The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From technobabble on 2010-11-23 at 7:16am:
  But they do have a form of currency in called Federation credits but they don't seem to have any physical money. The various series & movies touched upon that the economics of the Federation are vastly different than the capitalist model. With no hunger, disease or poverty they live in a post scarcity society. Check out the wiki writeup under "Federation credits".
  
  It is still odd that Kirk would refer to efforts expended to train Spock in a monetary sense though.
  
• From John on 2011-02-17 at 2:28am:
  Kirk is such a fathead in this one. This episode is a prominent example of the differences between Kirk and Picard. I'm not saying one is better than another, but Picard would never have tried to foist his own view of "the way things should be" on an independent world the way Kirk does here. These people don't want his help, because ultimately they don't need it, but that doesn't stop him from forcing himself upon them.
  
  He learns a valuable lesson for his trouble -- things are not always what they appear to be. But he promptly forgets it and goes back to being the same old Kirk for the rest of the series.
  
  The other thing that doesn't click for me is the brain scanner. I guess it's because I'm used to the "non-Soviet" Klingons from TNG and DS9, but this certainly seems more like a Romulan weapon than a Klingon one.
• From ChristopherA on 2012-07-04 at 1:48pm:
  A classic. This is the TOS episode that puts the Klingons in the best light, in the sense of them being worthy enemies of the Federation. I love Kor's combination of ruthlessness and philosophy, and the concept of the wolves among sheep. And the episode has a great sense of wartime excitement. I quite like this episode, even though it does have some weaknesses.
  - I agree that it is very odd how Kirk and Spock fail to react to the Organians’ demonstration of knowledge they should not have. The episode would make more sense if they simply couldn’t overhear the weird conversation between the Organians.
  - It is funny that the first time I watched the episode, I never really noticed how the attitude of Kirk and Spock towards the Organians after the Klingons arrive is quite irrational. They constantly berate the Organians for not fighting back. Yet the Organians, as far as Kirk and Spock know, have no military and are vastly technologically inferior to the Klingons. The Klingons are totally ruthless, a fact which Kirk himself tells the Organians. They have announced massive retribution for any deaths. Even if the Organians pull off some sort of incredible resistance on the ground, the Klingons can obliterate their society from orbit if they so choose. Obeying the occupation force costs them their freedom but allows their culture to survive. It is understandable that Kirk and Spock would want the Organians to assist them, but it is puzzling that both of them, even Spock, act as though the Organians are fools for not doing so. And blowing up the munitions dump seems like a somewhat callous act, given the likelihood of Klingon reprisal. I assume they justify it by military necessity, and a feeling that life under Klingon rule is worse than death and thus anything the Organians do to increase the chance of Federation victory would be good for them in the long term. Apparently the Prime Directive is so totally overruled in time of war that Kirk feels no need to respect the Organian culture of pacifism and can simply make decisions for them.
  - Kor's decision to wait 12 hours before mind-sifting Kirk makes little sense to me. If Kirk is a worthy foe, he will not cave in to Kor’s demands; if he is not worthy, why give him the extra 12 hours? I'm wondering if the Organians are playing with Kor's mind. Or perhaps the success rate of the Mind-Sifter is not really very good; that could explain why it never shows up again. Or perhaps Kor just wanted to see how Kirk would react if given some time to think about his impending horrible demise, just to gauge what kind of man he is and understand the mind of the enemy.
  - It is interesting to compare the ruthlessness of Kor to the recharacterized TNG Klingons. The later series spend a lot of time painting the Klingons as a proud, honorable warrior race with a culture that seems strange and violent to the Federation, but is very worthy in its own way. Conveniently, they don’t really mention what happens to the losers when the Klingons actually win a war; the Klingons would seem a lot less like fun, good-hearted frat boys if you knew about the horrors of Klingon occupation, as Kirk describes here. Come to think of it, maybe the Cardassians are the real spiritual successors to Kor’s Klingons.
  - I love the Organian gesture of greeting. I should start using that myself.
  
• From Strider on 2012-07-25 at 5:28am:
  I think this episode has some strengths. Kor is awesome. Kirk is frustrated into anger, and even Spock accepts the necessity to try to persuade the Organians to fight. I like to see the heroes kicking ass, but really, nobody stops to wonder if there's more going on here than meets the eye? And in another episode, they claim that they can't violate the Prime Directive on pain of death or whatever, but where the heck is it now? Why do they assume that the Organians (as they understand them at this point) haven't thought about the implications of their pacifism? They would rather be conquered than use violence-- their choice. People who are truly committed to pacifism have thought these things through.
  
  But my greatest irritation is with any episode or movie of any kind where a short explanation could resolve the misunderstanding. I realize it would have made the episode about 6 minutes long, but why won't the Organians just say, "Look, we've got some powers you don't know about, and these guys can't hurt us. It's all good." Then maybe showed them that hot-weapons trick or something? A simple misunderstanding just isn't enough to hang a whole plot on.
  
  Strider
• From Glenn239 on 2012-10-01 at 1:58pm:
  ‘7’. The Prime Directive obviously does not apply to strategically located Class M planets in key sectors bordering a dangerous enemy. By the time of the NG the Federation is apparently able to allow its enemies all the advantages in battle, and then pull it out at the end with the Boy Wonder and Filter Face issuing some embarrassing technibable while reconfiguring the deflector into a time machine or whatever. (So what are those hippies back at Starfleet design academy doing? Didn’t anyone notice that the deflector array can be changed into a new handy device by a 15 year old marketing device?) Anyways, by NG the Federation might be strong enough to act weakly, but in the original series the Federation clearly has to watch out for the possibility of being conquered, and that must mean the Prime Directive is not universal.
  
  This one looks to be a French resistance story from WW2 crossed over to science fiction. It’s a pity Spock’s interrogation took place off screen; that would have been a strong scene. Spock and Kirk play the role of incompetent British operatives, (Kirk, I’m pretty sure that you should be hiding you Vulcan from the Klingon occupation army rather than parading him around in front of the governor). The Klingons emerge as a solid, well conceived opposition for the Enterprise, but then a promising premise is squandered by yet more advanced entities deciding to finally do their godlike duties in enforcing decent principles and prevent war. Nice, but where have you been for the past 10,000 years and why did you show up just in time to wreck a great ending?
  
  This episode may have contained the single biggest error in judgment pertaining to the longer term survival of the series. If they had let the war just starting play out over the course of following seasons, then the writers would have had a strong ‘fall back’ story arc they could draw upon to replace or pump up future turkeys like ‘The Apple’. Since Organia is a key sector, just have the Organians prevent the war within their area, but what happens further away than that they do not care about. So the war continues, but the logistics of it are difficult for both sides hence it becomes drawn out. Star Trek stories in a war background in science fiction are inherently stronger pieces: Exhibit A, Wrath of Khan. Exhibit B: The Undiscovered Country.
• From Scott Hearon on 2014-03-31 at 10:52am:
  A really strong episode, mainly because of Kor.
  
  Instead of giving us a 1-dimensional "evil invader," the story gives us a fully-developed antagonist who brings out the most aggressive side of Kirk. The characterization of Kor could have been horribly oversimplified, which would have made for an extremely boring episode. As it was, it was one of the best ones that I've watched so far.
  
  I, like Kethinov, grow very tired of unimaginably powerful beings in the series. Sure, the mystery of their true nature lends a certain air of suspense and wonder through most of the episode. But the eventual revelation that they are virtually omnipotent and omniscient is rather dull.
  
  Still, it's good to see that one of the most iconic alien races that Star Trek produced had such a strong introduction.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Thomas on 2009-08-03 at 9:33am:
  I found it a bit disturbing and inconsistant with the other series that the Vulcans here have such a barbarous and illogical ritual. i mean fighting to death for a woman.
• From Orion Pimpdaddy on 2010-03-31 at 8:12pm:
  I just watched this on Blu-Ray last night. I have a few nitpicks.
  
  There's a pretty nice new part that was added. When the Kirk, Spock, and McCoy beam down, it now cuts to a far away shot of the temple. It looks pretty nice. The problem is that when Spock beams back up, they cut to the shot again, but it does not show the wedding party standing inside it, even though they were standing near Spock as he beemed back up.
  
  Also, when Spock's future wife appears on the view screen, she starts talking to him ("something something never parted"). I just would like to know where the echo is coming from. She sounds like she has supernatural powers!
  
  There's also a lot of unnecessary stunt doubles used in the slow moving combat scenes. I'm pretty sure Nimoy and Shatner had the skills to wield plastic sticks.
  
  Otherwise, this is a pretty good episode.
  
  
• From John on 2011-02-18 at 5:20am:
  This is a funny episode: I love it, but there are a lot of things about it that tick me off:
  
  1. Why does T'Pau have such a strong accent, while no other Vulcan ever presented has an accent? I realize that this is the first "Vulcan" episode of all time, but still. Her accent is annoying and unnecessary.
  
  2. What's up with the constant use of "thee"?
  
  3. I would have liked to see Spock take T'Pring as his wife anyway, just to wreck her plans. Logical or not, as far as he knew, she forced him to kill his best friend and captain. In a short time he can divorce her, and make her look like a fool. Seems like justice to me. Of course, Spock would never do this -- revenge is illogical -- but it would be entertaining nonetheless.
• From Robert Koenn on 2011-03-24 at 5:11pm:
  This was another favorite overall episode from the Trek universe for me. And that partially makes sense as two of my favorites were written by acclaimed scifi writers, this one by Theodore Sturgeon. It was quite interesting to learn more of the Vulcan culture. I didn't find the "illogic" of this violent death match for a woman to be out of place. As was stated, Vulcan suppress their emotions, they are not genetically non-emotional. So at that point in time when the Pon-far occurs this pent up strain is released resulting in years of suppression getting out into the open. And for a Vulcan this is not only personally devastating but embarrassing as well. I also found the effects quite good for the budget and time period they filmed this episode. Finally it went quite a ways in developing the Kirk/Spock/McCoy relationship.
• From Wes on 2011-04-19 at 8:08pm:
  I too really appreciated the development of the Kirk/Spock/McCoy relationship.
  
  I also thought the addition of one or two of the little "extra" scenes was great. The one that stands out to me is the little back and forth between Sulu and Chekov when they ask the other if they think they'll make another course change. Those types of little scenes really added to TNG, DS9 and Voyager for me. It helps you see other sides of characters. It adds more of a human element. The first season of TOS really lacked those types of scenes. I'm really glad the writers decided to add this. I hope it continues.
  
  Overall, I enjoyed how this episode seemed to really take a big step forward from the first season. Well done. This is what Star Trek is made of and I am beginning to see why people enjoyed TOS. After only watching the first season, I wondered what was so great about TOS, especially in comparison to the other series.
• From steve on 2012-07-08 at 8:40am:
  One nitpick. How is it that Kirk and McCoy didn.t know about ponfarr until Spock tells Kirk. In Managerie,its stated that the events on Talos IV took place 13 yrs previously,and this episode takes place about 1 yr later so 14 yrs at least have gone by with Spock on the Enterprise. Given that ponfarr occurs every 7 yrs Spock would have gone thru 2 under Pike . No medical records, no Captains logs of them were made, two unscheduled trips to Vulcan are made but ponfarr is not known? Just asking.
• From Strider on 2012-07-27 at 7:29am:
  I've also wondered why this seems to be Spock's first pon farr. Actually, I have a lot of questions about pon farr.
  
  Pon farr happens every 7 years to mates who are bonded, right? So, Sarek, for example, would not have experienced it, because he didn't have a bond mate...as evidenced by his being able to marry Amanda.
  
  But Vulcans can still have sex if they are strongly enough attracted to someone, right? I mean, they don't have to wait 7 years--I think one of the writers said as much. Pon farr is not regular sex; it's the drive toward the bond mate...right?
  
  Someone (somewhere) said they found it unbelievable that Spock suddenly gets over the blood fever when he realizes he's killed Kirk. I didn't have a problem with that--he goes through the ritual of "marriage or battle," his body must release the hormonal tension one way or the other, and he ended up doing it through battle. Makes total sense to me.
  
  I didn't have a problem with T'Pau's use of extremely formal archaic language--this is a very formal, ritualized occasion, and such things often use formal and archaic language. It did bug me that Vulcans seem to use "thee" when they should properly say, "thou," but I'm assuming they're not actually speaking Elizabethan English.
  
  Some of the TOS novels seem to indicate that if you're away from your bond mate when you hit that 7 years, you can relieve the pressure with someone else. So...when Christine comes into Spock's room and he's nice to her and asks her to make him some soup, did he just feel bad that he had been a jerk to her earlier, or was he coming on to her? He reached out and touched her cheek, but then quickly put his hand behind his back. Was he trying to keep his hands off her because he just needed "it" so bad, rather than T'Pring specifically? Frankly, I think she'd have helped him out and the whole fake-Kirk-death thing could have been avoided.
  
  
  
  
• From Alan Feldman on 2013-03-06 at 8:28am:
  AMOK TIME
  
  Has its fun scenes. Here are my comments:
  
  While parents wanting to choose their children's mates, and children wanting to choose their own mates themselves are both understandable, the rituals here are silly and the fight to the death, barbaric. Even animals often size each other up to see if a fight would be pointless.
  
  People complain about sexism in Star Trek, but I've never heard it mentioned with regard to this episode. Check out this dialog:
  
  T'PAU: He will have to fight for her. It is her right. T'Pring, thee has chosen the kal-if-fee, the challenge. Thee are prepared to become the property of the victor?
  
  T'PRING: I am prepared.
  
  And a short time later:
  
  T'PAU: Here begins the act of combat for possession of the woman, T'Pring.
  
  Property? Possession? On the other hand, if Spock hadn't freed her, she'd get his name and property -- and instant estrangement! And Stonn.
  
  So when does the clean-up crew come around to clean the soup off the wall outside Spock's quarters? You really want to do it before it dries on.
  
  I'm okay with T'Pau's accent; however, the misuse of 'thee' and such is a little annoying.
  
  What's with the humongous nose mask on the guy with the big blade? How do you breathe with that thing on?
  
  Continuity error: At 29:27 Spock starts walking toward the gong. Once Spock is almost there, T'Pring begins walking and makes it about half way there. Then in the very next shot she's standing still, near Stonn again. She starts off toward the gong again and gets there a little too fast. I'll chalk this up to a screw-up they didn't have the time or resources to fix.
  
  Look at Kirk's pose when T'Pring is about to choose him (32:29). Words escape me.
  
  Pretty amazing timing for the neural paralyzer to kick in just before Spock's choking Kirk would have really killed him. Let's see: how many times does Kirk "die"? Here, in "The Enterprise Incident", and mistakenly declared dead in "The Tholian Web" and "Space Seed". And he "partly died" in "Return to Tomorrow".
  
  Yep, pretty good logic on the part of T'Pring. And she had to have thought it up right on the spot, as she didn't know until then that Kirk, an "out-worlder", would be there. Pretty good! But what if Kirk had declined? It would have been tough luck, and Stonn would have had to fight. But that was her starting point anyway. Oh, and this also explains why Stonn was surprised by her choice of champion, which added a nice twist. In the end, she and Stonn lucked out big time.
  
  In the remastered version we see our heroes walking across a huge arch with a Vulcan city in the background. I'm sorry, but it just looks out of place. It's a totally different look. Switching to and from this scene almost looks someone's changing channels. There is also a lack of continuity in their walking. And why would they beam down so far from the temple in the first place?
  
  Near the end, Uhura relays Admiral Komack's approval of T'Pau's request to divert to Vulcan. Sorry if I missed it, but I don't recall her ever making such a request.
  
  AEF, aka betaneptune
• From Tooms on 2013-09-14 at 8:50pm:
  Great episode. Warp 8 isn't new, though. The Enterprise went to warp 8 during the space chase in Arena (season 1).
• From Scott Hearon on 2014-04-05 at 2:42pm:
  Really good episode. I gave it a 7/10.
  
  I had some of the same unresolved questions and nitpicks that the other commenters here have, mostly concerning the Enterprise crew not knowing anything about pon farr. Surely they would have had some indication from the past. Secret or not, would it not have been "logical" for Spock or some other Vulcan to inform the Federation of a ritual that would possibly endanger the crew? Especially when a Vulcan is in a position of power such as First Officer?
  
  And yes, the fight sequence, as with all of the others I've seen on TOS, was pretty laughable. Based on what we know of Spock's strength, added to his blood rage and a climate that was inhospitable to Kirk, Spock most likely would have mopped the floor with poor ol' Jim in a matter of seconds, long before McCoy can enact the ruse that saved him.
  
  Still, there's a ton to admire and be entertained by in this episode. Being the first episode to focus so heavily on not just Spock but his home culture is fascinating, and handled quite well. It shows just how effective it can be to have a character fall out of type temporarily. Unlike Star Trek Into Darkness, throughout which Spock was a virtual emotional wreck, this episode of TOS gets it right. Have Spock a slave to his emotions for a single story, and then return to his usual, logical self.
  
  Odd to see Chekhov added without any mention of exactly why he's part of the crew now. Even a slight recognition of this new crew member would have been a nice little touch.
• From jd _juggler on 2015-04-01 at 6:02am:
  This is indeed a good episode for the relationship of the three principles. In the turbo lift, Spock asks for McCoy to be his guest at the ceremony, basically saying that McCoy is one of his closest friends. The doctor's short response says volumes: "It would be an honor, sir." Never in the entire series did McCoy show that kind of formal respect to Spock.
  
  I agree with an earlier commenter that Spock should have been able to easily defeat Kirk, but let's face it: Spock did not want to kill Kirk, no matter what kind of altered state Spock was in.
  
  As to Pon Farr, it is absurd to suppose it would have remained a mystery to men from earth. Vulcans were known to earth men for at least 150 years (recall that in "metamorphosis" zephram cochrane recognized Spock as a Vulcan). Spock himself was the product of a "mixed marriage". And stories about sexual practices tend to spread.
  
  And here's something else to think about; Spock has obviously gone through this before. Wouldn't he know when this strange thing is happening to him sufficiently in advance, so he could make the proper arrangements to be on his home planet? And why didn't this whole t'pring thing happen seven years earlier, at which time Spock was already an adult, and serving aboard the enterprise?
  
  That said, this is still a very good episode. Certainly among the top ten, and maybe among the top five.
• From Emil on 2016-01-22 at 9:31am:
  I have not seen that many ST:TOS episodes but I had to see this one because of T'Pau, one of my favorite ST character (the others being Q and Wynn Adami). I have read many comments on T'Pau's "heavy" accent and her "awkward" use of archaic pronouns. I personally have no problems at all with these. The heavy accent was perhaps inevitable as the actor who played the part was from Austria-Hungary (Celia Lovsky). Her German accent was quite obvious. I think this was quite apt, actually as T'Pau is supposed to be an ancient Vulcan. It's like an old Chinese woman from China who speaks English with a heavy Chinese accent. The use of the archaic pronouns could be because we see T'Pau presiding over an ancient ritual. The occasion may have necessitated the manner of speaking. When we see a younger T'Pau in ST Enterprise, she had no such accent and neither did she use archaic pronouns so the original T'Pau's doing so may indeed be due to age and the occasion.
• From Chris on 2018-08-31 at 4:36am:
  As always... late, by years! To the debate!
  
  This episode is kinda cool but could have been better in a hundred ways?
  
  - Pon Farr should have been spaced better to make it logical.
  - Why no mention of how Spock's dad ended up with a human wife? A little TOO Pon Farr for me! Or maybe Too Pon Nearr...
  - Why would they throw Chapel under the bus and break her heart after all the tender and loving dialog between the two? Straight up hurtful!
  - Her logic was hardly flawless and made little sense! With Kirk accidentally appearing or not!!!
  - Why wouldn't T'Pring give the LOGICAL option of advising Kirk the fight was to the death?!?
  - Spock is living in an Earth ship with their O2 levels and general temps. Yes, he warms his cabin but it he is hardly acclimatized to Vulcun and he is also in a depleted state... unlike Kirk! Kirk should have wailed on him!
  
  Ok, 6 ways...
  
  I have no other problems with this episode... :-)
  
  I dug the dialog etc, and loved Kirk throwing all in for his friend!
  Awesome!
  
  

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From rhea on 2008-04-27 at 10:17pm:
  in this episode, the Vulcan Healing Trance was established (factoid)
• From Scott Hearon on 2014-04-09 at 1:47am:
  I think this is the episode where TOS's collective shortcomings, as seen in hindsight, are starting to get to me.
  
  The basic premise and even many of the situations are very thoughtful and put together well. However, I think I'm just growing weary of extremely weak dialogue, acting, and shoddy costumes. It's a good thing that Nancy Kovacks is so incredibly hot, since that was the only thing slightly distracting me from that hideous orange fur drapes around her neck and shoulders. And those blonde wigs? Horrendous.
  
  Yes, I have to concede that the allegory to the Cold War is interesting and the ethical questions are still relevant. But honestly, that's not really what I'm looking for from science fiction, especially not 25 years after the Cold War has ended. The most science fiction part of this episode was Spock's alien physiology as his body repaired itself. There's something fascinatingly Zen-like about it that I feel could have been explored more, though probably not in this episode, as it clearly had no place.
  
  I just hope that some of the next few episodes I check out are a little more like Amok Time or The Doomsday Machine, rather than this one.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Glenn239 on 2012-09-27 at 7:23pm:
  '9'. Picking up on the idea of ditching the destruction of the freighter scene and substituting more military exercises with the starship fleet, I think that’s a good idea. Have two military exercises instead of one. M5 loses the first engagement outright, and because M5 is patterned off the egotistical Daystrom, the computer concludes the humans must have cheated the first time.
  
