The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-07-04 at 11:30pm:
  - Shortly after discovering that his nanites are missing, Wesley begins setting traps around the ship. In Ten-Forward he sets two traps approximately six feet apart behind the bar. Using this spacing would require thousands and thousands of traps. Does Wesley have thousands of traps to put out, or does he think the nanites like to hang out in bars? ;)
  - When the nanites start pumping poisonous gas into the main bridge, Riker and Picard leave the ready room and join in the coughing with the rest of the bridge crew. Riker then walks up to the environmental controls. The atmosphere on the bridge returns to normal. Is Riker the only person who knew how to do this? Otherwise, everyone would just have sat in their chairs and coughed until they died.
  - Given the attacks on the Enterprise by the nanites, it is difficult to believe that Picard would allow them to take over a bridge officer, especially one with the strength and intelligence of Data. (Worf is the only one who protests)
• From djb on 2007-12-21 at 2:10am:
  While the science behind the idea of two little nanites created by a student replicating themselves into something capable of taking over a starship computer leaves something to be desired, the main thing that upset me about this episode was the "neutron star" explosion at the end. The astronomy in this episode is just appalling.
  
  First of all, it should have been called a white dwarf. A neutron star is, I believe, the remnant of a single star going supernova, and is very, very dense, and therefore small. Something like 50,000 times as small as our sun, in diameter. The type of situation in this episode is where a white dwarf is accreting material from a stellar companion. The result of such accretion is a periodic supernova.
  
  Material expelled by a supernova travels fast, but not as fast as it does in this episode. It might travel up to a tenth the speed of light- about 30,000 Km per second, but that's optimistic. Given the estimation that the white dwarf and its companion are, say, a million km apart, it would take the explosion at least 33 seconds to reach as far as the other star. Also, at its brightest it would be about 5 billion times as bright as the sun, which at that immediate closeness would probably overload the ship's sensors (and shields) and instantly blind anyone looking out a window. What to speak of the effect the emanating heat and radiation would have on the ship and the crew. Marshmallows anyone?
  
  They could have at least made the supernova look something like a supernova instead of a bomb explosion superimposed on the shot.
  
  And, of course, there should be no sound to go with it, but we reality sticklers gave up the "no sound in space" argument with Star Trek a long time ago.
  
  I know it's just a show, but I figure they could have made it look at least somewhat realistic.
• From JRPoole on 2008-03-12 at 2:35pm:
  Finally a good Wesley episode. I rather like this episode; the scientist is interesting and acted fairly well, Wesley finally gets an episode in which his wunderkind aesthetic sort of falls apart, and the whole package is done well.
  
  My only beef with this episode is Picard's non-reaction to Wesley's delay in telling him about the nanites. By trying to capture them on his own when he'd already theorized they were causing the problem with the computers, he put the crew and the mission in jeopardy. Picard should have put the smack down on him then and there.
• From KStrock on 2009-01-31 at 9:30am:
  When he comes to the bridge, Wes relieves a guy wearing the old style uniform from Seasons 1 & 2.
  

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-07-06 at 8:24am:
  - At times the Enterprise is so distant that it takes a considerable amount of time to get a message to another ship or planet. For instance, in "The Battle" it took a day to get a message to Starfleet headquarters. Most of the time the Enterprise can communicate instantly. In this episode, Picard wants to talk with the Sheliak home world, Worf says, "Their home world is quite distant. This will take some time." Presumably, Worf comments on the delay because it will take a while for the communications request to reach the Sheliak home world. Yet when Worf finally makes contact, Picard has a dialogue with the Sheliak. There is no delay for transmission time! In other words, Picard would speak a sentence and have to wait while the sentence traveled to the Sheliak. Then the Sheliak would reply, and the reply would travel back.
  - Data pilots Shuttle Craft "05" to the planet. In this episode, the name of the shuttle is Onizuka. However, in the episode "Times Squared," Shuttle Craft "05" was named El-Baz.
• From paidmailer on 2009-09-24 at 11:32am:
  I love this episode's Shelliac story. This is the kind of stuff I would like to see more. The colonist scenes were boring, but the whole diplomacy trouble picard found himself in was excellent.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Vlad on 2006-04-01 at 7:04pm:
  I find it very interesting that DS9 is being called "the most human Star Trek series" even though that the regular cast features the least human characters. This applies here too. This episode is one of the most human episodes of TNG and the amazing thing is that the humanity comes from a creature who is as far from human as it gets.
  
  The Dowwd's dilemma is something, which I think many of us have had to deal with one way or another: How far would you go for the woman you love? Superbeing or not, love makes us do what we never thought we would.
  
  Am I giving him absolution? Absolutely not! Genocide is the worst imaginable crime. Like Picard said: "We are not qualified to be your judges!" But if you ask me if I would do the same if I were in his place... Why do I identify with this being, more so than with any other character I've seen on Star Trek? Why does his pain move my insides so deeply?
  
  This episode is a personal favourite of mine so I give it 10 out of 10! Call me biased if you wish!
  
