Too bad Picard is the only one of the trio that can fight. He single-handedly takes down two Nausicaans before getting stabbed by the third. His two buddies get their kicked around

My favorite Next Gen episode. It is a wonderful life, Jean Luc.

I wonder whether the Nausicaans' home planet has a place called the "Valley of the Wind."

Couldn't Picard've simply put a steel plate in his uniform the second time around?

Also, if his "being" is changed so much by not being in command, couldn't he have some of the other things he never did but would make him happy instead, like a family or more time to pursue his other interests?

I don't think it was the fighting that changed Picard's approach to life; I think it was the injury (cf. the conversation in "Samaritan Snare"). Perhaps that's also why Picard skipped the pals/planet/parentage name-calling; it wasn't a relevant part of his "tapestry."

And I think Picard was still in denial about his desire for a family at this point. But this is after "Rascals," in which he reconsidered various career options. Hmmm...

When Q first appears and claims he's God, he is wearing what looks like a Vulcan ceremonial outfit, possibly left over from "The Search For Spock."
When Picard is stabbed in the barfight, it looks like there is already a bloodstain on his uniform jacket before the knife fully penetrates.
This does not diminish the extremely high quality of this ep. Sensitive, insightful script by Ronald D. Moore, superb direction by Les Landau. Next Gen was never better.

I agree. My nickname for this episode was "It's a Wonderful Knife."

The important distinction, however, is that Picard isn't depressed, and doesn't want to never have lived, but to tweak the events in his life, and the lesson wasn't the necessarily positive message that "your life has had good effects on others", but that you can't pick and choose which events to have happened or not happened in your life, because we're all the products of the unpleasant events in our life, as well as the pleasant.

>Couldn't Picard've simply put a steel plate in his uniform the second time around? >

Because he hadn't seen "Back to the Future, Part III" yet.

Or A Fistful of Dollars from which BttFIII ripped the gag. It's why they put the Clint Eastwood reference in the movie: To admit that they were taking it from Dollars.

If you recall in BTTF II Marty and Biff watch that scene from Dollars just before Marty confronts Biff in the hot tub. Part 2 & 3 were shot at the same time so they were setting that up for the end of part 3. Also the end credits of part 3 give special thanks to Clint Eastwood.

In the NextGen Guides Phil seems to think that Q actually let Picard redo his past, and yet Picard isn't certain if it really happened or was just a dream. (Of course, if it were just a dream, then there would be very little to Nitpick.)

Picard's behavior of making two dates on the same day sheds new light on his leaving Jenice as revealed in We'll Always Have Paris. Also later when he admits to having feelings for Marta "for a long time." (Of course, if we think about what he told Dr. Crusher in Attached... Then again he never talked about Vash after Captain's Holiday and didn't seem to mind too much her going away at the end of Qpid... Also, hair loss is linked to high amounts of testosterone... Boy, I guess, that Picard is a real cad and a bounder.)

In such a high technological society as the Federation, wouldn't you think it would be harder to use a "magnetic device" to tamper with a game? I should think little flashing lights and sirens would go off to let everyone know that someone was tampering with it.

And later when Zweller is under the table tampering with the works, shouldn't it be a lot harder for him to get access to the controls? Maybe some kind of authorized key or password, perhaps?

While it is cute that Q mispronounces Picard's name, shouldn't he have pronounced it Jeen Luck Pik-ard instead of "John Luck Pik-ard?"

On pages 373 & 374 of the NextGen Guide II, Phil wondered about the wig wearing Nausican & assumed they might be disguised Starfleet officers. Well, maybe Nausicans are just prejudiced against blondes and 'yellowheads' have to wear wigs or use hair dye to be treated equally?

TV Guide's special Trek issue compares this to "A Christmas Carol." Sorry, but "Wonderful Life" rings truer to form.

Bringing forward the discussion on the way to a man's heart from the Samaritan Snare board...

I don't remember... Did the Naussican stab him with the blade held vertically or horizontally?

If it was vertical, it may be a nit, as the it woudl have caught on the ribcage.

I HATE to ruin the "element of suprise" for the writers on this wonderful episode, but it's all too obvious who the "deity" was after Picard "died". There wasn't enough light to hide Q's (DeLancie's) face.

At the episode's end, Q has done Picard a favor and saved his life without changing the circumstances. Does this mean that Q has granted Picard a real biological heart in place of the artificial heart, or did Q undo the irreparable damage done to the artificial heart? The point is, what does Picard use for a heart from this episode onward?

A clock? It ticks!

Q didn't change anything. Picard said put everything back to normal and Q said you'll probably die in that case and Picard basicaly said he'd take the risk. Clearly Picard was revived by dr Crusher. Even today someone can be legaly dead for a few minutes and be revived.

It's even possible that Q did nothing. The whole thing may have been a dream.

One of the questions the Chief put forth in the Next Gen Guide is regarding Picard's age. Picard was 21 when he got stabbed by the Nausiccan, and that was 30 years before the events in this ep. Ergo, Picard was 51 at this time. Stewart was 52 or 53 when this ep was shot.

Even today someone can be legaly dead for a few minutes and be revived. - brian

Picard: I've been dead before...