  Anyways, the Enterprise "pooper scooper" effect is demonstrated in this episode. Enterprise just phasered 430 guys deader than doornails aboard the Excalibur not just ten minutes ago, but now the episode is over and Kirk and the boys have no time for that. Lexington…you and Potemkin go scrape that one off the pavement.
  
  I also find it curious that none of the forces trying to take over the Enterprise ever realized that the easiest way to do so would be to open the hanger bay doors with all the internal doors open too. "No one can hear you overact in the cold, dark vacuum of space, Kirk."
  
• From penguinphysics on 2013-01-10 at 9:06pm:
  I think that this episode should have a better rating in the 'filler' category, considering that the Daystrom Institute is so frequently mentioned in later stories.
• From Kethinov on 2013-01-10 at 10:46pm:
  Occasional casual mentions of the Daystrom Institute are little more than trivia. Such is not an adequate justification to regard this episode as nonfiller.
• From Paul Bonzulac on 2013-01-14 at 5:12am:
  Great review. I disagree about one thing, though: you have to have Kirk talk the machine into killing itself. Otherwise, the hero is just standing there while the guest-star does all the work. The star of the show has to save the day, after all.
  
  Great point about making the show more about a protracted war-game, but they didn't have the budget for that. They could barely afford Blackula.
• From Scott Hearon on 2014-04-10 at 2:09am:
  Very nice review, and one I agree with very much. I gave this episode a 7/10 - a really good one, but with a few relatively minor flaws.
  
  I do like your idea for an alternate ending. And to the poster above me, I understand that it's more "Hollywood" to have the "hero," Kirk, be the one who saves the day, but having Daystrom do the talking would have been far better. And Kirk still would have needed to make the decision to leave the deflector shields down, which gives him a chance to use his human intuition and experience to save the lives of his crew. This kind of tag-team action between Daystrom and Kirk would have been more fulfilling to me.
  
  Excellent pacing in this one. The premise grabbed me rather quickly. Once it was clear that this was not merely some social ommentary on machines making humans obsolete and taking away jobs, I was right on board.
• From McCoy on 2016-11-02 at 4:10pm:
  Sorry, guys, but you don't know many scientist, do you? 90% of them are just megalomanians with no distance to themselves. Your concept of alternate ending is illogical... According to historical sources - most of nazis scientists didn't realised they were doing wrong. They've keep talking about science and progress in turning people corpses into useful things (i.e. making lampshades from human skin). Daystroms "ilumination" would be too utopian happy end for my personal taste. Kirk was the one, who needed to do talking. Well, maybe Spock in that role would be interesting.
• From Chris Long on 2017-11-13 at 5:59pm:
  Late to this party as usual, but I agree with most of the review.
  The death penalty for murder was standard in 1960's USA along with most of the rest of the world.
  
  When the episode first aired, it made perfect sense, in that light... at least to this youngster!
  
  It's easy to armchair quarterback the lack of progressiveness in this episode with regard to that except that... In the episode, 'The Dagger of the Mind', there are "clean hospitals for sick minds!" implying that psychos and murderers were treated rather than executed. Same with 'Whom Gods Destroy'.
  
  Another episode where the Federation shows it has a death penalty is of course, 'The Menagerie'!
  
  TOS can be all over the place when it needs to be.
  
  P.S. I really enjoy your reviews and having a place to spout off! ;-) Thanks!
  
• From Chris on 2019-02-24 at 9:13pm:
  One more comment, late as usual...
  I didn't understand why the other ships didn't raise their shields when the Enterprise hit them with full phasers. Surely four fully armed and shielded starships should have handled the Enterprise, super-computer or no!
  
  I can only surmise that the reason for setting the crew ashore was for security reasons since the whole operation was classified.
  
  Then, in the end, as Glenn239 pointed out, there are close 500 dead spacemen and Kirk, Spock, and McCoy as usual, are yukking it up!
  
  I didn't mind the ore-ship bit but a double episode would've been great!
  
  BTW, what do your spam robot checker mean? "OMG Kethinov The Holy Cross" or something? ;-)

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From rhea on 2008-04-27 at 8:55pm:
  It is hard to find things to criticize about this episode. The plot is for once entirely believable. The story unfolds gradually, which adds just the right amount of suspense. A wonderful spy story - a blend of suspense, humor and action - yet not lacking in depth, because unlike many action based spy stories it does deal with the emotional implications that such missions often must include (for Spock and the Romulan Commander).
  
  For once it is not Kirk who gets the girl. There is a beautifully subtle yet captivating eroticism to Spock's encounter with the commander, which is very sensual and essentially mind-based, as opposed to Kirk's usually very physical approach. And it's all the better for it. As a result the short exchange between the two in the end of the episode is very touching and very believable (much more believable than many of Kirk's supposed "true loves"). The not-yet love affair ends not in hatred, but in an honest acknowledgement of something that might very well have been were it not for the circumstances.
  
  Kirk is again in con man mode, something I always love to watch. Both Kirk and Spock seem to have a remarkable talent for espionage and acting, it is a joy to watch them lay the trap. And even McCoy and Scotty get a little screentime. An outstanding episode indeed.
  
• From Rising Isis on 2012-07-08 at 6:44am:
  I came to know Star Trek TOS and instantly became a Trekkie as a child. Because of the blessing of the Internet, I am reconnecting with what feels like old friends, by endeavoring to methodically watch all the episodes of all three seasons. The Enterprise Incident is one I must have missed.
  
  Perhaps it's as a result of reviewing the Star Trek storybook now through the eyes, heart, mind and physicality of adult experience. But what I find to be the most memorable episodes are those that deliver a relationship story with universal themes of love and intimacy that touch my soul with a lasting impression. In this episode, yes, there is the intrigue of espionage. But what I find most intriguing is the character development of genuine admiration, cultural kinship and intellectually seductive intimacy between Spock and the Romulan Commander.
  
  Plus, I knew the taciturn Mr. Spock truly has a gift with words worth listening to when he does speak. But I did not know that Spock was such a deft Mack Daddy with a mind blowing rap for a lady! I agree with Rhea that their interaction displayed "beautifully subtle yet captivating eroticism." As a nerd myself, I found their encounter, intellectual exchange and sensual touching of the hands to be hot!
  
  Very importantly, Spock skillfully navigated his espionage role in what turned out to be a mind field of intimate deception with his principles intact. When you look back, he remained a truthful gentleman through it all. This made Spock's final assurance to the Commander, when she was in doubt, that their encounter deeply touched him in a meaningful way which he would never forget believable, tender and loving. Consequently, he provided a means whereby the Commander could look back in review fondly, and he supported her ability to go forth with her dignity intact. This made Spock's closing presentation to the Commander in the finale a generous, healing and honorable act of compassion.
  
  The writers did real good here, in my opinion. The role for Spock is an outstanding character study on a high-caliber balance of duty, personal integrity and respectful relationship intimacy. This episode left this audience member with an unforgettable impression and a warm place in my heart, indeed!
• From Alan Feldman on 2012-11-18 at 6:42pm:
  The Enterprise Incident
  
  Definitely a fun episode, but it does have some problems. It was indeed well executed, and starts out great, but then goes down to only good.
  
  The Romulan commander always sound a little nervous, no? Maybe it's just me.
  
  During the meeting in the briefing room, after being asked how the Romulans could so easily sneak up on them, Spock says, "I believe the Romulans have developed a cloaking device". But we, and the entire crew, already knew that from "Balance of Terror", two seasons back. On top of that, Star Fleet knew, too. They were the ones who initiated the plan!
  
  How did Star Fleet know that there was enough of a chance to pull this off to be worth taking such a big risk? To have Spock all but seduce the Commander (and to know her gender!), to find the device, get past the guards (all two of them), quickly remove the device, know it was light enough to carry, get back to the ship with it, install it on the Enterprise in only a few minutes and know it would work, seems like a rather unlikely sequence of events to me.
  
  And this gives the Romulans a good excuse to start a war -- based on "Balance of Terror", anyway.
  
  Why did the Romulans wait for Spock to recite his "statement" before attacking? They could have destroyed the Enterprise and then done the statement bit.
  
  Why were the ships of Klingon design? I read that it was because the designer of the Romulan "bird of prey" ship got pissed off about something and destroyed all the models!
  
  AEF
• From Scott Hearon on 2014-04-11 at 1:19am:
  I thought this was a great episode. Although it did become clear, even before the big reveal, that Kirk and Spock were playing at something, it really wasn't clear exactly what it was. This kept me thoroughly interested.
  
  When we DID learn that it was all a ploy to steal the cloaking device, we then had the interesting interactions between Spock and the Romulan commander (I love the fact that it was a woman - I'm guessing that was a bit progressive for the 1960s).
  
  Like most of the very best episodes that I've seen, this one features an antagonist who is fleshed out much more clearly than the many 1-dimensional villains that we've had to deal with. The mutual respect offered between the commander and Spock and Kirk is extremely satisfying.
  
  Great episode, no doubt.
• From jd_juggler on 2015-03-23 at 11:56pm:
  I will admit that this was one of the better episodes, but it did have its problems. As someone here already wondered, how did they know that the romulan captain was a woman? If they didn't, what was the plan?
  
  In the deadly years, we are told that romulans do not accept surrender, and we are led to believe that the enterprise and its crew would be completely destroyed. But in this episode, apparently the capture of the enterprise intact would have a great career move for the romulan captain. In addition, she seemed sincere in her offer to spare the lives of the crew of the enterprise. Was she lying? Surely she couldn't have expected Spock to be her ally (and more) if the enterprise crew was put to death.
  
  This episode makes it clear that Spock CAN tell a lie; speaking of Kirk, Spock said: "he is not sane".
  
  Again, someone already mentioned this, but it bears repeating: the enterprise plan required the assumption that the cloaking device was portable, and could be carried by one man. More importantly is the assumption that Scotty could figure out how to install it so that it could work for the enterprise. "Mr. Scott, even though this is alien technology, developed completely independently of earth technology (and most likely independent of ANY technology known to ANY member of the federation, we expect you not only to figure out how it works, but also to make it work for the enterprise in what might be a matter of minutes. If you can't, then probably you and everyone else on this ship will die. No pressure."
  
  Wouldn't the romulan ship have its shields up, so that the transporter wouldn't work to beam Spock off the ship? And when the romulan captain grabbed Spock when she realized he was being beamed off the ship, what did she THINK would happen? Either she would become a captive (if the enterprise escaped) or she would be killed (if the enterprise was destroyed). For that matter, why hadn't romulans already taken over the enterprise, ejecting all members of the crew from the bridge, engineering, auxiliary control, and anywhere else they could regain control of the ship ?
• From Chris on 2019-01-13 at 12:34am:
  Most of these comments are spot on so I need not rehash my take of the episode... much.
  
  My biggest complaint is Kirk, as a Romulan, still had his hair quaffed like Kirk, and not like a Romulan at all. His hair should've been dyed black and combed down etc. etc...
  
  He looked stupid IMO.
  
  I would surmise that Starfleet had actionable intel on the cloaking device to make the mission worthwhile in the first place.
  
  To risk a starship and its crew for this without rock-solid knowledge of the device they intend to steal, would obviously be insane.
  
  I imagine that the Romulan intelligence services were thoroughly thrashed after the Enterprise got away and lots of spy suspects were executed or sent to gulags for the fun of it.
  
  Obviously, this device is a massive refinement of the one in Balance of Terror. It does not consume massive amounts of energy and is capable of cloaking huge ships like Klingon Birds of Prey instead of those puny little Warbirds with their massive weapons.
  
  The Romulans were far more magnanimous than Kirk and his crew as far as negotiations went. They offered (sacrificed) two of their crew for no good reason and that made me cringe even as a child. Then suddenly Scott declares that they are no longer hostage exchange pawns but are now prisoners to be sent to the brig. These two guys have done nothing! I dunno, it just bugs me.
  
  The Romulans should have just blown the enterprise out of the sky.
  
  As an adult, the notion of a part of space to be avoided for the 'Next, however many, Solar Years' due to Corbamite contamination seems beyond preposterous. We know that Space is a VERY deadly place, to begin with! That Corbomite stuff must be some seriously bad radioactive Juju!
• From Alan Feldman on 2022-08-26 at 12:46am:
  Round 2: Starfleet sticks it to Kirk yet again: KIRK: That's what this whole masquerade was about. To keep the Enterprise and the Federation off the hook.
  
  Yes, it's very accommodating of Kirk to take 100% of the risk. But it does make for a great opening, with Kirk going mad and such. Only works once, though. Perhaps the all-time winner of the scene to spoil.
  
  And this isn't the only time Starfleet was dick-ish: A Taste of Armageddon (the dick-ish diplomat), The Alternative Factor (for not giving Kirk any reinforcements), Amok Time, The Ultimate Computer (for the stupid idea of insisting most of Kirk's crew leave the _Enterprise_), For the World Is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky, The Way to Eden (for one Tongo Rad's father being in high places), Turnabout Intruder (for not allowing women to be starship commanders).
  
  I like the way Tal talks.
  
  Joanne Linville is a most welcome guest star.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Orion on 2011-05-08 at 4:51am:
  Silly and over-the-top, but we like that in an old episode of Trek. You also get a possible moral lesson; the episode may be alluding to the Vietnam war, as well as racial tensions of the time. We even see Spock almost go into a racial rage. These kind of moral components in Trek can sometimes be too obvious, but this episode keeps the issues just under the surface.
  
  Regarding the high def release:
  The outside-the-ship shots near the beginning of the episode have been improved quite a bit.
• From Alan Feldman on 2012-09-03 at 6:04am:
  This is a fun episode.
  
  Michael Ansara is great as Kang, no?
  
  Walter Koenig does some great screaming, no?
  
  The scene where the alien entity changes the ship's course to exit the galaxy (starting at 12:12) is great! It starts with Uhura getting all worked up over her trouble making outside contact while telling Kirk about it. Then the boom and the ship starts shaking. I love how Shatner plays this. Look at the fear in his face as he backs away from Sulu. At one point you can even see him swallow. Very well done!
  
  I think the alien special effect was also well done. When it goes down the corridor and goes down into the hole, it looks like it's really at that distance (well, pretty damn close, at worst). It looks pretty good the rest of the time, too.
  
  Right about 21:24, Sulu gives a quick karate chop to a shoulder of one of the Klingons. This knocks him unconscious. Is it really this easy to bring a man down? (Hey, who needs the Vulcan neck pinch when a simple karate chop will do?) This type of thing happens a lot in Star Trek TOS.
  
  At about 35:23, the alien entity shows itself to Kirk, Spock, and Mara. Why? How can an all-powerful entity make a simple blunder like this? Overconfidence, I guess. And what does it take to convince Mara that the alien entity, which is in plain sight, is responsible for all the violence? On top of this, Lt. Johnson enters the scene all agitated by the alien entity, all charged up, ready to kill all the Klingons -- "It's them or us, isn't it?" -- thereby providing a clear example of what's going on. Then Kirk and Spock figure out the whole schmear, explain it clearly with Mara right there, with all of them staring at the entity, and _still_ she doesn't believe.
  
  I love seeing everyone getting so worked up seeking vengeance (losing it, so to speak). Everything is normal and then an individual suddenly gets angry, agitated, and vengeful (or enters the scene this way). It's always a trip when our heroes get out of character, like Spock on spores in "This Side of Paradise", or Chekov in "The Way to Eden".
  
  Intra-ship beaming: "Pinpoint accuracy is required. If the transportee should materialize inside a solid object . . ." says Spock. Well, there never seems to be a problem with materializing with one's feet in the ground, or one hanging in the air, or one's head in the ceiling, or upside-down, etc. Whatever. Just add it to all the other absurdities I mentioned in my comments on another episode (The World is Hollow . . . , I believe).
  
  The actress playing Mara does some great acting when Chekov is upon her.
  
  Did you catch Mara tossing a sword to Kirk? What a great toss and a great catch! Doesn't seem to me to be such an easy thing to do. That's probably why it was done in separate shots.
  
  I like it when Bones, Spock, and a few red-shirts just walk down the corridor (la-dee-dah) and suddenly start sword fighting with a few of the Klingons. Great scene.
  
  The alien's ability to rapidly heal the wounded -- even those with fatal wounds -- is a bit much. But we couldn't have a story, otherwise.
  
  At the end: Boy, what does it take to convince Kang that there's an alien entity keeping them fighting? It's in plain sight and still he pauses. Kirk clearly explains what's going on and he's still not convinced. I think either Kang thinks it's "one of Kirk's tricks" (perhaps a holographic projection) or his heart is hardened -- no, sorry -- his mind is affected by the entity.
  
  It seems to me that there are a few times when the alien is the wrong color.
  
  OK, here's my big question for this episode: The Federates (is there a better term? "Members of the Federation"? "The humans and Spock"?) and the Klingons make peace. The alien entity departs. Then what? Kirk just gives them a ride to the nearest Klingon outpost or planet? What do these sworn enemies do along the way? Have dinner together, play cards and 3D chess, engage in some light chit chat, dance and party with each other?
  
  Imagine being Kang and having to explain this to your superior: "Yeah, an entity made of blurry spinning-pinwheel lights killed 400 of my crew, made us and the Federates all angry, agitated, and vengeful over nothing, turned phasers and other items into swords, sent us racing out of the galaxy at warp 9, . . . ." Yep.
  
  Kirk's speech to the entity is a little too preachy and, well, silly. There has to be a better way to end it.
  
  Side note: The Klingon ships just don't look scary to me. The head of the ship looks like it's wearing a hat. The Romulan ships look much more menacing.
  
  Bonus point: Was the name "Klingon" derived from "cling on"?
  
  AEF
• From Scott Hearon on 2014-04-12 at 2:23am:
  I have several problems with this one, though there was enough to keep me engaged throughout the tale.
  
  Firstly, if the agitating force was composed of pure energy, why did is linger around where the humans or Klingons could see it an surmise its essence? Pretty stupid that, for an otherwise exceptionally powerful entity.
  
  On top of that, the writers played it pretty fast and loose with exactly what this creature could do. It can transform physical objects into whatever will stimulate hatred, but it can't do so when the combatants start to figure things out and act against it? It doesn't really hold up under much scrutiny.
  
  The ending was horrendously awkward. Watching the Enterprise crew and the Klingons forcing themselves to laugh at the antagonist, leading right into the credits was just plain weird and abrupt.
  
  And my god, the amount of bronzer used on the caucasian actors playing the Klingons? Yikes.
  
  And still, there were a few decent things about this episode. As a study of the culture of violence, it does show some thoughtful consideration of the futility of hatred of such a stance. The Klingons exemplify one of the more destructive aspects of the human experience, and this episode does a nice job of using that idea effectively. Unfortunately, this is one of the few positives about this episode.
  
  
• From life coaching jobs mn on 2015-11-05 at 10:14am:
  Kathy Lester, a monetary marketing consultant, mentioned the retreats supply the prospect to
  unplug from expertise and the demands of life while focusing upon spirituality.
• From Chris Long on 2018-08-05 at 2:01am:
  The most stupid episode of all time!
  Good god!
  Really? "You wrecked my ship and therefore I claim yours"? Really?!?!
  Then the beam-up 'treachery'?!? Kirk has to be honorable in this BS? War sucks baby, even an honorable one!
  Pure nonsense through and through and the entire premise is stupid beyond words!!!
  I hate the episode at every turn!!!
  Spock's Brain was far more entertaining and even realistic!!!
  
  Who wrote this crap?
• From Pietro on 2019-07-07 at 3:04pm:
  Kethinov, you're biggest problem with the episode is that it takes them all a long time to figure out that the entity is responsible for the conflict. But, the way that this makes sense is to say that they're under the influence of the entity that makes them lust for violence, and aren't thinking straight. But yes, we don't exactly understand this until 3/4 of the way through, so it's annoying to us as viewers that they don't question it.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Orion on 2012-02-11 at 2:21am:
  This one is very entertaining. It's hard to believe it's a Season 3 episode. Elaan is a strong guest star; much more interesting than we are used to. Of course, being filmed in the 1960s, we still get some sexism in there (Kirk finds another way to slap a woman, and he comments how Vulcan is the only place where women are logical).
  
  The space battle feels a little confusing and takes up more time in the episode than is needed. But hey, this is season 3 and my expectations are low. Good episode.
  
  For those who are watching TOS on Blu-Ray, this is the episode that has been enhanced the most. The long battle with the Klingon ship has been completely redone. Also, the planet (from orbit) has been replaced by a very lush and detailed-looking one.
• From Glenn239 on 2012-11-16 at 1:20pm:
  Great episode - '8' The retelling of The Taming of the Shrew, Trek style. Lines like, "Vulcan is the only planet in the galaxy where the women are rational". Pure comedy gold.
  
  The third season had its moments, and this was one of them. This time around the Klingons are thrown in to the plot create the dramatic background for Kirk and his latest (but well acted) tart. The Klingons look a bit tacked on, but it worked and serves to underscore how much better some of the earlier episodes might have been had more use been made of them. Think of it - The Apple? Klingons. Return of the Archons? Klingons. They're like the ranch dressing of plot devices.
  
  
• From Alan Feldman on 2013-01-19 at 10:37pm:
  Elaan of Troyius
  
  I can't believe the opening shot of the Dohlman -- scanning slowly from toe to head! She looks pretty good.
  
  I found it painful to watch Kirk explaining a fork and knife and such to the Dohlman.
  
  Why the incredibly abrupt change of her from super brat to totally smitten? It takes like 3 seconds. Did I miss something?
  
