The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-07-29 at 3:26pm:
  - 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.
• From Mario on 2012-02-16 at 2:24am:
  "An excellent episode from a fanboyish standpoint." I disagree with you on that.
  
  I really don't care if Sarek is Spock's father. It doesn't affect the story at all, which is - at least to me - the exact opposite of a SciFi fanboy story: It is rather a quite universal tale of coming to grips with one's mortality - and a really good one too.
  It's about losing control because of ageing, an aspect which is more and more important in our ageing society. The denial of losing his mind, the difficulty of accepting help, the fear of becoming an undignified burden to your loved ones, the silent tear during the concert - everything about this episode was beautiful and touching.
  
  Your only regret is not seeing Spock? And that cost the episode 3 points? What a shame...
  
• From Ggen on 2012-04-09 at 3:58am:
  A pretty good episode. Interesting just how illogical vulcans can be - not only Sarak with his debilitating illness, but also his vulcan aide (at least until Data pushed him a bit).
  
  I thought the mind meld was used appropriately here and in an interesting and rather novel way.
  
  One thing they could've been mentioned was why Sarak didn't meld with his vulcan aide instead (it could've easily been explained that the illness could be transferred among vulcans through melds, plus Picard has the benefit of a diplomatic mind). It made sense, pretty much, just had to fill in the dots on your own...
  
• From jeffenator98 on 2020-02-06 at 6:02pm:
  Sarak is said to be 202 years old in this episode in Journey to Babel he is said to be 101.
• From Azalea Jane on 2021-08-26 at 1:15am:
  Too bad Brent Spiner didn't bother with taking a few violin lessons over his career as Data! His inability to even badly fake it is conspicuous. Hey, wait, where's O'Brien? He plays cello! And he was even in this episode! Blaah!
  
  I like how this episode shows the inherent contradiction of Vulcans. They work so hard to be emotionless, to the point of superstition. Perrin implores Picard to let him retain his pride and honor. Those are not logical! I also noticed this recently watching ENT: "The Andorian Incident" where T'Pol speaks of "blasphemy."
  
  Are the Vulcans logical because that is the most pragmatic way to exist as an emotional being? Or are they logical because they built a quasi-religion around it? Watching Picard express all of Sarek's regrets, such as not showing enough tenderness to his family, was really sad. Top-tier overacting from Patrick Stewart and Mark Lenard!

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From JRPoole on 2008-09-17 at 2:58pm:
  This episode is great. The plot hatched by N'Vek is far-fetched at best, but this it's worth it in the end. I love the way that Troi starts to throw her weight around, and I absolutely love the way that the Romulan people are presented as a very complex people. Recently they've been been fleshed out much more than they ever were in the past, and I like that Spock's work on Romulus is revisted here. Overall, this is top-notch. I give it a 9.
  
• From J Reffin on 2009-08-03 at 2:02pm:
  It's a great episode, but The Inner Light (s 5) is in another league.
• From Inga on 2012-03-17 at 10:12pm:
  I liked the Romulan Commander. A strong episode with strong female characters and an engaging plot.
• From Dennis on 2013-03-31 at 11:29pm:
  I didn't know they could spend money. Riker tells Ensign DeSeve to go buy some civilian clothes because he doesn't want to see him in a Star Fleet uniform.
• From Harrison on 2013-08-24 at 10:52am:
  Any weaknesses (there are few) in this episode are rendered trivial by the outstanding performance by Carolyn Seymour as the Romulan Commander Toreth. It's a compelling and memorable portrayal, of a calibre rarely achieved on television.
  
  Marina Sirtis delivers a pretty remarkable performance, too. It's a little shrill in places, but her repartee with the Romulan Commander is pulled off wonderfully. It's almost jarrig how departs so thoroughly from the soft & sensitive "Deanna Troi" in this episode.
  
• From Mike on 2016-10-28 at 12:47am:
  This is a fantastic episode, and I'm glad they used Troi's character for it as it worked very well.
  
  I think we have to assume, though, that Troi speaks fluent Romulan. If she doesn't, then how do the Romulan captain and crew not notice that she's using a universal translator?
  
  It stands to reason that she would know Romulan and is familiar with the culture. During the senior officers' dinner, the captain suggests she try a dish which she correctly identifies, in a moment that makes N'Vek nervous she'll be discovered. Maybe at the start, they could've had N'Vek mention that her Romulan fluency is one of the reasons she was chosen.
  
  Anyway, just a minor problem. The episode, overall, is one of the best of this season.
• From Kethinov on 2016-10-28 at 4:38pm:
  Some common rationalizations:
  
  For those with the UT embedded in their brains (probably most advanced cultures), the UT may simulate natural language to receivers, including creating the illusion of natural lip movements in your mind. This would have the unintended consequence of preventing you from noticing when someone is not speaking your language.
  
  It's also possible the Romulan Empire is made of several different cultural groups that each speak different Romulan languages. So any lip movement observed would be chalked up to being from some other province of the Empire.
• From McCoy on 2018-01-16 at 7:44pm:
  A good episode with great Romulan captain. And Troi completely out of character. It just wasn't her. Too proffessional undercover work, too much bold behaviour and lack of her standard irritating psychological mentalplasma.
• From Alex on 2021-02-20 at 2:43pm:
  Gotta love comments like that.
  
  "this character sucks, mentalplasma"
  *episode where character kicks ass and handles the situation well*
  "wtf this is too good for this character, this sucks!
  
  For me it was definitely a strong, intense episode. Troi isn't "too profesionally undercover", she can sense their emotions and gain this insight that lets her know how to react and how to provoke when needed. And she was already familiar based on a previous episode. It all made sense and was thrilling to watch.
• From FH on 2023-06-02 at 8:22pm:
  Mike: "During the senior officers' dinner, the captain suggests she try a dish which she correctly identifies, in a moment that makes N'Vek nervous she'll be discovered." - actually, I think Troi chooses the wrong dish. After all, once Troi has picked one of the dishes, the Romulan commander says: "I realize that it's nothing compared to what you are accustomed to on Romulus ... but you could at least try the vineriine." This implies it's not the vineriine (the suggested dish) that Troi is trying. Troi just manages to save the situation (and herself) by snapping: "I've smelled better vineriine on prison ships."

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Jeff Browning on 2011-11-27 at 10:33pm:
  Logic problem: in the opening sequence, the admiral tells Sisko that he is going to be at the star base for a long time - hence the need for an office.
  
  Immediately after the intro, the admiral announces that the Defiant crew is going to be taking the captured Jem Hadar fighter behind enemy lines. Soooo, apparently Sisko is not going to be at star base for a long time after all?
  
  In the context of the rest of the episode, the Admiral's comment makes no sense at all.
• From L on 2013-08-03 at 8:56am:
  This episode does a great job of setting up psychological and motivational tensions between Dukat and Weyoun, and also just the general stress the old DS9 crew are under.
  The scene with Odo reluctantly trading in his star power for favours with Weyoun was brilliant.
  As was that between Dukat and Kira. If she could only spit acid. I cringed at him touching her.
  As we've invested so much in the situation, everything was compelling in this episode.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Vincent on 2011-10-10 at 2:58am:
  In this episode, Braxton cites his time in the 20h century as a reason to try to eliminate Voyager from the timeline. However, if I recall correctly, after the events of Future's End, Braxton says he never experienced that timeline. This is only a minor problem in a very entertaining episode.
• From Wes on 2012-03-02 at 2:29pm:
  Isn't it a problem that Seven went to Voyager in dry dock in the beginning and the weapon was already placed, yet it was already placed? Then, she went into the FUTURE (to the battle with the Kazon) not into the PAST to find when the device was placed. What!? You go into the future to find the guy placing the device who actually placed the device in the past. That's a real temporal paradox--one that seems like it was more of a major problem that the writers chose to look over to include Utopia Planetia in this episode and something familiar to us (the Kazon battle).
• From JR on 2012-07-11 at 5:49am:
  I like how the "present" 29th century Braxton is arrested for something he might do in the future. That particular "future" Braxton did commit time crimes, but as we know from episodes like Parallels, STXI, etc, there are infinite possible futures.
  
  Therefore, arresting "present" Braxton and merging him with that particular "future" Braxton seems kinda like punishing "present" Braxton for a thought-crime...or maybe a possible future thought-crime.
  
  Anyway, I liked seeing Dutch from The Shield. It's interesting how certain actors get typecast. He was sort of a detective here, and will be again in at least two shows I recall.
• From Mitch89 on 2013-03-24 at 10:30pm:
  I found Carey's chat with Seven in engineering somewhat amusing, considering he's married with children!
• From Jadzia Guinan Smith on 2015-06-29 at 8:50pm:
  I’m with JR; it’s highly disturbing that Braxton would be arrested for a crime he has not yet committed nor even has the present intent to commit! For all the federation’s claims of enlightenment, this is the kind of draconian future they have to look forward to? And no one in-universe is troubled by this?
• From Dstyle on 2015-07-16 at 7:55pm:
  I don't mind a good time travel episode--really, I don't--but I wish I din't always have to turn off the part of my brain that processing things intelligently and logically in order to enjoy it. Seriously, every Star Trek time travel episode always seems to have one character who is grappling sophomorically with the whole thing, trying to spell it out simply for the folks at home, and someone usually tells that character something to the effect of, "It's best if you just don't think too hard on it." This episode was FULL of "just don't think too hard about it" moments. This episode was just a mess. Probably one of the weakest time travel episodes I've seen, honestly.
• From QuasiGiani on 2017-09-02 at 3:21pm:
  If you want to "intelligently and logically" in enjoy anything to do with time-travel you MUST BEST JUST "don't think too hard on it."
  
  This is the point; these are the facts. Even with the slightest bit of intelligent logic, time-travel is always going to be caught in a "mess" of paradox.
  
  This is the joke. This is the fun. This is the funny. This is why this is a really great Voyager episode. Because Janeway, of all characters, of all time(!), is especially aware of and attuned to this and here we have her dropped right slipstream of what a might be the most convoluted such and such... of all time!
  
  Honestly!
  
  Excellent Episode.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-07-24 at 8:55am:
  - 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 10:29pm:
  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 8:11pm:
  Excellent episode - one of the few truly emotionally moving TNG episodes.
• From CAlexander on 2011-04-21 at 4:09am:
  An excellent episode, rather touching. I found myself pondering Data's arguments. That is a good sign.
  - Since DSOmo brings it up, I'll point out that I don't totally buy Data's argument that he need not inform the Captain about his experiments because he is merely procreating like anyone else, and thus his actions are beyond question. This might be true if Data were a member of a race of androids who had reproduced since time immemorial by building new copies of themselves. But he is creating a brand new experimental life form that may or may not work. So his analogy is flawed; he is not the same as a normal human having a child, and more like a childless man trying to create a genetically engineered superbeing to act as his progeny. While it is reasonable that Data be allowed to "reproduce", his argument that he need not tell anyone else doesn't hold water.
  - Furthermore, the danger involved in building Lal is not merely theoretical. The existence of Lore suggests that Soong-type androids have a fairly high chance of becoming super-powered homicidal monsters. I think it would have been wise for Data to create Lal in a high-security facility with more oversight.
  - Data also defends himself by saying that he took all the steps that any other cyberneticist would have taken. But this is self-serving and thus irrelevant; it is like someone secretly building atomic bombs in their basement then saying it is OK because he promises he took all the necessary precautions. We believe Data, but there is no reason for Starfleet to take his claims at face value.
  
• From rpeh on 2011-06-04 at 9:15am:
  I think this episode rates much higher than a 5. The acting by all the principal characters is superb, and the story is engaging and well-told. It manages to be touching without being overly cloying, which Trek can sometimes do.
  
  The only problem is the usual Reset Button: what happens next? Having demonstrated that he can create other androids, why does Data never apply what he learned and create more? Does he not give his new information to Star Fleet?
  
  Apart from that, it's great. I give it a 9.
• From Jeff Browning on 2011-09-27 at 2:08pm:
  I agree wholeheartedly with rpeh. Our webmaster has nothing but praise for this episode, but rates it a 5? Talk about damning with faint praise. I think it deserves at least an 8.
• From John on 2011-11-23 at 12:12am:
  One of my favorite episodes of any Star Trek series ever.
  
  Everything about this episode is great. The story is interesting and the actress who portrays Lal is superb in her role. Frakes direction is well-paced and thoughtful.
  
  The ending of this episode always gives me a lump in my throat and makes me tear up a bit, which I think is a good thing. It's very moving, and raises some interesting questions about the nature of life.
  
  Personally, I give a 10/10.
• From John Bernhardt on 2020-04-14 at 3:05am:
  This episode is certainly more relevant now as part the backstory for star trek-picard's soji/sutra character. I am surprised nobody objected to the admirals attempt to remove Lol from ship. Clearly, data could have simply gone with her.
• From Azalea Jane on 2021-08-08 at 2:24am:
  Lal does something similar to Data, but perhaps more so. She seeks to understand humans and be like them. Well before her fear episode, she also expresses what is clearly frustration at not being able to experience (other) emotions like love or lust or loneliness. Like Data, she expresses some form of emotion around her dissimilarity with humanity, but is unable to "experience" those emotions on a metacognitive level and name them as such. (And, for whatever reason, self-aware emotions seemed to be correlated with a system failure.) I like that Lal questions this pursuit. She expresses confusion and distress around the idea of working toward something one can never attain. Data talks of the "reward" of striving to be more than one is.
  
  I say all this not to nitpick or even find fault. I actually think it's an important point that there may be no true border between thoughts and emotions. Like most pairs of things in the universe, thinking and emoting aren't a simple binary.
  
  The theme of the "inner struggle" is a recurring one in Trek.
  
  The "what are your intentions with my daughter" bit was funny, but any half-sentient being could see that Lal was clearly in control of that situation. I think "Lal, what are your intentions with my commander?" would have been *hilarious.* And a little subversive of gender stereotypes, which always nice.
  
  Despite the ruling in "Measure of a Man", Starfleet brass is still trying to subvert Data's (and, by extension, his offspring's) rights. This might be a writing error, or it could be indicative of some humans' inability to see or acknowledge artificial life forms as truly sentient. This episode feels especially relevant in light of Star Trek: Picard, which I'm in the middle of for the first time. The status, personhood, and rights of artificial sentient beings will probably be an ongoing conversation among humans for a *long* time. The admiral's reaction at the end was quite touching.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From TheAnt on 2013-09-18 at 8:13pm:
  This is the episode where DS9 really loose track and derails completely.
  Our favourite Cardassian villain becomes some sort of ersatz 'Dart Dukat' and Sisko feeling a disturbance in 'The force' etc etc.
  I have no idea what the scriptwriters thought they were doing, or had they taken a vacation and left the stage to some juvenile fan of another fiction universe?
  A lot of 'Boom crash bang & fireworks' and very little substance.
  Many fans have been screaming blue murder over this episode, so do I.
• From MJ on 2019-03-11 at 11:21pm:
  ROSS: "Starfleet has chosen you to plan the invasion of Cardassia."
  
  Um, wouldn't an operation like this involve a bunch of admirals with years of experience coordinating fleets of starships, rather than a captain who'd been running a space harbor and serving as a Bajoran liaison? Don't get me wrong, I like the Sisko character, but having him plan something like this is a stretch. It's like if Eisenhower had told Lt Col Rudder that he was responsible for planning the Normandy invasion.
  
  The storyline involving the Chintaka battle was pretty cool. I liked watching the difficulties in getting all three alliance members on board with the same plan. Seems pretty realistic. The orbital weapon platforms were a cool idea. The Dukat storyline was a bit of a bore, but that may be because I agree with Ant that this Pah-Wraith stuff is where Dukat goes off the deep end.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From McCoy on 2017-09-18 at 3:13pm:
  Qatai was indeed a great character. I would like to see him joining the crew. But that would be a bit out of character for him. Ahab must hunt the whale... I really liked the last scene with him.
• From J B on 2021-06-03 at 11:18pm:
  Finally, a good episode after a run of many in a row that I found unpalatable. I think the framing of this episode, bookended with those scenes of Qatai-as-Ahab, is what makes it land so solidly.
  
  Early on, I also noted similarities to TNG: The Game, but for me the similarities ended when the crew became incapacitated. From there it became its own episode. Best of S5 so far.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-08-24 at 6:44am:
  - The computer apparently doesn't know that dead people don't move their eyes. When Picard and Guinan are in the holodeck at the very start of the episode, a holodeck character gets machine-gunned down. When Picard turns the man's head to face them, his eyes move around.
  - At the end of the episode, Data narrates a flashback to the first encounter with the Paxans. During his narration, the episode shows Data waking everyone while the Paxans attempt to override the shields. The Paxans penetrate the shields and take control of Troi. After she breaks Worf'd wrist, Picard asks, "Who are you?" The Paxans, speaking through Troi, do not answer. They simply maintain that they must destroy the ship. The dialogue continues until Picard and the Paxans reach a compromise. Then Picard turns to Data and orders him never to reveal what has happened, to conceal his knowledge of the Paxans for as long as he exists. How did Picard know they were called the Paxans? The Paxans never mentioned their name.
• From JRPoole on 2008-05-08 at 2:46pm:
  I agree with the general absurdity of the premise of this episode. How was Data supposed to cover up a whole day? If it was, say, Tuesday, and they woke up on Wednesday, how is that concealable? Even if the crew goes on thinking that only 30 have passed, won't there still be an unaccountable lag when they get back to a star base and it isn't the day they thought it was?
  
  Also, the direction and staging is poor in this episode. For instance, Geordi comes to the bridge, asks Troi to give him a moment with the captain in private, and they proceed to stroll around the bridge chatting about Data's deception. It seems like something they should discuss in the ready room.
  
  Still, there are some things to like about this episode, mainly Data's refusal to reveal the truth to the crew, so this one is a 2.
• From JRPoole on 2008-05-08 at 11:35pm:
  I'm bewildered by the fan rating on this one. This one is more significantly higher than the host's rating than virtually any other episode. Is this one usually considered a fan favorite, or is this an anomaly?
• From Bernard on 2008-05-14 at 11:23pm:
  Just to add to the above in the general berating of this episode...
  
