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Okay, blame it on Geordi La Forge. It's his slip of the tongue that causes all the mayhem in this episode. After Data ruins a perfectly good holographic adventure by jumping to the end of a Sherlock Holmes mystery, the frustrated chief engineer asks the computer to create an adversary worthy of defeating the android. What Geordi meant to say was an adversary worthy of Holmes, but never mind. The computer obliges and Moriarty is born. Literally.He comes equipped with superintelligence approaching consciousness and a direct line to the main computer. Somehow, Dr. Pulaski gets thrown into the mix--as a crumpet-eating hostage, of all things--and Moriarty starts messing with the Star Trek universe as we know it and turns reality on its ear.

TNG is at its best when it doesn't take itself too seriously. "Elementary, Dear Data" is an utterly charming outing into high-tech Victorian wacky land. In fact, this episode proved to be so popular that the story was continued three years later in "Ship in a Bottle." The writing is excellent and Daniel Davis is sublime as Moriarty, the hologram who's sentient and knows it.This makes many best of Trek episode lists, and is simply a must-own for all TNG fans. --Kayla Riggney ... Read more

Reviews (7)

A major philosophical point is largely ignored
This episode is more memorable for the extremely significant philosophical point that is largely ignored than it is for the dialog and battle between Data as Sherlock Holmes and a holographic Professor Moriarty. During a lull in duties, Geordi and Data retire to the holodeck where Data is Sherlock Holmes and Geordi is Dr. Watson. However, since Data has memorized all of the stories featuring Holmes, he quickly resolves the mysteries, which frustrates Geordi. In an attempt to spice up the game, Geordi instructs the holodeck computer to create an adversary capable of defeating Data in a battle of wits. The computer complies, creating a conscious, intelligent and self-aware Professor Moriarty, capable of programming the Enterprise computer and gaining control of the Enterprise, all from inside the holodeck.
Eventually, since the program cannot be terminated, Picard is forced to enter the holodeck and meet Moriarty face to face. Picard explains the situation to Moriarty, who returns control of the Enterprise to Picard. In return, Picard has the computer save the Moriarty character, with a promise to revisit the issue in the future.
Since it is the Enterprise computer that creates the sentient Professor Moriarty, the question becomes: Is the Enterprise computer sentient? The answer to this is most certainly no. In the episode "Q Who?" Geordi laughs at Ensign Gomez for being polite to a food dispenser. His statements indicate that he does not consider it to be sentient. Furthermore, the events in all the other episodes support this position. Therefore, the action in this episode is based on the premise that the non-sentient Enterprise computer created a sentient consciousness that is in many ways just as alive as any other creature. The fact that it can exist only in a holodeck is not significant as many organisms can exist only in their specialized environment. This is a very deep philosophical and scientific issue that is largely ignored.
A second problem is the ease with which Geordi misprograms the computer. Given the power of the Enterprise computers, there should be much greater safeguards to make sure that an error in speaking is not misconstrued. The number of safety and security overrides would have to be enormous, and there would have been an immediate directive to fix this obvious and serious software defect.
With these problems aside, this is still a good episode. Moriarty is a character who is devious, ruthless and yet a gentleman. It was a very wise move when he was brought back in a future episode. Dr. Pulaski is adorable in her Victorian outfit as she accompanies Data and Geordi back to the streets of London during the reign of Queen Victoria. There is just too much direct and subtle activity packed into it.

Fun to watch!
Who cares about the technical part of it.
its a fun chase!

It's not elementary.It's not even entertainment!
Based on some prior reviews I bought this. Boy, was I disappointed.
Even though some of the other reviewers give away the plot and surprises, I thought I would enjoy this. All I can say is you have to be brain dead to be entertained by this. Gene Roddenberry would be very disappointed!
Be warned: Data DOES NOT turn out to be Sherlock Holmes' arch enemy, Professor Moriarty.
And yes, Data defeats Professor Moriarty before the professor defeats him.
I think you would have to check your brain at the door to like this one. I really do not understand all the glowing reviews from the other customers.

Cool Episode
This is one of my very favorite episodes. One thing I thought was cool was how they had the bullet holes in wall. For those unfamiliar with the Sherlock Holmes stories, Holmes practiced shooting his gun indoors and shot the letters VR into his wall. Look for it right after Goerdi makes a comment about all the detail.

Data the Detective
Data as Sherlock Holmes

Rob Bowman of X-Files directing fame helms this episode. It's about the Sherlock Holmes program aboard the holodeck. Data wants to create an adversary worthy of his talents. He does. Almost brings down the starship and crew with him. This one marks the debut of "The Nanny" actor Daniel Davis as Moriarty. For those of you who ever read Holmes; Moriarty was his nemesis. Daniel Davis delivers as the episode's villain. There are a few good scenes with Dr. Pulaski. She tells Data that he can't be creative and only solve mysteries that are variations on the ones he's read. She argues that Data is incapable of being creative. Data more than proves that she is wrong. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

good episode
I don't really need to explain the plot of this episode. That has already been done quite well by other reviewers. What I will tell you is my opinion on the episode.

It is really good overall. The only thing I don't care for from Star Trek TNG is how they handle most disability issues.... Most of the time the characters that develop disabilities view them as a fate worse than death (including this one)... and equally as often (including this episode) their disability is miraculously cured by the end of the show. I know that the show is based in a time frame several hundred years from now when medicine is supposedly much more advanced, but still, it gets annoying. I think the series missed out on some important messages by doing this.

