The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-06-02 at 6:42pm:
  - A bridge crew can relieve the captain if they unanimously agree that the captain is acting oddly. Also, a doctor can relieve the captain if the doctor thinks the captain is medically unfit for command. Shouldn't the same thing apply to mission commanders? Picard finds out that Jameson: 1) took double the recommended dosage of an alien drug 2) confesses to a direct violation of the Prime Directive (giving weapons) 3) proposes a raid that Picard thinks is questionable. Yet, Picard acts like he has no other recourse but to obey.
  - the drug is "radically changing the cellular structure of his body and rewriting his DNA." Doesn't it seem likely that the drug would also wipe out the scar tissue in Jameson's body?
  - The transporter pad certainly isn't wheelchair-accessible. Jameson, who is confined to a futuristic wheelchair, is beemed on to the transporter pad. How does he get off the pad?
  - When Picard and Riker leaves the bridge to greet Jameson, look very carefully, Picard contorts his entire face just before he enters the turbolift (an outtake??)
• From Jeff Browning on 2011-09-20 at 6:10pm:
  The Admiral's wife (we never learn her name) had some of the worst acting and most annoying dialog in Star Trek history. The Admiral is plagued with advanced Iverson's disease, a degenerative, incurable and terminal disease that rob it's victim of quality of life before it kills him. The Admiral finds a potential cure that incidental makes him young while saving his life. Is his wife pleased? Not at all. Why? Because she wants to spend more time with husband (while watching him die horribly). It stretches credulity.
• From Inga on 2011-12-21 at 11:12am:
  Jeff, the Admiral's wife's name is Anne. She was called by her name a couple of times in the episode and at the very end, just before he died, the Admiral called her "Annie with the golden hair"
• From John on 2012-03-05 at 4:03am:
  I think maybe what Jeff meant was that we learn her name, but we don't care enough to remember it, because this episode sucks.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-06-24 at 4:15am:
  - At the beginning of the show, Wesley is helping Geordi in Engineering. At this time, Picard is talking with Anya. Before beaming aboard, Anya asks what species they are. From events later in the episode, it is obvious why Anya asked this question. Wesley realizes this fact in one of his last conversations with Salia. But how did Wesley know that Anya asked the question of species in the first place? He was in Engineering at the time, and the question itself is seemingly pointless, not the type of thing to be repeated readily.
  - As Picard escorts Anya and Salia to their quarters, Wesley steps off a turbolift, carrying the SCM Model 3, and sees Salia for the time. The numbers on the turbolift doors are "22." What is Wesley doing on deck 22? He already has the SCM, shouldn't he be headed back to Engineering on deck 36?
  - Why is Wesley so offended to learn that Salia could change her shape? I think it would be fun, "Let's try blonde today, maybe a little taller, how about some bigger ...." ;)
  - During the episode "Where No One Has Gone Before," Kozinski states that in the past three hundred years, humanity has charted only 11 percent of the galaxy. Wesley tells Salia that they have charted 19 percent of the galaxy. The Federation has been busy!! (or someone is wrong)
  - When the Enterprise arrives at Daled IV, the atmosphere of the planet interferes with their communications. The Enterprise can't even talk to these people, and they can still transport Salia down? Isn't the transporter usually the first thing to go? It seems reasonable that transporting living beings would be a lot more difficult to accomplish than communication.
• From JRPoole on 2008-01-25 at 5:58pm:
  I gave this episode a 1.
  
  "The Dauphin" offends my sensibilities for a couple of reasons. First, virtually all Wesley-centered episodes (especially the earlier ones) are terrible and this is no exception. I realize that Wesley is an adolescent, but his actions in this episode are ridiculous. He loves this girl? Please. They've known each other for about, what 3 days? Why doesn't Geordi snatch a knot in Wesley's ass for not having his head in the game when they're performing maintence on the engines? Again, I realize Wesley's an adolescent, but he's also a serving ensign on the ship, and he can worry about poontang when the work's done. Isn't that the very kind of thing he's supposed to be learning? It seems he already knows everything there is to know about the Enterprise.
  
  The Wesley episodes always leave me cold because they're a waste of a character. Instead of doing something worthwhile with the character, they churn out shlock. His wide-eyed boy wonder sthick gets old really fast, and this episode is an prime example.
  
  In additon to the problems already mentioned, I submit the following:
  
  --I don't buy the sickbay scene. If these shape-shifter beings are really some sort of "light energy" beings, are they really in danger from a virus?
  
  --Why is the crew incredulous that shape-shifting beings exist? They act like they've got the Loch Ness monster or Sasquatch on their hands, but this has been established before. Iman's character in Star Trek III is a shapeshifter, and there are a few more examples as well.
  
  --The teddy bear incarnation of Anya is incredibly stupid.
  
  --This isn't necessarily a problem, but it's underdeveloped. At one point, Picard (I think it was Picard, anyway) hopes that the Federation can establish "formal relations" with Daled IV. Isn't ferrying their new leader around the galaxy something that should qualify as "formal relations"? How is it that the flagship of the Federation comes to be the personal taxi service of a planet they don't seem to know anything about at all?
  
  --Is it just me, or does the scene between Guinan and Riker just not jive with Guinan's character somehow?
  
  --Worf's final exchange with Anya is painful to watch.
• From rpeh on 2010-08-25 at 11:52am:
  For some reason, I quite like this episode. There's a decent amount of technobabble like "In a moment, the harmonic resonance from the neutrino clouds will become synchronous"(!!!!!). There are basic mistakes - you already mentioned the sound in space, but how about you can see the planet rotating? It would fly apart if it was spinning that fast. There are bad alien costumes.
  
  But... it works. For some reason I don't find Wesley objectionable in this one, and the love story is quite believable. I like the interaction between Anya and Worf. I'm not claiming it's brilliant, but I'll give it a 6.
• From Jeff Browning on 2011-09-22 at 11:54pm:
  Some of the worst special effects in the history of Star Trek. Even much of TOS was better than this! The shape shifting scenes were embarrassing.
• From Inga on 2011-12-30 at 10:34pm:
  Salia's true form somehow reminds me of the Companion from the TOS episode "Metamorphosis".
  
  Also, I agree with JRPoole - Worf's final exchange with Anya WAS painful to watch :/
• From One Moon Circles eyes in the dark on 2012-02-27 at 5:40am:
  Falling in love your first time as an adolescent actually does happen when not even knowing each other and it can happen in just 2 days. I can testify to this from personal experience. :) Other than that this episode is just so wrong in so many ways I don't even know where to start. I gave this one a 1. The last episode was a hard one to follow but this one didn't even make an attempt.
• From Azalea Jane on 2021-07-16 at 2:12am:
  Ah, young love. It's true, adolescent experiences of "love" can seem trivial through the mists of time, but for them it's pretty damn powerful. And yes, it's possible to get *very* attached to someone over just a few days! Even at 39, I'm not too jaded to watch the scenes between Wes and Salia and feel a little bit of it myself. I think the two actors did quite well together. I even teared up when Wes came to say goodbye, but I'm a sap and I accept that. Kudos to Geordi for realizing Wes was gonna be useless for a little while and validating to Wes how intense puberty is.
  
  I have a soft spot for this ep for a couple reasons, and NONE of them have anything to do with having a huge crush on Salia, nope! How dare you even suggest that!
  
  - Worf's rather licentious description of Klingon sex.
  "what does the man do?"
  "he reads love poetry. ... he ducks a lot."
  Cracks me up every time.
  
  - Guinan's and Riker's (mock?) flirting. Fantastic. Almost sounds like they're reciting a famous play or something. Guinan: "shut up, kid." Thirsty Guinan, rare form!
  
  - Guinan's insight to Wes at the end. I've always loved it. "Each one feels different" may sound like a basic lesson in love, but it's one worth hearing anyway. Wes won't feel the same way again, and that's OK. Salia will be unique to him in that way.
  
  It's not a great episode, but I don't think it tries to be. For me it's enjoyable for what it is.
  
  Worf: "do not be fooled by her looks. The body is just a shell." Indeed.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-07-01 at 6:49am:
  - Given Lwaxana's dislike and distrust for transporters, why are they beaming her aboard the ship? She is traveling in a "small transport craft." A shuttle craft? Why not just dock the craft in one of the shuttle bays and let her walk off. But then we wouldn't have had the "Legs, where are the legs?" scene.
  - Doesn't Troi have a dress uniform? Every time the delegates come or go, Captain Picard gets in his dress uniform, but Troi wears the same outfit for the whole show.
  - Troi takes her mother out into the hall to have an intimate conversation about her mother's condition (because Mr. Homm is in Lwaxana's quarters). On top of that, they have the conversation out loud when they could communicate telepathically. Not a very private conversation!
  - After exposing the Antedian assassins, Lwaxana states that it was quite easy for her to read their minds. If it was so easy, why wasn't Troi at least able to get a sense that the Antedians were up to no good?
  - In "The Big Good-bye," Picard begins coughing immediately after lighting up a cigarette. In this episode, Picard just starts puffing away.
  - Also, in "The Big Good-bye" Picard wore his uniform into the holodeck the first time he entered. Several holodeck creations commented that he looked like a bellboy. In this episode, Riker wears his uniform into Rex's bar and no one gives it a second look.
• From JRPoole on 2008-02-15 at 3:20pm:
  I agree with the overall sentiment on this episode, but it makes me smile, so I can't hate it altogether.
  
  I have a hard time believing that Lwaxana doesn't know what a holodeck is, but the bit with she and Picard in her quarters is priceless. The alien-of-the-week here was ridiculous as well.
• From Orion Pimpdaddy on 2009-05-04 at 3:11pm:
  The first half of the show has a lot of funny moments that are fun to rewatch. The seconf half, after Picard steps onto the holodeck for some Dixon Hill, is very boring.
• From Rob Herbert on 2010-06-22 at 2:11pm:
  It's worth noting that Robert O'Reilly, who plays the wide-eyed villain who grabs Dix/Picard's lapels in the Holodeck returns in the future, still with wild, staring eyes, as Gowron.
• From Ry-Fi on 2010-08-14 at 9:39am:
  After Lwaxana passes on choosing Worf as a mate, saying "Pity, you'd have made a fine choice", the shot switches to Worf for a second, then back to her. Is it just me, or does she look down at his crotch for a split second and smile before looking back up and turning around?
  
  I burst out laughing when I saw that! It would in no way surprise me if that was an intentioned little flair that Majel threw in there. What an AMAZING woman she is! Her acting nuances are sublime!
  
  :-D
• From CAlexander on 2011-04-15 at 3:12pm:
  There are a couple of cute scenes, but basically this episode is pointless. Not to mention that I find Lwaxana painful to watch.
• From Jeff Browning on 2011-10-20 at 7:48pm:
  Everyone is always hating' on Lwaxana,when I love her! I suppose she is an acquired taste, though.
  
  This girl has an organizing principle to her life: She just wants to get laid. She is so deliciously ranchy and blatant in her sexual appetites.
  
  The problem is: With her level of nobility, sex must be accompanied by marriage. (I love it when she recites her titles: "daughter of the seventh house, holder of the sacred chalice of reeks, heir to the rings of Betazed". It's particularly great when Deanna points out that the sacred chalice of reeks is just "an old clay pot with mold growing in it".)
  
  You get the imoression that she would love it if she could just blow all of that off and go shag someone.
• From John on 2012-03-08 at 3:59pm:
  re-watching this episode and I just noticed something: when Riker is on the bridge telling Wesley and Data about Ms. Troi complimenting the captain about his legs, Data is shown laughing.
  
  I repeat: DATA IS LAUGHING. At this point he doesn't have an emotion chip and Q isn't helping him, so why is this not a big deal to any of the other crew members. I'm guessing Spiner just maybe adlibbed it or something? Still, it's very odd that it's not a big deal, given that one of Data's goals is to learn to laugh.
• From Dstyle on 2013-08-21 at 8:48pm:
  Maybe I missed a similar interaction in the first Lwaxana episode, but I love the moment when she interacts with the ship's computer. Majel Barrett acting opposite Majel Barrett!
• From Arianwen on 2018-07-26 at 1:38pm:
  @John re. Data laughing: in an earlier episode this season Data is shown practicing laughter, so I think this is only continuity. It sounds quite unnatural, too ("Ha ha ha ha!") and you can even see the moment where he goes "ah, this is a place where laughter is socially appropriate".
  
  ...oh god, this is my life now.
• From Azalea Jane on 2021-07-22 at 6:33am:
  Egads, Lwaxana is over the top. This "phase" she's supposedly in doesn't just make her horny; it makes her *stupid.* (Protip to the writers: those are different things!)
  
  Data emotionspotting: do you see how excited he is to get into character and get back on the holodeck? He's like a little kid! It's rather cute.
  