  Take Picards preposterous reaction to Data's evident deceipt. He threatens poor Data with the suggestion that starfleet will dissect him to find out what has gone wrong with him! Considering the events of the episode 'measure of a man' this is not a possible course of action... Data could be court martialled etc. but not taken apart (without his consent anyway)
  
  Some really fundamental flaws with this episode that I agree with low marks as there is nothing else redeeming to save it
• From Orion Pimpdaddy on 2008-10-20 at 4:31pm:
  I always look forward to watching this episode again. Seeing Data lie and lose credibility among the crew is facinating to watch. Also, the revelation that the crew has lost a whole day's worth of memory always amazes me, even though I have seen it many times.
  
  I love the ending where Picard ALMOST turns the ship back to the planet again. If they had come back a third time, then aliens would have destroyed the Enterprise.
• From trekstar on 2011-01-03 at 3:02pm:
  I've always liked this episode. I was always under the impression that the aliens didn't just wipe out their memory for a day, but also placed them back in time. Which means although they had "clues" of life going on a whole day, in the time frame outside the ship, only 30 seconds had passed. That makes more sense...I think:)
• From level@level.net on 2011-08-22 at 6:39am:
  I think the negative reviews are a little unfair. The holodeck sequence sucks, and the premise is kind of outlandish, but I think it falls short of being absurd. In fact, it's got some redeeming qualities. The sheer uncertainty in the first 3/4 of the episode is quite exquisite. Data is protecting the crew by concealing the events of the past 24 hours... Wtf? This was downright creepy at times. I was trying to picture what kind of horrible, traumatizing, life-altering things might've transpired...
  
  The real problem with this episode is not the premise, it's that the revelation is rushed to the point of ridiculousness. It runs like a Charlie Chaplin film, just a few steps too fast. (I like the episode but I'll be the first to admit it has some serious flaws) Here's a small one: what is up with Wharf getting all trigger happy on counselor Troi? All she did was get up kind of sudden, and he's ready to shoot/physically apprehend her? And then Picard says, "Who are you?" (Maybe it's Starfleet protocol to assume that anyone who gets up and quietly approaches you has been possessed by another lifeform?)
  
  Not very believable.
  
  Speaking of which, it just seems unrealistic how quickly everyone arrives at the "stalemate" position/solution. Captain Picard seems to lose all nerve whatsoever - it is expected that he would be diplomatic and conciliatory, especially when facing superior technology, but here he comes off as just downright spineless or something. It's not unreasonable that he would come to this kind of decision and suggest they all just "forget" the whole thing, literally, but I would imagine it would take some kind of process, dialogue, consultation, etc. Not quite, "Wait! Don't kill us! Just make us forget and we'll be on our way."
  
  Since that part of the story is revealed as a flashback, narrated by Data, we are perhaps meant to infer that there were other events that took place off screen... but this hardly changes the viewer's experience. The real problem, as I mentioned, is that the producers simply didn't have the space to do what they needed and make it seem believable. They just couldn't cram it in the 45 minutes, it seems, or made the wrong decisions about how to manage that space.
  
  So, interesting episode - not an outright disaster or absolutely absurd, just with a rushed, abbreviated, unconvincing conclusion, like a few other episodes. I'd give it maybe a 5/6.
• From level@level.net on 2011-08-22 at 7:13am:
  (For a special treat, watch this episode right before or right after watching "TOS: The Menagerie." There are some great parallels between Spock's deception and Data's obfuscation, and their respective captains' reactions. One interesting observation - it seems a starfleet crew is much more likely to trust an oddly behaving Vulcan (even a half-Vulcan) than an android under suspicious circumstances.
  
  There's probably some kind an innate distrust of technology at work, which isn't entirely misplaced. "TNG: Brothers" comes to mind, specifically the scene when Data became completely subservient to his creator's homing beacon. And of course Data's brother became more or less insane, so there is some precedent for that as well...
  
• From Rick on 2013-02-11 at 3:46am:
  Reviewer:
  
  How is Data supposed to convince Picard that it took him a full day to revive them but in actuality it only took Data a few seconds? Wouldnt that be a big "Clue" that Picard may investigate further......
  
  Of course you could come up with a response to this but the point is that Picard may not believe whatever excuse Data would give.
• From Daniel on 2014-05-24 at 7:03am:
  I like this episode, though I agree it is a flawed premise. I just want to point out one other odd detail I noticed. The oddity occurs at the moment when the Enterprise is once again facing the Paxans (the second time), and the green energy stream takes over Troi, causing her to become a zombie and act as a Paxan. According to the timeline of the story, Troi is possessed by the Paxans (the second time) immediately before confronting Data. Yet, at the moment of her possession, Troi is in bed in a nightgown. But, a moment later, she confronts Data in full uniform. Now, why would the Paxan that possesses her need her to get dressed, or would they have any need to dress her while possessing her? Just wondering.
• From Axel on 2015-02-21 at 5:18am:
  Maybe I'm missing something here. Those of you suggesting that Data could've claimed the crew was out for a full day, thus avoiding the problems of a 30-second deception: how do you then explain the male crew's lack of beard growth? That was a major factor in the crew second-guessing whether they really were out a full day, until they learned they'd been placed in stasis. The lack of outward physical change, like beard growth, could only be passed off if the crew believed they were out for a very short time.
  
  Perhaps the Paxans are highly skilled as both barbers and mind erasers?
• From Rick on 2015-10-15 at 5:59pm:
  To the people questioning the premise of the episode, and more specifically the time difference problem (i.e. how would they explain the difference in their chronometer with the next star base they encounter), you are forgetting that they think they passed through a wormhole. I believe it is reasonable to surmise that time passes differently inside a wormhole. Hence Data saying after they wake up that he will reset the chronometer with the nearest star base signal.
  
  This episode is difficult to understand but I think they did a pretty darn good job of covering all the bases.
• From tigertooth on 2017-05-30 at 3:50am:
  I liked the episode overall. But to add to the problems:
  
  *It seems hard for me to imagine that Picard would blithely be okay with an alien race erasing memories of his entire crew.
  
  *I get why they put the Dixon Hill holodeck sequence in there to underscore the theme, but if you're going to introduce Guinan at the beginning of an episode that involves weird time anomalies, it's disappointing that she never reappears.
  
  *While I can see how the chronometers on the ship might be screwed up by the wormhole, how would you explain the lack of any official, personal, or data logs during the missing days?
  
  So while I wish they had found ways to plug some of these holes, I still found the positives of the plot arc and characterizations to be enjoyable enough to give it a 7.
  
  Data's struggle to fill in the gaps was great, and resonates nicely with his efforts to become a better actor. I kind of wish there had been a Data/Picard scene where he asked about the flaws in his performance, but it wouldn't have really made sense given that it would have had to have taken place after the second Paxan reveal -- it would have gummed up the momentum right near the end of the episode.
  
  But a great Data/Picard scene -- presumably while Picard was still in the dark -- would have really pushed this to the next level. Maybe Picard knows they could pull the information from Data's memory files, but feels that's too invasive to be a morally acceptable choice? Anyway, they didn't figure out how to make that happen, and that's a missed opportunity.
  

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Pete Miller on 2006-05-21 at 9:48pm:
  Yeah, yeah. good acting by frakes. However, acting doesn't get you anywhere if the plot is incoherent, which the plot of this one is. The entire thing is unbelievably fucked up, and just impossible for the viewer to follow along. It took me like 15 minutes to sit there and rationalize what was real and what wasn't, and just figure out the whole thing. And they didn't even explain it well at the end. I didn't care for this episode at all. It's like star trek on PCP. I can't believe someone gave it a 10.
• From Robert Koenn on 2011-06-07 at 1:16pm:
  Myself and my wife didn't care much for this episode either, we rated it a two. There have been three or four dream based episodes like this and there were some on DS9 as well. The dream sequences seem to get out of hand and the surrealistic scenes of the dream episodes never play well with me. While I managed to pick up on what was reality and what was dreamed a short way into the episode, I was telling my wife this scene will end up being a dream, the numerous episodes of dream became far too much. And the beginning where you are given the scenario apparently was a dream as well but necessary to setup the episode which didn't play well with the overall logic and flow. Frakes did do an excellent job of acting but as mentioned previously, that can't make up for a very flawed theme.
• From Ggen on 2012-04-22 at 10:19am:
  This is a brilliant episode that goes straight into my personal TNG hall of fame.
  
  The writing in this episode is consistently top-notch, as is Jonathan Frakes' performance. The story has some superficial similarities to a previous great showing from this season: Ship in a Bottle. Gotta love the multiple levels of illusion.
  
  I've actually had some amazingly vivid dreams where I've "woken up" inside what turned out to be yet another dream, and then had yet another false awakening, and so on... So I can identify with Riker a little bit in trying to sort out fact from self-generated fiction. I also know the feeling of your subconscious throwing up clues that something's not quite right here (in Riker's case, it was the recurring cut on his head that served as a sort of "reality check"). And of course there's the ever-present problem of memory, also similar to remembering dreams (or remembering you're dreaming while inside a dream) - when Riker's on the ship, it's almost as if he has access to one set of memories, when he's inside the hospital, a different set. The ship memories have their own internal logic, but then make no sense from the perspective of the other reality, and vice-versa. Anyone who's messed around with lucid dreaming will find a number of things familiar here.
  
  That's part of the damned awesomeness of this episode: it's a considerably sophisticated psychological episode, well beyond the token Troi psychobabble. The whole thing really made a damned lot of sense.
  
  As Riker eventually realized, the preparation for the mission, the preparation for the play, the play itself, being transplanted *inside* the play, all of that was self-created from recent memories in his mind's attempt to hold itself together and regain consciousness. The way it all plays out - the switching back and forth, that one alien being the "one constant," the "reflection therapy," the multiple layers - is all pretty much brilliant.
  
  - - -
  
  This line was just a bonus: "That's not a phaser. It's a knife. You took it from one of the food trays."
• From thaibites on 2012-09-22 at 12:33am:
  I really enjoyed this episode tremendously. It was great to see Riker completely out-of-control and manic. He's usually so perfect - a true Renaissance Man. Which is probably why they did this episode, so that he could break out of his "perfect" mold. Or maybe they were addressing complaints about Riker's character?
  I think the comment by Pete Miller really sums up this episode well. He says the plot is incoherent. Well...YES! What do you expect from a story about a man slowly being driven insane? I think it was a brilliant decision by the writers to do this, and they should be applauded not panned.
• From FH on 2016-01-23 at 4:46pm:
  Nitpick: When talking to Picard, Riker expresses his desire to find an excuse to not participate in the theatre play, whereupon Picard says he'd be asked to replace Riker, and he doesn't want that, either. This doesn't sound like a healthy state of an after-work theatre group, which normally live on the enthusiasm by those involved.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Praelat on 2009-05-13 at 5:07pm:
  "Why was Worf wearing an old-style TNG uniform?"
  Easy: When he arrived at the station, he was on a temporary assignment and therefore not part of the regular DS9 crew. When he joins the crew for good in the end, he switches to a regular DS9 uniform. That's it :)
  I loved the episode. I'm from Germany, and I watched this episode for the first time on video in England, when it was still a year away in Germany. I was so surprised with the "restart" of the series, bit I positively loved it and still do.
• From Wes on 2011-01-18 at 4:27pm:
  Every time there is someone on the station wearing a TNG-style uniform, you think it's some sin and put it in your "Problems" section. IT'S NOT A PROBLEM. It's consistency. Since "Emissary" it has been that way on DS9. If anyone comes to the station from a starship or starfleet command, they wear the TNG uniforms until next season. I wasn't ever a very big fan of it, but it is consistent throughout the series.
  This episode reminds me somewhat of TOS federation-klingon hostilities.
• From Bronn on 2011-11-07 at 3:34am:
  You're just caught up on the inconsistency in the fact that "Generations" had crew members occasionally in DS9 style uniforms, but that was solely because they were afraid the actual TNG uniforms weren't going to translate to the big screen, with visible zippers. But it wasn't an official style change. If you watch the film again, you'll see that the cast changes back and forth throughout the entire film between DS9 style uniforms and TNG style. Patrick Stewart is probably the only one who didn't change his uniform style at all, and that's just because he had a specially designed captain's uniform starting around the 4th season of TNG.
  
  Here's how it worked: Crew members on space stations had space-station style uniforms like DS9. Starfleet personnel serving on spaceships had TNG style uniforms. You see that any time someone visits the station from a ship up until the change-over to the "First Contact" style uniforms. It was a consistent rule, not something to be confused about.
• From DK on 2013-09-23 at 2:55am:
  More Star Trek stories should have been built around this model. Long story arcs, plenty of combat drama and lots of fight scenes make for very enjoyable episodes. I didn't even mind it so much when they had Kira beating up Kingons but really, I don't care how hard my sister hits me, I' m not going to fall to the deck. So that was either the biggest pussy in the history of the Kingon empire or.... Well, I guess that's it, the Kingpns she beat up were the biggest pussies of all time. The powers that be should really leave the hand to hand combat to the men.
• From Kenneth on 2014-04-13 at 3:43am:
  First impressions of episode and overall change in tone for the season is set right away from the new graphic and speeding up of the theme song. Some one in the graphics department decided to add some life to the images of the station. Sisko bald is bad ass. Jadzia and Kira showing some skin. Ds9 season four off to a good start
• From jbense on 2017-12-28 at 8:04pm:
  The new theme music for season four sure is different, but I disagree with your opinion that it is better.
  
  The original theme had an elegant austerity to it--horns building upon each other in counterpoint with a soft orchestral backing. It was beautiful, the best of all of Trek's theme songs IMO.
  
  The season four version is faster. The strings are shrill and detract from the intricate horn counterpoint, particularly by overpowering and obscuring some of the pleasing harmonies at the end of the tune. The new graphics, which I admitedly do not care for, unfortunately also come with irritating sound effects which further tarnish the music. Altogether, these changes subtract substantially from the bare appeal of the original theme.
  
  Of course this is all up for debate based on personal preference, but as a musician I was disappointed when the original theme was replaced.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From RichD on 2006-06-13 at 11:41pm:
  Fantastic episode. The Klingon advocate was incredible. He very nearly won the case. The way the plot unfolded was quite extraoridinary. I would have never guessed that the Klingons were trying to lure the Federation into giving up Worf while at the same time, keep them from escorting medical convoys. The plan was very romulanesque. I guess that's my only knock. It was unbecoming of the Klingons to behanve in this manner. Being underhanded. We learn later however, the Klingons were not acting on their own valition. The Quark scene was great. That guy kills me. Finally, I just love the way Sisko both lectured and scolded Work while patting him on the shoulder all at once. The mark of a great leader. Something my ol' high school basketball coach use to do. Tear us down, and build us up. I enjoyed this episode.
• From Dave on 2009-05-14 at 9:11am:
  I also love the Klingon lawyer - the actor's guest starred in a few episodes (TNG and Voyager if memory serves). Fine tradition of aggressive Klingon lawyering in Trek - always good to see. And at least Worf wasn't threatened with a spell on Rura Pente :-)
  One thing - why would Chief O'Brien say he would have taken command if Worf had been injured in the battle. Surely Major Kira would have been the ranking officer?
  
• From onlinebroker on 2009-11-05 at 6:40pm:
  I don't like this episode at all and gave it a 2. First of all I find the whole premise doesn't make alot of sense, why would klingons complain about bloodshed, why did the advocate call Worf a coward for killing people, and in the same sentence call the guy who exterminated a whole city a hero.
  Then Sisko was unbearable in this episode. He talks as if this was some sort of poetry contest, makes me really miss Picard.
• From rpeh on 2010-07-31 at 1:45pm:
  A brilliant episode; gripping and suspenseful. The Klingon advocate in particular was superb - I loved the bit when he told Sisko he would defend Worf himself in any subsequent trial.
  
  Just one problem. He asks Worf "Did you weep...", but we know from The Undiscovered Country that Klingons have no tear ducts. It seems unlikely that the advocate would use a human expression in this situation.
• From Bronn on 2011-11-13 at 5:59pm:
  "Klingon history honors conquerors who murder civilians, yet it is illegal for Worf to murder them now? What's the bloody difference? Well, Klingons are very... odd."
  
  That's hardly hypocrisy at all. Think about all the reverence we today might hold for Alexander the Great. Or better yet, Julius Caesar. Caesar's conquest of Gaul involved the burning of hundreds of villages, killing perhaps hundreds of thousdands. In his most famous battle, he refused to allow starving civilians-women, children-to be evacuated from Alesia because he wanted to stretch the Gaul's food supply. He is certainly revered, still today.
  
  "Ah," you might say, "but we don't pretend to be him, running around and killing women." If you think of Holodeck programs, though, as just an evolution in video gaming technology...Worf was just playing "Klingons: Total War." There's plenty of people who enjoy games like Grand Theft Auto who still believe in the wrongness of senseless violence.
• From Martin on 2014-04-03 at 4:15am:
  Good episode.
  One problem though...why does sisko have only 3 dots in his uniform during the trial?
• From AW on 2015-12-17 at 5:57am:
  This is one of the only times I have seen a deus ex machina ending done in a way that was satisfying and didn't come off as a cop out.
  
  I guess it really wasn't a deus ex machina because now that I think about it that awkward bit of dialog (right before the brilliant "the truth must be won" line) where the advocate reveals an ulterior motive makes sense. However, I doubt the advocate would have revealed that bit of information. Unless he didn't know about the ruse. Yeah that is more like it. In fact that explains why he would contradict himself as other commenters pointed out. The Klingon were using an uncharacteristic (non-battle) strategy to accomplish 2 the two different goals.
  
  Excellent complex episode. Best so far in my opinion.
  
