TNG Re-Watch: S01E10 Haven

Summary

The Enterprise visits a planet called Haven, which legend has it has mystical healing powers. A strange message comes for Deanna Troi, she’s going to be married. Enter Lwaxana Troi and Deanna’s husband to be, Wyatt (and family). Shenanigans ensue. The Enterprise gets a message from the planet that some vessel is approaching and not communicating. Is it a threat? The vessel is Tarellian, a dangerous species believed to be extinct that carries a biological plague. Everywhere they go they infect the local populations and wipe out everyone. On board the Tarellian ship is a woman that Wyatt has been having visions of, and likewise she’s been having visions of him. Wyatt beams over to work to heal the Tarellians. Troi’s arranged marriage is called off and everyone lives happily ever after, except Wyatt who probably dies of a horrible plague.

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TNG Re-Watch: S01E09 Hide and Q

Summary

En route to help a colony that’s suffered a major catastrophe the Enterprise is stopped by Q and shenanigans ensue. Q gives Riker Q powers and tempts him to join them. He uses his powers to gift his crewmates, and they refuse. And so Riker refuses. And Q is taken up never to be seen again… until the next episode he’s in.

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TNG Re-Watch: S01E08 The Battle

Summary

The Enterprise has agreed to a meeting with the Ferengi, possibly a cooling of relations between the two powers. After two days of orbiting along side a Ferengi vessel they agree to the meeting. They present the Enterprise with The Stargazer, Picard’s old ship, which was thought to be lost in battle. The Ferengi captain gives it at no price, much to his first officers chagrin. Picard has been experiencing headaches, which intensify into flashbacks of the final battle of the Stargazer. These are brought on by a device used by the Ferengi captain, who it turns out lost his son when Picard destroyed the “unknown vessel” before having to abandon the Stargazer. Onboard the Stargazer they find falsified logs that make it seem like Picard knew he attacked an unarmed ship, which conflicts with his official report. Finally Picard is totally driven mad by the Ferengi device and is prepared to attack the Enterprise with the Stargazer until Riker gets through to him and he destroys the mind control device. The Ferengi first officer relieves the Ferengi captain of command on the grounds that he lead them on an unprofitable mission.

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TNG Re-watch: S01E07 Justice

Summary

While taking shore leave on an Earth-like world Wesley runs afoul of the locals’ harsh and random laws. In orbit above a vessel populated by powerful beings threatens the Enterprise if it interferes with its “children” on the planet below. Picard has to go down and sort things out by convincing the god entity that its laws are dumb and then beaming away with Wesley.

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TNG Re-Watch: S01E06 Lonely Among Us

Summary

The Enterprise is bringing two difficult alien species to a peace conference. They encounter a strange space phenomenon that “infects” the crew and ship systems. It eventually takes control of Picard who orders the ship to return to the phenomenon. The entity got trapped in the ship and now seeks to go home, but the only way to do that is to take Picard with him. Picard vanishes into the transporter and is presumed lost, but his energy sneaks into the ship the same way the original entity did and they re-create him in the transporter. Also it’s implied one of the alien delegates eats another one.

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TNG Re-Watch: S01E05 Where No One Has Gone Before

Summary

An engineer and his alien boyfriend come aboard to improve the Enterprise’s engines. Something goes wrong and the ship is hurtled across the universe, eventually to its very edges. It becomes clear that the engineer’s partner is the one that makes things happen. He is some kind of inter-dimensional being that can move the ship with thought. He is weakened by the trip, but can get them home if everyone just thinks happy thoughts. He also tells Picard that Wesley is special and that he should nurture his growth. With the happy thoughts the Enterprise makes it back to where they were before things started, but the mysterious inter-dimensional traveler has disappeared.

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TNG Re-Watch: S01E04 The Last Outpost

Summary

The Enterprise is chasing a Ferengi vessel that’s stolen something. Once they get close the Enterprise is disabled. They assume it’s some Ferengi weapon, but the attack is actually coming from the planet. They both agree to go down together, but the Ferengi ambush the away team and admit they will say they were attacked first, thus nullifying their agreement. A hologram, or apparition, or something, of a long dead member of an alien empire appears and tests Riker by attacking him. Riker refuses. This pleases the alien and he releases both ships and sends them on their way.

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TNG Re-Watch: S01E03 Code of Honor

Oh boy. It’s this one.

Summary

Human-like aliens have a vaccine to some horrible disease that the Federation needs. Picard and crew must entertain them, earn their trust, and get the vaccine. The alien leader is interested in Tasha and kidnap her. Picard jumps through hoops to honor their kidnapping customs, but the evil alien refuses to give Tasha back and wants to make her his #1 wife. His existing #1 wife is not happy about this and challenges Tasha to a duel. Tasha defeats her and immediately beams her up where Crusher revives her. Since she technically died the duel is complete. She chooses a new husband and that husband agrees to give over the vaccine.

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TNG Re-Watch: S01E02 The Naked Now

I had the least to say about this episode. Notes from E03 forward get more detailed.

Summary

The Enterprise receives a strange message from a science ship studying a dying star. The message ends with the sound of a hatch being blown. Away team heads over to find everyone dead, most blown out into space, others frozen solid. Geordi makes physical contact with a frozen corpse and starts acting funny aboard ship. He is infected with some space sickness that makes you act drunk and spreads it to the whole ship… just like in the TOS Episode “The Naked Time”. Wesley takes over engineering and locks them out of control. The star explodes and is about to destroy the Enterprise when Wesley buys them enough time with his reverse tractor beam tech to let Data fix the engineering computer so they can fly away. Crusher develops a cure and all is well. Also Tasha has sex with Data. And Crusher comes on to Picard, but he doesn’t come onto her… that we see.

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TNG Re-Watch: S01E01 Encounter at Farpoint

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.

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