  Those fish-like aliens are fascinating to look at.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-08-19 at 6:03pm:
  - In Riker's future, Troi has left the Enterprise to work at Starfleet command. Was he lying when he tells her, "I can't imagine you ever leaving the Enterprise"? Evidently he could image her leaving, since Riker's thoughts are driving the holographic generators!
  - Troi says Riker will sign the new treaty between the Federation and the Romulan Empire. Riker will sign the treaty? He's just a captain of a starship. Leaders and diplomats sign treaties, not captains.
  - Everyone shows signs of age in the "imperfect future." Everyone, except for Ogawa. She looks unchanged.
  - When the boy takes Riker to his secret hiding place, he pulls out plans that he made of the tunnels. In the long shot, the plans are made out of a transparent plastic. In the close-up, the plans are on a thick white paper (not transparent.)
• From CAlexander on 2011-03-21 at 1:25am:
  I generally liked watching this episode, it was interesting and suspenseful until the ending. The ending itself, however, was quite disappointing. A good plot twist should make the preceding events make perfect sense. But the second plot twist doesn't any sense out of the events before the first plot twist. If the alien boy just wanted a companion, why the convoluted future which seemed to be trying to get Riker to trust the Romulans and betray the location of Outpost 23? It seemed like the writers built up an episode that would require a really clever ending to make sense of, then couldn't think of a clever ending.
• From tigertooth on 2011-05-31 at 12:48am:
  I really liked the double-twist of the ending. To answer CAlexander, perhaps the kid knew that Riker would sense that this wasn't real, so he concocted a double-twist figuring that Riker would see through the first one, but not realize there was a second layer of deception.
  
  Also, it was a kid. Maybe he wasn't the most cunning adversary Riker has ever faced.
• From rwe on 2011-08-17 at 8:14am:
  The only real shortcoming of this episode is the true appearance of the alien at the very end. It is ridiculous. It's like one of the aliens from Close Encounter of the Third Kind, complete with large bug eyes and long, twitchy fingers, but even more ludicrous.
  
  The episode itself was very well done, even though it doesn't really tie into any ongoing arcs or story lines (so it's essentially what the reviewer would call filler).
  
  I like the new look of the uniforms and seeing people in new positions - "Admiral" Picard for instance. The very concept of having the entire star trek TNG universe instantly moved forward 16 years was great (even though fraudulent).
  
  The revelations and plot twists were excellent. Just the first one about it all being a Romulan deception would've been satisfactory, but the writers up the ante and twist it all one more time in the end. Really quite fantastic.
  
  I like the clues about it all being a hologram - how the ship's computer was lagged and how Troi couldn't come up with a fully convincing reason for leaving the Enterprise... I do take some issue with the main clue, the one about Minuet...
  
  ...it's a bit fuzzy how the holographic process (whether it's Ethan doing it, or the equipment itself, or some mixture of the two, it's not clear) could recreate everything and cast the Enterprise crew so perfectly, and yet screw up on Minuet.
  
  But maybe it makes sense, I don't even know. In any case, this is a fun episode.
  
• From Jeff Browning on 2011-09-30 at 11:09pm:
  A couple of issues:
  
  1. At the beginning of the episode, Geordi says he is detecting traces of "organic gases, including nitrous oxide, hydrogen sulfide, and methane". Of these three, only methane is organic. The other two are inorganic.
  
  2. The ability of the alien to scan Riker's thoughts and construct a false reality was only partially explained. The alien shows Riker the devices ( similar to holoemitters ) that allow the alternate reality to be created. But the ability to scan Riker's thoughts is never explained.
• From Jason on 2011-10-14 at 9:02pm:
  Great overall episode, but the last 30 seconds with the reveal of the alien is one of the most unintentionally hilarious things I've ever witnessed.
• From Axel on 2018-06-01 at 2:33am:
  Yes, the alien looked ridiculous, but keep in mind this episode was produced in 1990. People had been watching Spielberg movies for years, and were used to seeing aliens like this. Digital animation was still a long way off, and TV shows with limited budgets usually had to dress up their aliens in costume. I don't really knock this episode much for the true appearance of the alien, although I did laugh as well when I first saw it. Or maybe it was when I heard it speak using its natural voice.
  
  Anyway, the ending is a disappointment but it was an interesting concept and had a fairly gripping plot for about 95% of the episode. The part where Riker first discovers that he's in a fantasy was really well done, and featured some nice continuity with 11001001. I give it a 6.
• From CAlexander on 2019-04-01 at 4:13am:
  I re-watched the episode carefully and realized another factor that makes no sense. If Ethan's goal is to spend more time with Riker, adding the Romulan plot to the fantasy is counter-productive, as it causes Riker to spend more time dealing with the "negotiations" and less time with his "family".
  
  Nevertheless, I do quite enjoy the first 75% of the episode and the whole idea of waking up in the future.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Orion Pimpdaddy on 2006-05-12 at 2:02am:
  Problem:
  In some of the scences where Troi is "flying" you can clearly see strings attached to her butt.
  
• From DSOmo on 2007-08-24 at 11:31pm:
  - When the crew looks for a way to create a massive explosion and escape the rift, no one mentions setting the Brattain to self-destruct. Wouldn't an uncontrolled overload of a warp drive system cause a pretty good bang?
  - When looking for a message to send the aliens, Data scans through the available elements on the Enterprise. One shot shows the elements zipping by, from bottom to top. When Troi spots hydrogen, she tells Data to stop and go back. The next shot shows the elements scrolling slower, but they are still scrolling from bottom to top. It would confuse the hell out of me, going forward or backward through information and having it move in the same direction.
• From Mark McC on 2008-12-30 at 4:42pm:
  At one point we're told the ship doesn't have enough power left to replicate any explosive elements. Maybe if they shut down all those replicators producing synthahol in Ten-Forward they might have had more power and saved themselves the embarassment of a bar-room brawl.
  
  It was convenient that Data decided to visually review the elements available on the offchance that Troi would look over his shoulder and spot something that correlated with her dream. Normally he would have just accessed his memory banks for the information instead of slowly (by his speed) scrolling through them on a terminal.
• From CAlexander on 2011-04-29 at 4:16am:
  The plot of the episode is good in the abstract. But I agree that it progresses rather slowly and without a lot of interesting things happening. And Troi's silly-looking dream sequences are definitely not the high point of the episode.
• From ok@ok.ok on 2011-08-26 at 8:32am:
  This was a fairly decent episode. I like the explanation behind what was happening, and I like how we never actually see the aliens or get a clear shot of their ship... all we get is some indication that they were in the exact same quandary, and could only communicate briefly and indirectly, hoping on a whim that someone will figure out what's needed...
  
  Seeing Data as acting captain was awesome.
  
  Seeing Guinan pull out some crazy plasma rifle from behind the counter was amusing.
  
  As for everyone going more or less insane, well I feel like there were a few missed opportunities here... but at the same time there were some nice subtleties, for instance Crusher trying to tap her com badge and missing the first time (there were a few of these very subtle, easily missed things). Also Wharf being late to a meeting. Things like that which vaguely hint that something just isn't right.
  
  So, maybe not great but certainly not awful, and the premise and explanation hold up and are surprising and interesting enough.
• From Jeff Browning on 2011-09-30 at 8:52pm:
  This episode had two basic problems, in my view:
  
  1. The plot was too simplistic. There just wasn't enough here. Almost all good star trek episodes consist of two story lines woven together. For example, in TNG: Family you have the threads of Picard on Earth with his brother's family, and Worf on the Enterprise with his adoptive parents. (In that episode you even get a bit of a third with Wesley and his father's holorecording.) Another great example is TNG: Galaxy's Child where you have the two threads of the space creature and Geordi's relationship with the holographic Dr. Leah Brahms. In this episode we have just a tiny bit of that with the crew's struggle with lack of REM sleep and Troi's issue with nightmares. But effectively these issues are one and the same. Thus, there is just not enough storyline here to sustain a one hour episode. Effectively, the plot summary becomes:
  
  A. Enterprise gets stuck.
  B. The crew's condition deteriorates.
  C. Trio has bad dreams in which she flies around in a very unflattering outfit.
  D. Repeat steps B and C a truly mind numbing number of times.
  E. Enterprise gets unstuck.
  
  2. The music sucks. Not only was it very consistent ( reinforcing the repetitive nature of the episode itself ), but it consists almost entirely of this depressing dirge. It certainly did not help to improve the episode.
• From Bronn on 2013-11-08 at 1:04am:
  The Troi flying stuff is what really ruined this for me. It's not that I hate every episode in which she's featured, it's just that when she's featured, the writers often had her saying stuff repeatedly, with highest level possible of melodrama. "I have to find you! I have to tell you...!" That was a terrible climax for this episode. Face of the Enemy was a great episode in which she was featured because she wasn't constantly repeating herself, or using a melodramatic delivery.
  
  The funny thing is, that was a beautifully creepy dream sequence if they didn't have her take off flying. The effects were fairly nice-greenish clouds with the moon circling, always in her line of sight. Having her constantly walking through it with that music playing actually WORKS as a nightmarish dream sequence. Having her flying around in that leotard turns it on its head. It's also ridiculous that it took them all the way until season six to realize that they needed to give her a uniform.
• From Axel on 2015-03-24 at 3:28am:
  Great concept for an episode, but poorly executed. This had the makings of a really good Troi moment. Instead of always saying things that are blindingly obvious or telling the captain she senses...something...from some aliens, Troi is the key to solving a dilemma that the ship is facing. It's a situation for which her Betazoid powers are perfectly suited.
  
  Unfortunately, she puts too much drama into the role. There are also scripting problems. Her telepathic dialogue with the other Betazoid and aliens stuck in the rift sounds awkward and child-like.
  
  Overall I like the story for this one. But this is a rare case where the cast's acting just doesn't seem on point. They do this eery sci-fi type of stuff quite well in other episodes, but here it's fumbled.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Pete Miller on 2006-04-15 at 11:10pm:
  This episode just plain sucks, and a 2 is way too generous. First of all, Wesley coming back from Starfleet academy to discover that his mother and everyone else he loves are basically heroin addicts is just ridiculously cruel. What a horrific welcome back episode. Secondly, the Lefler character is so charismatic, beautiful, and just damn likeable and they NEVER bring her back. She had the potential to be one of the best minor characters ever. Thanks Rick.
  
  Thirdly, the premise is stupid. A game is just sooo addictive that everyone on the whole enterprise is seduced by it. I can buy Riker getting addicted, and maybe even Picard (although probably not), but WORF??? No way in hell Worf would ever play the game. For the sake of justification, perhaps Picard ordered him to play it. Either way, it's just stupid beyond reason.
  
  Lastly, no one ever apologizes. Yes, I know that they weren't "themselves", but they seemed to remember what they did. Therefore, the idea that Wesley would leave without so much as an apology from anyone is completely absurd. Then again, this episode is completely absurd, and it pisses me off every time I watch it. The only thing saving it from a zero is that at least it doesn't break canon, and Lefler is a thoroughly enjoyable character.
• From DSOmo on 2007-09-06 at 8:47am:
  - When Riker wants to introduce the game to Troi, he finds her in Ten-Forward. He finds her enjoying a bowl of chocolate ice cream. She proceeds to describe for him the ritual of eating chocolate. Isn't it a little late in the series for new expositional material between Troi and Riker? Riker acts like he's never seen Troi eat a bowl of chocolate ice cream before. She is doing it in Ten-Forward. Obviously this isn't a ritual she observes only in private. This is the fifth season, and Troi and Riker supposedly knew and dated each other before either joined the Enterprise. How could he never have seen this before?
  - Picard tells Riker that Wesley will arrive by shuttle. Yet when Wesley does arrive, he beams in from a science vessel.
  - When Robin tells Wesley he needs to calibrate the sensors manually, he balks. He then tells Robin that the computer must do it. Of course, she proves him wrong by marching over and demonstrating. Has Starfleet Academy ruined Wesley? This is the same guy who turned a tractor beam into a repulser beam in his head when everyone said it was impossible. This is also the guy who helped the engineers reroute power when an alien entity took over the ship. He did both of these things when merely a child, and now that he's in Starfleet Academy he doesn't know how to calibrate a sensor manually?
  - Does it strike anyone else as odd that Picard will play the game but Wesley won't?
  - When Crusher and Worf come looking for Wesley, they find Wesley and Robin on Wesley's bed, simulating the game-playing using mock-ups. Crusher and Worf leave satisfied. Wesley never puts the mock-up on again. Wouldn't it make more sense for him and Robin to continue to wear the game and fake the pleasure?
  - While Wesley prepares to elude the crew, he tells Robin that he programmed a site-to-site transport program. This all makes sense because it would allow Wesley to beam from anywhere to anywhere on the ship. In the actual beaming, Wesley beams from a hallway to a transporter pad! That's not site-to-site, that's normal transport. In fact, because Wesley uses normal transport, Geordi can locate him, telling Picard that Wesley ended up on deck 6.
• From djb on 2008-03-26 at 7:43am:
  For some reason, this is one of my favorite episodes. Probably has something to do with childhood memories.
  