• From DSOmo on 2007-07-06 at 12:36pm:
  - Kevin perceives Troi is sensing he may not be human from the Enterprise, so he sends music to confuse her. He creates a warship that attacks and retreats from the Enterprise. He is able to control the warship's acceleration to maintain a constant distance from the Enterprise. Kevin destroyed an entire race, wherever they happened to be in the galaxy. Yet every time an away team beams down to Rana IV, Kevin acts surprised. How can Kevin be surprised by the presence of the Enterprise? He could sense the Husnak throughout the galaxy, surely he could sense the Enterprise in orbit around his planet.
  - An instant after Kevin begins to "transport" himself to Troi's quarters, Geordi turns and looks at the turbolift. This is before Kevin fully disappears. How did Geordi know that Kevin would use that particular turbolift?
• From Evan on 2008-05-26 at 6:54am:
  I agree with JRPoole... I also suspect the arm sling at the end is a bluff. As for the comment about the universal translator, it's just using the same implant as the communicator.
  
  I also like to think that Picard doesn't think he's calling Liko's bluff, but is actually willing to die.

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• From DSOmo on 2007-07-08 at 4:04pm:
  At the very end of the episode, in his voice-over, Picard claims that Dr. Crusher has tended to his injuries with her usual skill. But in the very next scene, Picard is wearing a sling to support his arm. Why is Picard in a sling? This is the twenty-fourth century, medicine has come a long way.
• From JRPoole on 2008-01-30 at 7:34am:
  I think the sling was for effect, to show the natives that he'd actually been injured. To them, using the knitter to seemingly magically cure the injury would have seemed god-like, exactly what they were trying to avoid.
• From JRPoole on 2008-03-12 at 2:40pm:
  I remembered this episode as one of my favorites, but when I watched it again this time around, I was a little disappointed. It's still a fairly strong episode, but there are some problems.
  
  I'm not usually one to bitch about issues with the universal translator; we have to accept it as a convention of the show to make many of the plots work. Here it's a little more problematic. Theoretically, the UT works by broadcasting speech in the host language in some fashion while it's being spoken. That would seem to make it impossible to fool someone into thinking you're not using it, which makes Riker and Troi's foray down to the planet unlikely at best.
  
  That said, this episode is classic Trek in its insistence on rational thinking in lieu of religion. I also like episodes that showcase the inner workings of Star Fleet, and the duck blind scenario was great. All in all, an above average episode.
• From TashaFan on 2008-10-27 at 6:39pm:
  DSOmo asks "Picard claims that Dr. Crusher has tended to his injuries with her usual skill. But in the very next scene, Picard is wearing a sling to support his arm. Why is Picard in a sling?"
  
  In my recollection, that IS Dr. Crusher's usual level of skill. I think Dr. Pulaski was a far superior physician (for instance, she could fix Geordi's eyes but when Crusher was the doctor, Geordi was told it was impossible), although Crusher had a better knowledge of things like herbal medicine.

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• From DSOmo on 2007-07-08 at 5:27pm:
  - From the time Troi senses trouble to the moment Dr. Crusher declares Aster dead, only about thirty seconds have passed. There are no resuscitation attempts and no efforts to get Aster stabilized. Was Aster not worth the effort?
  - It's no wonder that the energy beings think Jeremy won't be cared for. Shortly after Picard tells him about his mother's death, we watch Jeremy in his quarters. He is there alone, watching old movies of his mom. This concept of Jeremy being alone continues throughout the episode. Does this seem right? This kid has lost his only surviving parent, and everyone stays away. He is only twelve. Shouldn't someone be staying close by to help him through this time?
  - Who shot the old home movies Jeremy watches? It couldn't be his father. If it was, Jeremy hasn't aged in five years.
  - At the end of the episode, Worf says a Klingon phrase. Jeremy asks what it means, and Worf explains. Then Jeremy repeats the complete phrase! Jeremy must be quite a linguist. Do you really think a twelve-year-old boy could repeat that phrase after hearing it only once?

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-07-08 at 8:17pm:
  - If Iralius IX was originally a planet, wouldn't the assimilators have had to be placed in the debris after the battle that decimated the planet? And if the battle that destroyed the planet was the battle where the enemies fought to their mutual extinction, who placed the assimilators? Obviously the assimilators must have been placed before the final conflict, which means that the debris field could not be Iralius IX. But that would contradict Picard, because he identifies the Promellian cruiser as being among the ruins of Iralius IX.
  - Why hasn't someone already found the Promellian cruiser? It's been there for a thousand years. Evidently somebody investigated the area prior to the arrival of the Enterprise, since the crew knows that this was the location of the final battle.
  - These Promellians must make an incredible battery. Remember that the assimilators have drained all power from the vessel. Yet, it still manages to send out a distress call for a thousand years!
  - Why is the Promellian cruiser sending out a distress call? The captain of that ship knew the assimilators were destroying his ship. Why lure another craft into the trap?
  - At the end of the episode, Picard blows up the Promellian cruiser. This is a mint-condition, thousand-year-old artifact. Even Picard says it "belongs in a museum." There is nothing wrong with the ship. It is just surrounded by the assimilators. Doesn't the Federation have the technology to clear the booby trap and tow the ship out?
  - Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge is on the Enterprise, populated by the finest of Starfleet's engineering staff, and he has to get a holographic representation to help him solve a problem?
  - At the end of the episode, Geordi says they are going to shut everything off and use only two thrusters. When Picard flies the Enterprise out of danger, he actually uses three thrusters: starboard, port, and starboard aft.
• From djb on 2007-12-24 at 10:50pm:
  - A thousand year old derelict's gravity generator still intact?
  
  - There is nothing in space to stop a moving object's inertia. How did all that debris come to a complete standstill? Why didn't it strike anyone as being strange?
  
