I have to say, this is possibly my favorite NextGen episode.

I forget-which episode was this?

I think this must be one of those 'love it or loathe it' episodes - me, I'd list it in my three least favourites! I felt that Nora Satie was way over-done.

Anon,

This is the "McCarthy hearings" episode.

You mean the one where the crazy old admiral thinks there is a conspiracy aboard the enterprise and is going to insane lengths to expose who is responsible for it? Even to the point where she would have a man arrested simply because his grandfather was romulin?

Yep. That's the one!

I'll always wonder what happened to her afterwards....

With the events in "Mind's Eye," the revelation of the Romulan involvement in "Redemption I&II," and the events in "Unification I&II" under her coat in the post Dominion War Federation she teamed up with Capt. Maxwell of the Phoenix and was elected the new President of the Federation as the candidate of the "I-told-you-so-but-Picard-wouldn't-listen-to-me." party.

The Admiral seems surprised that her father's works are required reading at the Academy. Even if they weren't when she was at the Academy, wouldn't she know if they were instituted at some point after that?

Jean Simmons, who plays the admiral, also played Varinia in the movie Spartacus. She was about 30 and very pretty. She was over twice that when she made this ep. I only bring this up cuz I saw that movie tonight, after taping it from Encore.

Note from moderator: the post by D. K. Henderson referred to below was in reply to a troll post. Both posts were deleted.

I agree with D. K. Henderson, this episode does not say yeah let's burn the heretics. It is clearly warning about the danger that results from needless witch hunting, trying to rout out supposed conspiricies, and believing that enemies are everywhere. This episode shows strongly that even an organisation as liberal and equalitarian (is that a word ?) as the feds can be seriously disrupted by paranoia. I mean they're willing to bar a quarter Romulan from serving in the fleet. Has the British armed forces ever barred a half Argentinian or Iraqi from serving in the forces. Its a sad day if they ever do. But what Im trying to say is that by seeding this nucleus of paranoia, even the most apparently stable of organisations can collapse if fear is allowed to take over.

Fortunately, it was only one paranoid admiral and her lapdog who suffered from this malady. Admiral Henry thankfully saw through it immediately.

"Commander, I’m sensing a great…..plot contriviance!"
Y’know, it’s funny the way Troi’s empathic abilities fluctuate like a yo-yo according to the needs of the episode’s plot. Klingons have never been established to be difficult for Betazoids to read, yet Troi can only sense that J’Dan is hiding something, but not that he’s flat out lying. This is because J’Dan did transmit secret information to the Romulans, but didn’t have anything to do with the explosion of the dilithium chamber, an important distinction that the plot requires not be discovered until later in the show.
I guess hypocrisy isn’t considered "dishonorable"
In Heart of Glory, Wolf felt a strong sense of sympathy toward the three Klingon renegades, whose crimes were motivated by their belief that the alliance between the Klingons and the Federation had weakened Klingon society. But at the end of the teaser of this episode, he angrily accosts J’Dan in the turbolift, telling him that he will prove his guilt, and hopes the authorities on the Homeworld put him to a slow death, even though J’Dan’s motive for his crime is EXACTLY the same as that of the three Klingons in Heart of Glory!

I fail to see why the Romulans would be interested in the Enterprise's Dilithium chamber. Don't they have their own methods of space travel and hasn't it been pointed out that the Romulans have higher and more efficient standards than Starfleet?

Also isn't this chamber the same one that's been on the Enterprise for at least 7 years and possibly as much as 19 years (depending on whichever references you believe)? The only explanation I can think of is the Romulans were testing the Klingon to see how loyal he would be toward them.

When Admiral Satie comes on the Enterprise, Picard says something to the effect of her being pivotal in exposing the alien conspiracy 3 years earlier. Which conspiracy? The only one that happened before this episode involved three inch long beetles and she was nowhere to be seen.

If a person can be injected with the amino acid message without their knowledge, then couldn't it also be removed without their knowledge? It would seem to be easier than raising people's suspicions by kidnapping someone.

Isn't having a Betazoid in the room while questioning someone a Conflict of Interest? (Just paraphrasing Devinoni Ral's comments to Counselor Troi in The Price.)