  Kirk also did a quick switch, "curing" himself of the tears-spell: still under the spell in the transporter, but cured, once back on the bridge. But at the end he didn't look quite cured to me. He looked a little bit struggling in his mind with the whole thing. He just didn't seem quite back to normal. Maybe it's just me.
  
  How can Petri be up and about so soon after having been stabbed in the back? Not only is he up and about; you'd never know he was critically injured!
  
  The combat part was pretty good.
  
  I'm sorry, but the head of the Klingon ship looks ridiculous to me. It looks like it's wearing a hat.
  
  AEF
  
• From Chantarelle on 2013-06-18 at 8:50am:
  Thanks for the review. I'm very new to the Star Trek world and was curious whether my opinion matched other peoples. Your review matches exactly what my brain thought, just a lot better worded :-)
• From Scott Hearon on 2014-04-12 at 7:57pm:
  I'm sorry, but I give this one a 4/10.
  
  There are definitely some strong elements to the plot, but I thought that their execution left much to be desired.
  
  Firstly, unlike some viewers who find Elaan "hot" or "charming," I found her infuriatingly annoying. Arrogance is never funny to me, and it's even less humorous when someone is so arrogant as to start attacking and stabbing people. That's not cute. That's flat-out crazy.
  
  On top of this, Kirk's method of going all Dr. Phil on Elaan was foolhardy at best and outright irresponsible at worst. He was charged with getting Elaan to her destination in a more congenial, enlightened state; so what does he do? He charges right in a starts berating her and literally manhandling her. Not a very diplomatic approach, and it clearly failed miserably.
  
  And then, for no obvious reason, Elaan suddenly lightens up and decides to accept her fate. Sure she had seen some of the trouble that she caused, but it certainly was no worse trouble than she had already been causing everyone from the moment she beamed aboard the ship. The shift was extremely abrupt. The shame is that it didn't have to be. If Elaan had been given more time to explain her situation, essentially being "gifted" to another group of people, we might have been able to empathize with her a little more. Yes, this notion is brought up, but it was not explored in the depth that it could have been.
  
  I know Kirk is the star of the show, but I almost feel as if Spock would have been the better choice to deal with such an emotional hot-head like Elaan. Without someone reflecting her own agitation and fury back at her, she probably would have calmed down more quickly.
  
  Finally, Kethinov's observation about the Troyians technology is dead-on. How, if they only have "nuclear" power, are they even embroiled in a war with a distant planet and civilization? And how, exactly, do they even pretend to superiority over groups of people whose technology and power must far surpass their own? It didn't jibe.
  
  I will say that the way that the Klingons were incorporated into the story was well-done. It's one of several interesting ways that the Federation and the Klingons continue their Cold War chess match.
• From Peter on 2015-01-09 at 4:57pm:
  Not the best episode, but I was intrigued to see this again recently on TV here in the UK by one thing in particular - we often hear of the 'first interracial kiss on TV' between Nichelle Nicholls and William Shatner (though I understand there's some disagreement about it being the first) - and here we are, just a few episodes later, and isn't it happening again? Only this time it's between a white man and a woman of Vietnamese/French ancestry. Is it not also worthy of comment? Star Trek was truly ground-breaking in many ways for its time.
• From Mal on 2015-06-20 at 8:40am:
  Yes, Star Trek had the first black-white kiss and the first Asian-white kiss all thanks to our resident horn dog, James T. Kirk.
  
  It was also said, "She looks pretty good." That my friend is an understatement akin to saying the surface of the sun is kind of hot. She was stunning, sexy and sultry. That face, that body, that voice! France Nuyen was the most beautiful and sexy guest star of the show IMO with Barbra Luna coming in a close second. If you count recurring characters, then Nichelle Nichols comes in a solid third.
  
  As for the actual episode, it was not one of the all time greats but it was solid. Considering he was under a spell Shatner's performance was reserved, almost understated at least by his standards. Compare that to how he responds to being under a similar love spell in 'A Private Little War'.
  
  

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From tigertooth on 2017-03-19 at 11:29pm:
  This is another poll that clearly got spammed (or maybe a bug caused a bunch of zero votes to accumulate). The other TAS episodes have a few dozen votes total, but this one has nearly 200 votes, and 3/4ths of them are zeros!
  
  If you took away the 144 zero votes (as of this writing), the fan voting average would be 6.7 instead of 1.46. So these fraudulent votes make the average useless.
  
  If there's any way to eliminate the bogus zero votes, that would make the fan voting averages much more useful data. Thank you.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Greg Bonkowski on 2006-05-04 at 6:53pm:
  Simply the best Trek film ever!!! Khan!!!!!!!!!!
• From jaylong on 2007-04-13 at 2:59am:
  "he tasks me..."
  
  love it
• From JR on 2008-07-22 at 11:31am:
  "How could Chekov remember anything about Khan?"
  
  I don't see this as a problem. He could have read about it somewhere, or maybe the other people at the Enterprise at the time told him about it after he came onboard. I assume the events in Space Seed were logged and submitted to Starfleet, and their computers already had a file on Khan with pictures. Now, Khan knowing Chekov, that's the real problem.
• From Lennier on 2009-02-15 at 3:31am:
  "Space Seed"'s stardate is 3141.9.
  
  "Catspaw" (an episode with Chekov) has a stardate of 3018.2.
  
  I like to think that this means that "Catspaw" takes place before "Space Seed". Therefore, Chekov could very well have seen Khan, and vice versa.
• From Kevin Lopez on 2009-04-06 at 4:43am:
  it wasn't blatantly obvious that he was going to be brought back to life at the time: Nimoy was tired of playing Spock and wanted his character killed off. He later changed his mind and directed films III and IV. Your criticism is unfair.
• From Kethinov on 2009-04-06 at 9:24am:
  I stand by the critique. It's clearly a trap door. Whether or not Nimoy did or did not plan to ever play Spock again, it was clear the writers wanted the option of bringing him back conveniently. Sort of like how Data only "half" died in Nemesis. He could easily be brought back via B4.
• From S. M. Willis on 2010-01-06 at 12:54am:
  Melville, not Shakespeare. And Milton.
• From Jeff Browning on 2011-10-25 at 11:26am:
  Having reviewed all of Voyager, most of TNG, and much of DS9, I am now turning to the Star Trek movies to revisit them as well. Of course, I saw them all in theaters as they were released, and have seen them again since then.
  
  Annoyingly, Star Trek, The Motion Picture is not available on any streaming media accessible to me. If anyone knows how to find this film on the internet, please post a comment as well.
  
  Several issues on ST: TWOK:
  
  1. The Genesis device creates daunting scientific issues. First, there is the little matter of conservation of energy. In order for life to exist, energy must be inserted into the system. Living things do not live on nothing. Ultimately, the source of all energy for living things is light. Either animals eat plants (which are simply a form of light energy fixed into hydrocarbons), or animals eat other animals, who in turn eat plants. Ultimately we are all burning energy from light, in the case of Earth, the Sun. However, on Regula 1 we see a "Genesis Cave" which is filled with living things, all of whom are illuminated by a light source (which we conveniently never see). What is the source for this light? Regula 1 is an "airless, lifeless hunk of rock" according to the dialog earlier in the film. Similarly, when the Genesis device explodes in the Mutara Nebula, it forms a "Genesis Planet" which is clearly illuminated. In one shot we see a star behind the planet, a star which clearly wasn't there before. The Genesis device created a star? That would be a trick even greater than converting inorganic matter to living matter!
  2. Another daunting scientific issue has to do with the nature of biological evolution. Star Trek seems obsessed with the concept of evolution, as I have stated in other posts, and has a very unscientific view of this concept. The Genesis device has issues in this area. Specifically, evolution would require a process of billions of years for life to develop which would be adapted to the particular conditions in which it exists. The Genesis device does not seem to involve any adaptation whatsoever. Instead, life simply occurs instantly which is perfectly adapted to the aesthetic and functional requirements of humans. Given that even on Earth life adapts in incredible diversity (from the ice worms that exist in sub-zero conditions in the arctic, to the bacteria that thrive in the incredible heat and pressure of the ocean near thermal vents), it seems remarkably convenient that Genesis device life would somehow adapt the environment to human life, rather than adapting the life to the environment.
  3. Continuity issue: In TNG: Sarek, the Enterprise crew is shocked when Sarek displays emotion by weeping during a musical performance. Yet Lt. Saavik displays emotion by weeping openly during Spock's funeral, and no one seems all broken up about it. (BTW, according to iMDb, Kirstie Alley's performance as Lt. Saavik was her first appearance on screen anywhere.)
  3. Continuity issue: When Dr. Marcus (the mother) gives her presentation to the Federation in support of the Genesis Device project, she states that she is hopeful that the Federation will "fund" the project. According to numerous episodes of TNG, the Federation has eliminated the need for currency.
• From AnotherTrekFan on 2012-08-16 at 9:05pm:
  @Jeff Browning:
  
  1. Light source inside the cave is easy - Starfleet put it there. There's dialog that establishes Starfleet hollowed out the tunnels, so it's not a stretch to believe they hung some solar-analog light source inside the cavern.
  
  Now for the star that suddenly appears, I had always taken it that the star was formed from the nebula via the device (which was intended to be detonated over a planetary body) being detonated inside the nebula. The scenes immediately following the detonation clearly show the nebula changing and contracting. Granted that further pushes the bounds of believability, but we are talking about a Sci Fi franchise that posits ubiquitous faster-than-light travel and near perfectly efficient energy generation after all. ;)
  
  2. This is technobabbled-away in the next movie. There's some dialog in ST3 about the use of something caused "protomatter" which caused the quick developmental evolution of life on the planet.
  
  3. Regarding Saavik's tears, it's established off-screen (and it might be non-canon) that Saavik is half-Vulcan and half-Romulan.
  
  3(b). There are references to money throughout TOS, especially in "The Trouble With Tribbles" where the bartender, Jones, and Uhura all haggle over how much it will cost to buy a tribble. The removal of money obviously happened at some point between this movie and the TNG era, probably when replicator technology became mature and ubiquitous -- because why do you need money when you can just replicate everything?
• From Strider on 2012-08-27 at 4:33am:
  According to Nimoy, he was not at all tired of playing Spock. He simply appreciated the power of a good story, and was willing to walk away if he didn't get it. And of course, the hope implied by the Genesis planet. But he argued with writers time and time again, both in the series and the films, to make sure the stories were worth telling and that Spock's character was treated according to his character. He won some, he lost some.
• From Glenn239 on 2012-10-22 at 3:48pm:
  ‘10’. Nothing better contrasts the problems with Roddenberry’s original vision for Star Trek with the franchise running on all cylinders (by discarding elements of that vision) than in watching ‘The Motion Picture’ and ‘Wrath of Khan’ back to back. Wrath is a more militarized, ‘Horatio Hornblower’ action oriented atmosphere where plot matters because the opponent isn’t some whizz-bang super entity. It just works…better. It’s the difference between a ‘5’ and a ‘10’
  
  Some slight problems with some of the tactical elements, naturally. Enterprise should not be able to survive Reliant’s original point blank fire with the shields not fully deployed. Reliant’s fire is also not efficient – she’d have hit the warp engines and the bridge first. (Of course, that kills Kirk outright and disables the ship). When chasing Enterprise at the end, Reliant would have fired dozens of photon torpedoes to prevent it entering the nebula, not just one. And with the Genesis device, Khan has no motive to enter the nebula since he knows, with the power of that device, Kirk must come to him. Why do super-smarties never act super smartly in movies? Also, with Khan able to control Reliant’s crew there really wasn’t any need to for communications silence in the original ambush. Simply have the Reliant’s captain hail Kirk, maintaining all of Saavik’s regulations as he closed in for the kill. No yellow alert and, moments later, no Enterprise either.
  
  This movie appears to be the origin of the (annoying) tendency in sci fi to present capital ship engagements as boring affairs where massive hulks, apparently incapable of movement, fire away at each other from spitting distance. Even in Sink the Bismarck the HMS Hood and the Bismarck had the common courtesy to be firing at ten miles distance! One slight downside to an otherwise worthy SF outing.
  
  Star Trek #3 robbed Wrath of Khan of its full dramatic impact; the denial of Spock’s death would make this movie an ‘8’ and not a ‘10’. Yes, the writers were presumably leaving Nimoy the option of returning through several plot devices but at the time of Wrath of Khan Spock was dead. Leaving the theatre for the first time, the loss was real. They didn’t introduce the interesting Saavik for nothing, one assumes. (As soon as Nimoy signed on for III, Saavik was redundant and, apparently, Kirstie was sidelined by salary negotiations and replaced by a horrible substitute of the character that can only be explained by the producer’s complete indifference to Saavik if Spock were to continue). So I give it ‘10’ upon the memory of the original ending’s impact, not the campy plot of #3 that robbed Wrath of some of its power.
  
• From Scott Hearon on 2014-04-17 at 4:42pm:
  It had been probably 25 years since I last watched this. It actually holds up quite well. I give it 8/10.
  
  Not unlike the TOS episode Space Seed, this one combined some excellent action/adventure ideas with some strong characterization to create a fun film.
  
  Sure, Khan's dialogue is a bit overblown, and there are certainly things to nit-pick, in terms of the science fiction, but it's overall a good film that has plenty of interesting shifts and turns throughout.
  
  One thing that strikes me is how they story writers didn't manage to work in a face-to-face confrontation between Khan and Kirk. It probably would have felt contrived, the film may have been weakened by it, but it's something that almost seemed missing.
• From as140 on 2016-06-03 at 11:38am:
  "I only take off points for the fact that Spock's death was contrived in that it's incredibly obvious that he will be brought back to life."
  
  But you are wrong on that point. They really intended to kill of Spock. They just kept this solution in case people demanded them to bring back Spock, which they did.
• From steve mccarthy on 2018-02-10 at 11:09am:
  My favorite of all the ST movies but i have 1 continuity nitpick. All of Khans survivors on the planet in the movie seem to be young in their 20s and 30's. Check Space Seed where his crew seem to be in their 30's possibly older already. If this is 15 years after Space Seed then they should all be in their 40s and 50's . Clearly, none are. Also, his first officer ( the blond guy who gets all the speaking time ) is way younger probably about 20. There were no children seen or mentioned in Space Seed and if he is Khans and McGyvers son he shouldn't be more than 14 and hes definitely older than that.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-07-02 at 12:55am:
  When Wesley gets his experiment (the antimatter) out of its storage bin, he is very careful. Later, when he and Geordi place it in the warp engines, Geordi urges caution. Yet, when Wesley beams it over to the Hathaway, he beams it onto a small tabletop. Since the container is round, it rolls to a resting place (it is a nice effect). If this thing is so unstable, why beam it onto a tabletop and take the chance it will roll off?
• From JRPoole on 2008-02-20 at 3:50pm:
  This is a solid episode, but not one of my favorites. Aside from Worf's perplexing ability to fake out the Ferengi sensors--why hasn't he been doing this all along to every body the Enterprise meets in battle?--there aren't many real problems. But something just isn't right here for me.
  
  Maybe it's just my predisposition to turn up my nose at any Ferengi episode, but the Ferengi presence here seems rushed. I know they're driven by profit, but I don't really buy their willingness to potentially start a war over the Hathaway. Again, maybe that's just my anti-Ferengi bias. I've always thought them to be a silly, over-drawn, stereotypical species, and here is one of the worst offenses this side of their initial appearance.
  
  I love the sub-plot with the Stratagema game. I find the finger-interface and the game display to be ridiculous, though.
• From KStrock on 2009-01-24 at 11:55pm:
  Starfleet doesn't conduct military routine exercises? What about Section 31's activities? I find that hard to believe given the (fairly recent) wars with the Klingon Empire and the brutal war with the Romulans that lead to the establishment of the Neutral Zone.
  
  Also, I find Picard and Riker's distaste for the whole exercise as "unnecessary for an officer's makeup" bit out of character. Both men surely would see value in having their crews trained for battle stress.
• From Yaspaa on 2010-05-07 at 10:42pm:
  I wasn't keen on Pulaski at the time. On watching the episode now (after not watching an episode in 9ish years) she is, dare I say, a better more enjoyable character to watch. Both Pulaski and Crusher have the old hippocratical oath
  caring tendencies. Pulaski is more abrasive however, making her more interesting, purely due to the friction her personality can generate.
• From THoyt on 2011-04-12 at 9:09pm:
  The Ferengi attacked and gave Picard "10 of your minutes" to surrender the Hathaway. The Hathaway had no real weapons to speak of, and the crossover relays between the Enterprise's real weapons systems and simulation systems were "fused", rendering them unable to fight back against the Ferengi. How did they manage in 10 minutes to have 4 very real photon torpedos ready to fire at the Hathaway? And if indeed they were able to get weapons online, why not just fight the Ferengi and send them running?
• From CAlexander on 2011-04-18 at 2:39pm:
  - I pretty much liked the plot about Riker getting his own command, picking the best crew, and cheating like heck to try to beat the Enterprise.
  - I was guessing from the start that the battle would be broken up by a real enemy. Maybe because that was exactly the premise of an old scenario from Star Fleet Battles (a Star Trek wargame). I wonder if the writer of this episode read that scenario.
  - The subplot with Data was sort of peculiar. Pulaski wants to bring Kolrami down a peg, and she assumes that since Data is a Deus Ex Machina who can do anything, he's bound to win. When Kolrami wins, she thinks the plot just isn't supposed to be written that way.
  - It is remarkable about how petty everyone is towards Kolrami beating Data. Nobody is impressed by his incredible accomplishment. They just want to wipe that smirk off his face. When Data can't win, but manages to upset Kolrami, everyone cheers.
  - As KStrock mentions, it is very hard to believe the comments about the crew not needing to practice war maneuvers because Starfleet is not a military organization. Of course it is! I'll assume that Picard was really just being diplomatic, what he really thought initially was that the specific test Kolrami planned, spending a great deal of time preparing for a brief, totally uneven matchup, was stupid and a waste of time.
  - In response to THoyt: It was established in the first Ferengi appearance that they have starships equal in power to Federation starships. The Ferengi made what was effectively a sneak attack on the Enterprise, and the Enterprise shields "can't take another hit" and the weapons are scrambled. Presumably 10 minutes was enough to get a few torpedoes online, but not enough time to give the Enterprise a reasonable fighting chance against the Ferengi.
  - I agree that Worf's ability to fake out the Ferengi was hard to believe, not a very satisfactory conclusion to the problem. But then again, those TNG Ferengi are so stupid, maybe they don't know how to read their own instrument panels properly.
  
• From g@g on 2012-03-03 at 2:10am:
  Agree about the main technical problem.
  
  Otherwise, plenty of good stuff in here. The strategist was a pretty neat and memorable guest character. Also, Warf has an especially great and useful role to play (again, just like in Emissary) and some good lines to go with it(Data: "That would be unfortunate." Warf: "*Very* unfortunate. We will be dead").
  
  Data's little crisis of confidence subplot was great... I loved Picard's reaction to having to "handhold an android," and likewise Data's reaction to Picard. Also, it was great to see Pulaski finally come around a bit towards Data and "anthropomorphize" him like everyone else - what I really mean is show him some understanding, compassion even.
  
  Besides the main tech. problem, my other questions would be:
  
  1) Data's tactic of playing for a draw seems a bit obvious to have such devastating consequences on a grandmaster. But he's Data, so maybe it was the semi-obvious tactic combined with his mad processing powers.
  
  2) Shouldn't the Ferengi's brazenly firing on the Enterprise have some kind of serious longterm consequences?

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-07-22 at 2:22pm:
  The defector orders a glass of water from the food dispenser. He specifies "twelve ahgians." The computer replies that it is calibrated for the Celsius metric system. The Enterprise plays host to hundreds of races. What happened to the Universal Translator?
• From JRPoole on 2008-04-06 at 9:31pm:
  This is, in my opinion, one of the finest episodes to this point in the series. The Romulans are a much more interesting, well-written and developed race than the Ferengi, and the episodes that focus on them are generally better as a result.  The defector character is nuanced and well-acted, and his plight is endearing.  My only quibble with this episode is the way the Klingon aid is handled.  I realize that it was meant to build suspense, but the effect is rather cheap and the climax suffers a little as a result. Still, this is top-notch trek.
• From paidmailer on 2009-09-26 at 9:36pm:
  Another great neutral zone episode. Two things I can add:
  
  -In the beginning , the character on the right of Data is played by Patrick Stewart.
  -Problem: Why did nobody search the romulan defector?
  
  
• From thaibites on 2010-12-20 at 12:39pm:
  Finally, a good episode! This one has it all - action, intrigue, suspense, wits, Romulans. It shows what TNG was capable of doing, but up until this point, rarely delivered. I especially liked how the Klingon situation was handled. They throw you one little hint that makes you scratch your head and say, "Whatever..." And then it all falls into place at the end. I really enjoyed this one!
• From CAlexander on 2011-04-19 at 1:44am:
  A superb episode. It really catches the tension involved in Jarok being a defector. And this episode shows the Romulans at their finest. I think the ending is well done.
• From EvanT on 2011-06-24 at 10:12pm:
  "twelve ahgians."
  I can see two explanations for this:
  1) The computer really had no idea the Celsius equivalence of the anghian (lack of information about Romulan culture)
  2)This signifies that the defector is all alone on an alien ship (he can't even have a glass of water) He's truly alienated (isn't this the same scene where he thoughtfully studies his suicide pill?)
• From Inga on 2012-01-15 at 4:06pm:
  I really liked to see Klingon ships and the Enterprise lined up against the Romulans
• From Ggen on 2012-03-13 at 10:39pm:
  A rather excellent episode revolving around an excellent guest character (the defector). Through him, we get an inside look into Romulan culture and sensibilities - which, at least in this case, prove to be more rational and sophisticated than previously depicted - and even a sneak peek at Romulus itself (or its holographic recreation). There is of course also the issue of loyalty and betrayal, and the odd matter of betraying out of one's personal interpretation of patriotism (planeterism?).
  