  "I'm not used to having people question my judgment." "And I'm not used to dying." Great comeback! Even if she's just a hologram.
• From JRPoole on 2008-03-24 at 9:14am:
  The above mentioned problems bothered me as well, but they didn't take away from the episode because I can rationalize some of them away. The only exception is Picard's order to blow up the booby trapped wreckage. Why not just put some warning bouys around the debris field until somebody can figure out how to clear the assimilators?
  
  This was a rare episode where the sub plot was more engaging than the main plot. The character development for Geordi was much-needed and well done, especially considering that there's some good continuity with the Lea Brahms character later in the series. Poor Geordi; even Data gets more action than he does.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From JRPoole on 2008-04-02 at 2:31pm:
  This is a solid episode all the way through. I don't have much to add to this review, other than I'm glad Geordi is getting some serious screen time and character development at this point in the series.
• From wepeel on 2008-05-16 at 10:05am:
  While tending to the Romulan in sick bay, Dr. Crusher tells Picard about her old-fashioned treatment, which involves "keep[ing] the fever down, try[ing] to let the body heal itself." However, a fever is not a sickness, it is the (human) body's way of burning out the germs/unknown entities within its system. The only way this would make sense...is if she was talking specifically about Romulan body structures (maybe they see fever as a disease), but it would be pure conjecture on the doctor's part because in "The Defector," it is hinted that very little is known about Romulan physiology.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-07-19 at 12:00am:
  - At the very beginning of the episode, a tired Troi shuffles into her quarters. Troi gets paged by Picard. She reponds with "Now what?," sighs, and taps her communicator. A normal reaction from a person having a long and/or bad day. However, I have read, that Troi's badge tap was merely habitual, not necessary. When Picard called for Troi, the computer immediately connected Picard to Troi's room. So, the badge tap or communicator panel touch is unnecessary. This is the "answer" to all the communicator discrepancies. Removing the badge tap creates a problem. It obliterates a person's privacy. If this is true, Picard heard Troi's "Now what?" comment. This is a prime example of why "immediate connect" will not work. It's like a telephone that rings only once and then turns on a speakerphone so you can talk to the person on the other end.
  - When Picard, Riker, and Data discuss the worm hole, Picard says it might be a "proverbial lemon." Data reacts with confusion to this statement. Yet in the episode "The Naked Now," Riker (after referring to a needle in a haystack and seeing Data's confusion) clarifies his analogy by saying, "I should have said, 'proverbial needle in a haystack.'" At this point, Data understands. Did Data lose his understanding of the word "proverbial" somewhere along the line?
  - During Ral and Troi's intimate dinner, Ral puts his fork into the bowl in front of him and then draws the fork to his mouth, the fork has NOTHING on it!
• From JRPoole on 2008-03-24 at 9:24am:
  Up to this point in the series, the Ferengi are terrible characters. They're broadly written, over-acted, and their actions seem so stupid and self-destructive that it's hard to believe they'd be capable of this level of technological sophistication. That said, I love the plot surrounding the wormhole in this episode. It's a fascinating concept.
  
  My problem with this episoded is the subplot about Troi and the negotiator. The dialogue is straight out of a Harlequin romance novel, and it's hard to believe Troi would react this way. I found most of their scenes to be painfully embarrassing to watch. His turnaround at the end is also completely unbelievable. Uggh.
  
  Had this episode focused on the intrigue surrounding the wormhole, it would have been above average, as is, it wallows in cliche.
• From Rob on 2008-04-13 at 3:02pm:
  Unless Troi actually says "I sense (blah-blah)" re: the Ferengi (and its been too long since I've watched this episode) then I would argue that knowing someone is lying doesn't have to necessarily be because of her empathic abilities. Troi is a trained counciler and part of her job would be to parse out when a patient is holding out on her with or without an empathic awareness of the client. She could have observed the body language of the Ferengi, sensed Ral's feelings toward the Ferengi and realized they were conspiring together, or done some deductive reasoning based on past experience dealing with the Ferengi. Like I say, it's been too long since I've watched the episode but it's possible that Troi could realize the Ferengi were lying without using her Betazoid abilities. Even humans have an empathic awareness of one another based on other's facial features, actions, body language, etc. and Troi would be trained to recognize these.
• From online broker on 2009-09-26 at 2:56am:
  I really like this episode, but one has to fast forward through the troi/ral scenes, they are just mindnumbing, dreadful. But the negotiations and the ferengi are wonderful. The followup of the voyager episode just tops it off.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-07-19 at 12:02pm:
  - In this episode, Worf makes the comment about bathing more often to the ambushers. But in "Conspiracy," he says, "swimming is too much like ... bathing." I guess being with humans has changed Worf ;)
  - Riker stuns Yuta twice and then kills her!! I know he warned her twice, but did he have to kill her? The second time he stuns Yuta, she barely manages to get up. Stun her a few more times, or get the guards to grab her, or transport her back to the Enterprise, but don't kill her!