Wasn't that Spock in Star Trek VI who said that?

Yeah, yeah it was.

According to the Chronology, Picard was born in 2305 (consistent with his "Class of 27" remarks in The First Duty.

So by the time this episode occurs (2369), he is 64 years old. Thus Picard is about 10 years older than Stewart

The 30 years should be actually 40 years.

As a side note, as of Nemesis, probably 2379, Picard is 74!

Looking at the imdb, J.C. Brandy, who played Marty was born in Nov, 1975. This episode aired in early 93 so that means she just turned 17 during the filming of this episode?? She doesn't look 17

Is the actor that played Picard's father related to the actor that played his brother Robert in Family? I seem to recall that both look simular (which make sense given the characters are father and son)

As far as I know, Clive Church and Jeremy Kemp are not related.

Given advancements in medicine, lifespan extension etc. I don't have a problem with Picard being 10 years older than he looks. Many sci-fi ideas set in the safe timeframe as TNG have had humans age much, much slower than that.

Safe timeframes do seem to promote long lives.

Some props from the 1956 film version of The Ten Commandments found their way into this episode. Check it out here.

Perhaps Picard did recieve his original biological heart back from Q at the end of the episode... after all, he references the same heart beating within both he and Shinzon... (unless of course he picked a fight with a few nasty Romulans and the Remans buy Starfleet medical surplus...) :-)

Q is an interesting Clarence, isn't he? Of course, Picard is George Bailey.

GREAT LINES:

Q: "Welcome to the afterlife, Jean-Luc. You're dead."

Q: "I gave you something most mortals never experience...now all you can do is complain?"

And because of his "alternate" life experiences, Picard keeps his real heart, but loses his two best friends, and eventually is reduced to the status of assistant astrophysics officer, Lt. Jr grade!

Now, as we all are aware, Picard is somewhat of a Renassiance Man, but science was never exactly his strong point. At least in his "regular" existence, it wasn't. But he loves archeology, literature, and music. However, having him be a lowly underling in the alternate reality was pretty depressing if you ask me. Here, he plays it safe, never takes risks of any kind, and probably dies of old age, or boredom, whichever comes first. Plus, Picard does not look good in blue. That's just my opinion, though.

Therefore he pleads with Q to put him back to just before he attacks the Nausiccans for being offensive to him and his friends, and he does end up getting stabbed. But he awakens in the "real" reality that he always knew, and laughs. A fitting end to a fine episode.

Plus, this is the only time we see Maurice Picard, his father (in the "this is your life" flashback scenes Q provided). Much like Robert, Jean-Luc's father disapproved of technology, believing it took away from being truly human. Having grown up with a father who disapproved of his joining Starfleet and a brother who was resentful of his accomplishments, that was a lot for Picard to deal with. I wonder what his mother, Yvette, was like to him when she was alive.....

I wonder though, did Q change things back to the way they were or did the changes Picard made stick? If they did, I wonder how the things he did affected his friendships.

The Bonestell Recreation Facility appears to be a re-dress of Ten Forward. With different lighting and photography to hide that fact.
And, when Q sends Picard back to the Enterprise as a Lt. J.G., what's to say that Worf, Data or La Forge would be there? Maybe their lives would have taken different paths too.

And, when Q sends Picard back to the Enterprise as a Lt. J.G., what's to say that Worf, Data or La Forge would be there? Maybe their lives would have taken different paths too.

Because Q promised Picard that no one's life but his own would be changed Q's intervention.

I remembered that just as my post hit the page. Then again, Q did fib a bit, as Thomas Halloway was the Captain of the Enterprise when Picard was a Lt. J.G. Capt. Halloway's life was changed due to Q's actions. He may not even had a career in Starfleet if not for what Q did to Picard.
According to this, TPTB considered making Capt. Edward Jellico the Enterprise captain in the altered timeline.

According to this, TPTB considered making Capt. Edward Jellico the Enterprise captain in the altered timeline.

I actually thought it would have been a nice bit of continuity when I first watched that episode. Too bad they didn't do it.

The problem with Jellico is that too much would have to change(breaking Q's promise).

Odds are that Riker would be gone(already up on charges in the 2-parter),Troi(mutual dislike) and likely others(no one seemed to like Jellicos command style).

Odds are that you would have a whole new command crew--trashing Q's promise.

So the thing to do is put an unknown in charge--this way you can maintain the balance and keep the leads where they are(except Picard).

As for Halloway, we know nothing about him, but odds are that he would be a starship captain looking for a new command about the time Picard was given Enterprise--possibly getting another command instead(With Riker being offered at least 3 ships,there were openings). It might even a ship lost due to one cause or another.

(Note:If Picard had complained about the change all Q would need to sa is "in your timeline he died at (you name it), here he's alive and happy--I doubt he's complaining).

Odds are that Riker would be gone(already up on charges in the 2-parter),Troi(mutual dislike) and likely others(no one seemed to like Jellicos command style).

But Jellico's style of command was deeply disliked because of the extreme contrast it made with Picard's style. Had Jellico been the original Enterprise captain, the crew would probably have adapted to him much more easily.