  Lots of great lines strewn along the way, as the defecting Admiral has a rather lyrical bent.
  
  Question: Riker suggests the defection is a ploy to draw the Federation into the neutral zone, and Picard finishes his sentence, "Then they will have a legitimate excuse to respond with force." *Why* would the Romulans need "an excuse?" In front of what interstellar authority? The implication, perhaps, is that Romulan internal affairs are quite a bit more complex and less monolithic, and their society less thoroughly militarized than it appears... (This, of course, is reinforced by the defecting Admiral's personal beliefs and actions.)
  
• From Matt N on 2013-06-01 at 3:32pm:
  I loved the use of the Klingon music from the old Star Trek films when their ships appear.
• From Lloyd on 2016-07-12 at 7:20pm:
  I found it unlikely that the Holodeck would have exact specifications for an area of Romulus, yet the computer cannot convert Celsius to the Romulan unit of measure for temperature.
• From tigertooth on 2016-09-29 at 1:26am:
  It's curious how many 0 votes this episode got. Yesterday's Enterprise and Deja Q also got a surprisingly high 0-vote total despite being well-liked episodes otherwise. Hmm.
  
  Anyway, one aspect that they didn't explicitly touch upon was the fact that Jarok clearly viewed this as a suicide mission. He surely intended to kill himself regardless of the outcome. And it seems likely he was driven to that partially by his demotions. I feel like as much as he loved his daughter, he was so dispirited and humiliated by being pushed to the side that he was trying one last gasp at being important. Sad that his ego overtook his love for his family and his home.
• From Mike on 2016-11-26 at 6:37pm:
  I'm also surprised by the number of low ratings this episode got from so many fans. I tend more toward the webmaster review and other comments here about the excitement of the plot and the character of Admiral Jarok.
  
  I like the hesitation he shows in revealing too much about Romulan technology and tactics to the Enterprise. A lifetime of loyalties would be hard to overcome, even if he's defecting in order to prevent the war he believes is coming. It's also a nice touch having him miss Romulus and Data taking him to the holosuite to see it. In hindsight, his statement "I have sacrificed everything...it must not be in vain" has even greater meaning. It's not just his career, and never seeing his home and family again. He is preparing to sacrifice his life.
  
  Re: Ggen, I would think interstellar opinion in the ST universe still counts for something, and the great powers would need to legitimize or gain sympathy for actions that would otherwise be naked aggression. An unjustified Romulan move against the Federation might cause other neutral worlds to sympathize with or even support the Federation. And within the Romulan Empire, the civilian government would no doubt need reasons to support this move, as their internal politics and civil-military relations are shown in several episodes to be complex. It's definitely not a military dictatorship.
• From Keefaz on 2016-12-22 at 11:50pm:
  The voting for this episode has clearly been hacked for some pathetic reason. Probably best ep to this point.
• From Charles Gervasi on 2017-03-19 at 10:34pm:
  It's seemed odd to me that relations between the Federation and the Romulans was so bad they could not even deliver a message.
• From tigertooth on 2017-04-25 at 2:18am:
  One thing I caught this time around: when Jarok blows up his ship, he expresses disgust that the Federation was eager to pick apart the Romulan craft for its technology, implying that Romulans wouldn't act that way.
  
  Then when Tomalak thinks he has the upper hand on the Enterprise, he gloats about how he's going to pick apart the starship for all its technology!
  
  Jarok's position was obvious puffery - who wouldn't want to look at an adversary's tech? But it was amusing to see the hypocrisy revealed.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Vlad on 2006-05-22 at 1:41pm:
  If there was a voting pool for the funniest Star Trek episode ever, this should take first place! I laughed so hard my stomach hurt. Q minus his powers was more irritable than an Andorian and more fun than a Ferengi. And again, as it was the case with "The Survivors", we learn a little something about what makes us human with the help of a superbeing... as unlikely as that may seem.
  
  Oh, and Corbin Bernsen's otrageous appearance as Q at the end was an added bonus. What an amazing actor he is!
  
• From DSOmo on 2007-07-23 at 5:26am:
  - When Worf takes Q to the brig, Worf has to press a button on a panel beside the door before it opens. Later in the episode, Data simply walks through the doorway. Why the difference?
  - When Q hurts his back in Engineering, Data taps his communicator and calls for a medical team. Note: He TAPS his communicator. If badge tapping is simply habitual, why is Data tapping his badge? He is an android. Data doesn't do things out of habit. Data always "does things by the book." If the book says that a badge tap is unnecessary, Data would not tap his badge.
  - Dr Crusher fixes Q's back with a tool that looks exactly like a hypospray. But it doesn't make a hypospray sound. Maybe the hypospray is a mulipurpose machine. Then again, maybe the prop department didn't have time to make another medical device.
• From JRPoole on 2008-04-14 at 1:21pm:
  This is one of the top 10 episodes of all time. Q is hilarious, the writing is crisp, the Calamarain are interesting, Guinan's response to Q is great, as is Picard's, and this is all-around top-notch.
• From CAlexander on 2011-04-20 at 11:55pm:
  There were definitely a few jokes I liked, but in general I found Q's complaints about humanity tiresome and overly exaggerated.
• From Jeff Browning on 2011-10-21 at 9:22am:
  Sooooo, what about the Prime Directive? If the idea of the Prime Directive is to allow a sentient species's society to evolve naturally, wouldn't preventing natural catastrophe be exactly the type of interference to short circuit evolution? Indeed, this exact point is made in TNG: Pen Pals where there is a huge debate over saving a species whose planet is threatened by geological activity. Why no debate here? Perhaps the Enterprise folks have decided to Hell with either Prime Directive.
• From Ggen on 2012-03-16 at 7:57pm:
  Solid episode. Another excellent Q edition. Love the premise of Q becoming human and stumbling through all the physiological and psychological pitfalls. And a nice little ironic reversal with Q suddenly helpless and at Picard's mercy.
  
  The other story arc, with a Japanese-like alien race ( I think they were even played by Asian actors ), worrying about a moon-related Tsunami, was also nicely done. Same for the rather nondescript aliens seeking revenge on Q.
  
  As one would expect in any good Q episode, this one is chock full of witticisms and clever lines. One of my favorites is Picard's "It's a perfectly good shuttlecraft." The Mariachi sequence at the end is ridiculously appropriate, though the final "Engage" cigar gag was just a little bit much.
  
  
• From vote oh bummer! on 2021-07-24 at 9:50am:
  Great and fun episode. I guess showing some orphans or grieving friends and familiy of the 18 people Q got killed last time around would have ruined the good times.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-07-24 at 6:59am:
  - The major plot oversight in this episode concerns the personnel aboard the Enterprise during the alternate future created by the Enterprise-C. In the alternate future, the Federation and the Klingon Empire have been at war for twenty years. In war, people get killed. In fact, Picard says the Klingons have destroyed half of the Federation's fleet. Since people get killed in war, people get promoted quickly. It is inconceivable that Riker, Data, and Geordi would still be serving with Picard. They would have their own commands fighting the Klingons. Of course, this is a television series. The viewers want to see the same set of core actors from week to week.
  - Picard has an odd sense of three-dimensional space in this episode. He meets with Guinan on the spacious observation lounge. He meets with Riker and Yar on the spacious observation lounge. However, when he meets with his senior officers, five in all, he crams them like sardines into his ready room.
  - At the beginning of the episode, emergency teams beam over to the Enterprise-C. Dr. Crusher determines to take the captain back to the Enterprise-D. Dr. Crusher taps her badge and calls for transport. She then puts her tricorder away and reaches up to tap her badge again. At this point a befuddled look comes across her face and she puts her hand back down to her side. I guess she realized she didn't need to tap her communicator to shut it off.
  - After Crusher leaves, Riker and Yar find a survivor in the wreckage. The survivor is buried under a bunch of rubble on a darkened main bridge. Riker and Yar dig him out. What's the first thing they do for him after he's out? They shine flashlights on his face!
• From CAlexander on 2011-04-21 at 2:14am:
  One of the great Star Trek episodes. I'd like to add one more Remarkable Scene:
  - Picard discussing how the war is going badly, and Federation defeat is inevitable.
  
• From Percivale on 2011-09-05 at 5:02pm:
  A perfect Star Trek episode - worth a 10.
  
  I feel that the ingenuity, energy and skill that went into this script surpasses any of the TNG movies (and most TOS movies) and feels much more epic.
  
  Wouldn't it have been great as a film? The only important characters left out of this are Wesley and Worf. I don't know (and frankly don't care) what could be done with Wesley, but there's an obvious role for Worf - as a Klingon commander attacking the Enterprise, of course!
  
  I especially love how they let Guinan really shine in this one. It shows the strength of her character and the depth of her relationship with Picard - even in a depressing alternate universe - and we are even left with another tantalizing clue as to the nature of her species. I don't think there is another episode where we are shown quite as clearly why she is on the Enterprise.
  
  But the interesting cinematography, the dramatic tension, the moving ending - Man, I could watch this one over and over again (and have).
• From Jeff Browning on 2011-10-21 at 12:31pm:
  I agree generally that this is a fabulous episode. For one thing Denise Crosby is terrific. Perhaps because she was unhappy in her role in season 1, she seemed to be lacking in that season. Her performances were rather wooden, I thought.
  
  One logical issue: when the Enterprise D is holding off the Klingons, it takes the Enterprise C friggin' forever to go into the temporal rift! What's up with that? At the distance they were from the rift, they should have been through in a couple of seconds. As it is, it takes several minutes. Of course this adds to the tension, but it still creates a logical problem.
• From Sean on 2012-01-07 at 1:20pm:
  As I write this, there are over 700 episodes of Star Trek and eleven movies, and "Yesterday's Enterprise" still stands as my favourite episode of all time, twenty years after it first aired on television. To me, this episode is a perfect representation of what Star Trek is about: hope for the future. In this timeline, Picard is still as loyal and reflective as his normal counterpart, but he's a man who's been turned bitter by decades of war. I love seeing his slow turn from stubbornly refusing to sacrifice the Enterprise C ("Every instinct is telling me that this is wrong, it is dangerous, it is FUTILE!") to slowly realising that Guinan has introduced an incredible idea: that this ship has altered history - badly ("I've weighed the alternatives. I will follow Guinan's recommendations").
  
  Ultimately, Picard puts the needs of the many (the billions lost in the way) above the needs of the few (the crews of the Enterprise C & D). It's Star Trek at its very best. The fact that the crew all accept this is just beautiful - there's no dumb mutiny by a character who's looking out for his own skin, everyone realises that by sacrificing themselves, they are saving billions of lives and creating a brighter future for humanity. Even in this dark version of the future, the crew stays true to Roddenberry's vision of a united humanity. Even Riker, who clearly disagrees with Picard's decision, speaks to him with respect and once Picard makes his decision, that's it.
  
  What truly makes this episode so perfect, though, is the performances. As I've already mentioned, Patrick Stewart is in fine form, as are all the other regulars. Tricia O'Neil gives Captain Garrett a tough, strong personality without ever making her annoying. Whoopi Goldberg is suitably spooky, yet Denise Crosby steals the show by giving Yar the send off she deserved - particularly the scene where she requests the transfer to the Enterprise C. Seeing her explain to Picard that she's "supposed to be dead" always moves me.
  
  Of course, I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy the space battle, which to this day is impressive to look at, hardly aging at all. I love how the ultimate fate of the Enterprise C - it's final stand and it's destruction by the Romulans - is left to our imagination.
  
  Others may complain that it should have been a two-parter, or that Worf should have been on board the Klingon battleships, but I disagree. Having only one episode gives it a quick, almost panicked pace - after all, the Klingons are on their way! And we don't need to see the Klingons, or Worf, or any other part of this dark world, it's so much more interesting to see the story at the intimate level of just one starship. Often the best way to tell a large story is to just tell a small part of it.
  
  "Yesterday's Enterprise" is Star Trek at its best. My favourite episode of not only The Next Generation, but all of Star Trek. "Let's make sure, history never forgets the name... Enterprise."
• From meinerHeld on 2012-02-10 at 6:36pm:
  Keith: "I like how the writers gave Yar a better send off in this episode than in Skin of Evil."
  
  Three cheers for that one!
• From Ggen on 2012-03-21 at 6:21am:
  This was a rather excellent episode. In fact, of all the time travel episodes throughout Trek, this has got to be one of my favorites, for several reasons: For one thing, this episode accomplishes so much more than just the typical temporal parodox. 1) It is also a "mirror universe" episode of sorts, because the alternate militarized timeline is so fundamentally different from the norm. [And rather awesome to observe, I might add. I've long wondered about the straight-up military dimension of Starfleet - nice to finally see it on display] 2) It is very much so a Tasha Yarr episode, and a damn proper one at that. Tasha's oddly timed and oddly executed first death is rather gloriously redeemed here. 3) We're introduced to the mysterious and unique Al-Aurian "perceptions beyond linear time," which is a neat concept and a useful plot device. 4) Finally, this time travel episode is the only one I know of where someone (in this case Picard) asks the crucial question, "Who's to say *this* history is any less proper than *that* one?" This typically unexamined question has been perpetually in the back of my mind throughout the rest of Trek, causing me to cringe every time I heard the words "polluting the timeline."
  
  I also loved the high stakes of the final scenes - revealed when Picard admits that the Federation is doomed to lose the war within 6 months, failing some radical change of events.
  
  I don't know if I entirely follow how all of the events tie together to the very beginning and the very end, when the Enterprise (in "present" time) stumbles onto the space-time anomoly, but in this case I'm willing to just assume it makes some sense.
  
  Details
  - Warf calling prune juice a "warriors drink," and being sort of chauvinistic and piggish.
  
  - Alternate Picard's jargon: "miltary log," "combat date," "battleship."
• From Mike Chambers on 2013-11-16 at 7:05am:
  One of the best TNG episodes ever filmed, without a doubt. However, one major problem I noticed.
  
  - Since the Enterprise-C traveling into the future caused such a radical change in the timeline, do you really think the Enterprise-D would have still been at the exact position in this new timeline that they were at in the old timeline? That is, at the site of the temporal distortion at that particular moment in time. I'd say the chances are practically zero percent.
  
  Granted, there wouldn't be much of an episode if they weren't. It's just something I was thinking about while watching.
• From tigertooth on 2017-05-01 at 2:30am:
  This is great. I loved the instances of Picard arguing against the logic of the plot. NOT GOOD ENOUGH, DAMNIT! And also when he and Yar have the scene in the Ready Room. He tells her it's illogical for her to go, which it is! But I still completely dug it.
  
  I guess I view it as all the characters having a less defined version of the El Aurian senses. Guinan can sense the anomalies far more than anyone else, but the others sense it, too. That's the only reason I can imagine for Picard and Yar's actions. And it works for me.
  
  I will say the death of Captain Garrett was not great. The shot of her wide-eyed with shrapnel in her forehead was more comical than anything else. The Riker death scene was only better by comparison. Overall the director did a great job, but that was a clunker. The casting of Castillo was questionable, too.
  
  One other quibble: right after Riker was killed, it probably would have made more sense for Picard to talk about surrender terms with the Klingons if for no other reason than to stall them while the Enterprise-C got through the rift. But the awesomeness of Picard's "That'll be the day!" and vaulting back to tactical? Those far outweigh the logic issue.
  
  But overall this was great - a terrific sendoff for Yar, a fascinating look into a possible military Starfleet, some juicy moral conundrums... what more could you ask for?
• From Steve R Mohns on 2018-05-08 at 10:05pm:
  I love that at the end of the episode they are heading to "Archer 4".

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From DSOmo on 2007-07-25 at 8:10am:
  - Someone needs to replace the light bulbs in the transporter room. When Kurn beams aboard the Enterprise, the transporter platform is very dark. Maybe he called ahead to tell the transporter chief he wanted to make a dramatic entrance ;)
  - Picard replicates a variety of foods for Kurn to sample. One of them is roast turkey. Why would the replicators aboard the Enterprise replicate bones? Doesn't this seem like a waste of enegy? Picard must be a real stickler for authenticity ;)
• From thaibites on 2011-02-05 at 5:05am:
  To say that this episode is a soap opera brings dishonor to this episode. A soap opera is where some slut is having an affair with her boss, while her Mom is banging some guy upstairs, and then the boss wants to bang the Mom, but the Mom is now depressed because blah, blah, blah...
  
  This episode is intense and obviously had a lot of energy put into it. I love how the Klingon homeworld is shown as a dark, sterile, foreboding place. The lighting is great! For me, this is the best episode of TNG so far, chronologically speaking. It's flawless.
• From CAlexander on 2011-04-22 at 2:12pm:
  This becomes a really superb episode once the main plot starts. No wonder Klingons became popular, they had some strong episodes in TNG. It also adds a lot of dimension to both Worf and the Klingons to see that not all Klingons are as rigidly obsessed with honor as Worf – that he has essentially overcompensated for his Federation upbringing by trying to become the perfect Klingon.
• From Jeff Browning on 2011-09-28 at 2:48am:
  Tony Todd who played Kurn, Worf's younger brother, also appeared in several other Star Trek episodes, two TNG episodes where he reprises the role of Kurn (as he does in one DS9 episode) plus one other DS9 episode (The Visitor) where he played the older Jake Sisco. This DS9 episode is arguably the best Star Trek episode ever. Certainly, Todd's performance was a major factor in that. Todd also plus the Alpha Hirgen on Voyager.
• From Jeff Browning on 2011-09-28 at 4:47pm:
  Tony Todd who played Kurn, Worf's younger brother, also appeared in several other Star Trek episodes, two TNG episodes where he reprises the role of Kurn (as he does in one DS9 episode) plus one other DS9 episode (The Visitor) where he played the older Jake Sisco. This DS9 episode is arguably the best Star Trek episode ever. Certainly, Todd's performance was a major factor in that. Todd also plus the Alpha Hirgen on Voyager.
• From John on 2011-11-23 at 2:33am:
  That I really like this episode. I tend to like most Klingon episodes, but this one in particular because it's the first time we get to meet Worf's brother Kurn, played so well by Tony Todd.
  
  There's only one thing about this episode that confuses me. It's really a nitpick, but... when Picard first finds out the story behind why Kurn is there, he orders a course change to the first city of the "Klingon Imperial Empire". As opposed to the Klingon "non-Imperial" Empire. If it's an empire, then it's imperial. What's up with the redundance?
  
  Other than that I think this episode is great.
• From Ggen on 2012-03-22 at 4:21am:
  Another excellent episode. There are almost two separate halves here, each interesting in its own way: first Kurn as exchange commander, and then Warf's legal drama on the Klingon homeworld.
  
  Kurn is a great character, with the tension on the bridge practically dripping off the ceiling... And the heartfelt scenes of loyalty between both Warf/Kurn and Warf/Picard were great. And finally the legal drama was excellent, with all its open court and behind-the-scenes elements.
  
  I'd imagine this is how many of our earlier courts operated, complete with stabbings in the halls. Unfortunately, I also strongly suspect that our modern courts aren't a heck of a lot better, not when there's a "powerful family" involved, and there's a perceived threat to "national security." There are backroom deals, plea bargains, and all sorts of extralegal, purely political considerations. See the mock "trial" of MLK's assassin, James Earl Ray, for a very prominent example.
• From Daniel on 2014-07-02 at 10:04am:
  I too loved this episode for many of the same reasons as others do. I like the introduction of Kurn and the seeding of a future storyline with Worf and the Klingons. I do have one nitpick about one particular scene... When Wesley Crusher is at his post to navigate and Kurn is in command, Kurn gives the coordinates and speed, then says "Execute" - which is the Klingon version of Picard's "Engage"... Now, any other Starfleet officer would have simply replied, "Aye, Sir!" And obeyed the command. But, Wesley, upstart brat that he is, replies very vehemently "Engage!" Thus correcting his commanding officer's choice of words in pure spite. No one seemed to notice this. If Kurn had noticed Wesley's smart-ass response, he would have killed him, as any Klingon would do. If Picard or Riker had noticed Wesley's contempt of his commanding officer, they'd have scolded him and possibly reprimanded him. Yet, somehow, the boy wonder gets away with being insolent. Doesn't seem right! What about the rigid Starfleet regulations and code of honor? Since when is it okay for a Federation Starship crew member to correct his superior officer... And spitefully too, since the correction is unnecessary?
• From Axel on 2015-03-03 at 2:13am:
  John's comment made me laugh only because I thought the same thing. THe first time I saw this episode, I had to rewind and listen again because I thought I misheard. But "Imperial Empire" doesn't make a lot of sense. Was that in the script or was it just a flub-up?
  
  That redundancy aside, this episode was awesome with lots of great plot twists. The Worf-Picard relationship evolves a lot in this one, and will continue to do so in "Reunion" and "Redemption" as they discuss Worf's family honor and their mutual struggles to balance between Federation and Klingon interests and cultures.
  
  On a side note, Tony Todd is one of the better guest actors in Star Trek. He does a great job as Kurn in TNG and DS9, and also portrays an older Jake Sisko in DS9: The Visitor.
• From Captain President Obummer I. on 2021-07-25 at 5:51pm:
  The scenes where Kurn tries to anger everyone but Picard are too funny.
  But I don't buy the whole klingon plot, are Klingons so dishonorable that there would be enough support for such a romulan traitor for a civil war?

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.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• 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 Pete Miller on 2006-04-23 at 3:38am:
  problem: How the HELL can casualty reports be coming in from all over the ship a mere 2 seconds after impact?? A little ridiculous.
  