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• From DSOmo on 2007-07-22 at 7:22am:
  The defector orders a glass of water from the food dispenser. He specifies "twelve ahgians." The computer replies that it is calibrated for the Celsius metric system. The Enterprise plays host to hundreds of races. What happened to the Universal Translator?
• From JRPoole on 2008-04-06 at 2:31pm:
  This is, in my opinion, one of the finest episodes to this point in the series. The Romulans are a much more interesting, well-written and developed race than the Ferengi, and the episodes that focus on them are generally better as a result.  The defector character is nuanced and well-acted, and his plight is endearing.  My only quibble with this episode is the way the Klingon aid is handled.  I realize that it was meant to build suspense, but the effect is rather cheap and the climax suffers a little as a result. Still, this is top-notch trek.
• From paidmailer on 2009-09-26 at 2:36pm:
  Another great neutral zone episode. Two things I can add:
  
  -In the beginning , the character on the right of Data is played by Patrick Stewart.
  -Problem: Why did nobody search the romulan defector?
  
  

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-07-22 at 4:43pm:
  - The brig has been retrofitted. In "Heart Of Glory," the brig was a room with a force field around the door. In this episode, the brig is a large room with a detention cell in it.
  - Supposedly the Angosians are technologically inferior to the Federation. Yet one of their soldiers gets loose on the Enterprise and wreaks havoc. Danar makes one pass through Engineering and comprehends all the systems of the Enterprise. He defeats Data in rerouting power systems. He knows the exact location to place an overloading phaser so it will cripple all exterior sensors. He "hot-wires" a phaser to supply power to a transporter. Granted, Danar is supposed to be brilliant, but this is like taking someone who is a genius at fixing tube-type electronics and turning him loose on integrated circuits. He isn't going to get very far.
  - Dr Crusher indicates that the reason the sensor can't lock on Danar is because of the substances the Angosians put into his body. Later, the prime minister admits that the chemicals can be removed, but the mental programming cannot be undone. If you are trying to keep these guys locked up, doesn't it seem reasonable that you would take away any edge they have? Why let them remain invisible to sensors?
  - Danar tries to force a confrontation between his men and the Angosians by firing at a wall. The weapon blows a chunk out of the wall. Several seconds later, the same shot shows that the wall is COMPLETELY WHOLE!
• From JRPoole on 2008-04-05 at 6:22pm:
  My only problem with this episode is the way Danar breaks out of the brig. WTF did he do to fight off the transporter beam?
  
  Other than that, and the slight stretch of plausibility mentioned in the above comment, this is a top notch episode. I love Picard's reaction to the stand off.
• From Bruce Dudley on 2009-09-27 at 7:57pm:
  Problem: After the prisoner has left engineering and as the the camera pans around, Geordi's visor is on the ground some distance from Geordi. When Worf walks into engineering, Geordi is wearing his visor.
  

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-07-22 at 7:52pm:
  Several times during the episode the terrorists use their dimensional shift to board the Enterprise. Beaming up to an orbiting spacecraft requires a great deal of accuracy. First of all, how do these terrorists locate the Enterprise? They would have to have access to sophisticated sensor equipment. Even then, they would also need detailed drawings of the Enterprise to accomplish the kind of raid that occurs in this episode. The terrorists beam directly to Engineering - one to the upper level of the dilithium chamber and one on the lower level. After the first attack fails, they beam to the bridge and take the captain. Is information about Galaxy Class starships freely available?
• From JRPoole on 2008-04-03 at 7:00am:
  This episode leaves me flat. I generally like it when Trek does shows that can be seen as an allegorical take on real-world issues, but sometimes they can be pretty heavy-handed, like the TOS episode "Let This Be Your Last Battlefield," which is a fan favorite I've always considered fairly weak.
  
  What's not clear in this episode is why, exactly, the separatists feel oppressed. Like the review above states, the question of whether they deserve independence is ignored. Another thing that bothers me about this episode is the action sequences. The music and the pacing of the episode remind me of cheesy 80s tv shows like the A Team. That combined with the surface-only exploration of the problem of terrorism seriously detracts from this episode for me.
  
  On a side note, I wonder how this episode would have been viewed had it come out in a post 9/11 world?

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• From Vlad on 2006-05-22 at 6:41am:
  If there was a voting pool for the funniest Star Trek episode ever, this should take first place! I laughed so hard my stomach hurt. Q minus his powers was more irritable than an Andorian and more fun than a Ferengi. And again, as it was the case with "The Survivors", we learn a little something about what makes us human with the help of a superbeing... as unlikely as that may seem.
  
  Oh, and Corbin Bernsen's otrageous appearance as Q at the end was an added bonus. What an amazing actor he is!
  