  [Ha, I just realized I wrote that comment like I was having a conversation with myself]
• From Armsauce on 2018-07-13 at 1:58am:
  Some great acting from Avery Brooks in this one as well, especially at the end with Worf.
• From Gaius Gracchus on 2021-10-05 at 10:48pm:
  I had to look up who directed this episode. LeVar Burton! Impressive work. Loved the cuts between the courtroom and the scenes presented by the witnesses.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Sean on 2010-06-07 at 8:45am:
  That was such a fun episode, the producers did such an excellent job on recreating the Enterprise and merging the TOS footage. I can't remember the last time I laughed so much during Star Trek!
  
  And as a side note, I think that mystery sixth Enterprise must be the 1701-E, because Geordi says in First Contact that the Enterprise has been out of spacedock "for almost a year", so presumably when this episode was set, the Enterprise-E was out there, stutting her stuff.
• From rpeh on 2010-08-01 at 5:00pm:
  Wonderful stuff. A perfect tribute to TOS and a great episode in its own right.
  
  One minor problem: Bashir says to O'Brien "Surely you took elementary temporal mechanics at the academy" but we know that O'Brien didn't graduate because he was worried about having to call Nog "sir".
• From packman_jon on 2012-05-15 at 5:48am:
  So much fun. Even if Dax's line about McCoy brings a visual of college-age McCoy "getting to know" Emony...! Still, it's too hard not love this episode!
• From Drac on 2013-02-17 at 8:52pm:
  Very good episode, but as a second watch i found it too easy they captured the klingon effortlessly and silently out of the blue and he told them what he did. Chop chop, time to cut this short :)
  
• From Selador on 2013-06-10 at 7:13pm:
  A classic episode. It had a wonderful feel and was perfectly pulled off. Just superb!
• From AW on 2015-12-22 at 12:40am:
  Just one problem (though the writers couldn't have known at the time) they say that it was the first enterprise when we know that is not true. I guess I was the first Federation enterprise as the Federation hadn't been formed yet when the first was made.
• From Thavash on 2018-12-24 at 7:33am:
  Watching in 2018, I'm still amazed at how seamless they made everything look.
• From Mitchell O on 2023-12-15 at 12:04pm:
  “ All very entertaining and probably the biggest fanboy episode ever made.”
  
  Until Lower Decks came along!

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Orion Pimpdaddy on 2006-06-20 at 1:50am:
  This a cleverly written episode. The pro-science arguements are woven into the plot seamlessly. Each scene is intriging and fun to watch. The things that happen are unusual, such as Data getting inpaled, Troi taking a test on the holodeck, people handling radioactive metal. What a great episode! My only complaint is that the protagonist blacksmith was a one dimensional character. If it wasn't for that I'd give it a 10, instead I'll give it a 9. I am surprised that people don't talk about this episode more.
• From Wing Fat on 2007-10-12 at 3:01am:
  You list no problems with this episode, but I think the fact that Data can (after a brief recovery period) speak high-level English but doesn't know what the word "radioactive" means could be considered a problem. Regardless, I loved this episode and consider it one of the best from Season 7.
• From JRPoole on 2008-10-30 at 2:42pm:
  This is a personal favorite. I absolutely love the scientist/teacher lady, especially her insistence on empirical knowledge, even if her "empirical" knowledge is dubious.
  
  As for Wing Fat's comment above, I don't think this is much of an issue. I see it as a universal translator thing. I think it's meant that Data is conversing with the natives in their own language, partially via the UT and partially via his own innate ability to learn and decipher languages. The fact the the magistrate calls the English language something like "these symbols" seems to indicate this. Then again, you have to sort of suspend disbelief with UT issues anyway, and this episode is far from the worst offender in that category.
• From djb on 2009-01-30 at 8:59pm:
  Neat episode!
  
  As Kethonov pointed out, it's good to see Crusher in command; I'd say it's good to see more women in command in general (this reminds me of what a shame it was to lose Yar in season 1).
  
  I also like seeing Troi's more "professional" side; the producers finally wised up in season 6 and had her start wearing a regular uniform. I think the writers have done a disservice to Troi throughout the series (up until season 6 and 7) in keeping her character and dialogue relatively confined to her "counselor" role, where in fact she is also a lieutenant commander, a rank which is no small feat to obtain.
  
  I like the continuity with Season 5's "Disaster," wherein she found herself in command and was definitely in over her head-- and that she wants to become a more capable officer.
  
  The only reservation I have about this is that this highlights one of the necessarily unrealistic things about this show-- that everyone continues to get promoted but the senior staff/crew stays the same. In real life, people would get transferred (and killed) more often.
  
  Now, of the seven main characters, we have one captain, two lieutenant commanders, one lieutenant, and three commanders! Also interesting how both Crusher and Troi outrank Data, who is technically third in command. How does that work?
  
  As for the other plot, it's great to see Data be Data even without knowing who or what he is-- all by himself he discovers radiation and a cure for radiation poisoning, which no other character could have done. This whole section was very well written!
  
  As for the antagonist blacksmith... some people just are one-dimensional. The guy was a jerk!
• From Drake on 2010-11-29 at 7:11pm:
  This was the very first episode i ever saw
• From Mike on 2017-03-28 at 1:17am:
  Solid episode, and good continuity for the Troi character with TNG: Disaster. I agree that it's nice when the series puts different characters in command positions, like Data in Redemption and Gambit, Crusher here and in Descent, etc.
  
  Regarding the promotion issue: Starfleet is written like a loose combination of a futuristic organization based on Federation principles, old Earth naval traditions, and a space exploration agency like NASA. I don't think promotion needs to be shown happening at the pace it would in, say, the U.S. Navy (which is very fast in comparison). Promotion in Starfleet seems to be as much about a person's desire to go into the next rank as it is about whether Starfleet is ready to promote the person. Take Riker passing up numerous promotion opportunities. A person's career is more in their own hands. Plus, even in the modern U.S. Navy, medical personnel may hold a certain rank, but aren't typically placed in command situations (the same goes for lawyers, chaplains, etc). It makes sense that Starfleet would allow you specialize in medicine, science, engineering or security, and only go for the command rank when you want to.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From djb on 2008-08-19 at 2:03am:
  I loved this episode. At first I was afraid it would be a little dull, but it quickly turned around. I liked how you could tell from Picard and Daren's first conversation that they would become an item. Since I am a musician myself, I really like the musical connection the two of them have, especially since it refers to "The Inner Light," which is an excellent episode to be reminded of.
  
  I find myself consistently enjoying Picard love-interest stories, mainly because they're not treated at all cavalierly, as with Riker (for the first few TNG seasons anyway) and Kirk. Picard takes love, like everything else, quite seriously, and he's not at all a skirt-chaser, and I identify with and appreciate that. I enjoyed Vash ("Captain's Holiday"), I enjoyed Kamala ("The Perfect Mate"), and I enjoyed Eline ("The Inner Light"), and I enjoy the continuing romantic tension between Picard and Crusher, though the producers have wisely toned it down since Season One. In the scene in sickbay between Daren and Crusher, you can see hints of jealousy on the part of the doctor (brilliantly acted by McFadden), which show that that's still a viable plot thread.
  
  The one problem I have is Daren's hokey roll-up keyboard. They could have easily thought up something not only cooler, but more realistic; any pianist, seeing a keyboard just under three octaves, and scoff. Daren certainly manages to get a lot more than three octaves' worth out of it! Also, not being able to press keys that actually go down would be rather confusing to any pianist. Plus, the keys definitely look bigger than real piano keys. Fortunately, we don't see it too much after the love interest plot takes off.
  
  The other problem, of course, is that due to the heavily episodic nature of the series, we never hear from Daren again. (Reminds me of "The Game".) I mean, we hear Picard say he's in love with her, and they wisely decide that it's a conflict of interest, but you'd think we'd see him keeping up some kind of communication with her! Oh well.
  
  The scene between them toward the end is brilliantly written and acted.
  
  An 8.
• From John on 2011-09-04 at 3:56am:
  Though I guess it's part of the remarkable scene with the Moonlight Sonata, I really loved it when Picard played that folk melody from "Inner Light" in the Jeffries Tube. It reminded me of just how amazing that episode was, and how amazing that little tune is.
• From tigertooth on 2017-01-09 at 4:14am:
  It's a small point, but in the Jeffries Tube scene, the tube behind Darren is very obviously a 2-D image of a tube. You can see shadows on the surface.
  
  The "lesson" I learn in this episode is that Picard will use any possible excuse to avoid intimacy. I'm not sure why, but he's terrified of it. I mean, he has to make Darren transfer to a different ship because he can't bear to risk her life? How often is the head of stellar cartography going to be in that situation? And why would that happen less on whatever ship she's transferred to? He's just a coward.
  
  I think both in the breakup scene as well as the "Picard apologizes for the turbolift incident" scene, you can see that Darren knows that Picard is unable to get into a real relationship. She's willing to play along with his rationalizations because she knows there's no point in fighting it. He is who he is, and she can't change him.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Dave on 2009-03-10 at 4:23pm:
  Great episode. One nit-pick: is Suder a crewman or an ensign. Hogan (a man with a similraly confused rank - once referred to as a Lieutenant by Kes) calls him Ensign Suder. But when Suder calls the bridge to get help for Tuvok, he says "Crewman Suder to the bridge". Was he demoted? Hardly surprising if he were, of course, but we never see it happen.
• From Technobabble on 2011-06-24 at 6:56pm:
  Interesting point Dave. I wondered that as well, when he's first referred to as Ensign...seems advanced in his years have such a low rank, then again he's ex-Maquis so I believe they assigned him a rank according to his seniority (none) and abilities, which must not have been impressive in engineering, in contrast to Torres. By Chakotay's description of him, he overly-relished personal combat & was effective in a fight, a value the Maquis esteem.
  
  In regards to a murder charge, well I don't believe one is immediately demoted for that, but court-martialed and sentenced to prison. Until then rank status is retained.
• From thaibites on 2013-11-02 at 5:37am:
  I'm surprised nobody here pointed out the similarity (blatant rip-off) between this episode and Silence of the Lambs. It's all there. Hannibal Lecter is Suder, he even looks like a bit like Anthony Hopkins. Plus, Lecter was always trying to get inside Clarice's head and Suder definitely got inside Tuvok's head! Plus, think about the time period - mid-nineties.
  It's still a good episode, even though they "adapted" so much from Silence of the Lambs.
• From alphabeta on 2013-11-29 at 10:25am:
  Suder was a great character, Dourif was really good in the role. It's a real shame that we didnt get to see more of him, he'd have made a great recurring character for the long haul. I wonder if there were rl circumstances that lead to that decision.
  
  As far as similarities to Silence of the Lambs goes, I dont see anything particularly blatant. The whole concept of guard and prisoner changing places, mutually empathizing, goes back much further than that movie.
• From Rick on 2014-01-13 at 4:00pm:
  As to your problem, in one of the earlier episodes the Doctor demonstrates that holographic material can be modulated to pass through things. Or it can be modulated to be solid. I think it was the neelix lung episode.
• From Rob UK on 2014-07-12 at 11:29pm:
  I really like this episode, my main reason is i took great joy in watching Turok throttle Snarf (i mean Nelix, he has always reminded me of that infuriating character from the Thundercats animation, he is the Scrappy doo to Scooby, the Godzuki to Godzilla, god dammit i hate all those characters but none of them more than i despise Nelix), i just wish it had been for real.
  
  Firstly we'd have gotten rid of the most annoying Star Trek character of all time and we could have had an excellent story arc of Turok being driven insane by the meld and Janeway's conflict of what to do with him ala Suder, but sadly it is almost a reset button episode as we barely see Suder again except for the episode when he and the Doctor are the only ones left on the ship and Tuvok is perfectly fine by the next episode with no mention ever again, Tuvok goes back to being a very generic boring Vulcan, nothing like our half human Spok with his wit and humour and occasional humanity surfacing. One problem with this fantasy arc is we then would not get the mighty fine episode Tuvix, a small price to pay to losing one very emotional and touching episode to get rid of Snarf this early on, Snarf Snarf
• From parkbench on 2015-05-08 at 6:56pm:
  A fun episode but disappointed w the execution. They build up to this meld and then literally skip the whole thing! I thought we were revving up for a DS9-style "Section 31" Sloan episode, the final one where they delve into his dying mind. Would've been a great chance to do some character development for Tuvok, show some of his inner demons and explore the Suder character more.
  
  Instead we get a lot of "show don't tell me" moments with Suder explaining both characters' motivations and narrating visible ironies (not trusting the audience) and ultimately there is no dramatic tension because you know halfway through the episode no one is in danger cause Tuvok isolated himself.
  
  Ultimately I'm a very forgiving Star Trek fan and still enjoyed the episode...in fact so far I am surprised to say that for all its infuriating choices I am enjoying the ambiance and world of Voyager quite a bit (first time for me), though I am not partial to the imperialistic naivete of the "Federation" values paraded around throughout, a "corrective" I suppose to DS9s warranted pessimism about the possibility about the benevolence of a giant, teetering neocolonial bureaucracy for the "fan's" sake...though I'm wondering just who these fans are that don't see the inherent flaws in that particular fantasy, or perhaps they are the same ones who do not question such things in the real world either...but I digress.
  
  DS9s tone ITSELF was a corrective but I suppose that era has been lost. In the meantime an enjoyable if deeply flawed episode. /endrant
• From Erik Friend on 2016-02-21 at 4:04am:
  Alienized versions of ordinary stuff mentioned in this episode:
  Rillan Grease
  Cardassian Pinocle
• From Rick on 2017-04-26 at 1:48am:
  "the imperialistic naivete of the "Federation" values paraded around throughout, a "corrective" I suppose to DS9s warranted pessimism"
  
  What? This is Star Trek you know, right? Why would pessimism be warranted for the classical Star Trek view of the future? I guess that is why I refuse to embrace DS9 and people like you seemingly adore it. Fair enough, to each his own, and so forth, but I will stick to Star Trek's classic optimism (which you for some reason call naivete, even though it if far from naive, and in fact a very conscious narrative decision), and you can have your UNwarranted pessimism, at least in so far as it applies to the ideals of Star Trek. Enjoy.
• From Mike on 2017-05-26 at 12:53pm:
  Something about the computer saying, "Try your luck again. Tomorrow you could be a winner!" really cracked me up. Maybe after years of listening to Majel Barrett's voice dispassionately provide information and reports to various crews, it was funny to hear that same, emotionless voice repeat a line you would hear on a Powerball commercial.
  
  Since Tuvok is my favorite VOY character, I enjoyed this one a lot. There were some great exchanges between him and Suder...dialogue that is, not just the mind meld. It was also interesting in how it looked at the Federation's dealings with murder and the idea of a mind meld between two ST species with unique mental abilities: Vulcans and Betazoids.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Pete Miller on 2006-07-10 at 12:30am:
  What a wonderful episode! I loved every bit of it, both the comedy and the serious. Personally, I found the moment between Jake and Sisko at the end more moving and sweet than anything in "The Visitor"
• From JR on 2012-06-12 at 5:48am:
  I liked this one quite a bit. Jeffrey Combs was great as every character he played. It was years after I watched Enterprise during its run that I realized he had played so many roles. Its such a shame Enterprise only managed four seasons...it would have been great had they made him a regular on that bridge.
  
  My only gripe with this episode: I can't imagine many things being easier to replicate than a glossy piece of cardboard.
• From OmicronThetaDeltaPhi on 2014-02-11 at 9:47pm:
  @JR
  
  As any serious collector of baseball cards could tell you, a copy - no matter who accurately rendered - can never replace the real thing. Even if the two objects are physically indistinguishable, the original has a history and an emotional value which the copy simply does not possess.
• From Zorak on 2016-06-14 at 4:04am:
  I have to agree with the general positivity toward this episode. It was a gem. I love when Star Trek mixes the serious with the mundane in such a tongue in cheek way.
• From Gaius Gracchus on 2021-11-23 at 3:25am:
  Great, light episode in the midst of a buildup to the all-out Dominion War arc.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-06-24 at 7:25am:
  - Are computer viruses unknown in the twenty-fourth century? Even unsophisticated, twentieth-century hackers knew about reinitializing a computer system and reloading all the software.
  - Every accomplished programmer understands that computer users need to be protected from accidents. That's why the more user-friendly programs tell you when you are about to do something disastrous. For instance, while trying to delete or overwrite a file, the program will usually ask the user to confirm his or her actions. Doesn't blowing up a substation seem like a fairly serious course of action? Wouldn't the programs make this fairly difficult to accomplish? Obviously not, because all Picard has to do to close the bay doors after launching a probe is tab a button three times.
• From JRPoole on 2008-01-25 at 6:07pm:
  The talking during transport thing doesn't bother me that much here. It always seems that there is a moment between the transporter beam grabbing hold and the moment when your atoms become converted into energy, and it seems reasonalbe to assume that motor functions could still work during that moment.
  
  Regardless, I agree with the review here. This is a taughtly constructed, exciting episode and one of the best of the second season.
• From KStrock on 2009-01-14 at 3:10pm:
  I think you should mention that the solution to the entire problem on the Enterprise is ridiculous:
  
  Tech Support: "Did you try shutting down the computer and restarting it?"
  
  Really? Just shutting down and restarting? It almost seems like a joke by the writers in a time when PCs were starting to really appear in homes.
• From rpeh on 2010-08-25 at 1:10pm:
  I agree with what's already been said: a very enjoyable episode with a few minor problems.
  
  The panel on the Iconian console is really annoying. If everything is done through three taps of different colour blocks, that only gives you 27 different functions, and why bother with all the fancy symbols in each block?
  
  "Shut down and restart" is a bit of a cliche now, but at the time it was probably fair enough.
  
  The gateway itself reminds me of TOS: The City on the Edge of Forever, and I agree it was a shame it was destroyed. Also, as a big fan of architecture, it seems odd that Picard was so keen to do it.
  
  Still. I'll give it an 8.
• From CAlexander on 2011-04-13 at 9:56pm:
  Definitely an interesting episode, I thought it was a good one.
  