  The premise and ramifications of such a simple brainwashing device are a bit scary. I think they could have made it more believable with a few modifications. Also, it's good to see Wesley back for an ep, but sadly it's yet another installment in the "Wesley and/or Data save the day" vein, of which there have been far too many. Lefler is a great character (and Ashley Judd's looks certainly don't hurt), but it's a shame we don't see that character again. I guess we can add her to the long list of guest stars we'd love to see more of but we never hear from again, of which, there are, again, far too many. (Probably a budget thing.)
  
  That being said, this episode has a lot of good moments. Riker's face when he first gets a hit from the game is great. Wesley flirting with Robin is great, but then again, I'm a romantic. Seeing all the characters brainwashed is a freaky sight! People we know and love and trust week after week, all turned into evil zombies. Contrived, but fun. Watching our cute couple figure out what the "Game" really does, figuring out what's wrong with Data, and pretending to be brainwashed, is fun and entirely believable, given how brilliant both of them are. I also liked the chase scene. It reminded me of The Hunted from season 3.
  
  Data's coming on the bridge and snapping everyone out of it is a pretty badass moment. Even though Data saving the ship (yet again) is an old plot device, it is still believable, and fun to watch.
  
  One little nitpicky thing-- when Worf and Riker force Wesley's eyes open. He blinks, indicating they haven't really got his eyes forced open. That's a pretty difficult thing to do; you pretty much need a speculum if you want to do it without actually touching/hurting the person's eyes (as in "A Clockwork Orange"). But they could at least have used a take where he didn't blink.
  
  I'd have to agree with the problems in plot/execution that others have mentioned; taking all that into account I'd normally give it a 4, but tilt it up to 5 or 6 because... well, I liked it. Flawed in concept, but well-executed, and memorable.
• From Rob UK on 2014-02-03 at 4:47am:
  Sad to say i am also a hater of this episode but no surprise here it is for completely unusual reasons.
  
  Firstly, the potential for drugs(or technology that alters the chemicals of the brain responsible for perception) that alter the mind in sci-fi is phenomenal (just look at farscape), it is totally wasted here with a lackluster effort, the crazy leaps that the viewer must make to understand how each character other than beardy Bill the sex fiend got tricked into playing long enough to get hooked, Bill was getting booty when he got hooked, be honest who hasn't been there in life more times than they care to remember, deviant sexual interest with a big bag of naughty that you promised yourself you were not going to have any of and definitely go to work monday morning?
  
  I think you could call that a sidetrack, anyway where was i?
  
  For me what made this episode the most painful was all the orgasms faces we had to endure as our crew 'score goals' in the game, Dr Krushers were particularly excruciating but i literally thanked the powers that be when we were spared Picard's 'jizzface' when he put the game on just after Wes tried to get a shipwide investigation going, just thank the heavens and the hells that he wasn't very good at it I say. Sadly i was not saved as i have a visceral imagination that has a mind of it's own and as the scene cuts away with Picard looking like he is gonna take a shit with concentration the minds eye continues the scene on until he gets his release, i apologise profusely to anyone reading this who also has a vivid imagination that can run away with itself visually and did with that imagery.
• From Mike on 2016-10-27 at 7:39am:
  I was hoping that the ending of this episode would be Wesley waking up and realizing that this game business was just a horrifying nightmare, as it was for us, the fans. Only in a dream could the entire crew be reduced to worthless imbeciles while Wesley and a young Ashley Judd save the day.
  
  This is the first of two episodes (the other being "Rascals") in which the Enterprise is easily taken over by buffoonery. Not proud moments for the Federation flagship.
• From Keefaz on 2017-01-08 at 12:31am:
  My girlfriend and I are watching through all the TNG on Netflix, and I think this is the first episode we really struggled to sit all the way through. 2 or 3 times we almost turned it off.
  
  It is so bad, and all the creepy close-ups and orgasm faces are painful to watch. The Troi ice-cream scene is especially eye-numbingly terrible. The only saving grace is the cute romance between Wes and Lefler, and you're really clutching at straws when that could be a highlight.
• From ChristopherA on 2019-04-30 at 2:22pm:
  I noticed many of the issues others have complained about with this episode, but I liked it anyway. I thought Wesley and Robin were likeable, the possessed Enterprise crew were creepy, and the episode was exciting to watch. Not my favorite, it does have a lot of issues, but a fine average episode.
• From jeffenator 98 on 2019-09-06 at 5:19pm:
  Law #103 All Wesley saves the ship episodes suck. 2/10
• From Chuck the Canuck on 2023-05-12 at 5:38pm:
  "I'd like to know more about it before I try it," says Wesley. I guess aside from Lefler, none of the 1000+ other people aboard the ship thought of that.
  
  I think the biggest plot hole here is that Crusher and Riker call Geordi to look at Data before they get him addicted to the game. Wouldn't he have done the exact same thing Wesley does later in order to figure out what's wrong with Data? Wesley even says he's one of the experts on Data.
  
  The most entertaining parts of this episode are the looks and sounds people make as they play the game.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Pete Miller on 2006-04-23 at 12:50am:
  I didn't care for this one. I agree that it is absurd. And with all due respect to the writers, it's extremely predictable to the average trek fan. Once I saw the MacDuff character, I thought for a moment that it was some redshirt, but then the three pips on the collar, and the whole plot came into focus.
  
  Also, it's very cheap that Guinan just happens to be absent from this episode. Judging from previous episodes, she would undoubtably know exactly what is going on. But then I guess there would be no episode :)
  
  The one thing I did enjoy was worf and riker kicking that guy's ass at the end.
• From Orion Pimpdaddy on 2006-05-15 at 10:32pm:
  Conundrum is classic Star Trek. The characters get to explore themselves in a way that has never been done. The enemy is powerful, smart, and desperate. There is fun too, as the crew tries to figure out who is in charge.
  
  Unlike other episodes, it is hard to find problems with the science in this one. Everything seems plausible to an extent.
  
  The only down part is that Riker comes across as a male pig. Regardless, this episode is a definite 9.
  
• From Wolfgang on 2006-07-11 at 12:28pm:
  It is unbelievable, that Data loses his memories as well and no single alien aboard the ship could retain its memories.
• From DSOmo on 2007-09-27 at 8:17am:
  After the first encounter with the Lysians, Picard tells MacDuff his doubts about their mission. The fact that the Federation greatly outmatches the Lysians troubles Picard. Then, at the end of the episode, Picard seems to indicate that the Lysians and the Sartaaran have approximately the same level of weapons technology. If the Sartaaran are at that level, how could MacDuff so easily overcome the shields of the Enterprise? The entire episode gives us several hints that the Sartaaran are very powerful. At the end of the show, Riker expresses it best when he says, "With all the power that MacDuff had to alter our brain chemistry and manipulate the computer, it's hard to believe he needed the Enterprise." Very well said!
• From djb on 2008-04-07 at 2:23am:
  My reaction to this episode is twofold.
  
  First, the scifi. It's not the best I've seen, and that's an understatement. Somehow a race who can't muster a photon torpedo can get around a starship's shields and cause its crew to lose their memories? AND falsify the ship's records? AND plant a spy on the ship, perfectly disguised as a human? I don't buy it. I also thought the resolution was rather abrupt; after the climactic scene on the bridge with "MacDuff" going nuts, all of a sudden everything's back to normal! That being said, I did like how MacDuff was introduced: no menacing music or evil glares (as in "Violations". Just another officer on the bridge, with (!) three pips? Hmm. I do like how the erroneous war plot kind of sneaks in on you; first we're just trying to recover from amnesia, then ! Who's this guy MacDuff? The federation is at war??! Slow down!
  
  The other aspect of this episode, which I enjoyed immensely, was the character-driven aspect. As was first explored a bit in "Clues" (which also had some gaping holes in the plot), how do we act when we lose our memory? In this case, every memory of who we are or who others are?
  
  This episode had so many interesting moments: Ro figures out she's the pilot, but I like how Picard doesn't assume command. True to how he acts normally, he accepts authority and wields it well, but doesn't crave it or flaunt it. Here, he doesn't assume authority until the computer tells them he's the captain. Worf, on the other hand, seems to have a desire for leadership, but also a strong sense of duty. He assumes command but immediately relinquishes it when he finds he's in error. He also is loyal to the captain even though MacDuff attempts to play on his warrior sensibilities. I found myself wondering which way he was going to go, which is consistent with his character. It turns out Riker and Ro have some attraction for each other under the "battle of wills" facade! Troi's "emotional memory" of her relationship with Riker is fitting, and the drastic difference in how she and Ro approach Riker is quite interesting. Poor Riker feels like an idiot at the end: Ro is amused, and Troi is pissed off (Sirtis plays that "pissed-off smile" extremely well), and it will always be the elephant in the room when the three of them are around each other again.
  
  I can't help but wonder what I would do in such a situation; it would surely give me some insight as to what parts of my personality are more conditioned and happen naturally, without the aid of previous memories; and what parts are learned and kept in place by memories. Ideally, of course, the more desirable traits I try to engender in myself eventually become rote and would survive amnesia, but it's impossible to accurately tell unless amnesia or something like it actually occurs.
  
  So, good character development, so-so scifi. I think the basic premise, mass amnesia, is plausible, so it's somewhat redeemed by that. I'd give it a 5 or 6.
• From JRPoole on 2008-08-06 at 3:06pm:
  Uggh. There are some redeeming points here. The Riker/Ro/Troi stuff is funny, Data's turn at bartending was cool, and the silent reactions of the bridge crew finally learning their names and ranks is well-acted and in character for everyone.
  
  This is yet another episode in which Riker is revealed to be the complete douchebag that he really is.
• From 2 Of 14 on 2008-08-21 at 4:48pm:
  Addressing the criticism that MacDuff could just have made himself captain, he might have thought it would look a bit silly having such a young person in command whilst the much older Picard was a lesser rank. More importantly, he would need to have removed Picard’s uniform or removed a circle from Picard’s collar to make it look convincing. As nobody was unconscious during the memory loss, this was not possible.
  
  
• From mem@who on 2011-09-19 at 4:13am:
  Wow, I was surprised to see how low the reviewer scored this episode, but not surprised by the high fan rating.
  
  I think the episode explores an interesting concept and does a fairly good job, with plenty of good humor, as mentioned. It's interesting how different some of the interpersonal dynamics were simply because of a different context - no established history, no prejudices, and only vague, tentative acceptance of rank and status. An interesting study, from a psychological/philosophical perspective.
  
  On the other hand, the whole thing is definitely full of absurd elements. That the alien didn't make himself captain is the first and most serious, as the reviewer mentioned. The problems with Data are another. Besides losing at chess, which certainly raised an eyebrow, Data's probability calculations should've probably deduced exactly what the heck was going on. Everyone started getting suspicious when it was revealed just how selective the memory loss and computer failures were. Data should've been much more than suspicious - he should've presented the Captain with the low probabilities of this being a random bi-product of an alien attack, versus the high probability that they were being intentionally manipulated.
  
  At this point it would've been reasonable to "break radio silence" and contact Starfleet, especially given the low level of resistance they encountered and the lack of any credible threat.
  
  Those are the main flaws, and they are pretty serious.
  
  I think it would've also been interesting to see the hidden desires of some of the other crew members. Ro Laren and Riker had a steamy affair. Data mused about belonging to a race and culture of artificial lifeforms. Troi pursued Riker. Wolf tried to assume command. Those were all interesting to watch. What about Geordi, Picard, Crusher...O'Brien? Would've been cool to see them act differently or express some latent desires.
  
  So, not without its faults, some serious, but with plenty of redeeming elements. I'd give it like a 6 or 7, which is about the fan average.
• From philthy animal on 2011-10-17 at 11:03pm:
  I really like this episode. There's some great character stuff in there that was allowed to be ecplored in a unique way due to the circumstances of the premise; for instance, Picard maintaining an air of quiet authority even as he seems to relinquish control to Worf. It's very true to his character in general and the point that the probe leaves the abiity to discharge one's duties in tact. In Picard's case, his leadership qualities.
  
  Also the chemistry between Riker and Ro once their mutual animosity was removed was enjoyable to watch. And let's face it, we can all diss Riker as much as we like but who can honestly say they wouldn't relish two highly attractive women competing for their attention? Plus it's pretty well established if not ever directly stated, that Trek takes place in a future of great sexual liberation, free of the stigma of 'pigs' and 'sluts'.
  