• From DSOmo on 2007-07-22 at 10:26pm:
  - When Worf takes Q to the brig, Worf has to press a button on a panel beside the door before it opens. Later in the episode, Data simply walks through the doorway. Why the difference?
  - When Q hurts his back in Engineering, Data taps his communicator and calls for a medical team. Note: He TAPS his communicator. If badge tapping is simply habitual, why is Data tapping his badge? He is an android. Data doesn't do things out of habit. Data always "does things by the book." If the book says that a badge tap is unnecessary, Data would not tap his badge.
  - Dr Crusher fixes Q's back with a tool that looks exactly like a hypospray. But it doesn't make a hypospray sound. Maybe the hypospray is a mulipurpose machine. Then again, maybe the prop department didn't have time to make another medical device.
• From JRPoole on 2008-04-14 at 6:21am:
  This is one of the top 10 episodes of all time. Q is hilarious, the writing is crisp, the Calamarain are interesting, Guinan's response to Q is great, as is Picard's, and this is all-around top-notch.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-07-23 at 2:52am:
  - Krag claims that Riker fired a phaser just as he beamed out. No one on the Enterprise disputes this. Yet in "The Most Toys," O'Brien can tell that Data has fired a weapon just as O'Brien beamed him off Fajo's ship. If O'Brien can read Data's weapon, why can't he read Riker's weapon? And if O'Brien didn't read a weapon in discharge, wouldn't that constitute evidence that Riker didn't fire a weapon?
  - If the sensors could tell that an energy beam went from Riker's position to the science station's generator, why couldn't the sensor's register the first energy beam coming from the generator to Riker's position?
  - Every scene showing the Enterprise orbiting Tanuga IV has the ship moving across the face of the planet while the planet turns in the other direction! So how did the Enterprise manage to be above the generator at precisely the right time to intercept the lambda field (every five hours, twenty minutes, three seconds)?
• From Shashank Mayya on 2007-08-10 at 9:21pm:
  How come the 24th Century does not have something akin to a Closed Circuit Monitor/Camera. Even my local grocer has two.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-07-23 at 11:59pm:
  - The major plot oversight in this episode concerns the personnel aboard the Enterprise during the alternate future created by the Enterprise-C. In the alternate future, the Federation and the Klingon Empire have been at war for twenty years. In war, people get killed. In fact, Picard says the Klingons have destroyed half of the Federation's fleet. Since people get killed in war, people get promoted quickly. It is inconceivable that Riker, Data, and Geordi would still be serving with Picard. They would have their own commands fighting the Klingons. Of course, this is a television series. The viewers want to see the same set of core actors from week to week.
  - Picard has an odd sense of three-dimensional space in this episode. He meets with Guinan on the spacious observation lounge. He meets with Riker and Yar on the spacious observation lounge. However, when he meets with his senior officers, five in all, he crams them like sardines into his ready room.
  - At the beginning of the episode, emergency teams beam over to the Enterprise-C. Dr. Crusher determines to take the captain back to the Enterprise-D. Dr. Crusher taps her badge and calls for transport. She then puts her tricorder away and reaches up to tap her badge again. At this point a befuddled look comes across her face and she puts her hand back down to her side. I guess she realized she didn't need to tap her communicator to shut it off.
  - After Crusher leaves, Riker and Yar find a survivor in the wreckage. The survivor is buried under a bunch of rubble on a darkened main bridge. Riker and Yar dig him out. What's the first thing they do for him after he's out? They shine flashlights on his face!

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• From DSOmo on 2007-07-24 at 1:55am:
  - During a voice-over, Data talks about teaching Lal "to supplement her innate android behavior with simulated human responses." The scene shows Data teaching Lal to blink. But in many of the scenes preceding this one, Lal can be seen blinking.
  - Picard makes the correct stand at the end of the episode - that Data is a sentient being with rights, and those rights include the right to raise a family. The state cannot simply take children away from their parents. Why does Picard have to take this stand in the first place? Why haven't Admiral Haftel's superiors shut down Haftel already? Or does the decision reached in "The Measure Of A Man" - defining Data as a sentient being - mean nothing? Or is Starfleet simply setting aside both their protection of the family unit and Data's sentience simply because these principles are inconvenient?
  - While Data and Wesley discuss Lal, Dr. Crusher pages Wesley and reminds him of a hair appointment. Wesley responds that he is on his way. He then shakes his head and says, "Parents!" There is no badge tap. Neither Dr. Crusher nor Wesley said "Out." There is no indication that the communication channel had been closed. In other words, Dr. Crusher heard Wesley say "Parents!"
• From Rob on 2008-04-13 at 3:29pm:
  This episode is amazing in that its revolving around an emotionless android (Data) and a never-before-seen guest star (Lal) and yet it so emotionally moving. The death of Lal actually brings a lump to my throat, especially when she's in Troi's quarters thumping at her abdomen and saying "This is what it means to feel."
  
  Phenomenal work by the actress (Hallie Todd?) and everytime I've watched the episode I'm saddened all over again that she suffered that cascade failure. She would have been a fascinating addition to the cast.
• From Crispy on 2009-07-22 at 1:11pm:
  Excellent episode - one of the few truly emotionally moving TNG episodes.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-07-25 at 1:10am:
  - Someone needs to replace the light bulbs in the transporter room. When Kurn beams aboard the Enterprise, the transporter platform is very dark. Maybe he called ahead to tell the transporter chief he wanted to make a dramatic entrance ;)
  - Picard replicates a variety of foods for Kurn to sample. One of them is roast turkey. Why would the replicators aboard the Enterprise replicate bones? Doesn't this seem like a waste of enegy? Picard must be a real stickler for authenticity ;)