  - Picard's stated reason for staying in the Neutral Zone - due to the risk of a design flaw - makes no sense. Surely it is more risky to offend the Romulans than worry about a possible design flaw that could manifest at any time, or never. Maybe it was just an excuse and he really just wanted to stay for other reasons.
  - Blue blue blue? A few simple button presses to destroy the base? No wonder the Iconians didn't survive! The Enterprise would have been destroyed many times over if they had such a control system.
  - There is something quite odd about how Picard says "I doubt any Iconians survived this orbital bombardment" right after he beams down into a fully functional and beautifully intact command center.
  
• From Inga on 2012-01-01 at 6:37pm:
  Why didn't Picard or that other Captain inform the Starfleet of this discovery? Can a mere starship captain make such a decision himself?
• From Ggen on 2012-02-24 at 10:16pm:
  This episode starts up with a wicked, satisfyingly frenzied pace. Within the first few minutes we have an exploding Federation Starship, a tense face-off with a Romulan ship, the threat of catastrophic systems failure on the Enterprise, and hints of an ancient civilization with powerful technology.
  
  But the same thing that makes this episode so riveting also costs it a few points at the very end. In the last few minutes, Data is pronounced dead, Data is pronounced good as new, Picard is held captive on the Romulan ship, Picard smugly escapes via transport, an out of control Romulan ship is about to self-destruct, the Romulan ship is back to normal...
  
  With so many dramatic turnings and reversals, the ending of this episode feels simply *rushed*. It needed another 20 minutes or so to wrap everything up.
  
  Small details:
  
  - Episode very cleverly sneaks in what would otherwise have been gratuitous-feeling exposition about the Iconians by having Wesley bring it up with Picard... to have Wesley ask Picard, as if he was a little kid asking about myths and fairy tales, is of course utterly ridiculous... but the writers cleverly get away with it by making it a false pretense and not Wesley's real reason to talk to the captain.
  
  - I liked the tortured look on two nameless crewmen's faces as Pulaski first bitches her heart out to some poor soul, and then gives a semi-ironic pep talk about splints and practicing medicine "with your hands." It's as if the writers are giving us someone to sympathize with. "Yes, yes, Pulaski is intolerable, we know... hang in there..."
• From jeffenator98 on 2019-12-27 at 6:18pm:
  It's good to know that 300 years from now that the old turn it off turn it on trick still works. 6/10

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Dstyle on 2015-10-28 at 2:14pm:
  One of the things that has always bothered me with Vulcans on this show is how transparently emotional they are. They pay lip service to logic and the suppression of emotions, then they act illogically and emotionally all the damn time. Those tempers flare so easily! So quick to show impatience! I have to ignore it to just enjoy the show, but some times it's harder than other times. I mean, I get it: it's hard to have effective dramatic tension when all the characters are speaking about serious matters with seemingly polite, casual disinterest, but that's how Vulcans need to play it. I'm starting to think playing a Vulcan is far more difficult than most actors realize, and we were all just spoiled by the great performances of Leonard Nimoy. The emotional Vulcan behavior was really starting to bother me during this story line, but I think this episode might perhaps be trying to provide an explanation for that, what with the "getting away from the teachings of Surak" and all. I guess we'll see how it all plays out, eh?

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Arianwen on 2010-07-23 at 12:29am:
  Well, I suppose I can't be applauded for my originality; like the majority of fans, this is for me one of the best TOS episodes ever. I think the reason I find it so enjoyable (I never once feel the need to skip forward) is that it takes the show out of its comfort zone. No redshirts, no all-powerful, murderous or otherwise interfering aliens, no fight scenes, no long, penetrating Kirk-stares... it flows very well. I really appreciate all the detail in the guest characters, the background people, the scenery - as well as in the little twitches in the characters' expressions. As you said, the acting is excellent.
  
  With all of this going on, I wasn't too bothered about their not wrapping up the business with the Guardian of Forever. In fact, I think it makes the episode rather more real - Kirk is in no mood for mysteries, he just wants to "get the hell out of here". The episode had to end there; anything afterwards would have felt false.
• From Robert Koenn on 2011-02-17 at 7:45pm:
  Of course there is all the controversy concerning this episode. I have never read Ellison's original script, although I think it is available, but from what I have read about it it is even more powerful than the episode. I enjoyed greatly that it dealt with time travel in a very rationale way. The story itself was great and the way the writers wrote in Keeler's insights were perfect, even if slightly corny. And tying her into the existing and the alternative history was plausible. Finally the underlying love story made sense and was heart felt, especially Kirk watching her die at the end. And for me I found the guardian excellent. It was perfect advanced technology scifi the way they did the guardian and I loved the effects and sounds at the portal. This is still my favorite episode of the entire universe although there are many other excellent episodes. Interesting that it was written by an excellent alternative fiction writer. Amok Time was also by an established scifi writer and another of my favorites.
• From John Bernhardt on 2014-01-31 at 4:50am:
  Shatner's performance here makes me think of the overall issue of William Shatner's acting. He is a very erratic actor. It is often commented on how he overacts, over emotes, does those trademark pauses between words etc. It's all true. The irony is that he actually does have acting chops, he just lacks restraint. The great range he shows here-the charm, the humor, to the extremely believable pathos and anger at the end shows off where his strength's are as an actor when he just shows a little restraint.
  
• From Scott Hearon on 2014-04-01 at 10:50am:
  Kethinov raises just about every issue that came to mind as I was watching this episode, which I thought to be very good but not without some problems.
  
  Time travel stories are always fraught with peril, and this one is no different. As is stated in Kethinov's review, I feel that some of it could have been explained with a tiny bit of smart exposition. Perhaps the landing party WAS insulated from the greater effects of the time distortion, but the fact that this issue isn't even raised by any of the crew was glaring.
  
  I also found the pacing a bit odd. The romantic relationship between Kirk and Keeler seemed both rushed and forced. It was difficult to see exactly what Keeler saw in Kirk, and her strange intuition was a bit nebulous. This part of the story could probably have used more time to develop, though this is unrealistic for a 50-minute TV show episode.
  
  These problems, though, are fairly minor. The overall story was a strong one, and the tragic and emotional punch at the end may be the strongest of the series so far. The entire story was a creative reworking of the classic, "If you could go back in time and kill Hitler, would you do it?" idea. By flipping the script and asking whether you would allow a good person to die in order to save millions, this story adds a far deeper and more probing question.
  
  I didn't find this episode to be my absolute favorite one, but it may be the one that stays with me the longest.
• From Peter Collins on 2015-02-25 at 11:14pm:
  I've just seen this for the first time in maybe 20 years and I was struck by the use of the song Goodnight Sweetheart, both in itself and as a repeated piece of incidental music - slightly heavy handed in foreshadowing Edith Keeler's death, but also interesting in that Goodnight Sweetheart is the name of a British situation comedy of the 1990s that involved a young man finding a rip in time in east London that transports him back to the wartime London of the 1940s and back. It too had many flaws, not least in making the time traveller - who ends up married to two women in different times - extremely unlikeable. I suppose the sitcom writers chose the music for a reason...
• From jd_juggler on 2015-03-22 at 2:41pm:
  Under "problems", you list "none", and then in the narrative proceed to list several problems! Clark Gable did not appear in any movies in 1930, and he was far from a household name at the time, yet Edith expresses great puzzlement when McCoy and later Kirk don't recognize the name. At one point, Spock says he needs three or four pounds of platinum, apparently unaware of how rare and expensive platinum is. Hard to believe, since Spock usually seems to know a lot about earth and it's history. When the timeline has been restored (Edith hit by truck), Kirk and Spock, followed by McCoy, return through the Guardian of Forever - but they are leaping through it. How do they know to "leap"? As mentioned by others here, there are always problems with time travel episodes. If there never was an Enterprise, then how did McCoy get to the Guardian of Forever in the first place?
• From Pietro on 2019-06-17 at 8:55pm:
  Did anyone else notice Uhura taking notes from Kirk with PEN & PAPER?? Maybe this happens elsewhere in TOS but it looks really funny, sitting in front of a giant computer panel. Does that make pen-and-paper the oldest technology in the series, I wonder? :D

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Wes on 2012-02-25 at 9:31pm:
  I don't know about this for a last episode of the season, but I thought the ship was awesome. The outer hull design seems similar to how the crew ends up designing the delta flyer.
• From Rick on 2013-01-06 at 8:34am:
  Wait, let me get this straight. They traveled all the way back to borg space and then only picked up 300 light years on the return trip? So the whole Kes thing is now irrelevant, and they are right back where they started before that?
  
  I originally understood the situation to mean that they picked up 300 light years from where they were when they started using slipstream. This would imply that in an hour they traveled over 10k light years but who knows, the message about 3mos was fake. Either way, both ships traveled over 10k light years to get back to borg space. So what the heck is goin on here
• From SilverDragonRed on 2013-10-11 at 4:20pm:
  The mystery that this episode fell apart as soon as you hear the 'recording' from admiral windbag in the magic meeting room. His stated speed of 240,000 c(60,000 lys in 3 months) doesn't gel with the actual demonstrated speed of the Dauntless: 15,768,000 c(15 lys in 30 seconds). So, the reveal that Arturis had planned a trap for him wasn't really shocking. It was neat to see a species that didn't view the Borg in the same way as the rest of the galaxy.
  Kethinov, the return trip to Earth with quantum slipstream would take 2 days at most.
• From Jadzia Guinan Smith on 2015-06-14 at 5:22pm:
  Somehow, I don’t think they went “back” to Borg space. I think writers were just sloppy in how they used the term “Borg Space.” It seems to refer simply to a region of space where all of the civilizations have been assimilated by Borg, rather than what we saw in Unity, Scorpion,etc., where it seemed they were talking about the Borg’s native space or headquarters, or something to that effect. So, I think it’s intended that Voyager is now 300 light years closer to the Alpha Quadrant since the beginning of the episode. Of course, my interpretation creates an equally large problem: encountering a region of space so deeply affected by the Borg and their conflict with Species 8472, after Kes threw them “safely out of Borg space” so many months ago. It’s all a confused mess, which makes it hard for me to give the episode quite the high marks that Kethinov gave it.
  
  But, I must say, the quantum slipstream is super cool. And, I like the idea that in the conflict between Borg and Species 8472, there are those who would have struck a “bargain with the Devil” a la Janeway, but they would choose the opposite devil to bargain with! It reminds us of the moral and tactical messiness of war. The other thing I like is the development of Captain and Seven’s relationship. It’s a nice tension between mutual exasperation and respect; of conflict and harmony (or at least the aspiration to harmony).
  
• From Dstyle on 2015-07-01 at 3:38pm:
  Voyager fires photon torpedoes while they're in the slipstream! Those torpedoes must've been going awful fast!
• From tigertooth on 2016-11-10 at 2:34pm:
  Mostly good, though I didn't like when Janeway confronted Arturis. They surprise him with a full security detail, but still can't stop him from pulling off a panel, pulling a big lever, and then erecting forcefields. Geez, I guess when he said early in the episode that some species have physical strength and some have strong mental capabilities, he was talking about himself in both cases. Seems they could have gotten around this if he had just issued a voice command.
  
  Also, I hope Seven never gets trapped by a forcefield again. If all it takes is a little tinkering with a filament to get through one, then she should always be prepared to repeat the trick.
  

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From RichD on 2006-06-08 at 1:32am:
  Armin Shimerman is one of the most underappreciated actors in all of Star Trek. He was the first actor on DS9 to develop his character. By the middle of the 1st season, quark was fully realized. He is one of my favorite characters. He makes poignant observations when you least expect it that really do strike a chord. I loved his comment and reaction when he was told that humans would smoke tobacco for recreaton...."you mean they poison their bodies on purpose?" Then, he has to ruin it by being Quark, "if they buy poison, they'll buy anything." This episode was hilarious from beginning to end. I also like the univeral translator malfunction. Little subtle things like that make this episode a charmer. One last thing. By making Nog appreciate humans more than ever, it gives him an added incentive to become a starfleet officer. Nice touch.
• From JRPoole on 2009-03-23 at 4:16pm:
  Does this episode estabish that the univeral translator is a device worn in the ear? I can't remember it ever being referred to this way, but it makes sense. It's still problematic, though: How would it broadcast in different languages?
  
  I know, I know...I need to just accept the UT as a plot device and let it be. But I do like episodes that at least acknowledge its existence, even if they do confuse the issue even more.
  
  This is a real winner all the way through. DS9 does humor episodes better than any other Trek series, probably because the Ferengi--usually the center of humor episodes--are all acted so well on DS9.
• From MJ on 2011-01-14 at 5:26pm:
  I agree with the webmaster's review, and with RichD. This episode is pure genius: writing, acting, everything.
  
  The setting was remarkably well done, with the classic dual human response to visiting aliens: the suspicious general who sees them as a military threat, and the "egghead" professor who sees them as peaceful and wants to communicate. The detail of the people's uniforms, the lighting...all of it set the perfect mood for 1940's Earth.
  
  The interactions were, of course, hilarious and fitting. Armin Shimmerman's performance in this episode was superb. He's always great as Quark, but this was award worthy. But Rom, Nog, and the guest cast of Americans all did outstanding, too. They all made this work brilliantly and played their characters perfectly.
  
  I was a little curious as to what would be the fate of the professor and the nurse since they helped the aliens escape quite possibly ruining their happy future, but it's possible this was overlooked in the overall secrecy of the Roswell incident. Speaking of that, I couldn't help but think Star Trek seems to be paying homage here: the Roswell incident is one of the things that contributed to the popularity of science fiction and human imagination about aliens.
  
  The beginning, too, was great. Nog's selling of his childhood possessions, especially the Ferengi tooth sharpener to Worf, added to the overall comedy of the episode. In fact, we get quite a nice dose of Ferengi culture here including the Ferengi language which was interesting to hear. I really cracked up when Quark was asking Nurse Garland for oomox.
  
  Outstanding stuff!
• From Jons on 2014-02-02 at 9:17pm:
  I really enjoyed that episode, but excuse-me, how is it NOT 100% filler??
  
  Nothing that happens here has any incidence on anything in the series. Nog gets to Earth, but you don't need to see that episode to know that...
• From Rob UK on 2023-12-01 at 9:59pm:
  I love this episode but we definitely have a problem, Odo can't shape shift into making good human hair (it is mentioned several times throughout the show run), but here he can make himself into a very convincing hairy German Shepheard style dog

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Pete Miller on 2006-08-08 at 2:57am:
  Personally, I enjoyed this episode quite a bit. I never for a moment guessed that there was a connection between Paris' behavior and Jonas' behavior. So when Janeaway finally revealed what was going on, it came as quite a twist to me. I guess I'm not used to Star Trek employing the plot twist.
  
  I also enjoyed Neelix's little tv show. If you've ever waited in line at the Jaws ride at Universal Studios and seen the "Wake up, Amity" show, you'll agree with me when I say that this reminded me alot of it. The best, however, was Neelix giving that mole an ass whooping. Jonas was such a bitch.
• From rpeh on 2010-08-19 at 3:47pm:
  I enjoyed this one too and I agree with the previous commenter that it was far from obvious there was a link between Jonas and Tom.
  
  My one gripe isn't just about this episode. Does nobody know how to fight unarmed any more? And the jump-at-opponent-who-moves-and-you-fly-into-the-disintegrator is such a cliche!
• From wanton on 2011-08-31 at 3:50pm:
  I wanted to make a single comment here: I strongly disagree that Neelix' program was a cheesy and obnoxious addition, and I am actually disappointed it is not to reappear again.
  
  I thought this was a brilliant device with a unique function that's hard to put your finger on... Voyager is a crew of over a 100 people... granted that's not over a 1000 like the Enterprise, but it is still a sizable group. Having Neelix' show shown to a "mass audience" had this odd effect of giving one the sense of the entire crew, and tying that crew into a cohesive mass.
  
  With Neelix around with his little PAD, whenever something happened you got this tiny sense of consideration for what the entirety of the crew would think of things.
  
  Watching the show, you got the sense that you were one of those nameless crewmen on board, being filled in on the details... It was neat to look through the eyes of a more realistic audience for a moment...
  
  It also gave Neelix something potentially *important* rather than just funny to do... I would've really preferred that he keep on as the resident journalist and added extra color and an *extra dimension* to everything on Voyager.
  
  Having an *independent* journalist on board clearly put an unexpected spin on events and unforeseen pressures on Janeway and Tuvak, which was really interesting to watch.
  
  So, in short, I don't think this should've been dismissed as a one-time novelty, either by us the viewers or the show's producers. This was a serious and effective little plot device, and I regret that it's use was limited to a single episode.
• From gen on 2012-02-14 at 9:40am:
  (I hope this makes it into Kethinov's factoids! )
  
  Out of a kind of critical mass of curiosity about Star Trek's ubiquitous pointed sideburns, I searched on memory-alpha and stumbled into an unrelated but nevertheless cool piece of trivia: At 2:45 into the episode, standing in the hall and talking to Harry is none other than Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein, reigning King of Jordan!
  
  (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdullah_II_bin_al-Hussein)
  
  That sounds like a joke, but it's absolutely true. He's a longtime Trek fan and the cameo was arranged as a kind of surprise by his U.S. advisor (Al-Hussein was Crown Prince at the time). See link below for more info.
  
  http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Abdullah_II
  
  
• From Dave on 2014-03-15 at 10:14pm:
  I loved the way in which Neelix watches Jonas die and then walks off without any sense of sadness about what happened. As he leaves Engineering, he's more like 'hehe! I got him!'

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Mike on 2017-05-28 at 6:07pm:
  I didn't really like the conversation between Janeway and Chakotay after she proposes the Borg alliance. Chakotay raises some good points and Janeway gives some good rationale for her decision. But she forces Chakotay into a bit of a false dilemma when she claims she is dealing with this alone. Chakotay never said he or the crew will abandon Voyager; they will indeed face the threat together. He owes her support once the decision's made, but he doesn't owe her complete agreement with everything. He's right when he says he's no good to her as just a nodding head.
• From Azalea Jane on 2021-08-17 at 11:58pm:
  I haven't seen much past season 2 of Voyager yet but I'm jumping around to get some backstory for Picard. It's cool to get more exposition about Borg tech and I'm looking forward to Seven's introduction. It's rather chilling how much of the Milky Way has been assimilated by the Borg in the Trek universe.
  