  Finally, and at the risk of being labelled a male pig, it would take a far better man than me to resist Ro's offer of a sleepless night...
• From Daniel on 2014-01-27 at 6:28pm:
  First of all, to address your statement that Data could not lose at chess - to Troi - that is explained correctly by Troi when she says "chess isn't just a game of ploys and gambits, it's a game of intuition." As an empathic Betazoid, Troi must have a highly evolved intuition, whereas Data has not mastered human intuition. While I like the premise of placing the crew in a crisis situation after being stripped of their identities and memory to see how they might respond, I see a certain flaw in the story logic - aside from the many flaws already pointed out by other comments herein. The problem I see in this episode is the opening set-up; first, the green scanning beam affects Data, but not Troi or anyone else in Ten Forward. Troi can clearly see the scan and its effect, therefore, she should have immediately warned Picard. Then, another green scan sweeps over the whole bridge crew, and only then does Commander MacDuff appear on the bridge. Even if the ship's computer was affected by the scan, where it had no "voice interface", it still had the necessary data to manage all shipboard operations. Therefore, wouldn't the ship's computer have immediately recognized the presence of an alien crew member (MacDuff) and report it with some kind of warning? Even so, we know that, at least, Troi was not scanned or affected immediately. Perhaps, she could have warned the others of this scan, and she might have known MacDuff was not human (with her empathic abilities). But, the storyline dismissed her (and Data) from the rest of the story, focusing instead on only the bridge crew. If the computer could not display crew information, how did Worf (after assuming command) know to address Dr. Crusher as "doctor" when she came onto the bridge from the turbo lift the first time? Then, there's the whole premise of MacDuff... As pointed out in another comment here, it does tend to bring about the old premise that the crew member in the red suit is the one to die or be the alien. So, it was no surprise to any viewer that MacDuff was out of place... Especially if you noticed that his appearance on the bridge only occurs after the scan. It may have been a better episode if they had instead used a regular crew member and made the alien presence take over that crew member, similar to the episode in which the Romulans reprogram Geordi to act as an assassin, or in any other episode when an alien presence possesses the mind and body of a crew member. Though alien possession of a crew member has been done many times in Star Trek stories, it is a premise that works well, if written well. The trick is not to use a new and never-seen-before crew member... And not have that new crew member actually be the alien.
• From Kethinov on 2014-01-28 at 11:45pm:
  Chess isn't about intuition. It's about math. That's why computers are now capable of defeating even the best chess players in the world. Data shouldn't be able to lose to Troi, period.
• From Axel on 2015-03-29 at 5:14pm:
  I don't think it's that implausible the Sartaarans would be so advanced in manipulating brain chemistry but lack the technology to make a powerful starship. Technology is driven by a lot of factors. The Inca built one of the most advanced systems of agriculture in world history, but never came to invent the wheel. We think of the wheel as a simple invention, but the Inca simply never had the need for it to the extent others did. The medieval Japanese first acquired and then later abandoned gunpowder because it just didn't take hold. There are all kinds of reasons why a society might have huge gaps in levels of technology. This TNG episode is a bit of a stretch but I don't think it makes the episode unbelievable.
  
  The premise still made for an exciting plot, and some humor thrown in as well. The main problem was the addition of another senior officer, which did make things a little obvious. I agree it would've been more interesting to see what would've happened if he made himself captain.
• From ChristopherA on 2020-01-15 at 6:27am:
  I quite like this episode, I like the concept of losing your memory and being told you are on a mission to kill enemies you can’t even remember having any reason to fight. The setup is a little hard to believe but the exploration of the concept is cool.
  
  I may be biased, though, as I was quite lucky in the way I first watched this episode. By some fluke, this was the first episode I watched after having skipped many previous episodes, so I actually wasn’t sure whether MacDuff was a real crewmember or not, which added a lot to the mystery.
  
• From Ensign Ro bummer on 2021-08-08 at 3:25pm:
  Was the space station at the end the guardian of the Edo?
  
  The Ro-Riker thing was not surprising, he likes strong women who take what they want! The only one he ever turned down was that submissive servant girl.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-10-02 at 6:42am:
  At the beginning of the episode, Clara states that Isabella has pierced ears. When Isabella materializes, her appearance exactly matches Clara's description, except Isabella doesn't have pierced ears.
• From djb on 2008-04-20 at 12:03am:
  This episode was largely a waste, except for a couple things:
  
  Data says the "clouds" look distinctly like a bunny rabbit!
  
  The girl who plays "Isabella" is delightfully freaky. She gives me the creeps!
• From curt on 2010-04-07 at 8:57pm:
  DSOmo is that supposed to a plothole or something? Everything you identify as a problem is so ridiculously unimportant or not a plothole at all. You say it as if you've uncovered something amazing, and crucial to the episode.
• From CAlexander on 2011-03-26 at 4:43am:
  The only part of this episode I liked was the end, where Picard figures out how to pacify the aliens and makes his little speech. I thought the idea of aliens judging humanity through children could have been the plot of an interesting episode." But not this episode, which was more of a children's story about how an evil ghost, who grownups don't believe in, gets you into trouble.
• From Bronn on 2012-12-01 at 7:21am:
  Actually think there's some unintended hilarity in this. We know how Picard hates children (though this comes after episodes like "Disaster" where he starts dealing with them more prevalently).
  
  When he hails Worf over the comm, asking for security to be on the lookout for a dangerous alien masquerading as an 11 year old blond girl, Worf seems to take it completely in stride. I had to laugh and imagine that it's not the first time that the Captain has asked for security to detain children that he didn't want to deal with.
• From Mike on 2017-04-23 at 7:13pm:
  Well, hopefully Clara doesn't need too much therapy after this. I'm sure Ensign Sutter is happy that psychological treatment is free on a 24th Century Federation starship.
  
  I'd put this one at about a 3. It suffers from the same problem as several of the more mediocre Trek episodes. The crew encounters an intriguing new phenomenon, alien, or problem of some kind which takes up about 45 minutes of the episode. It reaches the denouement and tries to wrap it all up in about 3-5 minutes, usually poorly. I liked Picard's confrontation with "Isabella" but it would've been nice to learn a little more about these life forms rather than spending so much time on Clara's imaginary friend issue. I get it, though. TNG did try at times to cater to the younger age group, so they occasionally have these messages directed toward kids. That's the only explanation I could come up with for why we have multiple scenes where Guinan talks about her own imaginary friend.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Bernard on 2009-12-03 at 10:28pm:
  Two moments of sheer genius in this episode, otherwise it is atrocious.
  
  The first is Nog's practical joke involving the bucket...
  
  The second is the knife fight involving Bashir, O'Brien and the bajoran! Watch it again, it's like something from Naked Gun!
  
  What I love about the relationship between Bashir and O'Brien at this point in the series is that they are written to be idiots. O'Brien is outrageously rude to Bashir in this episode whilst Bashir is so self important up to this point. That's where DS9 is such an improvement on TNG, the characters are flawed and therefore seem more real and you can relate to them.
• From John on 2011-12-06 at 2:26pm:
  One question kept nagging at me the whole time I was watching this episode: How can the Bajorans possibly have a 10,000-year-old, warp-capable civilization when their people are this stupid?
  
  Sadly, we will see numerous other instances of stupid, easily-led Bajorans throughout the series, so this aspect of the show never really improves.
• From Abigail on 2019-08-29 at 10:27pm:
  This one was pretty absurd. The idea of inventing a monster to fight every so often - which only one person knows is not actually a real monster - in order to bring people together is .... questionable. If nothing else, surely the townspeople would figure out it was all a hoax at some point??

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From L on 2013-04-27 at 10:02am:
  Did they ever show or explain the probe that Geordi was virtually operating? Was it a humanoid robot? Remote contolled mecha? Ball of energy?
• From OmicronThetaDeltaPhi on 2013-05-14 at 1:44pm:
  It's a metallic probe in the shape of a cylinder, about 3 feet high and one foot in diameter. We know, because there is a scene in the episode where Geordi sees "his" reflection while using the interface, and it is actually the probe shown in the reflection. Geordi then jokes about it and says "I'm seeing my reflection in a panel. I forgot what a handsome guy I am". :-)
• From Daniel on 2014-01-11 at 11:40am:
  An interesting side note: Ben Vareen plays Geordi's father in this episode. And Levar Burton (Geordi) played young Kunta Kinte, the father of Chicken George (played by Ben Vareen) in Roots.
• From Doug on 2016-08-30 at 3:51pm:
  Actually, Ben Vereen played Kunta's grandson in "Roots". however, Madge Sinclair (who played Geordi's mother) was also in "Roots". She was Bell, the wife of older Kunta (played by John Amos).
• From ChristopherA on 2019-04-30 at 8:59pm:
  I agree that this episode is annoying. The idea of exploring with the probe was neat, but instead of focusing the episode on the mystery of the alien messages, which could have made a good episode, instead it made the crew more obtuse than usual to create conflict, so it could focus on that. It isn't the worst episode but it isn't that great.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From EKH on 2007-04-29 at 4:15pm:
  The gravity in the scene in Melora's quarters were inconsistent, too, switching between low gravity and no gravity at least once.
• From djb on 2009-01-06 at 1:46am:
  I have to disagree with your review, dear Kethinov. I loved this episode! It definitely had its flaws, which I'll go into later, but first I'll say why I liked it.
  
  This was obviously an episode that wanted to deal with "disability" issues. Melora is predictably rough around the edges and fiercely independent, and very walled off. Bashir's ability to worm his way in through her defenses was beautifully written and acted, and we see behind Melora's rather off-putting exterior is a vulnerable person who's rather insecure about her qualifications. It's actually great character development for Bashir.
  
  I also liked that they pulled off a low-gravity scene. It's the first I've really seen since Star Trek VI (I may be wrong), and you'd think you'd see more of them, seeing as how most of the gravity we see in Star Trek is artificial. Of course, this is a budget issue. If, every time an away team boarded some disabled ship or derelict, they had to be weightless, as would be most realistic, the budget would go through the roof. Oh well.
  
  Anyway, it's nice to see Bashir turn his attention away from Dax for a little bit! It was also nice and realistic to see a hostile alien follow through on his threat to kill a hostage (even though she didn't die). I also liked how she saved the day, and how an analogy to an ancient earth story got her to reconsider undergoing those treatments.
  
  Now to the faults: As Kethinov pointed out, Melora's appearance is rather unrealistic. A planet with such low gravity would have to be extremely small (smaller than our moon), and would probably hold next to no atmosphere, which would probably make any species living on such a planet A) very tall, and B) able to live on very little air. Melora would probably find the atmospheric pressure on DS9 unbearably high. Maybe her species migrated from some other planet and hadn't evolved past its original humanoid appearance; who knows.
  
  They could have done it some other way; they could have made her born with some genetic muscular defect that required her to live and grow up in a low-gravity environment, but Star Trek, despite its many strengths, has always required a bit of suspension of disbelief. Some more than others.
  
  The other flaw is one not intrinsic to the episode, but another unfortunate theme in Star Trek: we never hear from Melora again. The theme of exploring a romantic interest in an episode only to have it forgotten in the next isn't new (see TNG: Lessons, The Game, etc.), and it's rather irritating! Oh well. I still liked this episode a lot.
  
  
• From Bernard on 2010-06-15 at 10:41pm:
  Solid episode. Great to see Bashir getting some nice character development, also great to see another strong female character in DS9. DS9 was particularly good at independent women but Melora is fantastically prickly, driven and stubborn. Quite similar to Ensign Ro in her first appearance actually, but I have to agree with djb that it is such a shame that we never see her again.
  
  On the down side slightly obvious plot developments lets the rating of this episode slide. I'd give it a 5 or 6.
  
  Again, suspension of disbelief is an absolute requirement when watching Star Trek. I always feel that, as long as they don't break too many of their own rules, then I'm happy with it. If you get too upset by the science of Star Trek then you'll have to switch off every time they use the transporter surely?
• From John on 2012-03-29 at 3:28am:
  While I don't always agree with our host on episode ratings, I completely concur with the 2/10 rating on this one, as well as the reason for such a rating.
  
  The character of Melora is quite irritating, and Bashir, with his constant professions of awe about her gets old pretty quick too.
  
  The high point of the entire episode for me is the Klingon chef -- I wish they had featured him, if not prominently, then more regularly in the later seasons. As it is I don't think they even gave him a name.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Pete Miller on 2006-06-01 at 6:24am:
  So how exactly does the universal translator work? I realize that it's just an easy way for them to all speak english on the show, but is there any science at all behind it? Does it just immediately interpret the person's language, and then rebroadcast it in english to Sisko or whoever, and also make their lips appear to be moving with the english words??? This is a rare instance of me siding with Star Wars over Star Trek. In Star Wars they simply have the language 'galactic basic'. If you're civilized, you speak it. Much easier to explain.
  
  This makes me wonder: So every time the romulans speak to someone in the federation, are they really speaking romulan? And when does the universal translator know when to allow it to stay in their own language, like when the Klingons have certain ceremonies in their native tongue. How does it know not to just translate it for everyone else? This, to me, is a ridiculous device that we have to put up with because of the original Star Trek's limited budget. George Lucas learned from Gene Roddenberry's errors on this one. But Star Trek is still waaaaay better than Star Wars :)
• From JRPoole on 2008-12-10 at 3:23pm:
  Ditto the comment above. I've always sort of assumed that the UT rebroadcasts speech in real-time, presumably through the comm badges, a step we thankfully don't have to sit through every time. It's sort of clunky when Haneek begins actually speaking English (whoops, of course I mean Standard) words.
  