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-07-26 at 1:08am:
  - As part of his odd behavior, Picard's replica reports for his physical one month early. Later, Dr. Crusher says the test results are identical to last year's physical. Why would the test results be identical? The aliens constructed the replica by scanning Picard, a Picard who was eleven months older than the last physical. Shouldn't the tests show that change?
  - At the end of the episode, Picard manages to communicate his desires to the bridge crew with a single look. With one glance he tells Riker that he wants the aliens imprisoned. It is what should be expected from the bridge crew of the flagship of the Federation. After all, these are the best of the best. So why haven't we seen this type of working together before?
  - The aliens seem genuinely surprised by Picard's anger over his kidnapping. When Picard calls kidnapping an immoral assault, the aliens merely respond that the whole concept of morality ia an interesting human characteristic. Yet, earlier in the episode, when Tholl asserted that they hadn't been mistreated, the cadet immediately responds, "We've been kidnapped! Locked in a room. You don't think that's mistreatment?" This makes sense until you realize that the cadet is one of the aliens. Evidently the aliens understand the mistreatment of kidnapping, because they said so through the cadet. So why do they play dumb at the end of the show?
• From JRPoole on 2008-04-10 at 2:40pm:
  The premise of this episode--sentient beings of different backgrounds and talents being brought kidnapped for psychological experiments--is cliched, both in the Star Trek franchise and sci fi as a whole. As mentioned above, the aliens responsible for the kidnapping are moronic at best. The other aliens, especially the Chalna, are also rather broadly drawn, though I'll admit they do look cool.
  
  The only thing keeping this from being a 1 is that the fake-Picard plot on the Enterprise is entertaining, and the end is genuinely funny.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Whoa Nellie on 2007-04-15 at 1:45pm:
  This episode is a perfect 10. It was marvelous to get to see the relaxed, off-duty Jean-Luc Picard suavely romance the beautiful, lady archaeologist. Wonderfully written by Ira Steven Behr, this episode is an homage to the great romantic films of the 40's. Vash is Bacall to Picard's Bogart. Watch Bogart and Bacall in the classic movie "To Have and Have Not" and then watch "Captain's Holiday." Vash's brazenness complements Picard's more sedate personality perfectly. Picard and Vash have a very compelling 'battle of wills' dynamic to their relationship. The characterizations and relationship dynamics between Picard and Vash makes this episode a pure joy to watch this episode.
  
  
• From DSOmo on 2007-07-27 at 9:27pm:
  The Uthat is located in a cave that is twenty-seven kilometers from the resort. It takes Picard and Vash two days to get there. Yet when they leave, they leave their backpack behind. The backpack had their food, drink, and bedding. Did they steal Sovak's transportation? Did they "rough it" all the way back?
• From JRPoole on 2008-04-10 at 4:56pm:
  This is a fun episode, but not a truly great one.  I agree with the review above in that it's great fun to watch Picard off of the Enterprise, especially when he "pulls a Kirk" and hooks up with the guest star of the week.  I also like the alusions to the films the reviewer above mentions, and the whole episode is good entertainment.
  
  The result of all this, however, is that it's hard to take this episode seriously. If the Uhtat is all it's cracked up to be, it could have been the subject of a seasons-long plot arc. As is, it's largely tossed off. This brings me to another gripe. If the Vorgons are really time travellers from the 27th century, why can't they just time travel again, back to five minutes before Picard destroys the Uhtat now that they know how, when, and where he does it? Like the aliens in "Allegience" a few episodes earlier (who, by the way, look very simliar)
  
  And the Uhtat itself is a little problematic. A crystal? Really? Come on.
  
  All that aside, this is a solid episode if you don't think too much about it. The interaction between Picard and the crew is hilarious, especially at the end, and we weren't subjected to a lame sub-plot about what was going on onboard the Enterprise during Picard's absence.
• From KStrock on 2009-03-08 at 8:39pm:
  Why does Riker mention Risa like Picard's never heard of it? Even Archer and crew were well aware of Risa's reputation.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-07-28 at 4:53pm:
  The writers didn't do their math for this episode:
  
  - The maximum range for safe transport is 40,000 kilometers. In this episode, Data and Tam beam over to Tin Man when the Enterprise is 18 minutes away by impulse. Traveling at full impulse is traveling just under the speed of light. The speed of light is just under 300,000 kilometers per second. In other words, Data and Tam beamed a distance of almost 324,000,000 kilometers. This is well above the maximum transporter range.
  - Wesley tells Picard that the repulser wave from Tin Man threw them 3.8 billion kilometers. However, only 50 seconds elapse from the time the repulser wave hits the Enterprise until Picard witnesses the supernova of the dying star on the main viewscreen. As noted above, light travels just under 300,000 kilometers per second. If the Enterprise was thrown 3.8 billion kilometers from the dying sun, it would take about 12,667 seconds for the light of the explosion to reach the Enterprise. That figure equals 3.5 hours. It is not possible for the light produced by a supernova to reach a distance of 3.8 billion kilometers in 50 seconds.
• From JRPoole on 2008-04-10 at 4:59pm:
  Solid all around. Math problems aside, this episode features an interesting premise, Romulan intrigue, and a solidly written and acted guest of the week.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-07-28 at 6:26pm:
  - The engineers get contaminated because a seal on one of the medical containers is broken. The engineers contact the invidium as they carry the tissue sample from the transporter pad to an antigrav unit. Why are Geordi's top engineers carrying medical containers? Isn't that a job for the medical technicians?
  - After the engineers load these precious medical samples on an antigrav unit, Geordi tells Barclay to fix the antigrav unit. Geordi says it has an intermittent problem. Is this a standard procedure on the Enterprise? Does Starfleet have a regulation, "Whenever you encounter a problem with a piece of equipment, put a lot of really important stuff on top of it and then get someone to fix it?"
  - When Geordi faces the problem of the ship "flying apart," he calls his team of senior engineers together to solve the problem. This is a sound approach. If you have a staff of highly trained individuals, why not consult them? In previous shows, however, Geordi has always tackled the problems alone or with the help of a holographic representation.
  - Barclay enjoys a holodeck-created Ten-Forward. He walks over to Troi and she says, "I feel your confidence, your arrogant resolve. It excites me." At this point the companel beeps and someone says, "Lieutenant Barclay report to Cargo Bay 5 now!" Barclay responds by telling Troi, "It'll have to wait till later, darling." He quickly adds, "Be right there." So what did the guy at the other end of the conversation hear? In response to his command that Barclay report to the cargo bay, did the man hear Barclay tell him in loving terms that it would have to wait until later?
  - Geordi originally discovers Barclay's fantasies by strolling into the holodeck. Later, Riker, Geordi, and Troi do the same thing. They simply walk up to the panel, Riker punches a few buttons, and the door to the holodeck pops open. Shouldn't there be an etiquette involved with entering the holodeck? These holodecks function as recreational areas for the crew. Even Geordi admits that what people do on the holodeck is their business. Isn't it an invasion of a person's privacy to allow others to walk into that person's fantasy?
  - Picard must have one of those screen savers that blanks the screen until some activity occurs. Just after he tells Geordi to make Barclay his "project," Riker and Geordi leave Picard's ready room. Picard reaches over and turns his display panel toward him and studies it - except the panel is blank before he turns it!
• From djb on 2008-04-04 at 2:47am:
  I watched this episode over a month ago, and I JUST today got that the episode's title is a pun. Hollow = Holo --> Holodeck. Very clever.
• From Orion Pimpdaddy on 2009-06-06 at 9:16pm:
  What a refreshing episode! Barclay feels real; I sometimes have to look away from the TV when he is having his awkward interactions with the crew.
  