  I'm always salty how they never send specialists with things like armor, helmets, gas masks, and specialized tools into hazardous away missions like this. Nope! Send three of our vital bridge crew with a couple guns and tricorders, that should do it. I know this is endemic in Trek and well-established by TOS and TNG, but this episode made me extra salty, especially juxtaposed with Enterprise, which I'm just getting into, and which actually uses freaking armored environment suits like any sane person would. And leaving Kim by himself? Rookie mistake! If they'd had a data collection specialist trained in hazardous environments and xenotechnology, accompanied by armed and armored security guards, all in environment suits, Harry wouldn't have gotten into trouble! #TrekkieProblems
  
  Janeway imitating captains was funny.
  
  Nice rope lights inside the biomass ship!
  
  Replicator rations while "Catarina" idles away in the holodeck? Urgh.
  
  Some Kind Of Counting: a drinking game!
  1. I might be able to create some sort of medical defense.
  2. Maybe we can develop some type of protective shielding against them.
  3. Some kind of subspace turbulence.
  4. Imitating the captain, huh? Surely that violates some kind of Starfleet protocol.
  5. I'm picking up some sort of bio-readings.
  6. It looks like a warp propulsion system of some kind.
  7. We think it might be a ship of some kind.
  8. The bioship is powering up. Like it's charging some kind of weapon.
  9. Some kind of parallel universe?
  
  SKO count: 9! Do these writers even hear themselves?
  
  Good episode though. Unique plot, lots of suspense, excellent cliffhanger. The scorpion parable is a pretty good analogy here. Looking forward to part 2.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Krs321 on 2011-03-07 at 1:20pm:
  Fun episdoe but opens huge plot holes. So now the Mirror Universe people can just jump dimensions whenever they want? Uh, what?
  
  Why didnt Mirror O'Brien ask Sisko if they could have 50 photon torpedoes, phasers, or medical supplies, replicators, etc.
  
  Did Sisko give Mirror Kira the code or did he let Terok Nor blow up? If not, why wouldn't he?
• From John on 2011-09-13 at 4:27am:
  I hate Mirror Universe episodes -- they are the ultimate contrived filler nonsense. The only reason this one gets a 3 from me instead of a 1 is because of Tuvok.
• From Lt. Fitz on 2012-06-25 at 9:24pm:
  Sisko didn't bring her back because she was needed to help the Terrans in the alternate universe. That would be a totally selfish move on his part and totally out of character.
  
  Also, I don't understand the hatred for "filler" episodes that so many people demonstrate. Trek has always had episodes that are self-contained and episodes that involve more continuity. Some episodes focus more on sci fi, and others seem to be done just for fun. To me, the mirror episodes are fun as heck because it gives the actors a chance to have fun playing twisted personalities. I didn't care if it made no sense from a sci fi angle that Kirk and his double were able to switch back to their proper universes by simply beaming back somehow in "Mirror, Mirror." It was just fun to see Spock in a goatee and Chekhov try to kill off Kirk. Yeah, my mind was smarter than the sci fi in that episode, but I easily put that aside and enjoyed the spectacle of it.
  
  This episode was just plain fun. (Sometimes I think that Nana Visitor is better at playing the evil version of Kira than the good one.) And, yeah, Tuvok being there was great. I loved him in Voyager.
• From Kenneth on 2014-04-12 at 5:28am:
  No commentary on sisko taking down dax ??
• From tigertooth on 2016-10-08 at 4:18pm:
  I'm a little surprised by the positive reaction to the inclusion of Tuvok. Yeah, it was a cool moment when he appears but then... he never really does anything.
  
  I liked mirror-Rom's arc during the episode. But as others have noted, this episode had way too many questions that have no clear, good answers.
  
  And I agree about the general dislike of the mirror universe. You can't even make any connections between the standard and mirror versions of the characters since sometimes they're totally different. While I didn't like Distant Voices, at least you can glean some connection regarding how Bashir views his colleagues by how he portrays them in his mind. But in the mirror universe, you get nothing - just two totally different characters that look similar. I'd prefer it if they used the mirror episodes as comedy.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-10-04 at 7:04am:
  -I can "live with" the fact that the floors are solid. Of course, there would be no show - or at least a much more expensive show - if the floors weren't solid. There were several "problems" concerning Geordi and Ro's ability to pass through normal matter that were avoidable: Geordi sits on a transporter pad; Ro touches her navigator's chair and terminal on the bridge; Geordi and Ro sit on benches in a shuttle as it travels to the Romulan ship; the phased Romulan sits in a chair; when the phased Romulan shoots Ro in the leg, she falls down, and a plant in front of her jiggles; Geordi and Ro dive behind a couch, and a bunch of balloons move from the air disturbance. If Geordi and Ro can really pass through normal matter, why did these events happen?
  - Let's take this one step further. There are some other problems of being truly out of phase with normal matter. Geordi comments that he hasn't eaten in two days. That makes sense, he couldn't pick up any food. Along the same line, how can his lungs absorb normal oxygen? And how can they hear the conversations of the other crew members? Hearing comes from the impact of waves of air on the eardrum. Wouldn't the normal air molecules pass right through their eardrums, leaving them deaf?
• From Lyric on 2011-03-03 at 5:31am:
  There is a scene in this episode that has bothered me since before I was able to pick up on the whole not falling through the floors problem - I was quite young when it first aired. That scene is the one in engineering where Geordi keeps putting his hand in one of the terminals in random places and then gets annoyed with Data, who was scanning the terminal for the anomalies that Geordi was creating, for not realizing that what he was scanning wasn't a random occurrence. Why wasn't Geordi trying to make signs in the terminal that didn't seem random like writing his name or initials or "drawing" with his hand? I suppose that was just too hard to show on t.v., but it still bothers me.
• From CAlexander on 2011-03-26 at 12:03pm:
  I love these science fiction episodes that take an idea and explore it. I found this episode really interesting to watch, to see how things progress. Not perhaps one of the very best episodes, but high up there in my mind.
  - I was just as puzzled by the issues of not falling through the floor, but then I noticed the same issues DSOmo raised about other instants of not passing through objects, and I realized that actually solves the problem. It is clear that the out-of-phase individuals can choose to rest their hands, feet, or bodies on other objects. They just cannot move those objects, or resist being moved through. Apparently it takes a little extra force to move through solid objects, and the extra-thick tritanium floors may be even harder. It is unfortunate they do not explain this, but the instances of this happening are so clearly shown in multiple cases. Especially the way Ro very clearly places her hand on the instrument panel, and the way Geordi says it is "getter harder" to move his hand through the instrument panel after the anyon radiation, as if it was a matter of degree rather than an absolute. Cases where they move through solid objects, then, are either when they intend to, or when they accidentally try to apply force to the object and end up pushing through it instead.
  - The issue with breathing oxygen and hearing sound, on the other hand, can't easily be excused. But that is so universal to so many depictions of intangibility in so many mediums that I don't really count it against the show. I just consider it part of the suspension of disbelief when watching a "soft" science fiction program.
  - With respect to Lyric's comment, I totally thought the same thing while watching. I assumed the instrument Data was using wasn't calibrated precisely enough to recognize writing. But surely Geordi could have tried something clever by creating some pattern in the choice of items he was touching.
  
• From Robert Koenn on 2011-04-26 at 2:40pm:
  Well being an engineer for NASA I do like to see the science being at least fairly realistic. That is why I gave this episode only a three rating. There were simply too many inconsistencies and conflicts with the scenario. They can walk through walls but don't fall through the floor? They can hear and breathe. On and on with these type conflicts digresses rapidly into the writers simply writing a plot scenario as they felt like it creating a fantasy actually. The TOS episode where they went into a high frequency mode was more realistic. The characterization was good though but hardly near the top for episodes. I liked Data's reaction and Ro wanting to know what Riker was going to say about her. I guess I felt too much of the story was contrived and ventured far into the realm of fantasy.
• From Daniel on 2014-05-01 at 5:54pm:
  I like this episode for many reasons. My only question is one of a technical detail; isn't the phase inverter system used to phase and cloak in this episode similar or the same as the mechanism used in the episode The Pegasus, in which the ship had a phased cloaking device? The devices in both episodes seem to have the same purpose and effect. I just wonder if the writers of the show created them as intentionally the same device or just coincidentally similar, since both devices were created by Romulan technology.
• From Kenneth Kiyoshi Sasaki-Loya on 2017-10-09 at 11:30pm:
  Daniel Stewart (born 1967) is the actor who played Batai in the Star Trek: The Next Generation fifth season episode "The Inner Light" in 1992. He is the son of Patrick Stewart, who also played his on-screen father Kamin in this episode. Stewart received special thanks in the end credits of the 2011 Star Trek documentary The Captains.
  From Fandom powered by Wikia - Memory Alpha
• From McCoy on 2018-01-03 at 12:06pm:
  I know we have logical problems here (stated above - how they could walk on the floor or breathe?), but... This is probably the most enjoyable TNG episode to watch. I absolutely love it. And that scene, when Ro shoots in Riker's head was a cherry on top:) Btw. I really like her, she's one of the best Trek characters and probably best of TNG characters (she's not dull like others happy nice friends on the ship). I like Kira too, but I still regret that Michelle Forbes didn't wanted to play in DS9.
• From Axel on 2020-05-15 at 1:21am:
  This episode is a good example of my own personal belief about Star Trek: it's ok if the science isn't good, as long as the story is compelling in some way.
  
  That may irritate some fans, but come on. This is science-fiction. It combines real science with imaginary science. I get irritated sometimes by how many people seem to lose sight of that. If you're going to argue the validity of the science in a show that, to start with, portrays telepathy as being real, then I think you're missing the bigger picture.
  
  The bigger picture here is a story about two people who get to observe the reactions of their crewmates and friends to what is believed to be their deaths. It also shows how differently the two of them react based on their beliefs and views of life. Finally, it's an interesting series of twists as to how they get seen again.
  
  Overall I think the criticisms of this episode are too harsh. I'm happy to see most people give it a 6 or above. I put it in the 6-8 range. If nothing else, it was a good Geordi episode, which doesn't happen all that often.
• From Ensign Ro Bummer on 2023-05-14 at 10:35am:
  This is a great episode, Romulans, Mystery, the entire crew involved, and how great is that scene when they finally appear to Data and Picard?
  Easy 9 or 10!

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Remco on 2009-06-26 at 8:24pm:
  I liked how Dukat's rationalizations in this episode echoed some of the Iraq war rationalizations. As the western world was going to bring a superior but bloody democracy to Iraq, Dukat was going to give Cardassian superiority to the Bajorans.
  
  The Iraqis, like the Bajorans, did not quite accept that superiority.
  
  Of course, then Dukat pulls a Hitler, and starts terrorizing the population, which is where the comparison ends.
• From Christopher Wright on 2011-12-21 at 1:04am:
  Musically speaking a waltz has three beats per measure which lines up with the three voices in Dukat's head. Sisko's arm cast thingy reminded me of C-3PO. Brilliant performances by both main actors in this one.
• From Zorak on 2016-06-23 at 3:04am:
  I have to agree. That was a fantastic performance by the actor who plays Dukat. I think he might be my favorite Star Trek villain in the entire franchise.
• From Gaius Gracchus on 2021-11-27 at 9:13pm:
  Dukat is the anti-Sisko, this episode is a phenomenal insight into the post-Ziyal Dukat... but he shows that there has always been shades of his depravity from the very beginning. Fantastic acting, fantastic character. Easiest 10 I have given.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Pete Miller on 2006-06-04 at 10:34pm:
  Wow! Having Ro Laren on the cast of Voyager would have made that show WAY better. I bet it would have been much more popular, too.
• From JRPoole on 2008-11-05 at 3:26pm:
  This has always been one of my favorite episodes because it looks at the Federation from an outside perspective. The Federation has always been presented as somewhat infallible; the politics of the show are rarely in disagreement with those of the Federation itself. This is a little different.
  
  I think that everyone was right here. The Federation was acting in its best interest in the treaty with Cardassia. The Maquis certainly have a valid point, and their militancy, especially for the Bajorans among them, is understandable. Ro made the right moral decision by joining them, and Picard's insistence on duty is also understandable. All this also sets the tone not only for Voyager, but for what DS 9 becomes as well. I give it an 8.
• From Paul on 2010-08-19 at 3:14pm:
  Bajoran Hasperat = a fajita
• From Lt. Fitz on 2012-06-19 at 9:45pm:
  It seemed to me that Picard had very deep feelings for her - sort of like a daughter to him. I felt like he was more upset that he wouldn't be able to continue in occasional relationship with her on federation terms than he would have been about her simply defecting. It was a very moving episode for me. Although I felt the Ro character was a bit overwritten, I sympathized with her a great deal.
• From Axel on 2015-03-29 at 3:23am:
  The Maquis got more attention in DS9, but this is one of the few episodes in TNG where there is a valid alternative position on an issue to the one the Federation takes. This time, the moral dilemma is not Picard's but Ro's. I think it's a great way to tie up the character given her past issues with Starfleet.
  
  It was pretty obvious from the beginning that Macias was going to sway Ro to the Maquis side, so maybe they could've used a more morally ambiguous character. Still, this episode had a lot of great continuity and a really good plot.

No fan commentary yet.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Mitch on 2013-07-30 at 8:52am:
  "But as far as I know, synthehol isn't supposed to get you drunk!"
  
  I think the explanation lies in the TNG episode "Relics". Data tells Scotty that the intoxicating effects of synthehol can be easily dismissed, which would indicate you can indeed be intoxicated by it.
• From Rick on 2013-10-24 at 5:41pm:
  In regards to your full impulse problem: isnt full impulse describing how much force the engines are creating? Yes, that results in near light speeds in space but full impulse in an atmosphere would be much slower. With a shallow enough angle of impact its possible voyager would survive.
• From SilverDragonRed on 2014-02-03 at 3:29pm:
  This episode was an excellent character piece for Harry Kim and Chakotay (mostly Harry). It was nice to see the writers do something with the character since 'The Killing Game'.
  
  My only problem with this episode, once again, has to do with the quantum slipstream. It was bad enough that the writers just casually threw that into 'Hope and Fear' without thinking of the ramifications of it; but now, they made it even more ridiculous by making a modified version that is 111x faster than the original alien design. Once again, no thoughts to the repercussions of this insane speed; just treat the revoluntionary device as if it was just another casual machine.
  
  They say in the episode that the ship would only be able to maintain the slipstream for ten seconds. In actuality, Voyager held it for three minutes before the future abort code forced them out. According to Janeway's log after this, the test flight covered 10,000 light years.
  
  So, this MODIFIED slipstream drive has a speed of 1,752,000,000 c that can traverse the entire Milky Way galaxy in only half an hour. If there is a new series set in the old continuity, they need to address the impact this thing will have on the Federation and its neighbors.
• From Dstyle on 2015-06-22 at 3:17pm:
  I find it incredibly hard to believe that they popped the champagne before anyone did any holosimulations of the new quantum slipstream drive. That just seems like it would be a no-brainer standard procedure for something like this.
  
  Also, why couldn't they contact Seven the day before they used the slipstream with a simply decoded message that said, "Hey, don't do this, you're all going to die?" Although I guess doing it this way shaved 10 years off their journey.
• From Andy on 2015-07-26 at 10:31pm:
  "Full impulse is pretty close to the speed of light. There wouldn't have been a ship left to excavate if they hit the ice that fast. Just an impact crater."
  
  At full impulse, there wouldn't be a planet anymore.
• From Rick on 2016-04-18 at 4:55am:
  In response to your third problem about consecutive slipstream jumps......It took me awhile to think of this but I think that Harry had to give them precise phase corrections that would "safely" throw Voyager out of the slipstream. If they tried this again all of the relevant factors (whatever they are) would be different and Harry wouldnt know what phase corrections would safely throw Voyager out of the slipstream. The only reason he knew the first time is that he had a decade to study the situation.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From John on 2010-03-17 at 3:49am:
  I think their decision not to show the viewer the battle with the Jem'Hadar was a good one. It left that battle to the imagination of the viewer and saved time which could then be spent on things like character development. Yes, it could have been a cool battle, but subtracting a point because they used a perfectly valid storytelling device that happened to omit material you personally wanted to see is a little overboard IMHO.
• From Kethinov on 2010-03-17 at 4:14am:
  I've always felt that it's sort of anticlimactic that they didn't show the battle. It's a legitimate payoff to the buildup to expect, I think. That's not to say this is a bad episode. It's certainly fantastic. I just think a more roaring climax would have served the story better.
• From Harrison on 2013-02-23 at 6:34pm:
  One of the very best Klingon episodes, with lots of rich cultural detail.
• From Bronn on 2013-07-17 at 7:14pm:
  Beautiful episode. Martok is the gold standard when it comes to Klingon characters. He's three dimensional, and he's well-rounded enough that it makes the Empire seem functional. Without seeing a character like Martok you'd wonder how the Empire ever held together-they have no patience to do things like basic maintenance on their ships, they get bored with administrative tasks, and they prefer to attack head-on rather than provide any consideration of strategy. But DS9 decided to find a way to make Klingons seem more balanced without ruining their previous characterization, and this episode is the highlight of Klingon story-telling.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Jim on 2006-10-31 at 2:26am:
  I don't wish to too overtly directly attempt to criticize your review or review this episode myself because I do not believe I am impartial (for personal reasons).
  
  However, it must be stated that the view of, say, (various states within) The United States, having engaged in "hypocrisy" by engaging in the death penalty for murders while at the same time actively attempting to prevent suicide attempts is highly subjective at best.
  
  The episode may very well be impressively plotted, however it is plotted in a manner designed to make the suicide arguments palatable and comforting and the those opposed to it dark and cold. You don't see the real actual arguments but fantasy arguments that the writer wants to pretend is a reality. It is clear from the beginning (as it usually is on television, unfortunately) what "moral direction" the episode is going.
  