  A decent, if flawed, episode altogether, though.
• From Bernard on 2010-10-17 at 10:53am:
  I enjoyed an explanation for the universal translator, further explanation will come in episode 'Little Green Men' of course.
  
  This episodes falls down at the point when the Skreeans lose the viewers sympathy as Eric already pointed out. Otherwise I'm sure it could have scored more highly as, like the last episode, it was fairly original.
• From Tallifer on 2011-03-19 at 5:45am:
  The most unrealistic part of this story is that they can find an empty, freely available and hospitable planet nearby. With all the countless races and cultures in this quadrant, with all the sexual fecundity of those races, with all the military, commercial or imperial ambitions of these races: how could a perfectly good planet remain unclaimed and unsettled?
  
  (Which brings us to another perennial problem with Star Trek: the overabundance of habitable worlds.)
• From Jeff Browning on 2011-10-19 at 6:30pm:
  This comment affects many episodes where Bajor and its situation are discussed, including this one.
  
  In this episode and many others we are told that Bajor is devastated, its citizens are starving, and so forth. I have been privileged to travel the world and have seen many areas where poverty, starvation, and disease prevail.
  
  Whenever we see an image of Bajor, we see none of this: We see prosperous, well fed, well dressed, clean, healthy Bajorans in idyllic, beautiful surroundings. The Bajorans who show up on DS9 are similarly prosperous looking. I am left to wonder: Where is all the devastation folks keep talking about? Where are the naked, starving, filthy, diseased children I have seen in places like India, China, Africa, and Latin America?
  
  It's kind of like the DS9 writers and editors did not have the stomach for it. They did not believe that their viewers could withstand a realistic depiction of a devastated society. Certainly, there is no indication within the frames of DS9 that this is the state of Bajor, at least from what we are allowed to see.
• From Selador on 2013-01-20 at 9:51pm:
  The scene directly after the one where the terrible famine on Bajor is mentioned we see Skreeans queuing up to use a replicator. Ridiculous.
  
  This episode also is a good example of why the universal translator is such a flawed idea.
• From Axel on 2015-06-24 at 3:22am:
  Some interesting comments on this episode.
  
  In response to Tallifer, I don't think it's unrealistic for a planet like Draylon II to be available. The Kepler spacecraft recently searched a tiny total portion of the sky for planets. If there were 8 Earth-like candidates found out of 1,000 identified planets and 150,000 stars, that extrapolates out to billions of potentially habitable planets orbiting their stars in this galaxy even by a pessimistic estimate. This is also why I've never been *that* annoyed by Star Trek's "alien of the week" stuff, although it's always nice when they actually develop an alien race over the series.
  
  As for the Bajorans not being shown living in squalor all the time, I guess I disagree here too. There are quite a few people in places like India and Latin America living in material comfort despite poverty and famine there. Or take post-WW2 Germany. Its cities bombed and in ruins, people broke and often starving, and itself under military occupation. It certainly rebounded quickly, at least in West Germany. Bajor has probably had significant help from the Federation and maybe others in rebuilding, too.
  
  All that said, the Skrreans were crappy guests/refugees. Haneek probably felt under the gun to find the Kentanna planet for her people, which is understandable. But I like how in the meeting with the Bajorans, Sisko keeps on throwing out Draylon II. The Skrreans *never* come up with a good reason to reject it, and their insistence on Bajor makes no sense at all.
  
  A decent episode with some nice moments, but that's about it.
• From Harrison on 2015-07-18 at 12:58am:
  I'm genuinely surprised the reviews for this episode are so poor. Of course it is easy to dislike the Skreeans -- they were not intended to be completely lovable characters, with their flaky skin, their ingratitude, and their inconvenient needs & beliefs -- doesn't reflect badly at all on the writing or acting, both of which I think are excellent.
  
  In truth I found the episode refreshing, and pleased that the writers found the courage to depart from the politically correct.
• From Andy Mu;oz on 2018-08-29 at 12:36am:
  As Peter said, this is an unusual episode. Me as a non trekkie, this is a weird episode. Showing how a relationship between collegues, not even friends, could meant a lot, a huge lot, becouse you are tied with an idealogy (of justice) instead good or bad, its huge in itself for television.
  And this early in the series. My friend, a trekkie begs me to wait to season 3, but Im already an adept. And this is like that like in a lot of episode from this season. As people told me, Im awaiting for the best to come

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From JRPoole on 2008-10-30 at 7:03pm:
  Ughh. Ferengi are almost always terribly executed on TNG. Ughh. Picard's son turns out not to be. Ughh. How the hell did Bok a) find out about a two-week affair of Picard's from a quarter century ago, b) find the kid, c) manipulate his genes without his knowing about it, and d) know the Enterprise would be near Caymore in the first place. On top of all this, we have an interesting idea for a planet--a colony in collapse following the Cardassian war--and we never even set foot on it.
  
  Science alert: if you change someone's genes, the cells will be different when they reproduce. In a few cell cycles, you'd have a completely different person.
  
  This is terrible. Utterly, utterly, unwatchably terrible. The son is a complete douche, and not in an interesting way. His acting is terrible, he's badly written, and his reaction to being transported unexpectedly is completely unbelievable. The first episode with Bok wasn't that great in the first place, so it's not the best episode to return to here. I can't believe this is one of the pentultimate TNG episodes. I vaguely remembered it from the first run, and I figured it was lost in the middle of the series somewhere, not featured prominently at the end.
• From John Smith on 2011-10-23 at 4:28pm:
  Not a very good episode by any means but it does contain one of my favorite scenes in all of TNG: someone finally telling the ever presumptuous Troi to buzz off. She has never met this person before but she, unsolicited, takes it upon herself to see if he wants to open up her about his whole life. His response was quite appropriate and refreshing in that the always sanctimonious Troi was put in her place.
• From Shani on 2014-12-16 at 9:47am:
  From memory alpha: "Sagan noted that the original premise ("Fugue") was a lot darker than the aired episode. "The idea was that Bok had genetically engineered this kid from birth and advanced his growth and had been giving him memories of Picard abandoning him on the Stargazer. Then Bok was using one of the mind balls to give Picard these vague flashes of false memories, making him think that it was possible he had this sort of fugue-like experience where he basically abandoned his son on the Stargazer and blocked it out of his mind. I don't know if it would have ever worked or not, but it was kind of a really interesting, dark aspect and it gave you a sense of abandonment and trying to recapture this sense of a son he never had. Then it turns out that it's not that at all." (Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages)"
  
  Why did they not make that episode? That would have actually been brilliant and interesting to watch. I can see them trying to argue that it would be too dark for TNG but it would have been brilliant
• From tigertooth on 2017-02-11 at 3:04am:
  The first question Picard would have asked was "Why is Bok warning me about the fact that he's going after my son? Why wouldn't he get my son first?" The warning was the obvious signal that this was Bok's trap. Completely ridiculous that Picard and crew fell for it.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Matt on 2008-03-19 at 11:14pm:
  This episode is a tribute to the musical "Brigadoon". Which might help to explain the way Dax acts. Much of the main plot points are similar. Also, like the original play, it kinda sucks.
• From JRPoole on 2009-01-14 at 2:33am:
  The A plot love story is one of the most embarrassingly bad moments in all of Trek, and that's saying something. The dialogue is lame,and Jadzia's decision is ridiculous and way out of character, as is Sisko's reaction, though Avery Brooks acts it well.
  
  The B plot is uproariously funny, if a bit cheap. It's the only thing this episode has going for it, so I gave it a 1 just for that.
• From djb on 2009-05-01 at 6:31am:
  I agree, Dax's behavior in this episode is way out of character. After 7 lifetimes, anyone is going to be smart enough not to confuse infatuation with love. All Jadzia and her new boyfriend have is infatuation; they know practically nothing about each other, what to speak of them being different species. And she's ready to leave everything and everyone she knows behind on a whim? Silly.
  
  I like it when different plots in a single episode somehow tie together or are related; unfortunately plot A and plot B had nothing to do with each other, even though plot b was indeed rather humorous.
• From rpeh on 2010-07-29 at 9:38am:
  This episode is so crammed with technobabble it's almost leaking at the seams. Intersecting dimensions, singularities in the quantum matrix.... give me strength! It didn't help that I kept thinking of Deral as the bible-thumping Vice-Presidential candidate from the West Wing.
  
  The B-plot is funny, though, and the end scene just priceless!

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From djb on 2009-06-23 at 4:42am:
  What the hell is wrong with Janeway? She acts absolutely devastated that (Oh my god!) some of her crew members would actually *gasp* violate the laws of a society to get a paltry 40 THOUSAND light years closer to home! As if she'd rather be marooned in the Detla Quadrant than break someone's rule.
  
  Uh, what? When you're stuck 70 years' worth distance from home, the rules change a little. The Prime Directive isn't quite so prime. I understand non-interference, of course; but harmlessly breaking one of this planet's laws, not hurting anyone and not causing any long-term damage, is worth even getting a thousand light years closer, what to speak of forty thousand. She seems to be worse than Picard in this way!
  
  Oh well.
• From Jem Hadar on 2009-06-30 at 2:02am:
  I gotta go with djb on this one. This is a fairly good episode, but Janeway should have just gone with the literature in the first place.
• From Keith WP on 2012-05-08 at 2:55pm:
  This episode is when I first noticed how inconsistent Janeway is with the Prime Directive...one episode she is harping on it like a banshee, and the next she is completely wiping her ass with it.
• From Peremensoe on 2012-07-19 at 1:37pm:
  There is no Prime Directive issue in this episode. It's just a matter of whether to violate the Sikarians' own law.
• From Psycroptic on 2012-07-29 at 8:14pm:
  Not really impressed with the aliens in Voyager so far, they all seem to be exactly like humans or not very creative. The plots have been pretty repetitive as well but the first few seasons of most trek is pretty lackluster so I guess I'll wait and see.
• From rpeh on 2015-01-18 at 6:50pm:
  "It looks like most of these asteroids support class M atmospheres".
  
  No they don't. For comparison, the planet Mars doesn't support a breathable atmosphere. There is absolutely no way an asteroid has such an atmosphere.
• From Kethinov on 2015-01-18 at 8:17pm:
  It's not completely impossible. If the asteroids have a super dense core, they could possibly exert enough gravity to retain a significant atmosphere. Pretty far fetched, but definitely not in "absolutely no way" territory.
• From Jens-Ivar seland on 2015-06-13 at 4:55pm:
  The platform uses the principle of folding space. Janeway says this has been theorized, but noone has been able to develop the technology. She must have forgotten that they use warp speed :)

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Kyle on 2015-05-19 at 4:56pm:
  Actually, bio-memetic gel, was mentioned before in the TNG episode Firstborn.
  It didn't seem to be tightly controlled then as Riker used 1/2 gram of it to trade for some ore from a Yridian.
• From Azalea Jane on 2021-12-12 at 4:32pm:
  Hey, it's "Remember Me" but this time it's for Dr. Bashir instead of Dr. Crusher, and half as interesting!
  
  I do like the exchange at the end, when Garak essentially commends Bashir for continuing not to trust him.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Frogshortening on 2006-08-25 at 11:11pm:
  2?? I fail to see how an episode featuring the line "Get the cheese to sick bay", could be so low rated! That is my personal motto!!!
• From Mark McC on 2009-05-22 at 7:41pm:
  I've just started watching Voyager and was surprised when the short first season ended here. I was expecting a grand cliffhanger, possibly with the Vidiians or the Kazon. Instead, Voyager comes under attack from ... cheese!? That premise could have made for an excellent Tribble-style comedy episode season one of a new Star Trek deserves something better.
  
  I actually had to check the DVDs to make sure I'd watched them in the right order. With the disgruntled Maquis and lack of any real main plot this seems better suited as an early filler episode than a season finale.
  
  The episode featuring the tiny wormhole with the excellently-acted Romulan on the other side would have been a much better closer than this.
• From spline on 2013-10-30 at 8:34am:
  Hehe... I remember at the time, even JMS (the creator of Babylon 5) complaining in frustration (was on usenet, rast.b5.moderated), while trying to get B5 renewed for another year and seeing this episode about an "alien cheese virus" somehow get made...
  
  Thankfully things get better... eventually.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From rpeh on 2010-07-30 at 6:12pm:
  The overreaction to this episode speaks volumes about Trek fandom. It's okay for Kirk, Riker et al to snog their way around the galaxy, but show one brief kiss between two women - who *first* became attracted when they were different genders - and the whole world collapses.
  
  It's true that the episode isn't particularly interesting, but judge it on its own merits, not on prejudice.
• From Jeff Browning on 2011-11-02 at 1:06am:
  The other joined trill in the romantic relationship with Jadsia was Dr. Lenara Kahn. This character was played by Susanna Thompson who played the Borg Queen in four Voyager episodes: Voy: Unimatrix Zero Parts 1 and 2, and Voy: Dark Frontier Parts 1 and 2. Interestingly, she did not play the Borg Queen in ST: First Contact, the only other Star Trek title that includes the Borg Queen. In First Contact, the Borg Queen was played by Alice Krige. Personally, I thought that Susanna Thompson did a better job.
  