Isn't having a Betazoid scan someone they are questioning like forcing someone to be hooked up to a lie detector? Shouldn't there be a law against it?

In the NextGen Guide II Phil wondered about Admiral Satie's apparently 20th century reference to "roaches scurrying for the dark.", but maybe this was actually a reference to the bug-like aliens from Conspiracy?

Sabin is supposedly a full Betazoid, but the best he can do concerning Simon Tarses testimony is, "He's covering up a lie."? Can't he even tell what Tarses was lying about?

Sabin says that Tarses lied on his Starfleet application, then repeated the lie in the hearing. That lie was that his paternal grandfather was Romulan, not Vulcan. Since when do entrance applications need to ask for the race of your grandparents? The medical records might need to list this information, but would Tarses alone be responsible for that?

Once again the viewscreen stars stay still while the Ready Room window stars move. (Picard's confrontation with Admiral Satie.)

Picard says, "Villains who twirl their mustaches are easy to spot." Here and now in the 21st century that is a very dated reference, why would it be mentioned in the 24th century? With no TV and the revival of stage plays has the melodrama made dramatic resurgence? ("And now the Enterprise Players would like to present, `Lily, The Felon's Daughter!'")

If go-go boots can make a comeback in the 23rd century, why not mustacheoed villians as well. Harry Mudd had one...

Sabin says that Tarses lied on his Starfleet application, then repeated the lie in the hearing. That lie was that his paternal grandfather was Romulan, not Vulcan. Since when do entrance applications need to ask for the race of your grandparents? The medical records might need to list this information, but would Tarses alone be responsible for that?

It doesn't have to ask his grandparents' race. It need only ask his race and in order to answer the question he must mention the race of his grandfather 3/4 human 1/4 vulcan.

The application may ask if the applicant has ancestors of certain "unfriendly" races.

Why? So they can stick those applicants in an internment camp during time of war?

IIRC, the 'conspiracy' Admiral Satie was referring to was supposed to be the one with the three-inch beetles.
Remember, the notion of 'something wrong in Starfleet' was hinted at several episodes earlier than 'Conspiracy'. The idea is that while Picard was unravelling things from the bottom up, Satie was investigating from the top down - the setup for her paranoia in this ep.

Guest Star Alert: As someone pointed out, Jean Simmons has had a long and distinguished career (in Spartacus, Elmer Gantry and The Thorn Birds, among others.) IMHO, she was/is easily one of the most beautiful actresses of the 20th-century.

Still liked this one, but watching it, I realized that it was missing only one thing...

Picard needed to ask, "Have you no shame, madame? Have you no shame?", just before Admiral Henry walked out.

WHAT THE HECK WAS SATIE WEARING?! Her pink body-suit really did make her look like she was getting eaten by a fish. Is this really the kind of clothing former admirals are supposed to wear?

Only colorblind admirals who recieved fashion advice from a spaced-out Garak during one of his "Wire" sessions.

I love this ep (the Admiral's poor fashion sense aside ).
Quietly dramatic, intelligent, moving, a nice pause to discuss ideas in the midst of all the technobabble.
And for once the stunt casting works! Jean Simmons turns in a really remarkable performance.

LUIGI NOVI writes:
"In Heart of Glory , Wolf felt a strong sense of sympathy toward the three Klingon renegades, whose crimes were motivated by their belief that the alliance between the Klingons and the Federation had weakened Klingon society. But at the end of the teaser of this episode, he angrily accosts J?Dan in the turbolift, telling him that he will prove his guilt, and hopes the authorities on the Homeworld put him to a slow death, even though J?Dan?s motive for his crime is EXACTLY the same as that of the three Klingons in Heart of Glory!"

a) J'Dan's crime was sneaky rather than honorable.
b) J'Dan's crime was aimed at helping an enemy of the Klingons.
c) J'Dan hit a nerve when he offered to exploit his corrupt connections in the Empire to clear Worf's father's name.

a) Nothing, to my knowledge, indicates that Korris, Konmel and K'nera were any less "sneaky" in their crimes. They certainly didn't stride up and down the Great Hall on Kronos proclaiming what they had done. Who's to say they didn't employ the same amount of cunning or stealth when carrying their crimes out?
b) Korris, Konmel and K'nera murdered fellow Klingons, and humans, which is hardly less serious than helping Romulans.