  And who can forget the Goddess of Empathy?

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Ivan on 2006-07-29 at 3:21pm:
  During the scene where Fajo is provoking Dataabout his not capable of killing someone, I kept shouting 'Kill him!'. The Data in this episode shows some kind of 'emotion' but in an android sort-of-way. 9/10
• From DSOmo on 2007-07-29 at 1:41am:
  - When Data begins his final run to the Enterprise in the opening scenes, he reports his progress to Geordi. After the crew of the trader ship stuns Data, his captors talk freely about the components of Data's body. Isn't it very convenient that Data's communicator happened to shut off at just the right time so Geordi wouldn't hear their discussions? Wouldn't an open communications line be standard in these types of dangerous situations?
  - The opening shot shows the Enterprise almost head to head with Fajo's ship. That means that Data must execute two 180-degree turns to get from Fajo's shuttle bay to Shuttle Bay 2. If hytritium is so unstable, why not put the ships back to back? In that way Data could fly out of one shuttle bay and make a straight line to the other.
  - Evidently, whenever there is any sort of dangerous job, Picard sends poor old Data to do it. For Fajo's plan to work he had to know, in advance, that Data would be the shuttle pilot. Requesting Data would cause too much suspicion later.
• From Schn on 2010-02-01 at 4:41am:
  Is there really a mystery? The transporter chief stated that the weapon was in the process of discharge while in transit. It seemed to me that we realise in this episode that Data has more complex rules for killing than self defence.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-07-29 at 8:26am:
  - When Picard approaches Sarek about the mind meld, he comments that it is the only logical choice. Wouldn't another Vulcan be the more logical choice? There is a Vulcan on Sarek's staff, and there are also other Vulcans on board the Enterprise. "The Schizoid Man" featured a Vulcan medical doctor.
  - When Sarek and his wife beam off the Enterprise, they join hands. This puts their hands outside the transporter containment field. Thankfully, the transporter still manages to work "correctly." Otherwise, Sarek and his wife would be handless when they arrived at the transport ship.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-07-29 at 1:15pm:
  - Changed Premise: This episode makes the point, several times, that Betazoids cannot read Ferengi minds. Troi is half Betazoid. That means her empathic capabilities are scaled-down versions of a full Betazoid's telepathic capabilities. Yet in several previous episodes, Troi comments that she senses certain emotions from the Ferengi.
  - At some point the Ferengi gave up their "phaser whips." In "The Last Outpost," the Ferengi used a bullwhiplike device that emitted a stream of energy when snapped. In this episode, the Ferengi use more conventional-looking weapons.
  - When Lwaxana beams from the Ferengi ship to the Enterprise, she starts out sitting on the Ferengi captain's bed and ends up standing on the bridge. In other words, the transpoter had to rearrange her skeletal-muscular structure in transit.
  - I think Wesley would do a lot better with the women if he'd remember to zip up his pants. The pants on Wesley's "acting ensign" uniform don't close all the way in back! Maybe his promotion and Starfleet uniform will help ;)
• From JRPoole on 2008-04-15 at 10:23am:
  Uggh.  My general disdain for Ferengi episodes aside, this is still a mess.  I can't buy the way Riker is able to make subtle shifts in the warp signature without being able to read Ferengi.  I can't buy the Ferengi themselves; they're just to ludicrous.  I can't buy the new-found (and then suddenly lost again in subsequent episodes) chemistry between Riker and Troi.  This one is a zero for me.
• From Kethinov on 2008-04-15 at 1:18pm:
  Keep in mind, JRPoole, that it's always been implied that the universal translator allows people to read alien languages as well as understand the spoken variety.
• From JRPoole on 2008-06-13 at 12:06am:
  I guess you're right about the universal translator. But that would that mean the translator is inside the brain?