  Sadly, this is almost always the case when Star Trek is a "message show." But wouldn't have been braver to go against this mold? To have the characters struggle on the ethics of an issue? To actually make you ask where the show was going?
  
  I, again, have to admit I am not impartial here. After watching this episode I did not watch Voyager regularly again. But you wonder how many viewers television loses with these "gems?"
• From David from California on 2007-08-13 at 5:32pm:
  Saw this for the first time the other day and it was terrific, IMO.
  
  "Jim" who commented previously is correct that the plotting contained "fantasy" elements that slanted the moral issue of suicide, but in the *opposite* way he seems to think, IMO.
  
  If anything, the episode invented a fantasy element which served to give the anti-suicide side of the issue *more* plausibility than in the "real world" of human beings, in that there was the matter of the unprecedented suicide of Quinn possibly causing harm to the entire Q Continuum as a collective entity.
  
  But human beings are not a gestalt entity like the Q, and the suicide of one individual can only potentially effect those other individuals he or she knows *personally*, not the "collective" of all humans together. And such obligations as he or she might have set up in relation to those others is a private matter between them, not a concern of "society" as a whole, as they will not suffer any ill-effects.
  
  So in this way, the writers were granting a point in *favor* of preventing the suicide which doesn't really exist in the "real world" of human beings presently.
  
  Therefore, I'm surprised at reader Jim's reaction in this regard. The philosophic issue raised in the episode of the rights of the individual to determine the course of his or her own life, as against whatever fears or desires of the collective, made for very effective drama as it does in the many other Star Trek episodes that raise this general issue in various ways.
• From rpeh on 2010-08-19 at 1:55pm:
  I enjoyed this episode, but I thought they missed a trick. They should have shown the new Q settling in to his new life a little but then killing himself anyway. Killing him off as soon as they did slightly lowered the emotional impact. Still a great outing though, and good to see Q and Riker.
• From Harrison on 2013-02-17 at 3:23am:
  One of the best-written Trek episodes, one worthy of singular note and a proper literary review.
  
  It ranks right up there with TNG "The Inner Light".
  
  It feels a little dated now. After all, the backdrop is the shallow prosperity & banality of the Clinton period, when oil was still $25 a barrel, and the right Nasdaq bet could yield a college student a brand new Mercedes Benz. Oh how monotonous & spiritually empty, all that easy wealth.
  
  No matter -- it is a wonderful, unforgettable vignette.
• From Hugo on 2013-08-18 at 7:05pm:
  Oh, how I hated this one. Just to much, and it is yet another episode in a string which brings in alpha quadrant elements - instead of focusing on the exoticness of the delta quadrant.
  
  And I hated the new Q, his manners and that extremely bad overacting. The show took on a totally new feeling when John de Lancie enterered - his presence blew everyone else away.
  
  The hearing/courtroom setting feels a bit tired too.
  
  I dont mind the moral aspects though, but it was obvious how Janeway would rule from a 100 miles away, esp when old Q offered to take them home...
• From thaibites on 2013-11-15 at 5:37am:
  I loved this episode! It was great to get a glimpse of what life is like in the Q continuum. Plus, it ends on a downer with Q actually killing himself, which was a nice break from happy-happy. Janeway didn't get what she wanted - YES!
• From Erik Friend on 2016-02-21 at 5:03am:
  Alienized names for ordinary stuff in this episode:
  
  "Gorokian" Midwife Toad
  "Kylerian" Goats Milk
  "Nogatch" Hemlock

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-06-02 at 4:04pm:
  Worf: "If winning is not important, then, Commander, why keep score?" :)
  
  - The Bynars were planning on abducting Riker, not Picard. Minuet says to Picard at one point, "your being here was just a fortunate happenstance." But when Riker started downloading the information, he couldn't do it alone. It took both him and Picard to get the transfer started. It took two people to reactivate their computer, and the Bynars only arranged for Riker to stay?? If Picard hadn't "happened" along, everyone on their home world would have died.
  - The autodestruct clock is composed of LEDs. It looks "out of place" on the Enterprise.
  - When Picard and Riker try to board a turbolift, a sign flashes, "Access Denied." But the computer voice says, "Bridge Access Denied." How does the computer know that they wanted to go to the bridge?
• From djb on 2007-12-13 at 9:11pm:
  Continuity error: In this episode, when Picard and Riker initiate the auto-destruct sequence, they agree that there is only one option for time: five minutes. In episode 2x02, they both initiate the auto-destruct sequence again, and are given an option of how long before it detonates, and choose 20 minutes. Was this feature upgraded at some point?
• From CAlexander on 2011-03-03 at 9:38pm:
  I really like this episode.
  - When I first watched the episode, I thought it was a cool concept that the Bynars somehow made Minuet transcend the normal holodeck limitations and become something Picard and Riker had never experienced before.
  - This is the most believable "take over the Enterprise" plan I can remember seeing; it wasn't one of those plans that a 10-year old child could see through and defeat.
  - I generally liked the execution of the evacuation and the retaking of the bridge; they didn't feel overplayed or underplayed.
  - I especially liked how they didn't feel compelled to use the cliche of having the self destruct dramatically count down until the last possible second before being switched off.
• From g@g on 2012-02-07 at 1:30pm:
  Altogether great episode. The whole docking triumphantly at the starbase thing sets up some great contrast for the ship later being hijacked and warping away, while the crew watches on helplessly, and its captain and commanding officer begin to awaken from an elaborate ruse.
  
  Also, I noticed some excellent subtleties, which I have to assume were intentional. At about 31 minutes, Riker and Picard walk *in perfect lockstep* to the weapons room (I mean that literally), to discuss their "absolute agreement" about setting the self-destruct sequence. That's just excellent.
  
  A few minutes later, at 34:50, as they're about to beam onto the bridge they simultaneously take a deep breath and lower their shoulders. Again, a nice touch (this one may or may not have actually been choreographed) that emphasizes the synchronized two-man command/crew/fighting machine they've now become.
  
  And, of course, it takes both of them working simultaneously, as a pair, to access the Bynars filesystem. I hadn't quite realized just how neatly all of that fits together...
  
  So, good episode.
  
  PS Minuet is fascinating - a hint at future highly sophisticated holographic life (the Doctor and other "photonics" in Voyager, or that whole holographic village in DS9).
  
  PPS Riker is enjoyably irreverent and sort of piggish in the beginning (calling Jeordi blind, telling the computer Blondes and Jazz don't mix, and instructing it to make the girl "more sultry,"). I think I like this rough-edged Riker of the early seasons...
  
  Good stuff all 'round.
  
• From John on 2012-03-05 at 2:42am:
  While the second half of this episode is quite good, the first half, nearly all of which consists of introducing Minuet, is incredibly boring.
  
  On re-watching it, I found myself skipping the first half entirely.
  
  4/5, because only half of it is worth watching, and the half that is is good but not great.
• From Rick on 2014-07-27 at 4:02am:
  To DSomo:
  
  Your first problem is not entirely accurate. You state that Minuet's comment that Picard being a fortunate happenstance means that the Bynars didnt contemplate the fact that they needed Picard and Riker. You misinterpret Minuet's comment though. The Bynars noticed Riker taking an interest in Minuet so they used her as a distraction to keep Riker. The Bynars would have then looked for a different way to distract Picard but it was "fortunate" (as Minuet said) that Picard fell prey to the same distraction. I hope this clears up your confusion.
  
  
• From lordcheeto on 2017-07-11 at 4:43am:
  11001001 is binary for the ASCII letter 'I'.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-10-10 at 8:49am:
  - When the Enterprise first discovers the Dyson's sphere, Data states it is 200 million kilometers in diameter. Riker responds, "That's nearly as large as the Earth's orbit around the Sun." The Earth's orbit around the Sun is approximately 297 million kilometers. I leave it for you to decide if a difference of 97 million kilometers qualifies as "nearly."
  - When Scotty rematerializes, his arm is in a sling. Later, Crusher states that he has a hairline fracture of the humerus - the long bone of the upper arm. Surprisingly, Scotty seems to feel no pain as Geordi bumps the arm several times and gives it a good whack right where the injury is!
  - When Data discovers Scotty doesn't care for the taste of synthahol, he tells Scotty that Guinan keeps a store of true alcoholic beverages and proceeds around the bar to fetch some. Can anyone just help themselves to Guinan's provisions?
• From JRPoole on 2008-09-07 at 1:30am:
  I agree with everything here. One nice touch to this episode is Scotty's relationship with Worf. He refuses to shake Worf's hand at the end of the episode. I like this because it's true to his character and it's not a pollyanna feelgood ending, as some things never change.
• From KStrock on 2009-01-23 at 1:43pm:
  In reference to DSOmo and the alcohol.
  
  In Season 2's episode "Up the Long Ladder", Worf states that true alcohol can be replicated. Although then we would't be able to reference the "It is...green" scene.
• From Ali on 2009-03-22 at 6:04pm:
  When Scotty is first brought back, and Riker tells him he is from the Enterprise, Scotty assumes Kirk is commanding it, and Riker has to explain the time passage, etc.
  
  But Kirk is dead at this point (or believed to be by the world). According to the Generations movie, he was picked up by the Nexxus, and Scotty is one of the first ones to find out he is gone.
  
  So, did Scotty forget this? At first, I thought maybe Scotty had been placed in this beam before the Kirk incident, but then Scotty never returns to the earlier time from whence he came, so Kirk's death must have happened beforehand.
  
  Someone tell me if I am missing something here!
• From Someone Else on 2009-05-04 at 1:11am:
  Ali:
  
  No, you're right, and this is the main problem with this episode - however, bear in mind that this episode was filmed a considerable time before Generations. And, who knows? Maybe being stuck in the transporter buffer for half an aeon can lead to temporary amnesia or something.
• From Daniel Blessing on 2009-09-16 at 9:30pm:
  Beamings happen all of the time between Federation ships while shields are active. I am surprised you have not mentioned that as a problem in more of your episodes.
  My only reasonable explanation for these occurrences is that the Federation ships are all provided with either a universal transponder code, or they are provided with every commissioned ships transponder codes, including old, lost, and out dated ships. This could explain how they were able to beam the two of them out while the shields were up. They also are able in certain episodes to beam people aboard while their OWN shields are active... This could be a bit harder to explain, unless again, my theory is applied? They are able to beam thru the shields if they are aware of how to "penetrate" them.
• From direktbroker on 2009-10-06 at 12:13pm:
  Nice thought,but no good Daniel, just think of all the times they could not bring back their own teams because their own shields are up due to some terribly artificial threat in orbit.
• From rpeh on 2010-07-19 at 11:21am:
  I may be an old softy, but the bit on the holodeck where Scotty raises a glass to his all crew and toasts them with "Here's to ye, lads" always brings a tear to my eye.
  
  Of course, Bones was still alive in the very first episode and Spock's still around too, so it's not totally impossible that he could catch up with two of his best friends from the old Enterprise.
• From Jadzia Guinan Smith on 2010-08-18 at 4:22am:
  The Dyson Sphere, although a popular device in sci-fi, is not a "sci-fi concept"; it's a hypothetical structure proposed by the very real and very brilliant theoretical physicist Freeman Dyson.
  
  Good review, though and a fantastic site overall. Count me as your newest fan!
• From Zaphod on 2011-04-13 at 1:05pm:
  Dyson himself refered to that idea of him as a joke btw.
  
  I nevertheless wished they would have concentrated more on it and even the slightest bit on its creators and less on Scotty. I really like him but using such a wonderful idea as the Dyson Sphere only for the usual Star Trek problem of the week is a waste. So for me it's just an okay episode, way above the crap u would expect from a TNG episode though.
• From John on 2011-08-30 at 3:53am:
  Once again, DSOmo proves that he does not understand the concept of narrative writing. He also proves his desire to tear down things other people in enjoy with petty nitpicking.
  
  Riker's statement that the diameter of the Dyson sphere is "nearly the orbit of the earth around the sun" is meant to to fire the imagination of the viewer by planting the idea that the sphere may be habitable. We find out later that it is (or was). Perhaps it's not close enough to the mean orbital diameter of Earth to qualify as "nearly", but who cares?
• From Will on 2011-10-30 at 1:41am:
  Earths orbital radius may not be the same in 300 years for all we know.
• From Inga on 2012-01-12 at 12:51pm:
  I really wish they would explore the Dyson Sphere more, though.
  
  Also, maybe I just missed something here, but how did the Enterprise get free from the pull at the end of the episode?
  
  1. The helmsman said they've lost main power and the auxiliary power is down
  
  2. Then she stated that they were still being carried by the initial motion of the tractor beam and that the impulse engines were offline. She also said "I can't stop our momentum."
  
  3. They couldn't use the maneuvering thrusters, until they diverted the remaining auxiliary power to them.
  
  4. Then, they achieved orbit, yet it seems they couldn't escape it (?). I mean, why else would they wait until their shields went down and the solar flares would burn them up? Couldn't Picard order Data to scan for another exit from a safer location?
  
  5. So when Geordi contacted the Enterprise, how did they manage to escape?
  
  I feel like I just missed or misunderstood something, though :/
  
  
  
  
• From railohio on 2014-06-03 at 11:00pm:
  If anyone is disappointed by this episode, he should read the novel "relics." On top of including every single part and line of the episode, the book adds a whole section of information. In the novel, they actually send an away team down to the planet before making their escape through the jammed doors. The book goes through a great depth of description of the surface inside the sphere, as well as a deeper exploration of Scotty's inner consciousness. Even if reading is not your thing, I strongly recommend reading the novel based on this fantastic episode
• From Jadzia Guinan Smith on 2015-06-02 at 3:26am:
  @Zaphod: the Dyson sphere concept was published in an academic paper in the journal science and it was definitely NOT a “joke”. What Dyson did say was that he was not “serious” – not in the sense that he was “joking” but in the sense that he didn’t think it was ever going to be a plausible technology for anyone to find useful. But he DEFINITELY thought such a sphere was technically possible. HOWEVER, his version of the “sphere” was not a solid structure like the ones you see in sci-fi, but rather, a collection of structures spread out over a region of space constituting a “sphere”.... so I guess, in way, we’ve come full circle and our host is (in a limited sense) correct in describing the star trek version of the sphere as a “sci-fi concept.”... touché...
• From ChristopherA on 2019-06-27 at 6:04am:
  When I first watched this episode a long time ago, I thought Scotty's problem was that he was a "fish out of water", unprepared for the time period. But now that I rewatch it, it is obvious that his real problem is that he is having a mid-life crisis, feeling old and out-of-touch, in a parallel to how Kirk was rusty, depressed, and out of touch in the movie era. TOS Scotty would act totally differently if he were transported to the future. It is arguably an interesting progression to see his life path progress from ernest and serious in the show, to goofy and laid back in the movies, to lonely and pathetically trying to be wanted.
  
  However, I mostly find "over-the-hill Scotty" annoying, so this isn't a top episode for me. But I do like the recreation of the TOS-era bridge, and Scotty getting to use his mad engineering skills at the beginning and end of the episode.
• From Andrew James on 2019-09-16 at 2:37pm:
  My problem with this episode is the idea that people were not interested in Scottie's stories about the old days. This man is no a living legend from one of the most famous ships ever, he would more likely be inundated by historians and fan boys and girls. The better plot work up is him not being interested in "reliving" the old days but by wanting to be an engineer and being obsolete. The trip to the old enterprise should have been to get away from the people who did not care who he was know but just wanted his old stories.
• From Chris Long on 2020-05-21 at 1:51am:
  With TNG being the way it is, the character stories are most interesting to me.
  This one is right there satisfying that 'element'!
  My big complaint about this episode is that the from any perspective showing the Enterprise with the sphere, one can see the curvature of it! What utter nonsense! There is no way anyone could discern anything remotely like some curvature from something that size!
  It bugs that they dropped the ball on the scale but I suppose maybe they simply didn't think about it.
  No one else here has made a comment on it so I'm alone in this.
  Meh... ;-)

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• From Lee on 2012-04-22 at 7:33pm:
  I really love these 3-parter mini-arcs! I think ENT could've been the best of the Star Trek Series if the first two seasons were replaced with episodes like in this season, and instead of (or in addition to) the Xindi crisis, there should have been the Romulan war.
  After all, this series is before the Federation of planets, so we should see just as much about the Andorians and Vulcans as we see about the Humans! It's really a shame this series was cancelled after only four seasons...
  
  
• From The HMS Obumpresidency on 2023-03-03 at 5:23pm:
  Agreed, Lee! It is amazing how much better this series got in Season 4, it even looks better, look at the colours, and the outside views of the ship are beautiful.

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• From penguinphysics on 2010-11-07 at 6:28am:
  Kurtwood Smith also played the Federation president in STVI:TUC

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-07-29 at 1:26am:
  - 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 9:47am:
  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 2009-06-07 at 4:16am:
  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?
• From thaibites on 2011-02-25 at 2:15pm:
  This is a lame and unbelievable episode. Geordi says it all early in the episode when he wonders how a guy like Barclay makes it through Star Fleet Academy. The truth is he wouldn't. Which means he wouldn't serve in Star Fleet, and he would never serve on the flagship Enterprise. This whole episode was a fantasy from the beginning. It could never happen. Barclay's a loser and that's all.
• From CAlexander on 2011-05-01 at 6:19pm:
  An excellent episode. It is totally effective at portraying Barclay's character.
  - The characters wonder how he made it through Starfleet thus far, and this is never directly explained to the viewer. Presumably his intelligence offset his lack of confidence until he got on to the Enterprise, which, as the flagship of the Federation, was just a bit too stressful for him. Then he started spending too much time on the holodeck, reducing his performance, lowering his confidence further, encouraging even more holodeck abuse, until he is the nervous wreck that LaForge can't tolerate anymore. Quite realistic.
  - Star Trek is full of characters who are psychologically flawed, but usually they are unbalanced in the arrogant, overconfident direction. This episode shows someone flawed in the opposite way.
  - Echoing DSOmo, the scene with the antigrav unit bothered me too. It is really weird – "The antigrav unit isn't working correctly. These containers we've precariously stacked on the antigrav unit are extremely important. Activate the antigrav unit." The scene would have worked fine if it had just been executed a little bit differently.
  
