the non-targeted assimilators with the energy it needs. Or maybe the torpedoes' navigational systems would have been disrupted, leaving them dead in space, resulting in yet another obstacle (although they ignored this aspect when firing on the ship).

Second, we don't know that they could even detect the assimilators. All the Enterprise detected was the radiation field. The only reason they knew of the existence of the assimilators was the Promellian captain's log.

Third, Data speculated it would take several hundred thousand assimilators to generate the field Enterprise was ensnared in...

Finally, perhaps the assimilators were destroyed in the resulting explosion of the Promellian ship (Picard did order all torpedo bays to fire).


Why not attach GAS canisters onto the Promellian ship? (As air is expelled from the canisters they will move the ship.) - KAM

You mean after they escape that death trap, you expect them to fly back into a radiation field to salvage a derelict ship? And how do you expect them to attach the canisters? I doubt EV suits would offer them much protection, considering the radiation could penetrate the Enterprise's shields.


And, to use an example from Star Wars, what if some ship is under attack from other ships, the pilot thinks, 'Hey, I can use that asteroid field to try and avoid their weapon fire!' and then ends up dying a slow death as the assimilators drain all his ship's energy? - KAM

Do you really think a warning buoy would have deterred such a desperate individual?

So why not post warning bouys to warn of the trap? - KAM

Who's to say they didn't? -Darth

If they posted bouys why destroy the ship? I would think that posted bouys would warn passing ships about the trap.

Third, Data speculated it would take several hundred thousand assimilators to generate the field Enterprise was ensnared in...

So it would take a little longer to do it. It's not like the Promellian ship would be going anywhere.

Finally, perhaps the assimilators were destroyed in the resulting explosion of the Promellian ship

Several hundred thousand were destroyed in one explosion?

You mean after they escape that death trap, you expect them to fly back into a radiation field to salvage a derelict ship?

I was thinking more along the lines of a recovery ship. Surely once they've been notified of the situation Starfleet engineers could come up with some innovative ways to get in there, remove the ship and get out of there safely.

Do you really think a warning buoy would have deterred such a desperate individual?

Actually I meant by just destroying the ship and not dropping any warning bouys a ship might choose to go into the asteroid field in such a situation. I just didn't write that sentence as well as I should have.

Albert Hall (who I have as Galek Dar, not Albert Dall) is a dour actor, best known as the dour Chief in "Apocalypse Now." You may remember him as Father Horn in the criminally shortlived series "Brimstone," or as Judge Walsh on "Ally McBeal." He recently played Elijah Muhammad in "Ali."

The likeable Julie Warner, in the first of her two appearances as Christy, was Michelle, the love interest for "Tommy Boy."

Fixed the typo. Butch the Mod

Julie Warner is not only "likeable" but also very hot! LaForge and Tommie Boy were very lucky guys! Its too bad we only got to see her twice on TNG!


Go White Sox!

KAM: Geordi tells the computer to recreate Utopia Planitia on Holodeck 3, without even checking to see if anyone might be using it.

Several possibilities: Maybe one holodeck is kept available for work-related purposes. Maybe Geordi knows which holodecks are available, since he is in charge of Engineering he would know which ones are powered and which ones aren't. Also, wouldn't the computer have told him if the holodeck was occupied?

Did they ever say what the Enterprise was actually doing there, since they weren't expecting to find the ship? (just curious)

The real Leah in Galaxy's Child might be described as forward, but I would hardly describe her as friendly

The computer did say there would be a 9-and some odd percent margin of error between the simulation and the real thing. That 9 percent could have been her level of friendliness.

If I heard correctly, Leah Brahms addressed or debated the Intergalactic Caucuses. According to my dictionary, a caucus is a meeting within a political party. So there's a political body which encompasses other galaxies???

The World Series of Baseball does not actually include teams from all over the world(though the World Baseball Classic does), perhaps the Intergalactic Caucuses operate in a similar way, not actually including people from other galaxies.

The word caucus can also mean "any group or meeting organized to further a special interest or cause"(according to dictionary.com) so the caucus mentioned here is not neccesarily political.

Geordi decides to be philosophical at the end of this episode and talks about the mind being the best piece of engineerring around. Um...with only minutes left before death, is it really time for a long "meaningful" speech?

I have always found this one rather enjoyable if somewhat silly. Always liked the look of that ancient ship, too.