Bottom line (for me) is, any distinctions made between the two situations is largely a matter of hair-splitting.

Korris, Konmel and K'nera murdered fellow Klingons, and humans, which is hardly less serious than helping Romulans.

Is it? After all, Worf was willing to let a Romulan die rather than donate blood to him.

The easy explanation is that Worf changed his views on the matter in the three-year interim. Granted, it's a drastic change, but people's values and opinions are constantly changing and adapting as their beliefs are challenged.

But I would buy Charles's second hypothesis as well... that Worf's beliefs clouded his judgement. People do it all the time.

Also even though Worf felt for those Klingons he did kill the last one at the end of the ep.

Yeah, but in Klingon culture, that's like a friendly greeting.

Yet another intriguing episode directed by Frakes.

Why is Satie interrogating Picard about T'Pel? It was STARFLEET'S idea to have her beamed aboard.

Agreed that she should be a little more concerned about how 'T'Pel' was able to pull her ruse off for so long...but then again, that's the whole point of the scene, Satie's search for traitors is becoming more and more irrational.

GREAT MOMENT: Admiral Henry walking out of Satie's interrogation. Without saying a word, Henry said, "It's over, Satie...hang it up.!"

and then Henry went and got plastered in the swamp with Hawk and trapper.....

Eventually, Geordi finds out that the explosion was caused by a design flaw. You'd think that Starfleet would have some kind of Quality Management team to go over their warp cores & all their parts with a microscope to make sure there aren't any cracks of any kind.

Consider: The flagship of the Federation has its warp drive disabled. This would also weaken shields and phasors. It is in a remote area of space. Romulan sabotage is suspected.

So why doesn't Starfleet GUARD the Enterprise until it is repaired???

Don't they think that a Warbird might decloak at any moment and drag the Enterprise back to Romulus? Why doesn't Satie's ship stay?

If you don't mind a little frivolity, when I first saw the title of this episode I was thinking of aliens whose heads were shaped like drums... that would have been interesting!

John A. Lang: Why is Satie interrogating Picard about T'Pel? It was STARFLEET'S idea to have her beamed aboard.
Luigi Novi: John, I think one of the main points of the episode was the irrationality of the type of McCarthy-esque attitude people like Satie exhibit.

Yeah, like I said....a couple posts up. (Further proof that great minds do indeed think alike.)

Bruce French (Mr. Sabin) is Father Lonigan on the NBC soap "Passions." He plays an Ocampa doctor in the first episode of Voyager too and pops up in "Insurrection" as an officer.

Henry Woronicz (J'Dan) is the priest that Jerry complains to in the "Seinfeld" episode about Tim Watley becoming Jewish. He also appears in the Voyager episode "Living Witness."

Why does starfleed not have any rank insignia for their enlisted personnel? All the enlisted people we see just go around with nothing on their collars. How do they know who outranks who?

If you are just an enlisted officer, you don't outrank anyone, even an ensign outranks you, as O'Brian pointed out in one of the DS9 episodes when Nog was getting ready to go off the academy (something like "when he gets out, ill have to call him sir").

This episode was directed by the same actor that plays Commander William T Riker.

Mr. Crusher, true... to a point. There are variations in rank among enlisted men. Or would you argue that a corporal is equal to a master sergeant?

There are rank pips for enlisted crew. They're black instead of silver, so they're harder to see.

Famous quote:

With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censored, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all irrevocably.
-Captain Picard, Star Trek: The Next Generation, "The Drumhead"

Well. I like the First Amendment, too, but, this sort of absolutist, speechifying, generalization, makes me feel ornery and contrary.

The first speech censored? Define "censored". What about rough drafts, is that censorship? Is he including self-censorship? What about going to a forum where everybody talks about quilts and you tell dirty jokes about Kira Nerys and nobody knows anything about her? How does censoring spam cause chains to be forged?

The first thought forbidden? So if you're at a wedding/funeral/other family gathering and you're thinking dirty thoughts/jokes about family members, that's okay with Picard?