• From Nicolas on 2011-08-07 at 2:41am:
  It should be standard enough to do a background check on the parties involved in serious accidents, just in case. Doing so would have saved them some time.
• From TheRealProj on 2011-12-23 at 7:22am:
  Ugh. Wicked gay episode. Another throwaway that belongs somewhere in season 1 or 2.
• From Ggen on 2012-03-28 at 11:42pm:
  Another poignant and thoroughly excellent psychological episode, this one with a healthy dollop of humor on the side.
  
  I'll touch on the lighter aspects first... the humor here is excellent. Some of the lines from Barclay's fantasies are perfect. I especially enjoyed Troi as the "goddess of empathy," and Troi as the seduced counselor. "I feel your arrogant resolve - and it excites me!" Hah, that's great, made even greater by the next line, "Please report to Cargo Bay 5." Not even 1 or 2, but *5* . Hah.
  
  Beyond the humorous scenes, Picard's slip of the tongue among them, this was a brilliant depiction of, and commentary on, social anxiety. I love how you can absolutely see Barclay's effect on others, you can *see*( how tense he makes the people around them (equally brilliant was Guinan's acknowledgement that there's a bit of a feedback loop here, the more uncomfortable Barclay makes others, the more uncomfortable he gets, and so on). Barclay also just lays it out to Geordi, explains quite effectively what its like, "afraid of forgetting a name... not knowing what to do with your hands... the guy who ends up in the corner trying to look comfortable examining a potted plant." That's great.
  
  I also appreciated how serious the whole thing became, first threatening to end Barclay's career, and later threatening to put the entire ship in jeopardy - though of course Barc came through in the end. Might as well mention that the technical problem (the contamination) and the technical solution were both pretty neat.
  
  So, I thought this was thoroughly excellent. I've seen some of the other Barcley episodes, both TNG and Voy, and I believe this was the best one, possibly because it's the first. In later episodes, the actor playing him gets a bit too comfortable in the discomfort, if that makes any sense... the stuttering etc starts to seem more predictable, more rehearsed. Here the performance is entirely convincing... (I wonder if they didn't have him improv. some of those lines to get the desired effect...)
  
• From Arianwen on 2012-12-17 at 11:20pm:
  thaibites - it is perfectly possible to succeed, and succeed spectacularly, while still having difficulty with your personal life. Social anxiety and academic /career excellence are not mutually exclusive.
• From Damien Bradley on 2015-05-14 at 8:33am:
  A few thoughts...
  
  - Did anyone else catch the reference to the "flux capacitor" during Barclay's fake counseling session? Awesome! Wesley called it a flow capacitor in the preceding scene, but Barclay said "flux" instead. :)
  
  - I like what someone else said about Geordi having a team of engineers he heads up. I would have loved to see some recurring characters (Sonya Gomez?) that way. But why, oh why, do they all have to be dudes? And with exception of Geordi, white dudes? Come on!
  
  - I loved the continuity with Booby Trap when Geordi mentions he "fell in love" on the holodeck. I wish there had been more offhand references to other episodes like this!
  
  - How many holodecks are there and how do people reserve time on them? With a thousand crew members, it seems weird that one lieutenant seems to be able to use them whenever he wants. It seems holo time would be scarce and in high demand.
  
  - It also seems there would already be strict regulations around simulating existing people, *especially* superior officers. Everyone seems so surprised as if no one has ever thought of creating a holodeck program where you can punch out your commander or ravish your counselor.
  
  - It's kind of fun to see Troi lose her poise. We see it in The Loss as well. I'm surprised that she was surprised at her own representation, though. She would have certainly sensed Barclay's lust toward her, and expected it once she saw he was simulating crew members. Then again, Trek writers conveniently forget about her empathic abilities all the time, so no huge surprise.
• From Azalea Jane on 2021-08-25 at 6:15pm:
  This episode highlights one of Troi's big problems: nobody on the writing team seems to know what a qualified counselor would act like, so they make this parody of a counselor whose empathetic powers short-circuit when it's convenient for the plot.
  
  For one, "holodiction" would already be a thing. Treating it might be an emerging field given how relatively recent an invention they are, but either way, Troi would have approached Barclay's issues *much* differently if any of the writers knew a thing about psychology. She certainly would not have done what she did in their (real) session. She looks like an absolute dummy in this episode. Being clueless about how to help Barclay, seemingly being *surprised* he lusts after her, losing her cool at seeing her holo-version... gah. Troi is such a tragically wasted character. I still like her in theory, and sometimes she's written well and her character utilized effectively. But not here.
  
  I like how Barclay kind of disrupts the status quo in this show. So far we mostly see crew getting along. But on a real ship, we'd have characters/situations like this constantly, and not just among the lower decks. In reality our main cast would probably have some awkward conflicts with each other, as we see more realistically in DS9 and onward.

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• From DSOmo on 2007-08-20 at 7:34am:
  - When the Enterprise first locates the Phoenix, Picard orders the con to lay in a course for the Phoenix at warp 6. After the Phoenix destroys the warship, Picard asks how long till they intercept, and Data replies, "At our present speed of warp 4 ..." When did the Enterprise slow to warp 4?
  - At one point O'Brien enters a turbolift with two Cardassians. As it travels, one of the Cardassians asks O'Brien to have a drink with them. When the turbolift reaches its destination, O'Brien mouths off to them and heads for the doors. The doors on the turbolift wait until he approaches before opening. Compare this to the operation of the turbolift doors in other episodes. As soon as the turbolift reaches its destination, the doors open. They do not wait for the person to approach. This is normal operation for turbolift doors.
• From Rob on 2008-04-14 at 12:13am:
  The only part I don't like about this episode (and it's so minor it shouldn't matter, but it's distracting) is the design of the Cardassian armor/outfits. They are fugly. I'm so glad that they are changed by the time they become a major baddie on DS9... especially those utterly ridiculous helmet-thingies they wear.
• From JRPoole on 2008-05-06 at 2:12pm:
  This episode is a perfect 10 until Maxwell shows up. I love the idea of a renegade captain, but Maxwell is written and acted so broadly that the character doesn't really rise above cliche. Parts of his interaction with O'brien are still moving, and Picard's chilly exchange with him after bringing him into his ready room is awesome, but overall, he's not one of the most memorable guest characters.
  
  Nearly everything else about this episode is great, though. Our first introduction to the Cardassians is a good one, and I love the way that Picard handles the tense situation. Even though Maxwell is right, and the Cardassians are up to something along the border, he knows that boarding the ship would lead directly to war, something he wants to prevent.
  
  The plot of this episode is crafted exceptionally well, with no easy answers and a lot of gray area to explore. Despite his violent actions and the coming court martial, Maxwell has in effect been a peacekeeper. He killed nearly 700 Cardassians without real provocation, but his actions ultimately led to Picard sniffing out the plot, which undoubtedly prevented an eventual Cardassian attack. We can posit that the Cardassians, knowing that the Federation's Star Fleet is reeling following the Borg incident, have beefed up arms along the border for a foray into Federation territory. Picard's frosty little speech to Macet at the end of the episode put the dampers on this plan, making Maxwell a sort of hero in disgrace since his outlaw actions led to this chain of events.
  
  Macet himself, like several other Cardassian characters we'll see later, is a well-drawn character. I get the feeling that Macet, like Picard, wants to avoid war--I tend to take his speech about some people needing war at face value--but he still is required by duty not to spill the beans about the border ramifications to Picard.
  
  Finally, this episode, like a lot of great Trek episodes, studies the nature of command very well. Picard's interactions with O'brien and Maxwell are indicative of his command style, as his handling of the incident of the Cardassian attempting to access the computer system. Macet's handling of this incident is interesting as well, and the actor playing the busted Cardassian is great. He implies with his eyes that he was acting on Macet's orders and is bewildered by Macet's reaction, but his sense of allegiance makes him follow orders. Contrast this with Picard's speech about Maxwell earning his crew's respect and allegiance.
  
  All in all, a great episode. I rated it an 8, but this one is not far from being a 10.
• From CAlexander on 2011-04-22 at 2:55pm:
  A tense, exciting episode. The plot, and the performance of Picard, are awesome. I tend to agree with JRPoole that the characterization of Maxwell is not very convincing and is a weak point in an otherwise superb episode.
• From Nadrac on 2012-05-14 at 11:18pm:
  As an even bigger fan of ds9 i am quite enjoy to see familiar faces "back", happy for change to dukat i would have never taken him seriously with that helmet ;)
• From Jake on 2012-09-20 at 3:41am:
  I wonder if the writers planned to have O'Brien in DS9 way back when and gave him more development in this episode and the last because he would have a larger part in the Cardassian arc in DS9. This episode feels like a DS9 prequel on my rewatch.
  
• From Praelat on 2013-11-27 at 6:42pm:
  Regarding the Macet-Dukat change: At the time of this episode, Gul Dukat would be commanding Terok Nor, supervising the Cardassian operations on Bajor. He would have no business chasing the Phioenix. Making Macet and Dukat the same character would make no sense.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Orion Pimpdaddy on 2009-07-06 at 8:23pm:
  The scenes that have Worf talking about leaving Starfleet just don't work. The audience is not fooled for a minute, especially since his name is in the opening credits. I still like the episode though.
• From MJ on 2011-01-11 at 10:22pm:
  Watching DS9 up to this point, I was thoroughly unimpressed by the Federation's response to the Dominion. Don't get me wrong, I love the show. It was really coming into it's own, introducing new story arcs, adding further depth to its circle of characters, and really proving itself as a series to be on par with TOS and TNG, with the potential to outshine them. But within the story itself, the Federation has seemed impotent, while every other power in the region is realistic about the Dominion and doing what they can to stop them.
  
  Consider the Romulans. They have attempted to collapse the wormhole, and then launch a pre-emptive strike on the Dominion. The first plan was stopped by the Federation, and the second plan went forward with no Federation support. Now the Klingons plunge themselves into the fight, and again the Federation hesitates.
  
  The only justification I could come up with for the Federation's behavior is that its fight with the Borg has altered its strategy. Wolf 359 taught the Federation to be wary of massive confrontations, and the fact is, the Federation faced the Borg threat with very little help from the Klingons and none from the Romulans or Cardassians. Maybe in the eyes of the Federation, it's time the others stepped up to face the Dominion threat. That is understandable.
  
  Another thing I don't understand, is where are all the other Alpha and Beta Quadrant powers right now? The Sheliak, the Gorn, the Tholians...surely there is some involvement? This seems to have been the time for Star Trek to summon its prior alien encounters, since the Dominion is clearly something everybody should be concerned about!
  
  That being said, I love the angles DS9 is exploring; it is something unique that neither TOS or TNG have dealt with yet.
• From AW on 2015-12-15 at 7:26pm:
  The subspace realm Jake gets sucked into on his second to last try looked a lot like the place where Sisko met the creators of the wormhole in the Pilot.
• From tigertooth on 2016-10-18 at 4:03am:
  This certainly isn't unique to this episode, but as an example: right before the final attack on DS9, Gowron says something in Klingon. Worf then translates to "today is a good day to die".
  
  But why didn't the universal translator already translate it? I mean, Gowron wasn't speaking English that whole time, right? He was speaking Klingon.
  
  Anyway, great two-parter.

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• From JRPoole on 2008-12-12 at 10:46pm:
  Problem: Spock has Kirk order up period clothes, then waltzes through the Guardian without them, only to be wearing them later.
  
  Bigger problem: Selik/Spock tells Sarek he's "on a pilgrimmage to honor our Gods." I just don't see the logical Vulcans worshipping gods, and I don't think it's ever mentioned again.
  
  That said, not a bad episode for TAS.
• From CAlexander on 2011-04-05 at 11:58pm:
  The actual story of this episode is fairly routine. It is that chance to see some of Mr. Spock's back story that makes it cool.
  
  Response to JRPoole:
  - I believe Spock put the outfit in a bag, carried it through, and put it on off-camera. Though I wondered why he didn't put it on before going through, that would make more sense to me.
  - You wouldn't think the Vulcans would worship Gods. But TNG, at least, made clear that they had Gods at some point. And as seen in Amok Time, they do some really, really weird stuff when it comes to honoring ancient Vulcan traditions. So I wouldn't disbelieve some sort of pilgrimage for that purpose.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Jeff Browning on 2011-09-07 at 12:52am:
  You missed some huge technical problems. The premise is that there is a ship-wide conspiracy to hide facts from the Doctor. If so, why does Harry Kim make things worse by denying knowledge of his surgery? Wouldn't he instead come up with a plausible alternative explanation? His response did nothing but increase the Doctor's curiosity. Likewise, why did Seven restore the Doctor's missing holoprojector files? She also simply makes things worse. Either they were not in on the cover-up (and how could Harry not be?) or they were incredibly inept. And the most inept is Capt. Janeway. Not a likely scenario. Altogether a very flawed and illogical episode.
• From thaibites on 2014-11-30 at 9:43am:
  What was the point of this episode? The ending was flat and kind of a let down. It seems like they're saying it's a new beginning for the doctor, but if watch the next episode, he's still the same condescending, egotistical, smarmy, know-it-all jerk that he usually is.
  So............I repeat, "What's the point of this episode?" The doctor hasn't changed or grown for his experiences here, so why should we care? This whole episode is just pointless.
• From Dstyle on 2015-07-07 at 2:42pm:
  I love the scene where the Doctor tells Janeway about his discovery that he performed surgery on Harry. They're both so casual about it!
  
  This episode unfolded in a really spectacular fashion. Very well written!
• From Martin on 2016-04-16 at 8:29pm:
  IMO one has to view these type of series with an opened eye. There's a part of this episode which is simply art. And what art is all about is making you feel something. Despite all the technicalities and flaws in this episode, the important part to consider is that, for the first time, the doctor made and irracional decision, and has to confront all the feelings that decision holds for him.
  In this episode we see the doctor, a hologram, dealing with really hard feelings, attempting to make sense of some new part of his existance which just doesn't make sense. The irracionality of the human emotions.
  Reminds me a little of data feeling like sh*t for not being able to save geordi in First Contact.
  This one has art written all over it. I give this episode a 9, wonderful.

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• From Pete Miller on 2006-07-18 at 9:25pm:
  Notice that the 'groupthink' episodes always involve the trigger happy cadets at starfleet academy
• From DSOmo on 2007-09-30 at 8:51am:
  - When talking to Boothby, Picard claims to have graduated in the Class of '27. The episode "Encounter At Farpoint, Part 2" establishes that Data graduated in the Class of '78. In "Redemption II," Data states that he has had twenty-six years of experience in Starfleet. Let's suppose that Data's experience with Starfleet began with his entrance into Starfleet Academy. In "Datalore," Data tells Lore that he spent four years at the academy. That means twenty-two years have elapsed since Data's graduation. Since Data graduated with the Class of '78 and twenty-two years have elapsed, this season of Star Trek: TNG must be happening somewhere around the year '00. Now if Picard graduated in the Class of '27, seventy-three years have elapsed since his graduation. If Picard was twenty at the time, he must be over ninety years old!!! This all makes very little sense until you remember that Data quoted the year in the episode "The Neutral Zone" as 2364 (also mentioned in the Problems section above.) Evidently something is wrong in one of these figures.
  - Starfleet Academy banned the Kolvoord Maneuver a hundred years ago due to a training accident. Yet Locarno convinces Nova Squadron to try it. What was he trying to accomplish? Did he think Starfleet wouldn't reprimand him if the maneuver was successful? A banned maneuver is a banned maneuver! But Locarno's actions are believeable. College seniors can do strange things.
  - The dormitory doors at Starfleet Academy have regular door handles and hinges, yet every time someone opens one, the door gives a little "erp erp" sound. If the doors are human-powered, doesn't it seem like a waste of energy to have them "erping" every time they are opened?
• From djb on 2008-04-16 at 10:49am:
  According to Memory Alpha, the reason they didn't use Locarno's character in Voyager was budgetary: the writers of this episode would have to have received royalties for every episode of Voyager. Presumably, this is a similar situation with Gul Dukat in DS9.
  
  Responding to Dsomo's inquiry about dates, I would postulate that the only erroneous date mentioned would be Data's "class of '78" statement. This is especially likely since it was stated in the pilot. If the end of season 1 was 2364, then the end of season 5 should be around 2369. If Picard graduated in '27, that would place Picard's post-graduation service with Starfleet about 42 years, and make him about 64 years old. Granted, Patrick Stewart was only 51 when this episode aired, it's clear from Boothby's estimated age (something over 100) that the average human lifespan has been somewhat lengthened by the 24th century. Data's 26 years of experience as of the beginning of season 5 (2368 or 69) would place his graduation somewhere around 2346.
  
  Also, about the doors: I presume that because Wesley had to get up and let people in every time they knocked (instead of saying "come in"), that the doors are locked from the inside and the only way to get in, if you don't have a key, is for someone on the other side to let you in. This is typical of dorm rooms. As for the sound, I can only guess that the door mechanisms are electronic; the sound we hear is the mechanism unlocking. The sound reminded me of the noise some apartment-building doors make when someone buzzes you in. Why use electronic door hardware instead of mechanical? Well, it's a few hundred years in the future! And, they're probably more secure. So, in other words, the door-opening mechanism isn't really human powered; the handle being pressed is what signals the mechanism to unlock, the sound of which we hear whenever someone presses the handle.
  
  I liked the twist at the end where Locarno takes the fall for his team. His arguments against Wesley wanting to come forward with the truth are incredibly hypocritical, but he actually backs up his rhetoric of team members helping each other, and that saves his character from being a total jerk.
  
  It was nice to see Wesley do something morally questionable for a change.
  