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-07-29 at 6:44pm:
  - This episode opens with Geordi and Worf in Ten-Forward at the bar. Geordi points out a woman at a nearby table. He questions Worf as to what he should say to her. The conversation makes it sound like they've never met. In fact, Geordi has already taken her out at least once. He programmed an entire holodeck sequence for her at the beginning of "Booby Trap," and all she said was she didn't think of Geordi in "that way." Now here she is making eyes at Geordi and acting like she wants to get something started. What changed? Why is Christie Henshaw so interested in Geordi all of a sudden?
  - After Dr. Crusher beams John Doe up to the "Enterprise, she puts him in full "biosupport." One shot shows the panel that displays his current physical status. All the triangle indicators are white and around the middle of their ranges. Later, Crusher says in a voice-over that she has removed John Doe from biosupport and that his major organ systems can now function on their own. So why are the triangle indicators in this shot red and at the extreme left side of their scales? Don't red triangles all the way to the left indicate that a patient is dying?
  - In one scene, Riker waits outside a turbolift. The door opens and reveals Geordi embracing Christie Henshaw. As she leaves the turbolift, Riker enters. Riker says, "Bridge," to state his destination. Geordi adds, "Deck 6," and the turbolift takes off. Why did Geordi have to state where he is going? He was already on the turbolift, it should already know where to take him.
  - Shuttle Craft 5 is once again the object of renumbering or renaming. In the episode "Times Squared," Shuttle Craft "05" was named El-Baz. In the episode "The Ensigns Of Command," it became the Onizuka. Finally, in this episode, Shuttle Craft 5 returns to El-Baz.
• From Rob on 2008-04-13 at 3:54pm:
  I mostly find this episode boring, but the reason I'm commenting is on your complaint of "never hearing from the Zalkonians again". This is true of many, many ST guest alien species so I'm not sure why it stuck in your craw here, but aren't the Zalkonians described as "Xenophobic". I could be wrong here. Again, it's been a long while since I've seen the episode. If they are Xenophobic, it's likely they keep to themselves and only become "aggressive" when their territory is trespassed in. Starfleet would surely avoid intentional trespass against such an aggressive race who is not interested in diplomatic dialog (now if Kirk were in charge of the Federation, that'd be different... how many times did that guy totally ignore warning beacons saying "Go Away").
• From JRPoole on 2008-04-16 at 11:03am:
  Re: DSOmo's first comment about Christie Henshaw's apparent changing attitudes toward Geordi. This didn't bother me. It seemed pretty in character for a woman. She isn't interested per se, but wants to keep him on the hook. I guess Geordi's new found confidence left with the alien of the week, as I don't think we see Ms. Henshaw again.
  
  I agree with most of the critiques of this episode found here, but I rather like this one. I think the idea of a species on the verge of evolution to a higher plane of existence is interesting, and I like that it's happening on a biological rather than a metaphysical level.
  
  My main problem here is the choking scene. Is the Zalconioan commander doing that with his mind? Or is it some sort of weapon? It's unexplained and rather annoying.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-07-29 at 9:50pm:
  - As the show opens, Riker leads an away team down to the destroyed colony. When they arrive, he asks O'Brien to confirm their coordinates. O'Brien verifies the coordinates and says that they are at the center of town. The next shot shows the away team standing at the edge of a gaping hole. No buildings ring the abyss. If the hole is all that's left of the colony and they transported to the center of town, shouldn't they be standing in the center of the pit?
  - With the Enterprise concealed in the nebula, both Worf and Picard make statements about what the Borg ship is doing. How do they know what the Borg ship is doing? If the nebula is dense enough to confound the Borg's sensors, wouldn't it do the same to the Enterprise's sensors?
  - Before the away team beams over to the Borg ship, Worf hands out phasers. Shelby then comments that they will only be able to use the phasers a few times before the Borg will adapt to the frequencies. Evidently, tuning these phasers is a big deal. Otherwise the away could fire a few times, use the controls to set a new frequency, and start firing again. However, in the episode "The Arsenal Of Freedom," Data continues to retune the frequency on his phaser to find the "precise frequency" to free Riker from the force field. If Data's phaser had this capability in the first season, what happened to the phasers in the third season?
  - At one point, when Shelby boards a turbolift, she states her destination as, "Deck 8, battle bridge." She and Riker then have a disagreement, and she leaves as soon as the turbolift reaches her destination. However, the turbolift doors open into a hallway, not the battle bridge. "Encounter At Farpoint" showed two entrances to the battle bridge: both were turbolifts.
  - The Enterprise seems to have solved its structural integrity problems. During the runaway acceleration of "Hollow Pursuits," the Enterprise began shuddering as soon as it passed warp 9.4. In this episode, the Enterprise sustains a speed of warp 9.6 for several hours and everything's fine.
• From JRPoole on 2008-04-17 at 9:25am:
  This is something I've wondered before, but I thought of it again watching this episode. Can Troi turn off her empathic abilities? If not, how is it fair for her to play poker? Couldn't she sense if someone was bluffing?
• From Orion Pimpdaddy on 2009-06-26 at 12:31pm:
  The cool thing is, this episode wasn't just about the Borg. Riker's personal and professional life was under a microscope and you had Picard pondering man's role in history while talking to Guinan.
  
  When you add all these small pieces to the main plot, you get a very enjoyable, movie-like episode.