  I agree with the comment that this episode does not deserve to be rated as low as a 2. There was some pretty good stuff here. Certainly, Jadsia's heroics were entertaining. There was some decent acting. The onscreen kiss was provocative and actually kind of hot.
  
  But our reviewer is correct that this is not up to the best that DS9 can offer. The main issue was that is was rather slow. I got tired of seeing the two joined trills incessantly doing their thing. They were so boring! I actually related to Bashir in Quarks when he got so bored.
  
  Certainly, it is nowhere near other episodes in season 4 such as DS9: The Visitor (which I would say is the best single Star Trek episode ever). Or even DS9: Hippocratic Oath which was also completely terrific.
  
  I gave it a 4 personally.
• From Psycroptic on 2012-03-28 at 7:48pm:
  The kiss? Disturbing? Definitely not the word I'd use for it.
  
  All in all a pretty dull episode though.
• From hugo on 2012-04-05 at 7:38am:
  I found this a decent episode. Good acting from dr Khan and good chemistry with her and Jadzia.
  
  But - why couldn't they just beam her out from engineering... ?
• From Azalea Jane on 2021-12-24 at 9:11pm:
  The reason I love this episode is not as much because we get Trek's first same-gender kiss, but more because literally nobody in the entire episode brings up their genders as a Thing. The taboo in-show is reassociation. As a lesbian, I love seeing a sapphic love story where it's treated just like any straight love story. This ep could have been basically the same if Lenara or Dax were a man. And that's pretty much the goal of LGBTQ+ activism: that normal variations in human(oid) sexuality and gender identity are treated as that: normal. Kind of how some people are left-handed or hate cilantro. It's just one of many value-neutral facts about them.
  
  And honestly, the scenes between Jadzia and Lenara were wonderful for me. Their kiss was amazing to watch. The actors nailed it, IMO. I totally don't blame anyone else if they're not excited about it, but for me, even in 2021, seeing a WLW love story where their gayness is treated as 100% normal in-universe is still quite refreshing. Also, this episode establishes Jadzia as canonically not-straight. Take that, Rick Berman! :D Note: Roddenberry wanted a gay character on TNG, but Berman blocked it until Gene's death. Berman continued to block gay characters throughout the rest of the series he produced, so the writers and cast had to sneak it in. Garak and Bashir, for example, are _definitely_ gay (or bi, as the case may be) for each other, the actors intended it that way, but they couldn't state it outright.
  
  I tend to agree that the in-universe taboo against reassociation is absurd, but I think that may be part of the point. The real-world taboo is homosexuality, which WILL get you exiled or killed in certain parts of the world, including here in the US. (The number of homeless LGBT teens kicked out by their bigoted parents is utterly sickening. And those are the ones that don't die by suicide. Lawmakers are trying to pass anti-trans bills as I type.) Sisko rightly points out that, regardless of the morality of the situation, there will be a cost to Jadzia being in the relationship she wants. And for many gay people, that is all too often intimately, depressingly true. I can't blame Jadzia for being willing to face the cost. And I can't blame Lenara for being unwilling, either. When faced with severe, irrational societal pressures against us being true to ourselves, we cope how we cope.
  
  My little quibble here is not with this episode, per se, but it's this tendency for Dax to make these rather impulsive decisions around romance. This might not have bothered me if Meridian had never aired -- where Dax is ready to throw everything away to go join Brigadoon In Space -- but here her willingness to face exile and the deaths of two symbionts is less convincing because of that episode. I tend to agree with Lenara on this. Jadzia loves hard, and she WILL love again. Surely Lenara will too. I did appreciate the explanation for Jadzia's impulsivity, though: Curzon. This is especially insightful given us just having seen "Facets" and getting to know Curzon (albeit fused with Odo) in the flesh. Of all the characters we barely see, Curzon is one of the most interesting. I enjoyed the scene where Sisko speaks his mind but then says he'll be loyal to Jadzia whatever she ends up doing.
  
  I also wondered about the transporter thing. They could have easily waved it off with a bit of technobabble like "there's a subspace field that would scatter a transporter signal" or something. The transporter only works when it serves the plot!
  
  Side note: I said "I can't tell if Worf is messing with us" right before Kira said the same thing! ????

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Freddie Katz on 2015-03-10 at 8:41am:
  Not only a rehash of other Voyager episodes, but a a rehash of what has now become a running Start Trek joke; the chief medical officer ordering the captain to take a vacation due to overwork and high stress levels. We had "Shore Leave" on TOS, and "Captain's Holiday" on TNG...I believe that Deep Space 9 was spared.
• From Damien Bradley on 2017-01-06 at 8:48pm:
  At first I was going to complain that it all came down to some mysterious alien trolling the crew for funsies. What? But then I remembered that that's pretty much all Q does in TNG. :)
  
  I do like how Kes' character is being developed. She has powers not shared by the others, and in this episode she was forced to rise up and save the day. I like how, while at first, she was just kind of the "emotional relief" of the ship -- the warm, caring (not to mention attractive) person anyone can talk to, clearly she isn't just that, and she's becoming much more. Again I'm curious if other Ocampa share her telepathic abilities, or if she's exceptional in some way. This is the farthest I've gotten in Voyager so far, so no spoilers please!

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Nicholas Donaghy on 2008-02-26 at 5:27am:
  I'm surprised you only briefly refer to the acting in this episode. I found the plot quite "meager", as you suggest, but the performance of Joel Grey was simply stunning. It's a great coup for Voyager to get an Academy Award winner, and his performance was heartbreaking.
• From plus on 2011-08-25 at 8:09pm:
  I agree with the other commentator, the excellent acting, including the touching moment at the end, give this episode extra points. Plus the plot really isn't that bad... nothing terribly original, I admit, but decent, believable... This really belongs in 5/6 territory.
• From thaibites on 2013-10-27 at 11:59pm:
  A rating of 2? Brother, you have no heart. Joel Grey was this whole episode, and you didn't even mention him! Methinks you're a bit too wrapped up in your little ST universe...

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Fenix on 2011-01-30 at 9:51pm:
  Just wanted to point out that Captain Sisko's acting at the end of this episode was spot on. Imagine -- to read the beginning of a work that he had, in The Visitor, only heard of shortly before witnessing Jake's death as an old man. There are complex emotions in Sisko as he tells Jake that he is sure Jake will get back to writing, emotions that are very well portrayed.
• From L on 2013-05-28 at 7:43am:
  An 'alien-energy-vampire' metaphor exploring the relationship between creativity and drug use, wrapped in the generally taboo subject of the sexual dynamics between an older woman and a younger lover. Interesting territory for Star Trek to be exploring, but not ultimately that interesting as an episode.
• From Zorak on 2016-05-19 at 4:30pm:
  Personally, I can't get enough of the Odo/Lwaxana dynamic. I think they're great together. She seems to bring out the best in Odo. I really couldn't stand her in TNG, but in DS9 she is fantastic.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Psycroptic on 2012-08-18 at 8:05pm:
  I actually enjoyed this one quite a bit. Finally got to see Harry actually do something for once.
• From Adam on 2013-02-19 at 3:36pm:
  I like the scene where the manifest character is describing his philosophies and the chute is around his head in the background like a halo. Not such a bad episode except for the somewhat lame and gratuitous fight scenes and a few cheesy lines... "save yourself!"
• From thaibites on 2014-01-27 at 12:58am:
  I thought this was one of the best episodes so far. It's different from most Trek episodes because it's really dark and full of hopelessness. Harry and Tom are trapped with a bunch of psychos with no way out, plus they have an implant in their brains which controls them and makes them aggressive. These guys were violated to the max!
  This is not some silly romp through the holodeck and Camelot. This is a very intense, violent episode that can't be brushed off.
  Put yourself in Harry and Tom's place and think about how you would feel and react. I think it would be like hell.
• From scott Marron on 2014-02-06 at 4:36pm:
  Harry is painful

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From David in California on 2007-10-02 at 8:00pm:
  Sorry, but this one was sooooo cheesey, IMO. My least favorite Voyager episode so far in my current viewing (or re-viewing, depending) of them all in sequence. The aliens' scheme was clever, but everything else about them--costumes, behavior, etc.-- as well as the way the story played out plot-wise might have made for an average episode of ST:TOS and fit in with that '60s era, but for the '90s I can't believe they thought this wouldn't be silly.
• From Wayne on 2009-07-20 at 5:04pm:
  This episode is remarkable for one reason. Look closely at the girls. One of them is Kristanna Loken!

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Inga on 2013-02-05 at 6:51pm:
  One of the most boring episodes of Star Trek I've seen so far... And that bed scene was unbelievably cheesy.
• From Mandeponium on 2013-09-02 at 5:30pm:
  Sigh, in this episode Odo has sex as a changeling shortly after losing his human ability to ejaculate. Why? Why does he fall in love with this random person? This episode would have been better if he were still human. It might make more sense.
  
  Imagine if Star Trek were on HBO. There'd be so much weird alien sex; the bedroom was super tame compared to what I'm imagining sex with a shapeshifter to be like.
  
• From Rob UK on 2013-11-23 at 2:35am:
  A hard episode to watch, in nregards to Odo centric episodes as you mentioned being like detective shows I agree, this is sometimes done okay like an homage to the greats in the style but i'd prefer the level of Columbo or Monk rockford files or even Murder She Wrote but no sadly not a patch on Jessica Fletcher on her worst day (seriously not a fan of MSW at all BTW just incase anyone was not getting my dry British sense of humour) this was akin to Diagnosis Murder merged with an imaginary late 90's BBC low budget remake of Heart to Heart.
  
  Now then onto the part which could have redeemed the episode and instead destroyed it, the sex, or more accurate the lack of it, i know TV censors n stuff i am not expecting some Reed Richards-esq shlong action pinning her to the ceiling in a low gravity room as Odo morphs into a thousand different phallic object spearing her from every angle anywhere she wants it and more but at least some reference to it expanding her horizons in some way sexually instead it was like she had taken the virginity of a shy young boy and was his moms friend. When she found out it was his first time and she said she couldn't tell?!? Seriously Odo never swelled up the shape shifting manhood once inserted? I am trying to keep it pg13 here but you get what i am saying surely, how did Odo even know what to shape down there? I always thought he'd be like an action man figure or a ken doll, cough cough, not that i was checking that my action man had a schlong or not as a kid or anything but i remember when i found out that he did not have one i was concerned for my action man, why does he not have a little soldier like the rest of us boys? Never trusted action man after that, anyhoo slight distraction to my review / comment there but in a slightly altered reality it is all totally relevant. Thankfully a good Quark episode next if anyone out there like myself who has to watch them in sequential order for the good and the bad.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Remco on 2009-05-22 at 12:14am:
  The episode wasn't too bad, but it ran out of juice about half way in. After 20 minutes it was clear where the plot was going. Then it just kind of meandered. Maybe it would have worked better as a special half-hour comedy, complete with laugh track. ;)
• From Jaap on 2010-10-08 at 11:28am:
  Am i wrong or is Quark's mother played by another actress than in the previous episode (3x23)?
  I wasn't too impressed with this one and think the other acted much better.
• From Christopher Wright on 2011-12-14 at 5:36pm:
  I think this episode deserves a much higher rating. Sure, it was a little slow-paced, but it actually did what Star Trek and many sci-fi shows and movies often don't - show that species are not so singular. The following episode, "Soldiers of the Empire" tells us that not all Klingons are courageous - some are cowards and some are weak. Just as Star Wars showed us simplistic planets (Hoth - totally frozen, Tatooine - totally desert), such simplistic representations aren't realistic as life thrives on diversity.
  
  This episode showed us that Ferengi are capable of self-sacrifice. Sure, we've seen it in them before, but the two story arcs of Quark and Nog having to sacrifice a lot for those they love helps us to fully realize that they are not so simplistic a race.
  
  I loved the humor at the end with Brunt in the closet and Quark playing with his action figures.
• From Selador on 2013-06-18 at 11:39pm:
  I hate the Grand Nagus. He makes my skin crawl. If Quark wasn't such a great character and actor, I would hate all the ferengi.
  
  Whoever wrote this episode must have been drunk at the time, it's truly terrible and full of bad jokes and weird script.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Jawwad Riaz on 2010-09-21 at 12:36pm:
  The only redeeming quality of the episode is the "beauty is the beast" idea ... but the rest of it a re-hash and mash up of so much earlier sci fi that the science fiction aspect of it (the mind control) is its weakest link.
  
  No explanation was given as to why a warring nation would go to so much difficulty just to recruit one person .. Not one of the worst of voyager .. but certainly the worst of the season so far.
• From Wes on 2012-02-09 at 8:47pm:
  I do agree that while I watched the episode, I found the fighting at the beginning too long and quite boring. I wanted to see more of what was happening on Voyager and how Seven was interacting with the crew and helping in this situation. Then, by the end of the episode, you realize all the fighting is part of actually brainwashing you, the viewer.
  
