I’ve been watching a web series from the YouTuber TriAngulum Audio Studios about the production of Star Trek: The Next Generation‘s first series. He mentions how it’s not very well received and goes into the problems with the production. Having not seen any of these episodes in at least two decades I decided to start the series over and start watching. I’m keeping notes as I go. No idea if I’ll keep this up, but I’d rather share my idiocy than keep it all in my head.

These notes aren’t overly coherent, it’s just a lot of comments I’m making as I watch. For this and the next episode the notes aren’t as frequent or as detailed because I wrote things down after the episode ended.

Summary

The new Enterprise D is on the way to Farpoint station on the edge of “the great unknown”. They are accosted by a mysterious god-like entity, known as Q. Q taunts Picard and tells him that humanity is barbaric and not worthy. Picard demands that he test if humans are still barbaric and Q agrees and tells him the puzzle of Farpoint station will be a good test. They pick up the rest of the crew at Farpoint, which is a weird place that manifests whatever someone desires out of thin air. Turns out it’s an alien entity that the native inhabitants trapped there with their abundance of geothermal energy. The entity created the base and created things for the native people. Another of the alien entities shows up and attacks. The Enterprise realize what’s going on and free the one that was trapped on the planet. Happily ever after.

Observations

Excellent concept, poor execution. So much of the direction and staging is wooden. The idea is there, and it’s an interesting one, especially this omnipotent alien testing humanity. Great setup for a series that examines humanity’s flaws through the lens of a better “us” from 400 years in the future. I can forgive bad makeup and effects. The show is over 30 years old and made on a TV budget. It was also just starting. They didn’t know what was going to work yet. But the writing could have been better.

Patrick Stewart nails the Picard character out of the gate. Most characters ill defined at the start; Data and Troi are probably the worst. Character introductions ham-fisted and awkward. Too much backstory shoe-horned in up front. Need to let things flow naturally. Act like you have 20+ episodes to flesh all this out. Leave a little mystery.

Tasha’s stunt double in a terrible wig body slams a guy in the Q courtroom.

Geddy Lee is the evil alien running the Far Point Station?

Deforest Kelly is playing a parody of McCoy, I guess? Maybe the direction was “be even more southern and more cantankerous because you’re even older now”.

Introduction of Wesley to Picard. “Your son?” Picard asks, kind of shocked. Missed opportunity. Crusher should have fixed Picard with a steely stare and said. “Yes, my, son.” Emphasis on him being hers, as if to imply that he’s not Picard’s. Hint at a previous relationship. Never has to materialize, but it could have bore fruit.

First mention of the Ferengi. Riker threatens the alien guy by saying the Ferengi might eat him.

John de Lancie’s performance as he’s watching Picard work everything out and make the right calls is fantastic. A rare highlight of the episode. So many early concepts and characters are abandoned, I love that they kept Q and even worked him in to the finale of the series.

Plot Nitpicks

Saucer separation looks great, but it’s such a dumb idea. The concept is if the ship is under attack they can separate off the most populated section and send it away, but to where? It can’t generate a warp field, it will be traveling away very slowly under impulse power and presumably under reserve batteries since there’s no warp core to generate power. You’re basically delaying the inevitable if the ship really did come into combat and the secondary hull was destroyed. It’s not really an escape mechanism if the warp core were to be breeched since it’s well established (I admit; later than this) that they can simply eject the warp core.