  Some of the stuff in this episode is just chilling. Like hearing Picard order all hands to abandon ship, while he's sitting there at the table
  
  I love how they refuse to reveal the actual year at the end. Picard just craftily tells him to beam aboard, but doesn't say "well its actually ____ A.D." I thought I could finally know, but I guess we're just damned to deal with their stardates.
  
  Wonderfully directed, Jonathan, wonderfully directed
• From DSOmo on 2007-09-30 at 7:15am:
  - At the end of the show, Worf checks with the nearest starbase and discovers that the Enterprise has been stuck in the loop for more than seventeen days. If that is true, the crew hasn't been repeating the same fragment of time. If they were repeating the same fragment of time, the ship's chronometer would line up with the starbase's chronometer, since the entire universe would get reset at the beginning of each loop. Instead, the crew of the Enterprise must have been repeating the same actions, and somehow everything on the ship - including the crew's memories and the ship's chronometer - got reset at the beginning of each loop.
  - The episode never adequately explains where the other ship came from. The show implies that the USS Bozeman has been caught in a loop for eighty years. If so, how did the Bozeman get started with its loop? According to Geordi, the Enterprise began its loop when the ship exploded. The captain of the Bozeman made no mention of any explosion before seeing the Enterprise. He simply said the time-space distortion appeared and was followed by the Enterprise. The Bozeman could have jumped forward in time eighty years when it entered the time-space distortion. It could have exited the distortion and collided with the Enterprise. That would explain the lack of explosion for the Bozeman. If that is true, Picard should be treating the Bozeman the same way he treated the Enterprise-C in "Yesterday's Enterprise." Just after the Enterprise-C came through the temporal rift, Picard realized that disclosing information to the crew of the Enterprise-C could fundamentally alter history if the Enterprise-C ever returned to its own time. In this episode, Picard's behavior is quite the opposite. He immediately invites the captain aboard for a conference.
• From djb on 2008-04-16 at 10:05am:
  I love this episode, and always have, and the one thing I think that's lacking was already brought up: what the deal is with the other ship and why it's 80 years off, where the enterprise is only 17 days off.
  
  
• From online broker on 2009-10-04 at 9:17pm:
  I love this episode, its my favourite of TNG, and has been since I was 12 and saw it on TV. I always thought it is called "Deja Vu"!
• From musterpuffer on 2010-03-04 at 9:11pm:
  One of my favourite episodes ever, I love the repetitions which are slightly different from time to time. Jonathan Frakes is such a talented guy!
  
  I think Data should have found the way out of the loop though: At one critical point they discuss whether to change course or not. Picard speculates that altering course might have caused the problem in the first place. But, the single reason the discussion arises is because they have become aware of the loop by now - hearing the echos etc. The very first time around there was no loop and no echos or other pointers so therefore there would have been no reason to change course. From which they might have concluded that there was no course change in the original timeline. But then the episode would have been a lot shorter so it's not meant as a criticism! Great stuff.
• From Jason on 2011-01-06 at 4:06am:
  My question: how can the crew program the number 3 (recognizing Riker to be correct in his strategy for avoiding the collision) when they have no tangible memory of these (for them) still future events? The crew has no idea what is coming through the rift and yet they retain memory of who had the correct strategy of how to avoid it? Seems far-fetched and certainly not adequately explained
  
  Otherwise an excellent episode and a season (and series) highlight
• From CAlexander on 2011-03-07 at 6:27pm:
  When I think of my favorite TNG episodes, this always comes to mind first. Really skillfully done.
  
  In answer to Jason's question: Seconds before the Enterprise is destroyed the last time, Data realizes his strategy was wrong, looks at Riker's 3 rank buttons, and sends the message to the next iteration. This is clearly shown, but easy to miss since it happens so fast and with no verbal explanation.
• From Zaphod on 2011-04-12 at 1:27pm:
  I don't like this episode, not just because it indeed is very repetitive, but because of a couple of other reasons too:
  1. Timeloops dont make any sense and the technobabble explaining them is complete bullshit, period.
  2. Moreover there is no believable explanation for why they have memories of past runs through that loop. Dekyonparticles interfering with their brains or what? Where did I hear that before? ... Ah, that's it! I bet Geordi is wrong and the midi-clorians told them what happened last time! That's where the whispering came from too! Midi-clorians, Dekyon-Particles, both just pathetic excuses for magic mumbo jumbo, nothing more. Star Wars was about magic, at least before George Lucas screwed it, so at least they have an excuse.
  Doesnt make sense at all. If I want to watch magic mumbo jumbo then Star Wars does a better job.
  3. Why do they remember some unimportant things like the cards they got dealt but not important ones like using the tractor beam doesn't work? Very easy answer, plot convenience, that's why.
  4. The story they repeat over and over again ... *headdesk* ... it's just boring as hell!
  You might argue: "But the Enterprise explodes!"
  Sorry, still boring, taking into account the poor special effects of that explosion and the annoyingly stupid explosion sound they play every f***ing time when a ship blows up in Star Trek.
• From Zaphod on 2011-04-12 at 1:57pm:
  @ Jason:
  Since CAlexander didnt really understand your question, here's the explanation:
  
  They altered the dekyon grid last time they went throught the loop and that alteration manipulated Data (his Brain seems to be sensitive to these dekyon field emissions) into unknowingly placing that 3 everywhere he went this time.
• From Zaphod on 2011-04-12 at 4:20pm:
  Sry, it's me who didnt understand Jasons question. ^^
  He asked for the message, I explained the delivery method. CAlexander is right of course.
• From Robert Koenn on 2011-04-19 at 11:39am:
  I only rated this a 6 as I found the episode beginning to get repetitive and a bit boring as a result. Certainly there were minor differences each time which managed to hold my interest a bit but I told my wife, one more repetition and I'm giving up on it. Now at the same time I did find the idea somewhat interesting although flawed a bit but then while being fairly good technically ST still deals with some of these things as magic rather than technology. The crew interaction was good and that also kept me from turning it off. Still, one more time through this loop would have been it for me.
• From Rache on 2012-05-03 at 8:29pm:
  My favorite TNG episode too!
• From Keith on 2013-08-21 at 8:46pm:
  Love the episode, but absolutely hate the poker. Once a pair of queens is showing everyone should have folded, looking at the cards there is no conceivable way that Worf or Data should have stayed in for as long as they did, that is lousy poker, and while Riker may have wanted to bluff Crusher should have bet whatever the limit is before the last card giving him a possible straight. Finally, poker in general in STNG is silly. Poker only works if there are stakes or consequnces to betting, i.e. losing money, if played for points nobody folds and it is just a silly game of luck.
• From Daniel on 2014-05-03 at 10:10pm:
  This episode brought about two questions for me; one purely hypothetical. First - Riker orders all crew to be ready at the escape pods, then Picard orders all hands abandon ship. Now, admittedly, there is no time for anyone to actually escape the ship. But, suppose a few crew members did manage to escape in time. What would happen to them in the repeating time loop? Would they be out of the loop and adrift in their escape pods? (Just a hypothetical.) The other question for me regards the habit that Riker has of putting his foot up on the console and assuming a pose like that. Like when he is standing next to Data at the helm and props his leg up on Data's console. Is it okay for a Starfleet officer to use ship equipment as a footrest?
• From tigertooth on 2017-07-04 at 2:31pm:
  I loved this back when it first aired and have considered it my favorite episode since. Watching it now, it didn't hold up for me. Without the mystery, it loses the effect.
  
  I found it funny how useless they made Nurse Ogawa seem. She has to call Dr. Crusher away from her off-duty hours just because Geordie comes in feeling dizzy?
  
  Also, I know why it had to be this way, but the reactions of Picard and crew when the impact is 30 seconds away seem awfully slow. If they'd fired up the tractor beam a few seconds sooner, they might have deflected the Bozeman successfully.
  
  And Riker's solution seems pretty goofy, really. You couldn't control how the decompression would move the ship. I'm not even convinced that it would move the ship very much. That said, why not do both? Use the tractor beam *and* blow the shuttle bays!
  
  Finally, I get why the writers went with "three" as the message to be sent -- to add to the mystery. But I'd think Data might have sent "Riker" or "shuttle" or something instead.
• From Chris on 2018-04-03 at 4:50pm:
  Did I miss something? The Bozeman apparently is stuck in the 24th Century from here on out?
  
  Since that seems to be the case, They would've done well to keep Grammer on as a semi-regular who was re-learning updated Ster Fleet protocols and tech! Or perhaps as a history teacher? He's a great actor and his cameo in this episode was wasted I think...
  
  I liked this episode when I first saw it, but thank god for Netflix to allow me to kick through the repetitions! ;-)
  
  Also, 10 'right arrows' on your keyboard allow you to skip the main intro after the set-up intro!
  
  Personally, I think the message I might have sent to myself if I were Data, would have been simply "Wrong". Three or 3 would have simply been way too arcane a reference to have figured out so abruptly or quickly. In fact, by this point, I'm thinking that once the drama began to unfold, and them all having a good idea that bad things were afoot, whatever command Picard designated as make-it-so, would've been the incorrect one.
  
  My guess is that they figured they could only send a single character and not a word... I don't recall them specifying.
  
  Why was 'Sideshow Bateson' unaware of what was happening to his ship and crew who surely must've been getting the same deja vu feelings!
  Made me think of the Darmok episode or others, where the Enterprise crew is filled with geniuses compared to the boobs in the rest of Star Fleet who no matter how much time they have, are unable to figure things out for themselves! It's a little irritating.
  
  Still, a great episode!

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Captain Keogh on 2013-05-05 at 5:45pm:
  The one problem I have with this episode is the beginning, very trivial, when the USS Saratoga is hit by the Borg vutting beam, it hits the sensor dome, but when Sisko asks for the damage report, the tactical officer says it hit Decks 1-4, I will be looking forward to any insight into this.
• From James T Quark on 2015-08-16 at 2:28am:
  A good start. On my first viewing I had hoped that the whole "spiritual / emissary / religious" aspect wouldn't be a pivotal plot point, but I sure was wrong!
  
  As well, I'm not too fond of the whole Bajoran back story ie the Cardassian Rape of Bajor, so one might as "why watch?" Simple.
  
  The stories are excellent. If you can tolerate the religious overtones and perhaps skip over a few of the less important "Oh those poor, unfortunate Bajorans" episodes, this is a great series.
  
  While TNG will always be my favorite ST series, this would a close second, or maybe even first if they had made the Bajorans a stronger species, and not so deluded by the wormhole aliens magical powers. Imagine the series if it wasn't Bajor that was invaded and occupied but a race like the Romulans or the Klingons! Now THAT would be some good, albeit most likely DARKER, Trek.
  
  All in all, a very good addition to the franchise and a must see for any Trekerie!
• From Allen on 2021-04-17 at 9:50pm:
  Odd how I found this site. I was looking for the propose of the chest/crest rise on the cardassian uniforms. It lead to here. Very thoughtful comments about DS9. I'm revisiting DS9 shows because I missed some of them on the first broadcast. Due to comments. I might have to re-watch the first.
  
  I was there from the beginning of Star Trek. I was a kid when I watched the first Star Trek show on our B&W TV in the 1960's. Some of them were scary to me, being at that age even though I knew it was just a show.
  
  It was the right time for it. The "space race" was happening then.
  
  I am not a "Treky" I don't go to the conventions. I just like watching most of what has been produced on the original Star Trek story and all of the other SyFy built after it.
  
  Here's a question. Would "Star Wars" have happened had Star Trek not have?
• From Kethinov on 2021-04-19 at 3:05pm:
  Glad you found it! I would guess that Star Wars would not have happened without Star Trek becoming such a cult success in the 60s, since pop culture phenomenons tend to build off of each other. I would also guess that Star Trek would not have been revived had Star Wars not been so successful.
  
  Regarding DS9, it remains my favorite Trek show even decades later. Like all Trek shows, the early seasons are rough, but the last few seasons of DS9 are Star Trek at its finest with deep, nuanced writing that remains unrivaled to this day. I recommend to you and anyone else reading to give it a go. It aged well in a way that much of the rest of Trek before and after did not.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From djb on 2008-07-20 at 8:36am:
  I've seen this episode many times, but I just got what might be a little joke at the end. This bit of dialogue between Picard and Worf:
  
  "I only wish I'd had the opportunity to use it on a horse."
  
  "Of course."
  
  Reminds me of Mr. Ed....
• From JRPoole on 2008-09-22 at 10:17pm:
  Not so much a problem as a WTF moment: Data mentions that ther are several Terralians living on the Enterprise, and that Terralia is one of only a few inhabited planets without any atmosphere whatsoever. How in the world can someone from a planet with no atmosphere exist in the first place--perhaps an underwater civilization? In any case, it's hard to believe they could function on a ship.
  
  This episode is pretty incosequential in the long run, but it's a perfect 10 from an entertainment stand point. As mentioned in the review, Picard the killer is cool in James Bond mode here, and there is some serious McGuyver action with Geordi's visor being turned into a weapon. Come to think of it, Spock was doing that sort of thing long before McGuyver anyway.
  
• From JRPoole on 2008-09-23 at 1:56pm:
  An afterthought:
  
  With the obvious exeption of the Borg conflict episode and the occasional random death-of-an-entire-civilization plot, this episode has to have one of the highest body counts ever recorded in a Trek episode. Picard kills pretty much all of the thieves and even indirectly blows up their shuttle. Plus, "Hutch" is gunned down and presumably dies as well.
  
  The slapstick stuff with Data and Commander Hutchinson is funny and well done. I also love the way Troi rolls her eyes when Picard excuses himself from the reception.
• From Mark McC on 2009-02-08 at 1:58pm:
  Some on the production team was obviously a fan of the Bruce Willis move, Die Hard, and decided to make Die Hard in Space! There's a whole raft of similarities, the staff/crew are both held hostage at a social function while our lone hero runs around the building/ship causing mischief. In both, what we assume to be terrorists actually turn out to be mercenaries doing it purely for profit.
  
  Even the scene where Picard pretends to be Mott the barber is a reversal of the movie scene where Alan Rickman, the leader of the bad guys, fools Bruce Willis by pretending to be a clueless hostage escaped from his captors.
  
  I enjoy Trek for the range and depth of social and moral questions it explores, but sometimes an all-out entertainment episode like this is a breath of fresh air.
  
  Data and Hutchinson's slapstick is the icing on the cake, the comic timing and quick repartee between the two is fantastically done. 9/10
• From Markus on 2009-11-09 at 8:33am:
  Didn't they forget to save Picard's fishes from the sweep?
• From Inga on 2012-03-20 at 5:01pm:
  Is it me, or did Picard use a Vulcan nerve pinch on Devor?
• From Bronn on 2012-12-25 at 8:22am:
  Picard executing the Vulcan nerve pinch is actually a subtle, but nice, continuity nod. Remember that he's been in a mind meld with both Sarek and Spock, by this point. He should possess quite a bit of Vulcan knowledge.
• From dronkit on 2014-03-09 at 3:19am:
  A barber without hair? lol
• From Autre31415 on 2014-08-31 at 11:28pm:
  Also ironic about the Vulcan nerve pinch Picard performs is that it was on a future Vulcan!
• From tigertooth on 2018-02-27 at 3:17am:
  To dronkit's point: the real Mott is bald, too!
  
  The Baryon sweep was such a great gimmick to bring tension and to force everybody to be in the same spot on the ship.
  
  I loved how after the sonic pulse that knocks out everybody but Data, the first thing Data does is calmly collect the bad guys' weapons. A detail like that could easily have been missed, but it was done perfectly.
  
  I also liked how you think the B plot is just going to be comic relief, but then they end up being part of the A plot. It was timed well, too, as you couldn't have gotten much more out of the "small talk" gag.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Pete Miller on 2006-05-22 at 1:42am:
  One of my favorite episodes EVER. The whole concept was really cool, the story was engrossing, and I enjoyed the romulan-federation cooperation. The only thing keeping it from a 10 is that it's not profound or anything. Only episodes that move me deeply get 10's. But certainly a 9.
• From Orion Pimpdaddy on 2006-06-04 at 8:52pm:
  This episode is fun from beginning to end. The plot moves along nicely with enormous challenges for the characters involved, such as the warp core breach, Beverly receiving a point blank phaser shot from a Romulan, and the difficulties with working in a suspended environment. There are a lot of memorable scenes, such as when Picard draws the happy face. The science portion is also well explained.
  
  Deserving of a 9.
• From Orion Pimpdaddy on 2006-06-04 at 8:57pm:
  Problem:
  I could be wrong about this, but when Picard, Troi, Data, and Geordi first see the Enterprise and the Warbird frozen, their descriptions don't seem to match up with what is shown. The refer to a second beam, but there is only one beam visible. I don't think they are talking about the photon torpedos that the Warbird is firing.
  
  Correct me if I'm wrong.
• From Kethinov on 2006-06-05 at 4:56am:
  I'm pretty sure the warbird was firing disruptors and that that's indeed what they were referring to, Orion.
• From Evan on 2008-05-26 at 2:36pm:
  I don't think there's an issue with the life support per se. What would it need to do? (1) Keep the Enterprise warm enough and (2) provide enough air. The first wouldn't be affected by time, and the second wouldn't matter so much because there would be plenty of oxygen in the spaces available to last for the "fast" characters' short visits. The bigger problem is where the O2 that they breathe come from, since the air molecules would also have been slowed.
• From J Reffin on 2009-08-05 at 8:34pm:
  A very fast moving episode packing a lot in to the time available.
  
  One of the actors playing a Romulan can't help swaying slightly in the background when Picard is making a speech on the Bridge on the first visit (no - not one of the aliens). Must have been tough to hold a freeze pose for that length of time.
• From Mike on 2017-04-24 at 1:53am:
  This is one of my favorite episodes. It's just a classically well-done piece of science fiction. Like "Darmok" and the finale, this is TNG sci-fi at its best. This one comes down to the crew experiencing something entirely unexpected as a result of encountering a life form they had no idea existed.
  
  While the plots of some episodes tend to crash in the final minutes, this one kept it together until the end. Yeah, there are some problems. For example, I don't know how they managed to save Geordi...granted, they said they were beaming him directly to sickbay, but quite a bit of time elapsed between the resumption of normal time and that, and he was seconds away from dying when they removed his armband. Overall, though, this is brilliant and one that doesn't lose its suspense with repeated viewing.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From JRPoole on 2008-10-15 at 1:53am:
  This one just isn't working for me. The melodrama at the beginning of the first part with Riker and Troi hashing it out over Picard's death is badly acted and written. The psyonic resonator turns out to be exceptionally lame. The pain/control devices have been done to death. James Worthy's klingon character is just lame.
  
  That said, there is some memorable stuff here. Data's interaction with Worf is well-done. And there is some good intrigue on a plot level.
• From Orion Pimpdaddy on 2008-11-25 at 8:22pm:
  They did all this work, in two episodes, to assemble the artifact, only to find a "gun" that takes 10 seconds to fire. I felt let down.
• From tigertooth on 2011-01-05 at 1:55pm:
  So what would have been the downside if Data had just ordered that the Enterprise fire on the pirate ship and disable it? I think I have to side with Worf on this one.
• From Robert Koenn on 2011-06-22 at 12:29pm:
  I was somewhat let down by the second half of this episode. The first 3/4s of it were fine and continued with the first halfs exciting plot and fair amount of action. However the ending was a big let down for me. As was stated in another review, the "ultimate" weapon was a real let down and the Vulcan peace versus war morality from Picard just came out as extremely lame. The Vulcan woman's reaction was totally out of place and I almost expected to see her go into a childish rant about it throwing it on the ground and stomping on it. Again, the plot line devices are just too convenient and everyone beaming into the cavern at the end seemed too convenient. So this one only gets a 6 rating from me.
• From dronkit on 2014-03-13 at 3:41am:
  "my name is actually T'pol and I'm a member of the [vulcan security]"
  
  o.O They were taking lots of names from these episodes, lol
• From Axel on 2015-03-08 at 2:41am:
  The only thing I don't understand about this two-parter is why Picard would end up in the hands of these mercenaries in the first place. You'd think that tracking mercenaries who are stealing "Romulan" artifacts would be dangerous enough that he'd ask for some backup, or at least let someone know what he's doing. The rogue nature of this episode's premise is a little out of character for Picard.
  
  That aside, it's one of the more enjoyable two-parters. There are a lot of twists and turns, and plenty of intrigue once Riker shows up on the mercenary ship. I really liked watching Riker and Picard try to play different sides of Baran, and also liked the Data-Worf subplot. Adventurous and compelling...nicely done.
• From jeffenator98 on 2019-08-01 at 5:21pm:
  Robin Curtis from Star Trek 3 is in this one.
• From Jack S on 2024-03-02 at 7:27pm:
  A fun, adventurous episode for sure. The ending was a little odd. While Talera was focusing the resonator on Riker or Worf, couldn't Picard have tried to grab it from her instead of standing there watching while she tried to kill them? It seems like the resonator has to be focused on a particular person to work, so Picard could have done something to neutralize her.
  
  Former L.A. Laker "Big Game James" Worthy playing the Klingon Koral was great. Most athletes don't do well in acting gigs, but this was a perfect character for him: few lines, and mostly intimidating behavior. I love when he pours the bloodwine on the floor!

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Pete Miller on 2006-05-22 at 3:31pm:
  I'm surprised that eric didn't take off more for their dropping of the Dosi race, never to be seen again.
• From Bernard on 2010-10-12 at 12:58pm:
  Since revisiting Season One episode 'Nagus' and thinking it was one of the strongest episodes of that season I looked forward to revisiting this one. It didn't disappoint.
  