  (Just a side thought. Seven's knowledge of all these alien races could really end the need to ask Neelix about anything except recipes.)
  
  I thought the overall idea of the episode was GREAT and something that usually happens to me in pretty good, mind bending movies. Wasn't it awesome how you were in the same boat as Chakotay by the end!? I totally felt the same thing as he did when looking at the ambassador. The point of the episode is a pretty good one and another great moral lesson from Star Trek-- it's so much easier to start hating than it is to stop hating.
• From L on 2013-12-23 at 9:48am:
  A potentially powerful anti-war metaphor that was slightly spoiled by where it ended up.
  It would have been better if the alien's appearance was all in his mind and they were actually the same as the rebels, but apparently they really do look like that. I guess that allows for a 'don't judge by appearances' moral.
  
  The dialogue was fantastic and gave this episode more of a genuine science-fiction feel than is usual for Star Trek.
  If the speech was 'normal' I may have liked this less.
  
  Pretty decent as an 'issue' episode.
  
• From thaibites on 2014-05-29 at 2:00am:
  I thought this episode was pretty good. I knew all you soap opera lovers would hate it because all your "friends" and their relationships had limited screen time.
  I loved how we didn't see Voyager or any crew members other than Chakotay for the first HALF - that's awesome! That's very unusual and helps to break up the monotony. I'll admit that it does start off a bit slow, but once it gets rolling, things start to happen. The scene where Tuvok talks to Chakotay, and we see him through Chakotay's eyes was really cool and disturbing. Poor Chakotay was the victim of one huge skull-fuck!
• From attractionmagnetical on 2015-03-20 at 5:40pm:
  I thought it was strange that Neelix had anything to say about this particular planet and its situation (the war, the factions, what any one thought of the other). Didn't we establish that he didn't have any knowledge of the area once they got to the Nekrit Expanse? Isn't that why he did all that dumb stuff with the drug deals in "Fair Trade"? This area is more than just "beyond the trade station" in that episode -- it's thousands and thousands of lightyears beyond; Kes pushed them beyond Borg space, 10 years closer to home. Why does Neelix have any insight here except, as Wes put it, about recipes?
• From Dstyle on 2015-06-01 at 1:35pm:
  attractionmagnetical beat me to the punch: why does Neelix know anything here? We're waaaay outside Neelix's area of knowledge. I can only assume this script was written for an earlier season and tabled until now, and that continuity error was not corrected.
  
  Also, is anyone else noticing how many shuttlecraft Voyager is losing? It's the third episode in a row where a shuttlecraft is destroyed. I really wish the show took these sort of things more seriously and that there were actually repercussions for losing shuttlecraft and firing photon torpedos and whatnot.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From rpeh on 2010-08-02 at 10:06pm:
  Dreadful episode.
  
  Having built up the tension of the Dominion war then taken a quick break to let Worf and Dax get married as they had always promised, one expects a return to action. Instead... we get a banal episode in the awful mirror series that takes the story nowhere and just acts as a method to assist sleep after a late night Trek-thon.
  
  I'd like to know if *anybody* was surprised by the plot "twist". He's from the mirror universe! Of *course* he's going to be evil!
• From Rob UK on 2023-12-06 at 12:56pm:
  This gets my vote for worst DS9 episode, definitely puts it in contention for worst Star Trek episode too, right up there with Move Along Home, i'm sure we all remember that one
  
  Allamaraine, count to four, Allamaraine, then three more, Allamaraine, if you can see, Allamaraine, you'll come with me.
  
  But this episode is bad for totally different reasons, it is as if Disney bought it for a single episode with the intent of destroying the mirror verse storyline and then gave it back.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Pete Miller on 2006-10-24 at 3:40am:
  Another miss? Hardly. This episode not only provided a wonderful insight into Neelix's character, but also provided a refreshing counterbalance for Star Trek's usual cynical atheist episodes. Regardless of your personal beliefs, it gets a little tiring to see episode after episode painting religion as either evil (Distant Origin) or as a creation of ignorance and fools (Who watches the Watchers). I like that Star Trek gives religion a little credibility with a character like Chakotay, and now with Neelix. It makes the show as a whole seem less judgemental. Even the great Gene Roddenberry didn't know for sure what happens after death, and it's extremely arrogant to assert that anyone does.
  
  I love to see that in the Star Trek world, there are still those who hold strictly scientific views of life and death, those that hold strictly religious views, and those who are struggling to find out where they stand.
  
  This episode is a good 'Star Trekkish' episode in my opinion, and really provides excellent character development all around for the crew. Certainly not a 2.
• From David from California on 2007-10-31 at 5:08pm:
  Prehaps interestingly, as an atheist I come from the complete opposite position as the previous commento philosophically--yet we both very much liked this episode, perhaps against the consensus of the large majority of Star Trek fans?
  
  While watching, I supported Neelix's questioning of his supernatural beliefs, no matter what would have prompted it. Sure, I prefer for any story to come down more favorably on the side of rejecting religion, but I wasn't bothered here because the logic of the events of the story did not support religion necessarily. That just would not be Star Trek, thank god.
  
  Rather, it was simply the character of Chakotay who endorses religion, and I wouldn't have it any other way because then it wouldn't be Chakotay! His religious mysticism is a key part of his character, and it doesn't offend this particulary atheist, even as I'd believe if he were real that he'd be misguided in those beliefs to the extent he takes them seriously rather than just respecting his cultural traditions. As written on the whole, he's a good and brave man no matter his beliefs, and that's why I like him and I'm not bothered by the religious aspect.
  
  As to why I liked the episode enough to comment here--it was the central plot conflict of Neelix having to choose between embracing life's values or killing himself due to the widespread false choice in people's minds between believing in the supernatural vs. being some kind of amoral nihilist.
  
  Neelix faced this false alternative--which apparently survives alive and well into the future according to Star Trek, unfortunately--and in the end doesn't really appear to be choosing to live out of some "strengthening of faith" as Chakotay admonishes, but rather by being reminded of the *secular* values he can enjoy in this life: the friendship and the respect of Seven and others, having a purpose on board Voyager, watching Naomi grow up, and so on.
  
  Well, as he stood there on the transporter and started to see this way of valuing his own life for what it can offer him--no matter the questions of religion--rejecting the idea that nihilism is the only alternative to it as his subconscious had told him it was in his vision-quest, and choosing to live for those reasons--well I was just in tears over this emotional resolution to the story, frankly. I thought it was very moving.
  
  So whether one's an atheist or religious viewer, I think this little character episode has a lot to offer people who like seeing these matters treated well in a drama. Ok, it's not a high-stakes, high-concept episode, but a very good quieter one, IMO. I rated it a 7/10.
• From Tony on 2008-09-23 at 3:13am:
  To provide more of a neutural between the last two comments. I actually felt that this episode attacked religion more than any other episode I've seen except "Distant Origin," in that Neelix didn't go to his heaven. Overall Star Trek makes it a point to neither support nor regect religion, just by watching this one, "Barge of the Dead," "Sacred Ground," or any other religion based episode, you can see that they never truely say whether it's real or not. This suports the very real fact that religion cannot be proven or disproven by science. I must add, however, that this particular episode in and of itself was mediocre.
• From Tony on 2008-09-26 at 4:04pm:
  I feel the need to clarify part of what I said in my last comment. The sentence "I actually felt that this episode attacked religion more than any other episode I've seen except 'Distant Origin,' in that Neelix didn't go to his heaven," was poorly written in that while this episode attacks religion to some extent in a general sense, "Distant Origin" attacks only religious extremism, specifically that of creationism.
• From Scott on 2008-11-10 at 6:52pm:
  Harsh review i have to say, I havent seen this sort of episode done before on Star Trek before, although im not saying there isnt one. I thought it was very refreshing to have someone die, come back to life and feel hollow because the death was not as it had been made up to be for all of Neelix's life. If anything spoiled it for me it was Chakotay's akoochemoya crap trying to help neelix find some answers using his vision quest. I was glad neelix wasnt swayed by chakotay initally but the ending was good and it was good to see the wildman child feeling safe with neelix around. Awesome neelix episode.
• From Tallifer on 2011-04-16 at 11:28am:
  3/10
  
  This episode almost gave us our long awaited opportunity to be rid of a character almost as annoying as Lwaxana Troi. Alas it was not to be.
• From onlinebroker on 2012-04-02 at 2:09pm:
  Talifer, how can you hate Lwaxana, she's awesome and the reactions of the crews to her are very funny. Plus her voice is in almost every star trek episode, does that ruin everything for you?
  Anyway, I found this episode extremely puzzling. Why would Neelix try to kill himself when he discovers there's nothing after death? Discovering that should make him want to avoid death even more, since he now knows there is nothing else!
• From TheAnt on 2013-10-11 at 5:28pm:
  
  Even though I have to agree that ST is best when it stay away from religion of any kind, it do not completely ruin this episode.
  
  Remarkable scenes in my book is Sevens comment that the 'Cadaver have been sufficiently prepared.'
  The doc replies: 'And some say I have a lousy bedside manner.'
  And I just did love Seven as a party crasher. No I will not quote her, see it for yourself. :)
  
  My personal reason for not giving it a higher score is the lack of continuity - seven present a means to resurrect a person from recent death - but we have other crew members die after this episode without any attempt to bring them back.
  
  Neelix ancestor faith also happen to be a sympathic one IMO, and so it is a story on how to find a new meaning to life.
  Here Neelix search for a new crutch is both sad and a bit scary, yet fully believable.
  In reality it is a process that often take a person many years to rid themselves of the programming. (Though we here OFC get it presented in rather condensed form.)
  Yet even despite the bad trip Neelix get in the vision quest which give him the final push to suicide, Chakotay and the message from Samatha Wildman provide the answer and meaning - that we're here for each other to help, support and make other people happy.
  "It is the way you make people feel when you are around!"
  And that is a reason much better than any false promise of heaven than all made up religions ever will be able to give us!
• From L on 2013-12-27 at 9:18am:
  Quite a touching episode really, and a fine way to look at what can still be a taboo-ish subject - the obvious fantasy of afterlife beliefs and what it means to throw off a thing that has kept one in a comforting illusion. Never an easy thing.
  Also it looked at, as pointed out above, the false-dichotomy that people think they have to succumb to - if no heaven (or god or religion), then life is meaningless. What an absurd, illogical conclusion! Glad he saw through that one.
  
  I can't fathom how looking at a thing honestly to examine its true nature can be seen as an 'attack' on religion or something that Star Trek should not do.
  Surely it's a self-evident truth.
  
  It's an examination of the fairy tales we still allow ourselves to hold as adults and how that can leave us hurting even more when we need to deal with reality suddenly.
  
  The little girl dreaming of Neelix's heaven was a way of affirming the true value of such beliefs - it's nice to imagine nice things. For her it was a story that took her mind to a nice place, not an expectation about reality that would inevitably fail her.
• From Rick on 2017-05-06 at 3:25am:
  A generally good episode but I take serious issue with the Doctor's reaction (and opposition) to Seven's idea to revive Neelix. What is the Doctor's issue with reviving someone back to life? He has revived numerous people that less advanced cultures would consider dead. His reaction does not seem to be vanity (i.e. that he is being upstaged by Seven's knowledge), but rather one of horror at the fact of reviving someone after 18 hours. Why? Seems pretty anti-Star Trek to be against new technology just because you dont understand it. What would the Doctor's reaction be to trying to cure an alien of something easily curable for him, but something that the alien's culture deemed as automatic death? Im sure it would be horror and a demand to treat the individual over the objection of others.
• From tigertooth on 2017-05-13 at 4:21am:
  Is it just me, or is there more discussion of the portrayal of religion in Distant Origin in this thread than there is in the thread for Distant Origin?
  
  Anyway, I never saw Distant Origin as being anti-religious. I saw it more as anti-anti-science. Religion doesn't have to be anti-science, so it never occurred to me to take Distant Origin as anti-religion.
  
  This episode was closer to being anti-religion, but I found Neelix's struggle with doubt (a common struggle with religious people) to be touching. But it wasn't a fully formed story.
  
  I felt like there was going to be a deus ex machina where there were aliens in the nebula affecting Neelix, but they didn't go there. I'm not sure, but I think the episode was better for staying away from that. But still, there was something missing. Poignant, but not truly satisfying.
• From Scott on 2018-10-09 at 1:49am:
  While I generally rely on Kethinov's reviews to help me decide which episodes to watch, I've learned to be careful when the reason for a poor review is its religious content. As a reviewer he has a point of view (or perhaps a bias) that is significantly different from my own. I tend to drill down into the viewer comments on any of those episodes before deciding whether to watch.
  
  I applaud Star Trek for not trying to make the people of the future all of one opinion or the other and vehemently deny that Star Trek is fundamentally anti-religious (even if it is often skeptical.)
  