The first freedom denied? The freedom to do spam, genocide, sex crimes, telling old knock-knock jokes during a meeting of the Federal Reserve Board?

Okay, some crimes are sometimes hard to define, but Picard wants to allow everything? Except religion, apparently. ("Who Watches the Watchers).

And I'm not sure the chaining is irrevocable. Lots of tyrants banned lots of freedoms, but they were overthrown, freedom came back, civilization lived on. The chaining was not irrevocable.

And if spam is censored, that chains us all? How does that chain me? I wasn't planning on spamming.

I understand the sentiment, I'm in favor of freedom too, but Picard is overgeneralizing. The speechifying didn't seem well thought out.

Or am I missing something?

Did it ever occur to anyone that the point of Picard's speech might be to get Satie mad and to get her to display some emotional response that gives away her lack of objectiveness...

I haven't seen this episode in years so I could be thinking of this way out of context...

The first speech censored? Define "censored". What about rough drafts, is that censorship? Is he including self-censorship? What about going to a forum where everybody talks about quilts and you tell dirty jokes about Kira Nerys and nobody knows anything about her? How does censoring spam cause chains to be forged?

Censoring in this case means, "The government decrees, 'This you shall not say, this you shall not think.'"

Thanks, Scott. Exactly what I was going to say. Censorship refers specifically the government. A quilting BB, wedding, funeral or other gathering like tht are all private plances/events who have every right to allow/forbid whatever they want.

Good point...except....

here are some more examples....

In a court case, the law can forbid perjury by either witnesses, defendants, prosecutors, defense attorneys or the judge. The law can exclude irrelevant testimony...

"Is it true you tossed water balloons out your dorm window in college?" "Objection! Irrelevant!" "Sustained!"

"Let's make a plea bargain deal. We'll drop the charges if you'll have sex with me--OW!"

And a judge can object to telling dirty jokes about Kira when he thinks it's irrelevant and rude to do so.

When the government doesn't want Harry Mudd to traipse around the galaxy without a pilot's license, how does that forge irrevocable chains around Quark a hundred years later?

Perverts talk about "sexual freedom" but governments pass laws against many of the things perverts want to do.

I understand Picard was talking about government laws but I think he was overstating it. But maybe he was trying to provoke the admiral.

I fail to see why the Romulans would be interested in the Enterprise's Dilithium chamber.

Just normal intelligence gathering, seeking out information on and weaknesses in enemy technology.

Also isn't this chamber the same one that's been on the Enterprise for at least 7 years and possibly as much as 19 years

7 years is an eternity in the world of intelligence. Even if the Romulans had information on it already, they were interested in knowing if the Federation had updated its technology or that any previous information was not deliberate disinformation.

Isn't having a Betazoid scan someone they are questioning like forcing someone to be hooked up to a lie detector? Shouldn't there be a law against it?

Perhaps Starfleet has rules allowing such a thing to occur, even if the Federation bans such treatment of civilians.

Okay, did I miss something or has no one else noticed the HUGE oversight in the very last scene:

Picard is missing a rank pip!

When he's waxing philosophical in the observation lounge with Worf, it looks like his third pip is gone. Is it a trick of the light? I've searched the net thoroughly and haven't seen anyone else point this out, I can't be the first to have noticed this. Did I miss something in the plot or did it just fall off and no one caught it?

When Satie's team brought up chemicals being used on the warp core to pressure Tarses, that may have been what happened. Chemicals could have been used to cause metal fatigue in the hatch casing. It would have been better if Geordi had mentioned why there were microfractures.

Didn't he or Data say it was normal wear and tear?

I'll rewatch it, but I think they said that it was a defective part and that it was an accident, but not what caused the microfractures and how they knew it was just an "accident."

It was a defective part that was fitted to the ship - I'd assume after the Best of Both Worlds when the ship was undergoing repairs for 6 weeks. The implication, as I recall, was that the part hadn't been made correctly and just failed under normal wear and tear.

I see what you mean now. I thought you meant that it was simple wear and tear that led to the microfractures.

Jean Simmons (Admiral Satie) has passed away from lung cancer at the age of 80. More here.