  Simultaneously blending the exploration of more ferengi social structure, teasing out another tidbit about the dominion and creating a plot twist nicely, this episode is excellent.
  
  I love the part where Pel is revealed and Zek cries out! Brilliant stuff.
• From Wes on 2012-12-01 at 2:08pm:
  Notice in the scene above the bar where Kira returns the earring to Zek and then Quark and Pel come up, that you can see the tape on the floor marking where Kira was supposed to stand.
• From Dstyle on 2013-09-09 at 2:36am:
  There were Pakleds at Quark's! I only wish we could have overheard a bit of their conversation.
• From Dstyle on 2013-09-12 at 2:59pm:
  I feel silly now that I got so excited about seeing Pakleds at Quark's: as I continue to watch this season, I've been seeing Pakleds all over the station. Perhaps they were around the station in the first season or earlier in the second season and I just didn't notice them, but I always love seeing them: they're such a fascinating and absurd species. What are they doing at DS9? Looking for things? Things they need? Things that make them go?

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Pete Miller on 2006-05-24 at 2:04am:
  Once again, this episode has very blatant duality between the bajorans and the jews. They are secluded in ghetto-like areas on the stations. Odo refers to bajorans that would sell out their own people to the cardassians, similar to jews that sold out their friends and families to the nazis. I wish they would just come out and admit it.
  
  The ending was abrupt and incomplete. I wanted to see the rest of the flashback
  
  PS- what's up with the obsession with Morn?
• From JRPoole on 2008-12-08 at 4:17pm:
  Why in the world did some one give this a 1?
  
  This is one of the strongest episodes to this point in DS9. It's a stand-alone, but it does a great deal of work in fleshing out both Kira and Odo's characters and their relationship with each other. It's cool to see the station as it was under the Cardassians, great to see Kira in the underground, and the mystery of the plot works well.
• From djb on 2009-01-12 at 7:34am:
  What is with Rom's rogue tooth? It's really distracting.
  
  And, good question: why point out every time Morn appears?
• From Kethinov on 2009-01-12 at 8:04pm:
  It's like Where's Waldo. Cataloging every Morn appearance is like a weird little game for me.
• From Jens-Ivar Seland on 2009-08-02 at 8:55pm:
  Morn (or someone very like him, the focus is unclear) appears at 35:14, passing behind the guy who leter tries to kill quark in the infirmary.
• From Pemmer Harge on 2010-03-14 at 7:07pm:
  One of the very best episodes of Deep Space Nine. This sort of thing doesn't happen on the other Trek shows and episodes like this helped DS9 establish its own identity. The show got more consistent in later seasons, but it only rarely matched this level of quality. I rate it a 10.
• From Bernard on 2010-10-13 at 5:24pm:
  Excellent episode. Wonderful performances by Nana Visitor and Rene Auberjonois. The further insight into Odo's character is most welcome and the revelation at the end is executed superbly.
• From John on 2011-09-10 at 2:48am:
  Pete raises two stupid points.
  
  The first: "this episode has very blatant duality between the bajorans and the jews". I think you mean to say that this episode has very blatant PARALLELS between the Bajorans and the Jews. Duality implies they have opposing, or at least complementary, characteristics. There is a duality between the Cardassians and the Bajorans, for example.
  
  The second: "what's up with the obsession with Morn?" Morn adds a bit a regular levity to the otherwise dark tone of the show. Also, some people just happen to like Morn because he looks like a friendly turtle or something.
• From Matt on 2012-06-07 at 7:23am:
  I can fault the series for some unfortunate parallels between Jewish stereotypes and Ferengi mannerisms, but the similarities to Bajoran characteristics had not occurred to me.
• From Dstyle on 2013-09-09 at 3:07pm:
  An excellent episode: love the dark, shadowy noir style, complete with a femme fatale, a complicated mystery, and Odo's voice over. I almost wish they had used some of the angular Cardassian architecture to create a Venetian blind effect in some of the scenes, but that might have been just a little too much.
• From Rob UK on 2013-11-10 at 11:31pm:
  Great episode for all the reasons you all mentioned so i'll not repeat them but i can't believe the biggest thing you have all missed,
  
  This is a blatant and continuous and excellent homage to Feter Falk as the character Columbo in regards to Odo being an investigator in the modern day parts where he is investigating (he is a master now like Columbo) compared to his first venture investigating, he even drops the famous line (27m53s) "Just one more thing ......." when talking with the widow in modern day and then he begins to question her on seemingly irrelevant details which she points out just like every previous victim of Columbo would whilst slipping a detail he was chasing at the same time dropping her guard taking him for a simpleton, add to this the continuous hand mannerism and the only thing he left out for the perfect Columbo impression was Peter's squint to hide his false eye. This was what made me go 9
• From Abigail on 2021-06-07 at 6:09pm:
  I just rewatched this one and really enjoyed it. It was neat to see the station under the Cardassians and get some character backstory, too.
• From Luke on 2022-08-03 at 8:55am:
  The voice of the female guest star sounds IDENTICAL to that of the Voyager Borg queen, those inflections. However according to IMDB it isn't her. Strange.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From FH on 2009-02-04 at 9:45am:
  Sito is not a new character. She was in Wesley's team at the academy in "The First Duty".
• From askthepizzaguy on 2010-08-10 at 5:56pm:
  I thought that the actor that played Taurik went on to play a vulcan on Voyager, Vorik.
  
  Vorik is basically a Taurik clone. Similar to Tom Paris and Locarno being a clone.
• From MJ on 2011-04-25 at 10:04pm:
  This is one of the best episodes of the seventh season of TNG, and is probably one of my top 10 for the whole series.
  
  First, the concept itself is unorthodox. Not many television shows put their main casts in a side role and make the story revolve around a bunch of characters, some of which haven't been introduced before. It works, too, because the actors and actresses pull it off and we still see enough of the main cast-it's just that we see them through the eyes of junior officers. The writing is perfect because we instantly get a sense of the characters and their relationships with each other.
  
  I thoroughly enjoyed the plot, including Picard's testing of this young ensign in order to prepare her for a dangerous mission, with the added benefit of having some nice continuity from TNG: The First Duty. Worf was well written in this episode too. His bonding with Sito was both believable and a nice fit to the overall story.
  
  This one gets a 10 from me.
• From L on 2013-05-02 at 4:02am:
  Genuinely moving at the end, and great to see the view from other members of the crew. I like how we were kept in the dark as much as the characters were, which is how it must be for 98% of the crew every time a red alert or an emergency is happening.
  Incidental personnel aren't usually privilege to exposition, unless Picard does a weekly 'This week on the Enterprise' public announcement wrap-up.
  Sad to know we won't see any more of the perky Cardassian. Loved the way Whorf and the Captain helped to build her up.
  
• From L on 2013-05-02 at 6:34am:
  Oh crap. I meant 'perky Bajoran'. Embarrassed apologies.
• From Quando on 2014-01-27 at 9:55pm:
  I just watched this episode again, and I think it is my favorite of the whole TNG series. I love that we get to see a "crisis of the week" in a way that the crew would actually experience it -- learning bits and pieces here and there but never really knowing exactly what is going on, even when it is over. I also loved the somewhat parallel but different dynamics between each of the senior officers and their corresponding junior officer counterparts (Riker/Lavell, Beverly/Ogawa, Geordie/Taurik, Worf/Sito). Lavell being terrified of Riker, but trying to kiss up to him, and Riker eventually realizing that he was being too hard on Lavell, possibly because he saw some of his own young self in him. Worf personally vouching for Sito and trying to give her more confidence and an opportunity to succeed, only to see her killed and feel like it was partly his fault (note how he protectively stands next to her when she is sitting in the observation lounge meeting the Cardassian). Geordie getting over his pride and annoyance with a show-off newbie and Taurik learning a little about how to interact with humans without coming across as a jerk. Letting the senior officers interact with new characters in the crew who are somewhat more developed than the usual "redshirt" extras lets us see old, familiar characters in a new light. Also, the ending of the episode is sad but perfect. The crew has to presume that Sito is dead based on some pretty strong circumstantial evidence, but in the end nobody really knows for sure what happened - and we the viewer don't even get to see it from our usual third person omniscient point of view. We get to see no more that the crew does, and even the senior officers don't know (indeed, there are no shots outside of the ship in the whole episode). Very true to life. My only complaint is that with the exception of Ogawa (IMO the least interesting of the four), we don't get to see any of these interesting characters ever again. I would have even liked to see a whole episode about Ben, and how he ended up tending bar on a starship. But this was the last TNG season, so I guess time had kind of run out. Even so, this is a really great story about the people on the ship and how they act and react to each other, and for that reason I give it a "10" and my vote as the best episode of TNG.
• From dronkit on 2014-03-14 at 6:58am:
  Another favorite episode for me, when I saw it the first time years ago I loved it, seeing new characters developed, a civilian and lower rank officers, and I loved the new reformed Zito and her destiny was so sad.
  
  Anyway I came to say: Troi playing poker?!? She should be banned!

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Goblin on 2009-01-29 at 1:44pm:
  I thought this episode was really boring actually. I don't think that this deserves anwhere near as high as an 8.
• From schn on 2010-11-12 at 11:49pm:
  I get that this episode was meant to show someone walking away from Starfleet, but that is very easy to do when you have super powers.
• From MJ on 2011-01-05 at 5:37pm:
  I hated this episode.
  
  What bothers me is the politically correct, New Agey brand of spirituality the episode gives the Native Americans. While trying to make them look like the good guys here, this “magical, mystical Indian” portrayal is just as racist, and just as inaccurate, as the “barbarian-savage” portrayal you got from early white sources in the Americas. The American Indian belief systems varied widely from tribe to tribe, and also the way the Indians interacted with nature was just as varied across the Americas. The notion that they were like Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden before the white man’s arrival is patently ridiculous. And, now enter one of TNG’s strangest characters, the Traveler, and his vague explanations for how he taps into the raw energy of the universe to do what he does, all of which is apparently on par with what the Indians believe, and all as part of some journey of self-discovery for Wesley? Where is the usual TNG in all of this?
  
  Well, it’s there, actually. It’s just interwoven with all this PC stuff. It could be a really good episode that tackles a meaningful, real-world problem: whether it’s right for a government to force people from their homes for the “greater good” of a peace settlement. But that takes a backseat to the Wesley plot. I thought "The Ensigns of Command" did a much better job with this problem.
  
  I can appreciate what the episode was trying to do. It’s the Seventh Season, and TNG needs to tie up all the loose ends. Last we saw of Wesley, he had gotten in trouble at Starfleet Academy for participating an illegal dare-devil stunt, and was subsequently held back a year. Not exactly a good finale for a character who played a major role in several seasons of the show. And, I do like how Wesley has a bit of a chip on his shoulder here, not bouncing back all fresh and perky after a miserable year at the Academy being shunned by his classmates. I even like the idea of him becoming disillusioned with Starfleet and wanting something different. It just didn’t seem this was a good sendoff for the character.
  
  Maybe what bothers me the most is that Wesley will actually be exploring the Galaxy in a far more significant way than Picard and crew, which takes something away from their mission and storyline. Their ship, with all its technology and its highly trained crew, won’t get nearly as far as this boy wonder hopping around higher existence with the Traveler and possibly some Indians. It’s ultimately unsettling because at the end of “All Good Things” we’re told that amazing new discoveries are what await Picard; seems Wesley’s the one actually having all the fun. I never liked the Traveler to begin with. As superior life forms go, the Q Continuum was TNG’s stroke of genius. This Traveler just gets in the way of the whole plot and adds a “feel-good” element that TNG would be better off leaving alone. Science fiction is not science, but one of the things I’ve always appreciated about TNG is that at least they have plausible explanations for some of what goes on.
• From Trekstar on 2011-01-31 at 5:31am:
  This episode makes me cringe. I never actually hated Wesley Crusher, but every so often he would say or do something so lame and so cheesy. I think the character wasn't fully developed because the writers didn't know what the hell they wanted from him. Not only do they give him the dumbest lines in this ep., but they give everyone else dumb lines when they are around him. Like the eye rolling crap that Data says when he sees Wesley for the first time. I personally wish they would have made Wes angrier and angrier in each ep he did, then have him(with the help of his time traveler friend) become a Darth Vader type bad guy. Sweet lil Anakin becomes Darth Vader; sweet nerdy Wesley Crusher becomes...something! Oh well, they instead wrote this masterpiece. One last thing, the traveler really bugs me. I guess they are going for a mystical feel to this guy, but to me he seems too creepy, like a pedophile who's been lurking in the shadows, watching Wesley grow into a man so they can skip off into other realities together. The point: I hate this episode, and I hate the way they said good bye to Wesley Crusher!!!
• From John on 2011-02-06 at 11:30pm:
  I have to agree with others that this episode definitely exploits a stereotype to tell its story. One thing I hate about this episode (and this extends to Voyager episodes about Chakotay) is the cheesy flute music. Why has this one musical form been used as a meme for all Native Americans? Are we supposed to believe that all the people who first populated the Americas listened to one style of crappy music? It's utter nonsense, and basely false.
  
  Another thing for which the writers ought to be ashamed is referring to the settlers as "Indians". This happens repeatedly, and each time it makes me cringe. This is the 24th century -- by all other indications, humanity has moved beyond these dated and racist terms. Why not just call them "settlers"? That is, after all, what they are.
  
  I really don't like this episode. The only thing that redeems it at all for me is that Wesley finally goes away.
• From Dorvan on 2013-08-12 at 12:59am:
  This episode was written as my 13th birthday present by Ron Moore. Most of it was based on a conversation my mother had with him about Star Trek failure to include Native American characters. For the most part I liked it and it was a good send-off for Wesley...However I did have a huge problem with the cliche Native American stereotype. Picking on Picard because of something his ancestor did. I am sure that with any good research you can link anyone to a bloodthirsty ancestor. Dumb. That flute is annoying…vision quest is the answer to everything…we speak to the bear...all they need was a catch phrase like Hackuchimoya…
  
  This episode would have been better off with some actual research into Native culture.
• From Keefaz on 2017-02-21 at 10:15am:
  A pretty feeble episode. Amazingly ham-fisted treatment of Native American culture. I thought we'd agreed not to refer to them as 'Indians' decades ago, so how this slipped into the script is beyond me. And the episode works on two different levels of bullsht in that the quasi-Native American rubbish about spirit animals (incidentally, how could a Klingon or Vulcan be a spirit animal, no different to a parrot, as claimed here?) turns out to be a fabrication by The Traveller.
  
  Best scene: a fight breaks out which could, potentially, reignite a Federation-Cardassia war and Wes and The Traveller just stroll off, beatifically, into the sunset.
• From Mike on 2017-07-29 at 11:08pm:
  After Nechayev's first meeting with Picard, she walks out of the observation lounge, stops, and thanks Picard for making her feel welcome. I was kind of hoping she'd slink back to the table, grab some Valarian canopies, say, "just going to take a few of these for the road" and then leave. I mean she didn't eat a single one after Picard went to all that trouble!
  
  Wesley's douchebaggery is a little hard to stomach in this episode because at times it felt very overdone. But, it's fitting for his character after we last saw him get reprimanded for a daredevil stunt at the Academy. The scenes with him and the Traveler were also a little tough to get through, and the one where they casually stroll away from the battle in the village was just awkward. As mentioned above, it feels like the Enterprise's experiences will pale in comparison to Wesley and the Traveler.
  
  That aside, the rest of this episode was well done and explored a relevant issue. In the 1990's, with the production of "Dances With Wolves", mainstream U.S. society was starting to take a look at the country's history of dealings with American Indians. The historical undertones of this episode reflect that effort and give us yet another example of Star Trek's forward thinking on these issues.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From JRPoole on 2008-12-26 at 6:05pm:
  This two-parter is perhaps the best DS9 offering to this point. Good stuff.
• From JJ on 2010-08-03 at 6:20pm:
  There is a problem here: the Zeppelite ship canrun at warp 9,8.
• From John on 2011-01-08 at 6:54am:
  I love Sisko's speech: "The Problem is Earth..." I love what he says, and I love the way he makes Kira shut up. Kira needs to shut up more often in my opinion.
  
  Here we see the emergence of Sisko as a total badass -- fantastic.
• From Bernard on 2011-04-05 at 2:58pm:
  Solid episode that finishes off the set up from the first part nicely. Unfortunately it doesn't do much more than that.
  
  I too enjoy Sisko's 'the problem with Earth' speech, I also enjoy Dukat who has been a joy throughout both parts.
  
  "What's that phrase? 'Shoot to kill'?"
  
  The Maquis, are an excellent addition to the Star Trek universe and stories will make very good use of them over the next few seasons.
• From Hugo on 2011-11-12 at 10:35pm:
  Not too fond of Avery Brooks' acting in this two-parter, and he is totally outplayed by Dukat. Sisko just comes out as a whiny, grumpy tight-ass.
• From Hugo on 2011-11-12 at 11:10pm:
  I also like that Dukat comes out as not only a villain, and it nuances the image of the Cardassians. On the space battle - it was ok, but felt a bit like a computer game at times...
• From Matt on 2012-06-10 at 8:00am:
  Did anyone catch Hudson's Shatner-esque delivery of the heading towards the end of the episode?
• From Bronn on 2013-07-05 at 6:01pm:
  This was an excellent two part episode and represents the very best of DS9-there's a very complicated issue here and you can sympathize with all sides, even with what Dukat is trying to accomplish. But the Maquis storyline always bugged me because if you're setting up something complicated, it deserves a good resolution.
  
  Obviously you can't resolve the Maquis storyline here because it's still setting up Voyager. But it fails to reach a real resolution at any point. After taking direct action here to stop the Maquis, blowing up some of their ships, Sisko and the DS9 crew are largely going to ignore the Maquis for the next few years, save for a couple of episodes per season. They're more concerned with the Dominion. In the end the Maquis is going to be gobsmacked completely off screen by the Dominion. It's this loose thread that's dangling for a long time that never was completely pulled into place, so it got lopped off when they ran out of stories to do with it.
  
  I feel that Federation leadership takes a bit of unjust blame here. There's degrees to which I can understand them being out of touch, but they're dealt a rough hand. First they finally managed to sign the peace treaty with the Cardassians and setting up a DMZ. This was apparently a fair enough deal with both sides having to concede colonies. They tried to relocate their citizens, but those people refused to move and said they're rather live under Cardassian rule than give up their land. So they leave them...and then they blame the Federation when the Cardassians treat them like crap in attempt to make them give up their lands. Then the Federation is stuck in a position where they either have to go to war, or attempt to police their citizens who start their own shooting war. The Federation breaking a peace treaty with the Cardassians would open a whole new can of worms for them because of their treaties with the Romulans and whatever tenuous agreements they had with the Tholians.
  
  What I wanted to come out of this, at some point, was Starfleet policy to retain some clarity. Either they would go to war to protect their citizens, or they would disavow responsibility for them completely and tell the Cardassians to use their own discretion in dealing with the Maquis. We never got a real resolution to the Maquis situation on Voyager either, since the fact that there were Maquis crew members there mattered for maybe 4 episodes.
• From bodner on 2014-02-14 at 5:59pm:
  @John
  I thought Kira's speech to Sisko was way more brave, to school her superior officer about Cardassians like that.
  Siskos speech to her was most cowardly, he should have said that to the admiral not someone who agrees anyway.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Orion Pimpdaddy on 2006-10-21 at 3:00am:
  I gave it a 4. There is just not much here. Garak is a fascinating character, but most of the airtime here is spent on scenes with him physically suffering and acting out of character. There are better "Garak's past" episodes than this.
• From Mr. Lincoln on 2007-11-29 at 7:45am:
  This is a very enjoyable episode, and a good introduction to Garak's past (although what we actually learn is up for questions at this point).
  
  For the record, the Morn appearance is immediately after the scene with Bashir and Jadzia when they are discussing her plant. Immediately before the scene where Quark meets with Garak. I enjoy how Morn is looking sad after he realizes Quark's is closed.
• From djb on 2009-04-06 at 5:36am:
  I liked this episode a lot. I'm coming to really like Garak's character.
  
  I think the episode title may be a reference to Larry Niven's "Ringworld" series, wherein the main character, Louis Wu, is an ex-"wirehead," i.e. he used to have some kind of "wire" implanted in his brain that directly stimulated his endorphin receptors. Just a thought.
• From Bernard on 2011-05-06 at 8:40pm:
  This is a very difficult one to judge. I think Robinsons performance is fairly good but not all that others have made of it. The performance however does not necessarily make the episode and in this case it does not quite do it.
  
  There just isn't any payoff here. It just sets up Garak for more stories... and that's great! It just makes this episode fall into the 'above average' bracket.
  
  I'd give it a 6 or 7 but at least it's good enough to keep up this late-season surge of good episodes.

No fan commentary yet.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From endlessmug on 2006-10-07 at 5:25am:
  The first episode of Voyager was better than I thought it would be. After hearing so many people talk about how horrible the show was, it actually had a pretty good start.
  
  (And on your note about Locarno/Paris: I also hate when they don't reuse a character when it's played by the same actor and basically acts the same. Would it really hurt to put in some continuity into the show?)
  
• From Avril on 2006-11-22 at 3:11pm:
  In regaurds to Nicholas Locarno, they originally wanted to use the charactor but they would've had to pay royalties to the writer of the original episode everytime Paris was on screen. So instead they used the same idea but a different name to avoid this.
• From Jeff Browning on 2011-10-22 at 11:06am:
  Dear Kethinov:
  
  Concerning DS9: Emissary, you state:
  
  "Probably the most remarkable first episode for a Star Trek series ever."
  