  I gave the episode a 6, largely for the interplay between the world views of Seven, Neelix and Chakotay.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Jaap on 2010-11-15 at 7:54pm:
  Why do doorbells on Empok Nor have a Starfleet tone?
• From Omcn on 2012-01-09 at 10:19am:
  
  While it is true that this ep. did not fit in a whole lot to the overall storyline of the series (other then a look at what Mr crazy man has been up to since he killed off the last dax). I saw this episode as a social commentary on the dangers of many of the negative aspects of organized religion. Viewing it from that perspective I thoroughly enjoyed it.
• From Psycroptic on 2012-07-18 at 2:27am:
  I agree with Omcn, definitely not the best episode, but it had a good message.
• From Harrison on 2012-08-28 at 11:42am:
  I thought it one of the better episodes of the closing season, with particularly strong performances. It was a lucid and memorable commentary on injustice and manipulation.
  
  Empok Nor is displayed at a slightly evil tilt simply to distinguish it at a glance from DS9.
• From L on 2013-08-17 at 12:07am:
  The Bajorans are credulous superstitious peasants. How did they ever qualify for membership to the Federation?
  
  This episode was probably a pretty accurate portrayal of the dynamics within a cult.
  Loved the mural of Dukat.
• From Alex on 2021-03-22 at 9:33pm:
  Why is it a "problem" every time that Empok Nor is shown at an angle? It's a scenic technique... to signify something that's perhaps odd, irregular, out of "order", broken. In Empok Nor's case, it's an odd/dark counterpart to DS9. So, it's shown at a different angle, it fell out of the normal loop, it's the "wrong" station.
  
  My 'problem' actually is how Dukat is wearing a snake/alligator skin like coat. Isn't it like... if humans were wearing ape skin coats? Cardassians are reptilian...

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Pete Miller on 2006-07-26 at 3:15am:
  I think your dislike for Vic Fontaine is obscuring your judgement here. If the reason for giving this a 1 was that it is filler in the middle of the dominion war, then you should have given "Take Me Out to the Holosuite" a 1 instead of a 10. This episode is extremely entertaining, and is a wonderful use of Vic's character. Obviously they couldn't have done this episode EARLIER because they invented Vic during the Dominion War arc.
  
  I especially like that this episode demonstrates that the characters still have personal lives amidst all the turmoil, and that they can still have fun. I wouldn't care for episodes 15 and on to be solely dominion war arc episodes. That would be boring, and not Star Trekish enough.
  
  Sisko's comment about black people in the sixties also shows that this episode isn't just filler. Not only does it make a point about racism in the sixties; it also shows how hypersensitive Sisko is to anything regarding racism. Great character development episode all around, and it's always fun to watch one of these holodeck malfunction episodes. I love them!
  
  Just because you didn't care for it isn't justification to give it a 1. I mean, come on. It's not THAT bad, even if you hate it.
• From Kethinov on 2006-07-26 at 6:46am:
  This episode fails to measure up to "Take Me Out to the Holosuite" in a number of ways.
  
  Firstly, it was redundant. We already have a comedy episode in the holodeck in this season. I forgave it once, and only because "Take Me Out to the Holosuite" was so unusually profound.
  
  But more importantly, this episode was inferior. The situation in this episode was a result of either holosuite error, or simple diversion, depending on how you look at it. Neither situation is a good premise for the episode. In the middle of the Dominion War, I don't want a "holodeck malfunctions" episode, and I even less want a "let's all go to Risa" episode. This episode was an excuse for slapstick comedy.
  
  Conversely, the situation in "Take Me Out to the Holosuite" was brought on by an external player (the Vulcan captain) with an arrogance problem. Sisko didn't ask for any of this, he simply faced it. And it taught him a lesson about the value of one's principles, reinforcing his seemingly weaker hand in the entire Dominion war.
  
  Ignoring the timing of this episode, yes, it deserves a higher rating. But as is so often said, timing is everything. This episode's timing was unforgivable. Such diversions are only acceptable when an episode has something truly profound to say, and guess what, everything it had to say was said better in other episodes!
  
  You speak of the crew having a personal life. Well, we're made aware of that in "Take Me Out to the Holosuite." We're also made aware of it by Vic's various cameos across the later episodes. You also speak of the episode making a statement about racism. But that was easily done better in "Far Beyond the Stars."
  
  Fnally, yes, I am fully aware of when Vic's character was created. That doesn't justify the episode's placement in the timeline and certainly doesn't invalidate my criticism that an episode like this was better suited in an early season. The episode had plenty of intrinsic value. Replace Vic with any other hologram, rebrand an early season episode, and not only is it now a good episode, it's better because it's less out of place.
  
  And that's just how it is. "Badda-Bing Badda-Bang" was filler of the worst kind. It's underserving of a zero solely because it has no technical problems. It sure would have been worth more points in an earlier season, but alas, it's smack dab in the middle of season 7. So there you have it.
• From Pete Miller on 2006-07-27 at 2:46am:
  I was very pleased that you responded to my commentary, and I'll have to say you cleared it up a bit for me. I will concede that the timing does lower the rating substantially. And you're right, some of the character development-type things are covered in other episodes, so I guess this one is dispensable in that manner as well.
  
  I still hold that it doesn't deserve a 1, because it isn't as horrible as something like "Move Along Home", but I take back what I said about your rating being based on your dislike for Vic. I see your point about the timing, but I guess it's just a matter of how important that kind of thing is to you. If you hold sequence and timing of episodes in high regards, then I guess a 1 could be appropriate. For me, however, a 5 is more like it.
  
  But thanks for the response. Always awesome to hear different viewpoints on Star Trek!!!
• From Kevin on 2009-06-07 at 2:06pm:
  One of my least favourite DS9 episodes for sure. The Vic Fontaine character was a fun novelty for one episode, but has certainly worn his welcome by this point. Now we have a whole episode about him? Also, holodeck malfuntions of any kind are so cliche. Vic Fontaine and holodeck malfunctions... guess the writers were feeling really lazy that week. (Or were simply bad writers)
• From Remco on 2009-08-01 at 3:43pm:
  I guess your enjoyment of this episode really depends on whether you like Vic. The same was true for "Take Me Out to the Holosuite". To enjoy that episode, you needed to enjoy baseball.
  
  I absolutely hated "Take Me Out", because I find watching baseball (or watching any sports) utterly boring. I skipped through most of the episode, and I wasn't entertained by all the sports movie cliches. I know that they were deliberately paying homage to such movies, but I just couldn't stand it.
  
  Because of that experience, I can completely understand your sentiment in giving this a 1 while giving "Take Me Out" a 10, even though they are essentially the same episode. That's an aspect of ratings, which makes averages meaningless. I would give this episode a 7 for being a very entertaining, if not very relevant episode. A rating I would have given "Take Me Out" if I wasn't so completely bored by it.
• From rpeh on 2010-08-05 at 11:55am:
  I think everyone is being harsh on this episode.
  
  It's true that the timing isn't ideal, I don't particularly like Vic Fontaine either, and I don't particularly like holodesk episodes, but beyond that it's probably my favourite holodesk episode.
  
  One thing you all seem to have missed is that it's *not* a holodesk malfunction - we're told that Felix designed the takeover to stop the program from getting boring. The way all the senior staff (bar Worf) get into the spirit of things for a hologram shows their spirit of friendship to great effect, and the way they resolve the situation is well-done and a lot of fun.
  
  I'm only giving this a 4, but I felt I had to speak up for this episode because of all the vitriol it's received up until now!
  
  One extra little thing. The "stirred, not shaken" point was picked up in the West Wing too, where the president points out that shaking a martini would chip the ice so Bond was really "ordering a weak martini and being snooty about it". Perhaps Bashir is a *real* man?
• From Psycroptic on 2012-07-20 at 12:41am:
  The timing was definitely not right, but it was still an extremely entertaining episode.
• From Bronn on 2013-07-29 at 6:15am:
  I actually really liked this episode. "It's Only a Paper Moon" is a personal favorite of mine because I see a lot of myself in Nog in that episode. He escapes into a fantasy world because the real world is really tough and scary, and he's faced it for the first time. But I like that it's not really a holodeck malfunction episode, because those are tired and stupid. It's just a holodeck story in which they have to solve in a holodeck manner, and nothing is at stake except for Vic Fontaine's program.
  
  I don't know where else they could have timed it, though. They wanted one last bit of fluff before they got back to the serious war plot to close out the series. The problem is that the war plot has been sitting ignored for too long-the last episode that really dealt with it was "Paper Moon"...which was also the last Vic episode. They wanted to introduce Vic as a recurring character, so it seems like he gets shoved down the audience's throat a bit. And the episode in which he introduced was a fluff episode in which they used musical numbers basically as filler, not a good way to introduce him to the audience.
  
  This episode had to take place after "Paper Moon," because that's the only episode when the audience really started to care about Vic-if at all. It would have been nice if "Paper Moon" hadn't been so recent, since it was an episode in which two non-regular cast members were at the center of the plot, which might be why some people were irritated about it. What they needed was a good stand-alone episode involving the war plot to air prior to this episode just to let the audience know that they hadn't gotten distracted. We probably could have done with "Prodigal Daughter" or "The Emperor's New Cloak" or "Chimera" and still had a solid season. If it were me, though, I'd have pushed back "Once More Into the Breach," Kor's last episode, and aired it just before this one. That was another one which didn't prominently feature the main cast members, but then you follow with this one, in which most of the main cast gets to operate together. It would have kept the war fresh, and I don't think people would have been as irritated at the war plot settling into the background for just one episode here.
• From L on 2013-08-18 at 12:16am:
  A pointless novelty episode that made me cringe.
  Not that a 'caper' genre episode was necessarily a bad thing, but I just hated it. Maybe it was just the context of it coming this late in the series, and that the one before it actually explored some interesting issues through science-fiction, as Star Trek should.
  This is just pointless indulgence in bad-taste americana.
• From spline on 2013-09-14 at 11:17am:
  This ep was great. It wouldnt work in an earlier season because we'd have had no connection to the characters. It's a simply fun ep that allows the cast to show off, combined with great music and great direction. Dont take it so seriously, and just love it for what it is!
  
  The best is yet to come!
• From mandeponium on 2014-08-03 at 12:04am:
  This was actually one of my favorites. I watch it as a farewell episode: the last fun holodeck romp before the final episodes running-up to the series finale. The end of this one gives me tingles when they are all alone in the lounge with Vic. They are still dressed up and as the camera pans over them Sisko sings "The Best Is Yet to Come."
  
  The viewer knows DS9 is almost over. This is such a hopeful episode and the second half of the season does not disappoint. They even copy the lounge scene in the last episode doing it all over again with Vic and the final farewell.
• From Axel on 2015-06-07 at 10:54pm:
  I don't see the appeal of Vic Fontaine. He was okay in "It's Only a Paper Moon" because that story served a purpose: Nog's post-injury recovery. But he's overused to the point of being annoying. It gets really bad in the finale when he takes up a ridiculous portion of the episode.
  
  This one, though, is bad for several reasons. They already had a wonderful holodeck episode in "Mr Bashir, I Presume?" So that angle's been done. The timing in the story arc is also poor as pointed out. Not everything has to be about the Dominion War, but this is just too silly. Finally, it doesn't even really feel like Star Trek. From a purely entertainment point of view, I guess it works but it's hard to ignore the context of the episode, which you have to do to enjoy it IMO.
  
  I'd give it a 2 for the acting, but it's by far the worst overall episode of the season.
• From ChristopherA on 2021-06-13 at 4:35pm:
  I really didn't much like watching this episode, and I wasn't quite sure why. There have been holosuite episodes I've liked in the past, the caper itself really isn't bad. I agree with others that the timing of the episode just didn't seem very good, while watching the series in order I was really feeling like it was time to return to the Dominion war, not to have yet another offbeat standalone episode.
  
  I agree with Axel that the episode really doesn't seem connected to Star Trek, and the episode doesn't compare that well to “Mr. Bashir, I Presume”. Somehow that episode felt like the homage was more fun, and felt like you were exploring the Star Trek characters placed in an unusual environment. Whereas this episode felt more like you were watching an ordinary miniature heist movie that just happened to feature the Star Trek actors, but could have been put on with any actors and it wouldn't have been any different. The only attempt to tie it to DS9 at all was the idea that they were coming together to do it for their friend Vic, which really didn't come across as a very dramatically interesting reason, especially since Vic is kind of a questionable character to begin with, and because the show seems unable to clearly confront the question about whether Vic is a sentient being or not. If he is sentient why are the characters so unable to perceive or acknowledge it, and if he is not sentient then the justification for the episode is pretty silly.
  
  Also, in all of the better Vic Fontaine episodes he is being used to significantly change the lives of the DS9 characters by offering them good advice or a different perspective. In this episode he seems totally pointless, he doesn't have any purpose other than to act as a MacGuffin to get the characters into a heist movie.