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Gary C.: I can't believe that Geordi would be trying to outsmart the trap all by himself. He has a engineering staff and the other departments as well to brainstorm with. But we see him walking around talking to himself about what to do. What a hero! I think in reality I'd have Data and Wesley and any other smart person helping Geordi with a plan, considering the seriousness of the situation. Of course, if he did that, there wouldn't have been a sub-plot.

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Gary C.: Also, Picard, Worf and Data beam over to the battleship, and there is good air to breathe and the artificial gravity is still working! After 1,000 years? I can imagine what the smell was like in there with those corpses.

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Teral: Is it Worf's markmanship or is it the Federation targeting scanners that pretty much suckz? When Riker orders the destruction of the trap and specifies the Promelian cruiser as the target only one of the 4 torpedoes hits the cruiser, the other 3 hits asteroids.

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Teral: Riker don't trust the computer in it's abillity to make decisions, yet he trusts Data when he make a decission. Or has we stumpled into the real reason why Data has never risen above the rank of Lt.Cmdr.

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dotter31: Did they ever say what the Enterprise was actually doing there, since they weren't expecting to find the ship? (just curious)

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So I wonder why the Photon torpedos worked when they fired them in the end , taking out several astroids which presumibly contained assimilators. Yet previously in the episode their weapons had no effect. In the episode it was stated that the field consisted of several hundred thousand assimilators, I have two thoughs regarding this:

1) those Menthars sure were diligent folk: their civilization is brought to an end, there are but a few survivors and yet they fabricate and delicately place hundreds of thousands of booby traps in a debris field in the off chance that they will snare someone.

2) The Enterprise make a big show of blowing up the ship in the end along with a couple of assimilators. this is rather foolish because you just left oh I don't know...several hundred thousand of them floating out there, you have not disarmed them, they can still catch someone going through the field. If their logic was to get rid of the ship to prevent curious fools like themselves from getting trapped they need not bother, they were attracted by the distress signal, which they turned off. besides its not like this was a very effective trap - in 1,000 year two ships got caught. shows what a high traffic area it was.

I really liked the score in this episode that begins when the Enterprise enters the ruins of Orellious IX and discovers the mint-condition Promellian Battle Cruiser. It just sounded really cool to me. I believe it was Jerry Goldsmith who conducted it, and very similar-sounding score was also in "The 'Burbs", which also came out in 1989.

GREAT DIALOGUE:

PICARD: It's a ship in a very old bottle.
RIKER: Sir?
PICARD: The ship in the bottle....building model ships.....
(Riker does not know what he is saying)
(addresses Worf, Data, & O'Brien) Oh, for heaven's sake, didn't anyone here build model ships when they were boys?
WORF: I did not play with toys!
DATA: I was never a boy.
O'BRIEN: I did, sir.
PICARD: Thank you, Mr O'Brien!

Also, Geordi using the Holodeck and the Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards on Mars, back when the Enterprise-D was being constructed, that was really a great thing for him. I'm glad he got to use that program. With the holo-Leah helping, they were able to figure out how to escape the Aceton assimilators. Too bad that his attraction to her would sour things with the real Leah whe she comes aboard in the next season...

Interesting bit of trivia. Leah Brahms was originally going to be named Navid Daystrom and be established as a descendant of Richard Daystrom from TOS' ep "The Ultimate Computer." But the casting people weren't familiar with the origional ep, nor did anybody inform them that they needed a black actress since she was supposed to be a descendant of a character who was black. By the time they realized the issue they had already cast a white actress so they quickly renamed the character and made her a graduate of the Daystrom institute rather than his descendant.

Geordi tells Leah the ship has "tens of thousands" of lightyears on it. But doesn't that seem like a lot for when the Enterprise was only about 3 years old? Figuring from Voyager's 75,000 lightyears = 75 years, seems like the ship would need decades of service for 20,000+

Well, it did get a few billion lightyears added onto it in "Where No One Has Gone Before". Granted, it probably didn't pass through all of them...

The Enterprise is a large ship. It's hull, bulkheads and other structures contain a lot of material, quite dense and resillient. If they had moved personal into the central parts of the ship, as far away from its surface as possible, they would have put many meters or duranium, tritanium, power conduits, furniture and other stuff between them and the radiation field. That would have been excellent protection against the radiation. That also makes the dramatic countdown to fatal radiation exposure meaningless and silly. There is NO way everyone on the ship was exposed to the same radiation level and would have recieved a fatal dose at the same time.