  Concerning this episode you state:
  
  "This is probably the best of all the pilot episodes."
  
  OK, you're up. Which is it? Which series has the better pilot: Voyager or DS9? I would readily admit that either is superior to the pilot for either TNG or TOS. TNG's pilot, TNG: Adventure at Farpoint was OK, but not great in my view. TOS's pilot (which I suppose would be "TOS: The Cage) was bad.
• From Kethinov on 2011-10-22 at 5:04pm:
  Voyager's. But DS9's was my favorite until Voyager's aired.
• From wes on 2012-01-13 at 5:36pm:
  It seems a problem of continuity that Tuvok is called "Lieutenant" and not "Commander," while his rank is Lt. Commander. This is a bit annoying to me for two reasons.
  
  1) Lieutenant seems to be the most overused rank on Voyager, especially among senior officers.
  
  2) Every other officer of any Star Trek season with the rank of Lt. Commander has been addressed as "Commander" and not "Lieutenant."
  
  This seems to demean Tuvok's rank more than anything. It's unfortunate.
• From Brian on 2013-09-11 at 12:15am:
  Actually, the reason they didn't use Nicholas Locarno as a name was to avoid paying royalties to the guy that came up with the character.
• From Edwin on 2014-08-07 at 11:06pm:
  To correct one of your factoids, Quark is actually the second character to appear in all three 24th Century Trek series, the first is the Cardassian Gul Evek who is briefly seen in the pre-credits sequence of Caretaker. He had previously appeared in several episodes of TNG Season 7 and DS9 Season 2.
• From Axel on 2015-06-07 at 3:59am:
  Say what you want about Voyager, but I think they are the only Star Trek series to have a pretty solid first season. It took TOS and TNG quite a while to get it right. DS9 and ENT started out decently but really didn't get good until late first season. Voyager did a great job and I think this is without question the best pilot in Star Trek. Fantastic premise, fantastic two-parter and very well executed. I like Janeway's speech about the two crews working together and continuing the mission while also searching for a quicker way home. Sets up the series nicely.
  
  On a side note: Gul Evek has also appeared in all three Star Trek series during this time. He was in this, he was in DS9: The Maquis and Tribunal, and he was in both TNG: Preemptive Strike and TNG: Journey's End.
• From Nightangel on 2017-02-14 at 8:47am:
  Just to let you know, the reason why they didn't use Nicholas Locarno is because then they would have to pay royalties to the writers of the episode of TNG that he was featured in. So... they created Tom Paris as a replacement... giving him the exact same backstory as Locarno, and even hiring the same actor.
• From Ensign Obummer on 2022-02-02 at 8:43pm:
  So about the royalties thing, while it is true that writers back then got these royalties...from the various interviews and statements from the actor about his role Tom Paris it seems they wanted to make a similar character and only later decided to use the same actor.
  It is a fun rumor to say they changed the name to save what... 10 grand ? per season, but I think it is not true.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Jim on 2008-09-19 at 2:49pm:
  Stranding a few hundred people to save an entire species? I think this is a no-brainer, and it boggles my mind that people question it. 'oh, let's kill off an entire species so we don't have to make a long voyage' Amazing.
• From JRPoole on 2009-01-07 at 10:38pm:
  I've decided to make my slow progress through Voyager as it originally aired in tandem with DS9. Though I'm familiar with the concept and the characters, I haven't seen very much of Voyager, so this is a little bit of a blind run.
  
  The pilot is much better than I thought it would be based on my perceptions of the series. Like DS9, this is a new, grittier Trek. While I still think DS9 has the best set of characters in all of Trek, the crew of the Voyager is interesting and, for the most part, well-done in this first episode. I think this may be the best premise for a series in the franchise as well: a crew thrown together 75 years from home in the most truly alien part of the galaxy we've seen yet.
  
  While I still give the nod to the inaugural episode of DS9 as the best pilot in the franchise, this is a close second, and I'm looking forward to the series much more than I expected.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From wartorn on 2011-08-18 at 2:40am:
  I want to explore a few interesting things mentioned in the review. To start with, were the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki "much less destructive and much more appropriate than the Metreon Cascade?" Were the two wars "quite a bit different?" Well, there really isn't enough information in this episode about the Talaxian conflict to determine for sure, but there may be more similarities than differences.
  
  There are a few things to consider here, the first being the raw numbers. Neelix mentions that more than 300,000 were killed by the Cascade. The combined total from both Hiroshima and Nagasaki were roughly 250,000. So, going by the numbers alone, the Cascade did more damage, but the atomic bombings were in the same order of magnitude. It's not like comparing apples to oranges... maybe like comparing oranges and tangerines.
  
  Of course one has to take into account the environmental damage. The Cascade completely changed the atmosphere and climate of the colonized moon, leaving a poisonous cloud that lingered for at least 15 years. The atomic bombings affected the quality of the air, impaired agriculture, and created a long-term drinking water problem in the area. Significant, but not quite the same as a full-out nuclear winter.
  
  So here is another interesting question: were the U.S. atomic bombings of Japanese cities "more appropriate" than the deployment of the Cascade? It is really quite impossible to determine, but perhaps not... Although Jetrel's side was described as the "invaders," we don't know what circumstances precipitated the occupation. Indeed, Neelix explains that he thought his side's reasons for going to war in the first place were unjust, "not worth dying for," which makes one wonder about the supposed "invasion" they suffered as a consequence. We learn also that the "invasion" was actually an unconditional surrender, precipitated by the deployment of the Metreonic Cascade.
  
  There is also the matter of Jetrel's explanation for targeting civilian populations as opposed to military or deserted targets - "the full force of the weapon had to be demonstrated." We're not told explicitly why, but presumably to cause surrender and immediately end hostilities.
  
  All of this is pretty much a point by point description of the circumstances around the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It's quite possible that the Talaxian side was an aggressor, as Japan was, (hence Neelix' noble/cowardly draft dodging), and it's quite possible that the subsequent "invasion" by Jetrel's people was more like the U.S. occupation of Japan.
  
  All of this makes the episode even more poignant and fascinating. It's my personal opinion that America has long since thoroughly wiped the entire unpleasant episode from its collective memory. There is really very little remorse felt about it. It was necessary, it happened, it stopped the war, it helped stop Hitler, end of story. Of course, Japan never forgot it, and there remain deep sensitivities about what happened. Perhaps the difference in perspective is best demonstrated by Japan's censoring of the American action rpg game Fallout 3. Their objections were about a side-quest in which you explode a nuclear bomb in the middle of a city, and also about one of the regular weapons available to the player: a tactical nuclear weapon called "Fat Boy" - the same name given to the plutonium bomb dropped on Nagasaki on August 9, 1945.
  
  Perhaps we've put it all behind us a bit prematurely? This Voyager episode recalls our attention to those tragic events.
  
  - - -
  
  Most of the focus of the episode is actually on the question of the role of science, with Jetrel portraying a classic Ellulian technocratic scientist. At one point he presents an argument that usually goes unstated, but is very present in the modern world: "If it can be done, it must be done. Science is bigger than man, technological development is intricately tied with the search for truth and knowledge, and thus any scientific pursuit has a kind of intrinsic value. It is wrong, and in any case impossible, to try and control it."
  
  The way Jetrel states it, and the way Neelix responds to it, one is a bit torn and sees both sides of the picture. Good work on the part of the show's producers. The fact is, this is not a nutty, fringe mad scientist idea, and not something that is obviously true, but something humanity has been battling with for at least several hundred years. We've been wrestling with this question of science, technology, and its role and purpose internally, as individuals, in academia and in philosophic texts, and in various political arenas.
  
  Regrettably, I think Jetrel (and the Ellulian point of view he represents) is right about one thing: no matter what we think of it, no matter the moral arguments we bring to the table, no matter how guilty or righteous people feel about what they're doing, technological development is not really something we *do* - it's more like something that happens to us, more like an evolutionary process that we have little real direction over. "One discovery leads inevitably to the next." It's difficult to really argue with this reasoning, when you consider the history and sociology of science/technology.
  
  When scientific discoveries are made and technological innovations are born, no one can possibly foresee where they will lead eventually. It's really a much more complicated problem than the obvious questions of something like the Manhattan Project or human cloning. These things *seep* into society one tiny step at a time (linked with undeniable conveniences and amenities, outright improvements even, lifesaving advances in medicine, etc...) - by the time some kind of danger or threat or controversy is recognized, it is already here, it's already on the way down.
  
  There is some room for human agency, of course, but it has its limits. These things engender their own societal responses - for instance, 1) there are test ban treaties, 2) ozone depleting compounds are made illegal, and phased out, and so on. But we must admit to ourselves that our ability to truly understand and respond to what we ourselves create... is limited.
  
  To quote Jetrel, science is indeed much bigger than man, but this is something that should give us pause rather than glee. It would seem as if something has gone wrong, has gone quite thoroughly backwards. What started as a human project, something we do, engage in, for the sake of both our innate curiosity and our desire to improve our lives, has turned into something we really can't not do, something we serve, and worship, unknowingly, to ends and consequences we cannot possibly foresee.
  
• From Jeff Browning on 2011-10-22 at 4:22pm:
  I enjoyed the comment bt wartorn on this episode, and I agree with much of it. I believe however that there is clear and convincing evidence that the attack on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was not justified, and was actually an atrocity and a war crime.
  
  I say this despite the fact that my father served in WWII, much to my pride. I admired my father's service and I do not say this to denigrate the honorable service our soldiers gave in WWII.
  
  However, on the subject of the attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, history ie very clear. The Japanese emporer Hiro Hito had already transmitted his intention to unconditionally surrender to Allied forces prior to the American decision to bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki, much to our shame.
  
  Unfortunately, he issued his decision through the Soviet ambassador. The Soviets intentionally failed to transmit the message on to the Americans because they wanted the nuclear bomb to be deployed in combat as a live test to the weapon. The Soviets had spies at Alamagordo and were watching the Americans with great interest. They certainly did not want the Japanese offer of surrender to succeed.
  
  Nonetheless, we had many advisors to Pres. Truman, including Oppemheimer himself, who urged the President to not drop the bomb on the Japanese people. We had all of the intelligence we needed to know that dropping the bomb on Japan would accomplish nothing militarily.
  
  In this respect the events of Americans dropping the nuclear bomb is hauntingly similar to the Metroen Cascade described in this episode.
• From Rick on 2012-12-26 at 11:13pm:
  I urge people reading the above post not to take it as the factual information that it purports to be. The majority view is that there was no surrender. People like the above poster are certainly free to argue to the contrary but to present that argument as the clear truth is reckless at best and disingenuous at worst.
  
  Aside from that, do you really think that if Japan was close to surrendering before the first bomb, they would wait for a second?
• From Mike on 2017-07-26 at 1:32am:
  Ethan Phillips said that he watched the first season of Voyager as it was airing and then didn't really watch it after that. He didn't say why (that I know of) but one wonders if he figured this was a good way to remember his character on screen. It's certainly one of the better, if not the best, Neelix episode in the series.
  
  James Sloyan, who plays Jetrel, is one of the better recurring guest stars in all of Star Trek. He plays Admiral Jarok in TNG: The Defector as well as future Alexander Rozhenko in TNG: Firstborn. He was also the Bajoran scientist Dr. Mora, who "discovered" and experimented with Odo, in a couple DS9 episodes.
  
  I agree the parallels with the atomic bomb dropping are a bit heavy handed. But, it raises that question people have discussed since the atomic bomb's invention, and even before with the invention of poison gas used in WW1: is it desirable, or even possible, to "cordon off" a branch of scientific knowledge because you're afraid of where it might lead? The implication that someone else would have invented the weapon eventually, and the reasoning that you do the research regardless of how some wish to apply it, were notions that added some depth to the issue.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From djb on 2009-11-15 at 8:39am:
  A DS9 version of TNG: Disaster! Awesome. It was a little disappointing to see the Defiant practically incapacitated so easily, but they made up for it. Always nice to see Jem'Hadar ships destroyed too.
• From Krs321 on 2011-03-28 at 12:26pm:
  I was really hoping for a sonar ping sound while running the 'active scan'.
• From Jeff Browning on 2011-11-02 at 2:07am:
  Although it was difficult to tell with all that makeup, the Karemma representative, Hanok, was played by James Cromwell, a very well known star from many films and TV shows. It would be hard to identify a single work that Cromwell is most known for, he has been in so many. He plays the farmer in the movies "Babe" and "Babe in the City". He is a major character in the movie The Green Mile. Also a major character in the movie Star Trek: First Contact (where he plays Zefram Cochrane). Also a major character in the Movie I Robot. He also appears in TNG: The Birthright Parts 1 and 2 as Jaglom Shrek and TNG: The Hunted as Prime Minister Nayrok. A very, very well known actor in other words. Here, it is pretty hard to recognize him, but his voice is quite unmistakable.
• From Gul Ranek on 2012-12-28 at 8:30pm:
  As the review says, a Star Trek submarine episode. I also liked it a lot (season 4 so far has been more or less perfect as far as storytelling goes).
  
  The only thing that slightly annoyed me was when Bashir "absolutely had to" close the door on Deck 2 because it was so crucial for the ship, and ran out to get Dax, drag her into the turbolift, taking his time to shut the door, which took more than 30-40 seconds, while nothing of consequence happened to the ship. He could have easily grabbed her and dragged her back with everyone else, but the writers obviously needed to get him and Jadzia to be alone...

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From David in California on 2007-08-03 at 5:26pm:
  Just saw this episode for the first time last night and I liked it very much. I read in one of your BSG articles that you think Dr. Who is "silly". (I think it's enjoyable whimsical space fantasy--I don't like all my sci-fi to have the same tone. I still respect and enjoy your more "hard SF" reviews here, however. :) ) But I just want to note that it's so clear this episode was inspired by the widely noted "classic" 1976 episode "Robots of Death". The look, voice, and manner of the robots, the way they seem "innocent" and gradually are revealed to be homicidal, their relationship to their "builder", etc. are too similar to be coincidental, IMO. You mention similarity to the Cylons, but see this acclaimed Dr. Who episode and you'll quickly see what I mean.
  
• From plus on 2011-08-25 at 10:09pm:
  This was an absolutely charming episode. After the cool, slightly creepy teaser, the rest of the episode runs a little like a fairy tale or fable,
  but it works remarkably well. The robotic species here is almost like a placeholder, a symbol for artificial, sentient life more generally. This is
  evident even in their lack of definite features, and their generic "tin man" appearance.
  
  When I first saw/heard them, I braced myself for a painful, unbelievable episode, but my fears were quickly dissipated. It immediately became clear that this episode takes a different tone, a decidedly "non-hard-sci-fi" tone, in order to do something very important: to directly address the
  ethical issues around artificial life.
  
  I completely agree with the other commentator and with the show's producers - there's nothing wrong with that at all, especially if it's done as
  elegantly as in this episode.
  
  As the reviewer describes, the nature of the robots is revealed slowly, piecemeal, leading the viewer to develop a sympathetic understanding of
  their condition. This sympathy is then challenged with the revelation that they killed their creators, and are now engaged in endless conflict with each other.
  
  I would argue that this does not mean that they're "genocidal megalomaniacs." What it does mean, is that creating sentient artificial
  life is a deadly serious business, with huge ethical implications.
  
  Early in the episode Janeway asks Torres, "Who are we to swoop in, play god, and then continue on our way without the slightest consideration of
  the long term effects of our actions?" At the end of the episode we are led to pose the same question to the now deceased builders.
  
  Are the robots really to blame for what happened? They were created, programmed to fight and defend themselves, given sentience, and then once their purpose was up, threatened with decommission, extinction, death. Was it not sensible for the sentient "service units" to defend themselves?
  
  It would seem it was the builders who first "played God" without fully appreciating the consequences of their actions. Consequences which led to their own destruction, and decades later to a renewed ethical dilemma for Torres, and a serious threat for Voyager.
  
  A well conceived episode, and very well executed.
  
  Interesting tidbit: The robot asks Torres about artificial lifeforms on her society. Torres responds that "there is only one sentient artificial lifeform," referring to Data. Somehow the Doctor isn't considered in this category! Is that because he is finally being accepted as a full-fledged "honorary human" member of the crew? Or because his condition is as bad as ever, and he is simply not considered... at all? It's probably the former, or perhaps a total slip by the writers of this episode.
• From onlinebroker on 2012-03-12 at 7:13pm:
  I don't see how the prime directive applies here at all and found the discussion about it totally misplaced.
  This is a warp capable species making a request.The federation helps those all the time to get new members!
• From TheAnt on 2013-09-20 at 6:53pm:
  This if the (in)famous 'Pulp' episode of ST Voyager.
  
  It have all the pulp mag elements.
  Including the fact that the robot do look pretty much like any film about robot invasion or flying saucers of the 1950-1960 period.
  
  The stage for what is to come is found already in the teaser which is in black and white, with signal noise pretty much like an old TV set in the period.
  
  So what make this pulp?
  Robot who kidnap a female, and carry her in it's arms. Robots who have killed their creators.
  And in one of the final scenes. Torres exclaiming 'My god what have I done' in an oft repeated Frankensteinian manner and then she stabs the prototype to death.
  
  It is amusing as a concept, but it does not work entirely well IMO.
  
  

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Jason on 2009-10-24 at 7:23am:
  Great episode. "You're even more insidious than the Borg -- at least they tell you that they're going to assimilate you!". But it's too bad about Eddington; I liked him. At least his plot was well enough hatched that he got away safely to the Badlands.
• From MJ on 2011-01-14 at 8:08pm:
  Several episodes of TNG and DS9 have dealt with the Maquis now, and they’ve all been very, very good. It’s a dilemma that is relevant to the real world, in situations like the Middle East peace process. What’s great about these episodes is how powerful the Maquis point of view is always portrayed. These are not truly terrorists, they are ordinary men and women who are convinced tey are doing the right thing for their well being. But you can also understand the Federation’s point of view.
  
  This might be one of the best Maquis episodes yet, if for no other reason than Eddington’s very well written speech to Sisko. Hell, he almost had me ready to join the Maquis, even knowing they don’t really exist! But this episode hints at a greater theme, a disturbing one, at least for Star Trek fans. The Federation has always been the “good guys” in TOS and TNG. It’s a group of aligned planets whose goal is to explore the galaxy and make peaceful contact with new worlds, and to protect the fundamental rights of its members. DS9, for all its other faults, is really the first series to explore the darker side of the Federation, and it’s a very compelling theme. For the first time, we see covert agencies, we see attempted military coups, we see naivety in government…and we see a distant bureaucracy unable to grasp the demands of its former colonists. The Federation that Gene Roddenberry conceived is shown in a very different light in DS9. I don’t know that Roddenberry would have approved, and I don’t know if I really do either. But whatever the case may be, it certainly is fascinating, and it strikes a powerful chord: after all, isn’t America supposed to be “paradise”? And don’t we have our darker side too? This is what separates DS9 from other Trek series, and in my opinion, what ultimately makes DS9 worth watching.
• From peterwolf on 2013-12-03 at 5:15am:
  Kiras interference with the Ziyal and Garak romance was absolutely unnecessary. Her charater shown as being a tough woman is overdone too often for too many times. Physically she does not fit into the role. It is total nonsense that she could fight Klingon or Jem Hadar warriorrs in hand-to-hand combat. Only Dax, who is much more athletic and trains constantly with Klingon combat prorgrams could stand a chance against such opponents.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Remco on 2009-02-12 at 2:54am:
  Damn, this is a scary thing for Star Trek to do. Janeway kills an innocent life form. I really like Tuvok and Neelix, but Janeway's act of involuntary euthanasia to improve the situation of two other people is just morally wrong. It brings to mind some Nazi imagery. They systematically killed elderly and handicapped. For the good of the country, they argued.
  
  I wouldn't be too disturbed about this if Star Trek wasn't always about an almost perfect world, certainly where Starfleet is involved. This final decision is something you'd expect to happen in Battlestar Galactica, not in the highly moral world of Star Trek.
  
  So, while this was an excellent episode emotionally, I have to question what the creators think of the moral issue. Do they think forced euthanasia is somehow justified in certain circumstances?
  
  Maybe it's more acceptable to people who support the death sentence, which I don't. But hey, we're all biased.
  
  Hard to rate, this one.
• From JRPoole on 2009-03-24 at 4:04am:
  Wow. If I'd known ahead of time that this episode was about a transporter accident fusing Neelix and Tuvok, I may have skipped it because it has all the makings of a really bad episode. As soon as Tuvix appeared on the platform, I was ready to give this one a zero.
  
  However, they pulled it off. I like this episode precisely because the ending is uncomfortable. There really isn't a right decision here, and Janeway, to her credit, made a very hard choice. It's all too often that Trek is too moral for its own good, and it's nice to see an episode that presents a moral decision as a real challenge, not something that seems obvious from the beginning.
  
  The only real quibble I have here is that there's no time to get Tuvok and Neelix's reactions to the incident. Nice work all around-especially by Kate Mulgrew, who acts this one perfectly--and definitely one of the best Voyager outings so far.
• From Mark McC on 2009-06-06 at 11:12pm:
  Having seen the synopsis before watching this episode, I was prepared for a lighthearted affair. Boy, was I wrong!
  
  I disagree on the portrayal of the Tuvix character. I was expecting him to be a conflicting mixture of the two personalities but the combination of Tuvok's cool logic and subtle humour and Neelix's over-the-top emotional outbursts and irrating cheerfulness seem to have cancelled each other out. Tuvix to me was a bland character with little personality and no appeal.
  
  I'm not sure what to think of Janeway's decision at the end. I may be wrong, but haven't we seen transporters being used to duplicate material before now (I'm thinking of duplicate Riker here) ?
  