  One thing, though: despite the troubled circumstances, wouldn't Wesley make a point of seeing his sort-of girlfriend, Robin Lefler? From "The Game"? I guess Ashley Judd wasn't available. What a shame... That character's involvement would have added a whole new depth to an episode that was already deep to begin with.
• From Rob on 2008-04-17 at 11:01pm:
  As to what Locarno thought he was going to accomplish...
  
  I imagine he expected to get an 'official reprimand' while everyone gave him a nod-nod, wink-wink at his audaciousness. The reprimand would be 'required' but would have no actual real-world impact on his service in Star Fleet and his 'made' reputation would probably even improve his prospects. It takes little imagination to guess how easily it would have been for him to convince the others that they could sail through the following three years at the academy as "living legends" and again, any reprimand would have no lasting impact on their assignments following graduation.
• From John on 2011-01-03 at 3:32am:
  All the scenes with Boothby are outstanding. Ray Walston was a great actor who never seemed to age. It's hard to believe he was nearing 80 when he filmed this episode. Perhaps it's because he's talked of so fondly by Picard, but he's always been one of my favorite characters.
  
  The scene where all the team members blame Josh made me kind of sick, but this is the genius of Ron Moore. His writing takes you to the dark places you don't really want to go and forces you to think about a situation.
  
  I like the "plant" of the Bajoran ensign, Sito Jaxa. Granted, she's not presented in the best light here, but she redeems herself in Season 7's "Lower Decks".
  
  All in all, a fine episode, and one of my favorite of Moore's TNG scripts.
• From ADMK on 2012-07-19 at 6:06pm:
  A great episode overall, contributing almost as much to Wesley's character development as all his previous episodes combined. Good to see a young Tom Paris (effectively) too.
  
  My only problem is how Data misses identifying the likely cause of the accident. It doesn't take Picard very long to deduce that given Wesley's opening of the coolant interlock and the discussed reasons that one might do that (in particular, to purge the plasma exhaust), the team must have been attempting the Kolvoord Maneuver. So why does Data (or even the Vulcan) miss such an apparently straightforward deduction—that Wesley's otherwise inexplicable action correlates with a step required to complete this notoriously dangerous flight-team maneuver?
  
  The Vulcan can likely be excused, but Data should have already had an encyclopedic knowledge of flight-team history, maneuvers, and incidents, or at least accessed such a database during the investigation. Surely in his millions of calculations per second he would have thought of the Kolvoord Maneuver as a possible, if not the most likely, explanation.
  
  I wish instead that Data had come to the initial conclusion (in his usual emotionless, matter-of-fact voice), but then Picard could have fleshed out the tale of the banned maneuver and its history, sharing a relevant personal anecdote or other information that Data would have not known or omitted. E.g.:
  
  DATA: Opening the coolant interlock while in flight is a required step in performing the Kolvoord Maneuver. But that maneuver has been banned by Starfleet for over one hundred years, sir. It is considered too dangerous.
  
  PICARD: [Thoughtfully] Too dangerous … but perhaps not too dangerous for an Academy senior who had carefully cultivated a reputation for dancing with danger and escaping unharmed. Much like a young [blah blah blah, Picard tells a story].
  
  GEORDI: [Dramatically] If the flight team was attempting the Kolvoord Maneuver, it's no wonder they act like they're trying to hide something.
  
  [Dramatic music signals END OF SCENE, and then the rest of the episode proceeds normally.]
  
  You get the idea. Anyway, still probably an 8/10 in my book!
• From ADMK on 2012-07-20 at 5:02pm:
  P.S. Meant to add that in paragraph three of my review above I was trying to channel Riker from the episode "Future Imperfect." ("What's the matter, Data? What happened to those millions of calculations per second?")

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From BlueLabel on 2010-06-25 at 4:07am:
  Problem: at the very beginning, when Sisko runs into Odo and the troublesome Klingon, Sisko claims he "didn't know there were any Klingons on the station". What about the guy who runs the Klingon restaurant?
• From Hugo on 2012-01-22 at 6:56pm:
  Whoa! The best in a long while. Excellent pacing ,good drama and suspense and awesome sci-fi!

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Giuseppe on 2010-11-07 at 1:18am:
  Kira comparing the Cardasian rifle with the Federation one... It was a bit like hearing someone compare an AK-47 with an M-16. The first one very simple and very rugged, the other much more advanced, but somewhat more prone to failure. No wonder someone like Kira would recommend the Cardasian rifle to a novice like Ziyal, after all she was a freedom fighter. And its real life counterpart, the AK-47, has been the weapon of choice for most untrained... freedom fighters.
• From peterwolf on 2013-11-29 at 10:36pm:
  Overall the episode is entertaining, sometimes thrilling. However, some parts of the discussions and conversations between Dukat and Kira went wrong. It started in "Indescretion" and gets worse in later episodes. Dukat´s constant need to expose his feelings and motifs to Kira and his begging for appreciation are annoying and "un-Cardassian". It would have been much more effective if these "confessions" or whatever you may call it had occurred unexpectedly and very rarely. For example, such things happen with Garak: all of a sudden you see a different part of his character, of his past, which makes him such an interesting character. The dialogues between Kira and Ziyal are much better and more credible. Also, Dukat showed the potential for a more positive character development, but as we know, in the end it turned out bad. Interestingly, Damar appears for the first time on DS9 in "Return to Grace". His ups and downs account for one of the best character developments in Star Trek. The moment when he gives up drinking is the crucial turning point in the war against the Dominion, while Dukat choose a far more negative path.
• From Gaius Gracchus on 2021-10-04 at 8:59pm:
  Dukat and Kira have great on-screen chemistry. Scenes between those characters always jump out, so episodes putting them together always resonate. The series found a winning formula here.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From rpeh on 2010-08-19 at 2:23pm:
  Touching... but lasts about 10 minutes too long, leading to some rather stretched out scenes. This episode needed a longer B-plot to pad it out instead.
  
  Factoid: The song playing while the doctor and Denara are playing is "My Prayer" by Harry Connick Jr.
• From zook on 2011-08-10 at 11:51pm:
  The doctor brags about a procedure developed by Dr. Leonard McCoy in 2253 ;) Simply heart-warming.
• From Alan on 2012-01-08 at 4:19am:
  The song playing in the Mars date scene is actually 'My prayer" by The Platters not Harry Connick Jr.
  

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From hugo on 2012-10-09 at 3:15pm:
  One could see what would happen to Eddington from miles away: predictable! One gripe I have with that character is that he spent all that time undercover, being just a boring quiet person. Now he is an adventurous romantic that loves to hear his own voice, and he is also the Maquis leader...
• From Gul Ranek on 2013-01-08 at 4:22pm:
  I agree, Eddington was very underused and not developed in a decent way.I guess the writers must have had some basic ideas about the character when they introduced him in the third season, but never got around to implement them and decided to get rid of him by making him a member of the Maquis.
  An example of this is his conflict with Odo about who would be taking care of station security - they made a big deal of it, but Eddington barely appeared in subsequent episodes.
• From Bronn on 2013-07-18 at 2:48am:
  I loved the scenes involving Sisko bantering with Eddington. That was the main fun of this episode for me-Eddington was boring as a security officer, but he's really charming as a renegade leader. I loved the way he was portrayed in this, and in his previous appearance. Agreed, he was underused, but that was not really a problem with this episode, which was extremely enjoyable.
• From Gaius Gracchus on 2021-11-20 at 11:07pm:
  Fantastic sendoff for Eddington. Ken Marshall did an especially great job in these last three appearances as the character (For the Cause, For the Uniform, and then Blaze of Glory). Really a good foil to Sisko. Both are decidedly "good" and are willing to do what it takes to see their goals carried out.
  
  Additionally, a great payoff for the Maquis subplot that's been going on since TNG and obviously was heavily present in Voyager. Wish more could have been done with it on *that* show but as far as DS9 goes... no complaints.

No fan commentary yet.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From JRPoole on 2009-01-02 at 10:21pm:
  This is the beginning of the "real" DS9, and it's a good introduction. Thankfully, the writers didn't have Jake and Nog pull some sort of daring rescue of Sisko and Quark. The only (slight) problems I have with this episode are very minor:
  
  --It seems a little unlikely that the Jem'hadar could overlook Jake and Nog, especially when there's a shuttle orbiting the planet, but I guess that stands to reason because Sisko and Quark were meant to escape all along.
  
  -Just where is Eris beaming to at the end? How sophisticated is Dominion transporter technology?
• From BlueLabel on 2010-06-10 at 7:43am:
  The biggest problem I have with this episode, and in fact most star trek battle scenes, is how puny and frail Federation ships always seem to be during engagements like this. Seriously, watch the battle in this episode. The Jem'Hadar make one pass, firing a couple of shots at the Odyssey, then it cuts to the bridge and it's absolute chaos up there, exploding consoles and everything.
  
  The reverse case hardly ever happens. Which I think sucks. I mean, this is a Galaxy class ship right? And if they could take it out so easily, why not pick off the runabouts first?
• From Wes Thompson on 2011-01-14 at 7:56pm:
  I have to gladly agree with JRPoole that this marks the beginning of the rest of DS9. Again, I agree that the rest of DS9 is GREAT! There are those episodes here and there that have their own little, self-contained stories. I like a lot of them for the way the writers examine humanity and morals. However, my favorite part of DS9 is the Dominion story. I greatly enjoy the ongoing story. For me, the ongoing saga of episodes and seasons is what makes DS9 better than TNG. Don't get me wrong; there are many great stand-alone and two-part TNG episodes. But DS9 has a much better overall story and drama. This comes from someone who grew up loving TNG and almost detesting DS9 for trying to copy what TNG had done so well. After watching DS9, I have to say that I look forward to rewatching the episodes often.
• From Krs321 on 2011-02-01 at 8:19pm:
  Why doesn't Eris pause or at least say something about or to Odo? I guess they were already aware that a shapeshifter was on DS9 and it wasn't a big deal...?
• From Bernard on 2011-11-13 at 11:54am:
  As others have said, this episode marks the start of bad ass DS9. The transition to bad ass DS9 is completed by the start of season four when all the boxes are ticked.
  Sisko with bald head and goatee - check
  DS9 has it's own warship armed to the teeth - check
  Worf has arrived - check
  
  The episode is very introductory and so I don't think it can be hailed as a masterpiece. It does a great job introducing the Jem'Hader and the idea that the Dominion is going to be a nasty adversary.
  The plot involving Sisko, Jake, Nog and Quark is a nice little addition that plays out through the episode with Quark needling Sisko but then they need to work together and appreciate each other a bit more by the end giving the episode a much needed character arc. The two play off each other very nicely, as do Nog and Jake but then we know they do from many, many other episodes.
  
  I'd give this a 7 or maybe 8 depending on my mood.
• From Spencer Miller on 2012-04-10 at 9:09pm:
  Nice episode. I love the Quark character but he was just too insufferable on the camping trip/during captivity - I know thats the obvious intention but I found it a little aggravating.
  
  I also wanted to comment on the battle with the Odyssey. In Kethinov's review he comments: "The destruction of the USS Odyssey was downright shocking; to see a galaxy class starship taken down so easily!" But with regards to this, I felt the same way as BlueLabel...the Federation starships always seem sorely underpowered to me. The space battles often seem very one sided...either the Enterprise (in TNG) can easily take out their adversaries, or else its the whole "two hits and sparks are flying everywhere and people are flying all over the place". It gets a little aggravating for me when the protagonist faction's firepower is so impotent.
• From Troy on 2013-01-27 at 8:55am:
  Usually I either get aggravated or make a running gag out of how Federation ships shields are down after taking 2 hits, but in this particular episode it made sense to me. The Odyssey was being attacked by Phased Polaron beams which I doubt the Federation has ever really dealt with, and since Polaron beams are designed to penetrate shields the sparks flying right away is mostly justified. Now it did take quite a few hits and was still able to attempt a retreat with the final blow being a suicide run, so at the very least she was able to handle an incredible pounding before finally kicking it. It was indeed shocking and really showed off how this is Star Trek with consequences. Apart from the technobabble about starships I loved this episode, it indeed is the beginning of the best arc ever in Star Trek history.
• From Captain Keogh on 2013-03-24 at 2:05pm:
  Problems
  -As the Odyssey and the runabouts are retreating, the Jem'Hadar fighter makes a suicide run at the Odyssey, but when it moves to another shot, the fighter comes in at a different angle and the Odyssey is not moving, plus there is no sign of the runabouts.
  
  Remarkable scenes
  -- Quark asking Odo to let him use the station's monitors to run commercials for Quark's bar
  -The whole camping trip scene
  -The Odyssey vs the jem'hadar [could have been longer]
  -The suicide run
  -The Odyssey getting blown to hell.
  
  "...a galaxy class starship taken down easily", no surprise there lol.
• From Zorak on 2016-05-14 at 5:01pm:
  The captain of the Odyssey seemed like a really cool character. It's too bad he made such a short appearance.
• From Azalea Jane on 2021-11-21 at 4:21am:
  @BlueLabel: There were numerous times in TNG when it was obvious that the Enterprise outmatched whoever they were dealing with, but since the Federation is typically not aggressive, they usually don't get in fights with anyone they can beat easily. ("Conundrum" comes to mind.) Thus we often them battle with ships as powerful or more powerful than theirs, who started the confrontation.
  
  @Krs321 I wonder if Eris even knew who Odo was. She may have known that the Founders sent several of their own out into the galaxy, but she wouldn't know what shape they would take. Odo is not immediately obvious as a shapeshifter. When we see Founders later, they've taken on similar features to Odo, seemingly out of convenience, consistency, or affection for him.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Alan on 2012-01-26 at 4:08pm:
  Kethinov , I have to agree with you. This episode is a hoot. I've just watched it for the first time , since the original air date . It has to be in my top five of Star Trek episodes. The opening scene with Robert Picardo is total genius. The potato aliens are funny as hell.
  I give this episode a 10. :)
• From Susan on 2020-12-05 at 8:22am:
  Thanks for that YouTube link. Almost as much fun as the ep.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Inga on 2014-01-31 at 8:32am:
  What's bother me is that a people so enlightened and logical using a word like "blasphemy". I associate this word with the medieval close-mindedness.
  
  Other than that, it was an interesting episode.
• From Zorak on 2016-09-18 at 6:08pm:
  I'm not particularly fond of how this series is treating the Vulcans so far. It's seems to belittle and villainize them at every opportunity. It's quite the departure from how revered and honorable they are usually portrayed. This feels like a bit of a slap in the face to Star Trek. I hope they rectify this moving forward.
• From Kethinov on 2016-09-19 at 4:21am:
  They do. It's going somewhere. Stick around for the season 4 material. :)
• From Azalea Jane on 2021-08-02 at 3:32am:
  I noticed the same thing Inga did. "Blasphemy," T'Pol? Do you even hear yourself?? The Vulcans fancy themselves so high and mighty for being logical and not swayed by emotions, but they consistently show themselves--or at least some of them--to be incredibly arrogant and superstitious. It's no surprise they feel entitled to secretly violate their treaty with the Andorians. Despite their pacifism, they're just as supremacist as their cousins the Romulans. They have some admirable traits, and their logical nature can be very useful, but they shouldn't be "revered" as per Zorak's comment. That's too simplistic (and would be rather boring).
  
  I kind of like how the Vulcans are proving to be lowkey villains (or at least a foil) in this series. Like our own species, they're multilayered and diverse. Like our own species and many others, their political leadership does not always reflect the sentiments of the people they represent. It makes for some good "divided loyalty" drama for T'Pol.
  
  I loved the twist at the end. Seeing Jeffery Combs was a delight. They set me up to hate the Andorians and then it turns out the Andorians were completely justified in their suspicions.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-08-25 at 7:34pm:
  - Normally, when Geordi transfers engineering control to the bridge, he walks off the turbolift, presses a button on the Engineering station, and the station lights up. At the beginning of this episode, Geordi walks on and the station lights up before he reaches it or says anything.
  - This is the only time a shuttle is used to gather information in the series. In all other cases, the sensor arrays on the Enterprise have always proved sufficient. Of course, if Geordi and Barclay don't get in a shuttle and fly out to the probe, Barclay can't get flashed.
  - Shuttle Craft 5 has changed again (see comments from "The Ensigns Of Command" and "Transfigurations.") In all previous episodes, it was a two-passenger, angular-looking, subcompact craft. In this episode, it becomes a sleek, rounded-edged, multiple-passenger unit.
• From JTL on 2008-03-29 at 6:52am:
  I enjoyed this episode, though the lack of information at the end of this story is frustrating and opens up many realms of conjecture. Is it possible that the prisoner entity revealed in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier is a Cytherian? Unlikely, but a pet theory of mine nonetheless.
• From thaibites on 2011-09-08 at 12:46am:
  I absolutely love this episode. This is TNG at its absolute best! The fact that bumbling, weirdo Barclay is the one that will take the Starship Enterprise "where no one has gone before" is just icing on the cake.
  How about the slow reveal in the holodeck where we see Barclay's brain interfacing with the computer - it's a very dramatic, cold, and creepy scene that conveys very strongly that Barclay is losing touch with his humanity, and underscores the fear and uncertainty that the rest of the crew is feeling.
  The ending is an awesome sci-fi concept (and very surprising the 1st time you watch it). Aliens that explore the universe by bringing others to them - I love it!
• From Mike on 2017-04-25 at 3:31am:
  Yeah the ending bugged me a bit, too. That's like Neil Armstrong giving an incredibly detailed report on the Apollo 11 launch sequence, and then ending his report by saying "...and after about a week in space during which we landed on the surface of the moon, we returned to Earth with mineral samples."
  
  That being said, I love every damn Barclay episode in the series. The episodes are always great sci-fi involving unique dilemmas that in some way are enhanced by having him and his personality take center stage. If Star Trek is trying to promote diversity, then Barclay shows that its diversity is not only about ethnicity, gender and national origin. He is every person with some form of social anxiety or struggle with confidence or even hypochondria. Definitely an enjoyable episode in every way.