  If so, surely they could have found a way to restore Neelix and Tuvok while keeping Tuvix. Tuvix certainly didn't contain every molecule of both Neelix and Tuvok's bodies (he was definitely shorter than Tuvok) so the transporter must have had to replicate their bodies using Tuvix's DNA as a starting point. Why would this need to be a destructive process at all?
• From siukong on 2010-08-09 at 7:38am:
  Most of the time in Star Trek I'm willing to suspend my disbelief when it comes to other species being virtually identical to humans. In this case I can't really let it slide though. I tell myself that if I'm accepting teleportation I should accept anything, but as someone with a biological background I just can't. Hybrids just don't work that way.
  
  The writers would have us believe that Vulcans and Talaxians - two species separated by thousands of light years - are so anatomically similar that something like this could happen with absolutely no complications. Which brings me to the second reason I dislike this episode: Janeway's final decision. If some sort of organ incompatibility was forcing her to bring back Tuvok and Neelix it would make sense, but as it stands I don't get it. It makes Janeway out to be very inconsistent. She apparently finds things like suicide and capital punishment to be abhorrent, but not this? This feels very out of place in context with the values espoused in the rest of Star Trek.
• From penguinphysics on 2010-11-07 at 5:51am:
  Just one question: How many lungs did Tuvix have and how many did Neelix have when they were separated?
• From Pete on 2012-01-31 at 11:18am:
  To siukong, did you ever see the ST: TNG episode "The Chase"? It basically makes it canon that all humanoid races in the galaxy are created from the same stuff and was populated by an "elder race." TOS' "Return to Tomorrow" also kinda hinted at this. On this basis, it's not that difficult to accept that such a merger as Tuvix could occur.
  
  I see your point, though.
• From peterwolf on 2015-06-26 at 3:04am:
  THe whole story is ambiguous and comes to an inevitable end, in which both Tuvok and Neelix have to be restored. Something is wrong 9n the storyline. It seems that both Neelix and Tuvok have become quite weak and even cowardish when to decide to split or not to split. Certainly, it was the wrong approach for the story that janeway akes the tough decisions. It would have been much better, if Tuvix had decide on its own to split in the two persons again. Thus, Janeway showed no strength but mercilessness, which leaves just bad feelings afzer the episode. Wasted opportunities.
• From Rick on 2017-04-28 at 12:34am:
  "In this episode, Janeway blatantly breaks the Prime Directive when she murders Tuvix."
  
  What? What does this action have to do with the Prime Directive? And please dont try to say that Tuvix is a new species and blah blah blah. This isnt related to the Prime Directive.
• From Mike on 2017-07-04 at 1:42am:
  This episode has an interesting parallel with DS9: Facets, when Odo and Curzon Dax decide they prefer to remain a single being. OF course, the main difference is that they are ultimately convinced to separate again, whereas "Tuvix" is separated involuntarily. But the fundamental problem remains: whose decision is it, really? Does the hybrid being have the right to continue to exist when the two beings that are part of the hybrid never had the intention of making the union permanent?
  
  All the talk about murder and the ridiculous Nazi comparisons made above are pretty much out of line to me. Janeway was making a very tough call, and I love how the episode leaves you conflicted and not at all morally satisfied at the end. Judge all you want, but it was a difficult decision. Had Janeway agreed to allow Tuvix to remain, she'd have been overriding the desires of two people, neither of whom entered this arrangement voluntarily and certainly would have preferred to continue living their own lives.
• From Martin on 2020-01-22 at 2:55am:
  Loved the episode
  Just one ditail: transporters can copy a patter and replicate it. We've seen that sort of thing in TNG episode where Ricker is splitted in to two identical people
  what about copying Tuvix's pattern, separate it and bringing both tuvok and neelix, but also keeping tuvix life? 3 people could've been saved, not only one or two, exclusively
  i'm i wrong here ?

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From captsulu on 2011-09-07 at 6:24am:
  "The virus plot may have been something of a cheap excuse, or a lame plot device..."
  
  You hit the nail on the head.
  
  This episode lost points as far as I'm concerned the moment the Doctor mentioned the word "virus." Why was it even necessary, plotwise? It wasn't explained very well at all. How is it actually transmitted? How does it "disguise itself as a memory engram?" All of this virus business is just hurried and rushed and crammed into the final few minutes of the episode.
  
  Quite unnecessarily so. They could've just let it go with the initial premise, let it be a genuine repressed memory that has resurfaced because of present associations (the nebula back to Excelsior, when Tuvok failed to save Dmitiri, back to childhood, when he failed to save mysterious human girl).
  
  That would've been quite adequate, no hurried bizarro virus plot twist required.
  
  Seeing Sulu in command and the old style uniforms and stuff was cool... but not cool enough to let this lame virus thing slide.
• From packman_jon on 2012-06-16 at 4:20am:
  "Trials and Tribble-lations" for Voyager - in my mind. Well, at least in the terms of people in the TNG-era talking about the TOS era. Some fun moments, but not as strong as that famous DS9 episode.
  
  I really wish I had a count on how many times Star Trek 6 is referenced directly or indirectly in the TNG era since that move came out!
• From McCoy on 2017-08-06 at 6:38pm:
  Remarkable scenes: JANICE RAND!!! How could you not mention her?

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From onlinebroker on 2009-11-10 at 4:55am:
  cool episode to watch, but what about the final revelation, a shapeshifter, just sitting there waiting to die? No attempt to shapeshift his way outta there, as an insect, or an impersonation? or at least fight?
• From rpeh on 2010-07-31 at 11:17pm:
  On a first watching, this episode is brilliant. The trouble comes when you watch it again.
  
  Why did the Jem'Hadar not beam around as they have done in previous episodes? Why did the Founder not attack from within?
  
  The ending is very good, and managed to offset Worf being a bit of an insensitive idiot during the main plot - he MUST have been more sensitive towards humans after his spell on the Enterprise, surely?
  
  All in all I give it an 8.
• From MJ on 2011-01-21 at 7:53pm:
  In my opinion, this is one of the better DS9 episodes. First, it has a twist that is hard to spot. Everything leads you to believe the Dominion wants this ship back because of something about the ship itself: some new piece of equipment, or perhaps some kind of special cargo. The female Vorta gives no real clues about why they want the ship back, and you can only sense the frustration of the DS9 crew trying to find the "item" having absolutely no clue what to look for.
  
  The character interactions are well written and well acted. O'Brien and Muniz, of course...the good-natured ribbing, the camaraderie, all of it is very pleasant to watch. For having never seen Muniz before, I was very convinced that he and O'Brien were good friends with great respect for each other. The interactions between Sisko and the female Vorta...they show the essence of diplomacy: trying to get something you want without giving up too much or revealing too much to the other side. And I loved the moment when Sisko lays it down to his crew, telling O'Brien and Worf to quit their fighting and putting a lid on Dax's unhelpful wisecracks. That was a great moment because it was one of the few times when it seemed Dax's "special friendship" with Sisko did not make him/her exempt from the chain of command or Starfleet duty. The interaction between O'Brien and Worf: true, Worf's insensitivity was a little hard to swallow, but I wasn't too bothered by it since it was believable. But their conflicting views on Muniz, and especially their bonding at the end as they "guard" his body, were a nice dimension.
  
  Initially, I was a bit perplexed about the crew's ability to get past the death of the runabout crew and the science officer who beamed down with them, but all of this is resolved at the end when Sisko is clearly shaken to the core by all the deaths on this mission. Avery Brooks did awesome here; the emotion in his voice was very convincing.
  
  The "bombardment" of the surface by the Jem'Hadar, and its shaking up of the crew, was interesting. Shell shock is very real, and the fraying of nerves that accompanies random, continuous, and extremely loud and shaky bombing was a nice battle fatigue element that is typically missing from Star Trek fight scenes.
  
  Overall, a favorite of mine.
• From ChristopherA on 2020-11-24 at 5:54am:
  I found that this episode really strained my suspension of disbelief, trying to make myself believe that the Jem’Hadar, with all their warrior training and superior technology, were unable to come up with any effective attack plan at all to handle the tiny handful of humans and just chose to let the changeling die. If I get past this, though, I thought it was a decent episode, with a good sense of being under siege, and a good twist ending to the mystery.

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• From siukong on 2010-08-31 at 5:31am:
  I don't necessarily see your beef with this episode as that big of a problem. In espionage, sleeper agents often have to ignore smaller opportunities that arise in order to achieve success with their long-term objective. Changeling-Bashir probably didn't want to blow his cover and risk losing the chance to cripple the Federation, Klingons and Romulans all in one fell swoop. That act would achieve a lot more than just killing a single Starfleet Captain and/or Bajoran major.
• From Christopher Wright on 2011-12-13 at 3:50am:
  I actually didn't notice that the real Bashir was wearing a different style uniform (but I am no Sherlock.) I know from reading the other reviews that uniforms are HUGE to the owner of this site. Speaking of uniforms, why is it that in the Star Trek universe, no one is EVER removed of his/her uniform when taken captive? Does that even make sense? I mean, it would have prevent Kirk's escape from the Klingon jail world (moon?) in ST VI. I guess that such questions shouldn't be asked - like when Ben Affleck asked Michael Bay on the set of ARMAGEDDON: "Why is it easier to train oil riggers to be astronauts than to train astronauts to be oil riggers?"
• From Wes on 2012-04-10 at 1:19pm:
  The staging when Sisko calls for battle stations makes me laugh. And it's not just in this episode. But when he does, Bashir moves forward, out of the picture and Kira moves from one side of the central console to the other. Would there really be that big of a difference in the controls from one side of the central command console to the other?
  
  I mean, I totally see why they do it. It has nothing to do with the function of the consoles. It adds a dramatic, moving element to the shot in what would otherwise be a very boring shot following a command for battle stations (like on the other star ships we're familiar with).
• From Lee on 2012-04-10 at 1:31pm:
  I actually like the fact that they use different uniforms for the different Bashirs, and that's not because I am too stupid to realize the difference between them :p
  
  I think it adds to the shocking moment of realizing that one of our main characters has been replaced for such a long time (the uniforms have been changed for quite a while). For that reason I also like that the real Bashir isn't shaved :p
  
  But I think the changelings behaviour seems a bit too suspicious, I mean, he didn't act like that in the episodes before, but here he acts too "evil", almost like in a cartoon for children. I think it would've been much more convincing, if the fake Bashir would've acted just like the normal one, not with the dramatic music and looking around like a suspicious bandit.
  
  But all in all, it's a great two-parter and it's on my list of favourite episodes!
• From dronkit on 2014-04-21 at 2:23am:
  An almost suicide "reconaissance" mission to find prisoners in the heart of the dominion and they send a petty runabout insted of the Defiant?

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From formborg on 2011-09-18 at 10:06pm:
  This was a great little episode with a number of highlites and redeeming features.
  
  It explores the nature of the Borg and raises some interesting propositions: is a benevolent Borg collective possible? And is imposing such a collective on others - in the name of planetary peace and/or one faction's survival - morally justified?
  
  I liked also how Chakotay's skepticism and then surprisingly positive experience of being linked was portrayed.
  
  Another small thing was the good use Chakotay and (forget her name) make of the "after-effect" - the linked love scene. One can only imagine what it would be like to touch someone and simultaneously feel both sides of the experience, literally. They probably had the best sex in the galaxy, perhaps the universe.
  
  A small question mark I have about this episode is Janeway's readiness to "upgrade their security systems." Isn't that just a euphemism for arming one faction among many? Without even much deliberation or contact with the other groups in the conflict? Perhaps it doesn't fall within the prime directive because many of the "new collective" group were former Federation citizens. On the other hand... it still seems applicable. In either case, Janeway seems a little all too willing to share technology and weapons. I suppose it shows Chakotay's influence. Janeway's famous for her principles, but sleeping with her first officer can get you exclusive access, and do wonders for your cause, it would seem. (To be fair, perhaps the critical factor is *linking* with her first officer. Janeway explicitly asked if Chakotay detected any malice or ulterior motives, and he said he did not. Still iffy though.)
• From Lee on 2012-04-08 at 5:23pm:
  If some of the Borg were assimilated at Wolf 359, then how did they get back to the Delta quadrant? The Borg cube was destroyed! Maybe a sphere travelled back...
  
  But other than that I like this episode. It doesn't make the Borg look less awesome than in TNG, which happens in later Voyager episodes. The idea of a disconnencted collective is cool!
  
• From peterwolf on 2015-07-07 at 10:25pm:
  The idea of the powerful Borg collective is the deepest fear of America: Communism. However, in this episode a different type of collective is presented. Indiviuals may join sometimes for the good of the community, e.g. when it is threatened, and it seems that the link is not permanent. Overall, this approach appears to be more acceptable than the true Borg collective. The exBorg unity looks a bit like the kibbutz communities. The episode itself is very well done with many important and serious issues. High above the Voyager average until now (I know that some very good episode will follow).

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From JR on 2012-06-12 at 6:25am:
  I've never considered myself a trekkie by any means, but I always liked TNG re-runs and the movies, and watched Enterprise when it aired. With netflix carrying all the shows, I have really caught up and just have the rest of DS9 and Voyager to finish.
  
  So, even though I never really thought of myself as a trekkie, I've seen a lot of it and the Eugenics war timeline given in this episode seems really screwy compared to the rest of Trek.
  "The admiral: "200 years ago we tried to improve the species through DNA resequencing. And what did we get for our troubles? The Eugenics wars. For every Julian Bashir that can be created there's a Khan Singh waiting in the wings."
  
  As soon as I heard that line my mind started crunching numbers. The admiral is saying that the Eugenics Wars happened in the mid 22nd century. However, I thought the Eugenics wars were time stamped by TOS to be in the near future of the 1960's, meaning around the 1990's. I took it to mean that genetic experiments during the then present day 1960's would lead to 20-30 year old superhumans that took over the world in the 90's before being deposed. That was before WWIII of the mid 21st century.
  
  Any ideas on this? Just an error and the admiral should have said 400 years? I figure the writers did not want to confuse the non-trekkie audience by keeping the Eugenics wars in the 1990's since that would have put it in the "present/past" when this was made in 1997.
• From Hugo on 2012-09-08 at 9:35pm:
  JR - this was was a screw-up by the writers - there is a comment by Ron Moore quoted on Memory Alpha.
• From Selador on 2013-06-11 at 11:01pm:
  I have a feeling a certain someone has a problem with this episode since the 16 zero fan ratings doesn't really make sense otherwise. Was there no way to implement a one vote per ISP voting system?
  
  A fantastic episode and classic trek - a great sci-fi moral conundrum, excellent characterisation and a nice sub-plot. Also wonderful moments of humour. Gets a 9 from me.
• From Kethinov on 2013-06-12 at 4:56am:
  I do some filtering to prevent multiple voting. But there's nothing I can do about someone with access to 16 different computers on 16 different IPs.
  
  If you like, I can start taking credit card and passport info before accepting a vote. ;)
• From Ant on 2013-09-12 at 10:03pm:
  This one is a filler if I ever seen one where DS9 go cheap soap opera. One of the few episodes where I strongly disagree with Kethinov.
  
• From Gaius Gracchus on 2021-11-18 at 10:44pm:
  Great cameo from Robert Picardo as Dr. Zimmerman/EMH, great Rom B-plot. And Alexander Siddig absolutely knocks this one out of the park, such pathos in the scene where he breaks down in anger at his parents for giving up on him, and the response from Fadwa El Guindi tops it off.

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 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 chrisw357 on 2006-06-17 at 1:01am:
  Some fans may not know this, but Morn's name came about because of his role as a bar regular. It's an anagram for Norm, the bar regular in "Cheers". :D
  
  Goodbye, sweet Morn! :(
• From Christopher Wright on 2011-12-21 at 1:52am:
  I wish the writers of Enterprise were as good as the ones for DS9...they would have also realized that gold was worthless to the Ferengi and Capt.Archer could have never used it to lure them in that god-awful episode.
• From hugo on 2012-12-21 at 7:16pm:
  great episode! Not too fond of the seductive lady, but the other characters were great - especially the alien brothers!
• From Zorak on 2016-06-23 at 5:01am:
  Wow. Morn's name really is an anagram and intentional reference to Norm. It's so obvious. I don't know how I never realized it.
  
  
• From Mike on 2016-10-27 at 4:48am:
  Re: Zorak,
  
  And, to make it even more fun, Morn's corner spot in Quark's bar is similar to Norm's corner spot in the Cheers bar.
  
  My favorite exchange:
  
  Quark: Why would the Royal family of Luria give Morn that kind of money?
  
  HAIN: He was the Crown Prince.
  
  Quark: Morn was a prince?
  
  HAIN: You didn't know?
  
  Quark: Morn was a prince?
  
  HAIN: That's what I'm saying.
  
  Quark: Morn was a prince.

No fan commentary yet.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Pete Miller on 2006-11-05 at 5:18am:
  Absolutely my favorite episode of Voyager so far. i too was convinced that it was a stupid mirror universe episode, but it turned out to be much more. Not only was it original and hilarious at times, but it also made huge statements about society and revisionist history, even dangerously skirting the whole issue of Holocaust denial. Overall, it was a true 'Star Trekkish' episode, and those are the best kind! Bravo to the writing team for this one. The only voyager episode so far that even comes close is distant origin.
• From David Chambers on 2010-09-09 at 9:22pm:
  I was amused to notice that the actor who played the scientist Quaren (Henry Woronicz) also played the Voth scientist Gegen in 'Distant Origin'. He seems to have cornered the market for playing unconventional scientists!
• From Tallifer on 2011-04-17 at 6:33am:
  Holy cow!
  
  This one rates 11 out of 10.
  
  The revisionist re-creation of Voyager and her crew is exciting and darkly humourous. "Shut up, Hedgehog!" one shouts at Neelix during a meeting. Janeway ordering the use of biogenic weapons on a massive scale; Chakotay and Harry as psychotic interrogators.
  
  The subsequent historical investigation and discussion was interesting and intelligent. One is reminded of the constant re-examination of the American civil war as well as the soul-searching by Germans about the two world wars.
• From packman_jon on 2012-07-10 at 3:23am:
  Brilliant episode. Tallifer touched on it a little, but I'll add more. This episode makes a nice portrayal on how people have twisted history to be used as propaganda for their own uses - not to mention how people can't accept reality.
  
  On an unrelated note, dang! Janeway looks great with more black colors! ;)
• From Lee on 2012-07-29 at 12:44pm:
  I actually loved the ending scene with the doctor going on another journey to the alpha quadrant. I always thought a whole series of the doctor travelling through the delta quadrant in his little ship would have been awesome!
• From Rick on 2013-01-05 at 6:52pm:
  Huge missed opportunity in this episode. When that female arbiter retorted, "It's always about race!" I was immediately disappointed that they didnt get jesse jackson or rev. sharpton to play the role. Wouldve been perfect.
• From Dstyle on 2015-06-16 at 2:54pm:
  In the doctor's version of the simulation the Kyrian rebels invade engineering, and after a brief confrontation Tuvok reports to Janeway that the raiding party has taken Seven of Nine and "one of the injured crew members" hostage. Seriously? I know this "injured crew member" is not one of the seven or eight characters we're supposed to care about on this show, but for the purposes of the story couldn't you at least give him a name? How about "Ensign Jones." There, see? That was easy. Or are we worried the audience might think, "Ensign Jones? Do we know him? Who is that?" If that's the problem, use a minor named character like Vorik or something. There are only 150 people on board Voyager anyway (well, 147 now, since three are dead)(oh just kidding, no one cares about them!) and I'm pretty sure after four year everyone knows each others' names.
  
  I know the red shirts are a tried and true Trek tradition, but on Voyager I find the nameless extras to be frustrating. This isn't TNG's Enterprise, where crew members can come and go at each space station stop. I mean, I get it, I do: I understand that we, the idiot box viewing public, can't realistically be bothered to care about more than the core cast, but at least pretend the in-universe officers care about the entire crew!
  
  It's a minor complaint, to be sure, and it doesn't seriously hinder my enjoyment of the show, but I do find it irritating each time it happens.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Dio on 2009-02-05 at 5:17pm:
  This one got a 9 from me, really enjoyed seeing the young officers trying to fill roles of mature officers. After hearing about "Luna" I wanted to see a shot of it, perhaps to see the girl reunited with her family, oh well. Still, very well done and one of my favourites!
• From MJ on 2011-01-31 at 4:56pm:
  The most interesting scene in this episode to me is when the escape pods are leaving the Valiant. We're used to seeing escape pods get away successfully in Star Trek, but the Jem'Hadar ruthlessly target and destroy some of the pods; others don't get away in time and are consumed by the exploding ship. I think this scene was reinforcing the brutal dose of reality these cadets got. It's as if their mistake was pursuing them even in the end, denying them of the chance to learn from it.
  
  But all the other lessons about the cult of personality, the arrogance of youth, and the danger of the group mentality are aptly explored and upheld here. Nicely done episode, including some interesting moments between Jake and Nog.
• From Christopher Wright on 2012-01-19 at 1:53am:
  I agree with the other comment how it was a dose of harsh realism to see escape pods being destoyed, but having only one escape (the one with our heroes) was a little too contrived. Anyone else wonder why the secret battleship even allowed their pod to survive? I mean was the dominion captain like, "oh well, we missed that pod with one torpedo, better let it get back to federation space with knowledge of our top secret ship."? Other than the plot holes like that a very well-acted and entertaining episode.
• From McCoy on 2017-03-03 at 4:44pm:
  Hm... J.J. Abrams obviously didn't saw this episode before filming his first Star Trek film. If you give a ship to cadets, you can expect nothing more than a disaster.