Even so, the dicussions between Riker and Worf are great during this episode. (They discuss contradictory cultural and individual belief systems on life, death, what is important in life, and the "right to die").

In the end though, it is all neatly tied up and everything they talked about was for nothing as Worf is cured.

Incidentally, the only disability related episode that I remember that doesn't end with a cure is one in which a NON-Enterprise crewmember is the one who develops the disability. What does this say about the strength of the crew?

I generally LOVE the way in which TNG handles most social issues. Disability is one that could have been handled better though.

Worf has to choose between experimental surgery and suicide
In "Ethics" Worf is injured by a failing container that leaves the Security Chief paralyzed from the waist down. Worf's only hope is a radical medical treatment urged by Toby Russell, a neural specialist who has come to help Dr. Crusher with the injury. Russell wants to create a new spinal cord for Worf, but Crusher wants to try conventional therapy when she learns the new procedure has never been used on a humanoid. Worf would never survive if the experimental treatment failed. Worf rejects Crusher's suggestion since it can only restore partial mobility and asks Riker to help him commit suicide in accordance with Klingon traditions. Of course Russell goes behind Crusher's back to offer the experimental surgery to Worf, giving the injured Klingon another option besides suicide.

Certainly "Ethics" is a rather melodramatic episode, which tries to take full advantage of its title. The ethics of experimental surgery is old hat (have you ever seen an episode of a television show where they did NOT try the experimental surgery in the end?), but Riker's deliberation over Worf's request is the centerpiece of the show. It reminds me of the moment at the end of "The Best of Both World's" cliffhanger where Riker ordered the Enterprise to open fire on the Borg cube with Locutus/Picard. It is totally believable that Riker could honor Worf's request. Those scenes redeem "Ethics" enough to make it an average episode in the series. There are also some implications for the characters down the line when Worf asks a stunned Counselor Troi to care for Alexander in the event that he should die.

Insightful
This episode contains an excellent debate on medical ethics. Worf is in a situation where conventional treatment will not help him make a full recovery (necessary for Klingon honor) but a new, experimental treatment is likely to kill him. Though of course Worf makes a full recovery in the end, the argument is not really resolved. The nature of the debate does not lend itself to easy solutions, but it does bring up many interesting points to ponder.

Star Trek: The Next Generation "Ethics"
Worf is severely injured following an accident, and loses the ability to walk. Dr. Crusher tells him his condition may be permanent, and suggests treatments that could could restore much, but not all, of his mobility. However, Worf is not pleased at that, and considers his own remedy for his disability, until a doctor comes aboard the Enterprise hoping to try out an experimental but risky medical procedure that could restore virtually all his mobility. After conferring with his son about his situation, Worf decides to undergo the procedure, but will he come out of it alive? I like this episode because it's a story about Klingon rituals and what Klingons traditionally do when they're paralyzed. ... Read more

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The agents are asked to help capture a murderer who can control people with the sound of his voice in Pusher. But when the fugitive turns his talents on his pursuers, no one can resist his will--not even Mulder.

In one of the series' finest and funniest episodes, Mulder and Scully investigate reports of a UFO abduction in a small town and become the subjects of a book by author Jose Chung, played by perennial center square Charles Nelson Reilly. Filled with self referential humor, laugh out loud satire and conflicting points-of-view, the story goes from the strange to the bizarre to the unbelievable as the work of the agents is seen through the eyes of an outsider. Some highpoints: Mulder's squeal of excitement, the Men in Black, and "a bleapin' dead alien". ... Read more

Reviews (8)

A Bleepin' Must-See Episode for X-Files Fans!
First off, I'll mention the "other" episode on this tape, "Pusher", by saying that it's an above-average episode. It's the story of a man with a terminal brain tumor, and the tumor has given him the ability to force his will onto other people. He's using this power to get other people to injure or kill themselves, and Mulder and Scully are sent to stop him. The climax is a doozy, as the man forces Mulder to play a deadly game of Russian roullette. But the OTHER episode - "Jose Chung's From Outer Space" is my all-time favorite episode of the X-Files (and, as I've learned, it's often the favorite episode of other X-Files fans as well). The plot is rather complicated, but I'll try to simplify it: Charles Nelson Reilly (who some may remember was a regular on the classic "Match Game" game show in the seventies) is wonderful as Jose Chung, a famous writer who's out to make a quick buck by writing a "non-fiction science fiction" book about a supposed UFO abduction and series of UFO sightings in Klass County, Washington State. (In one of the episode's many small jokes, the fictional "Klass" County is a swipe at the real-life Phillip Klass, America's leading debunker and critic of UFO sightings - the real-life "Ciggarette-Smoking Man"). Mulder, fearing that Chung is only going to ridicule the witnesses and ruin the sighting's credibility, refuses to talk with him, but Scully - who's a great admirer of Chung's novels - does agree to tell her side of the story to him. Unfortunately for her, Chung has already gotten umpteen versions of the Klass County sightings from various people in the county. And, of course, their stories are all hilariously different. One version comes from a ... teenage couple who claim they were abducted by aliens who smoked ciggarettes, then admitted they had sex in the car, "only don't tell her dad, he'll kill me". Another version comes from a geeky high-school loser who's into Dungeons and Dragons and who combs the woods looking for UFOs at night. Lo and behold, he finally finds a dead alien, only to accuse Scully and Mulder (whom he thinks is an android) of roughing him up and covering up the evidence (which Scully, of course, says never happened). He then describes being beaten up by two sinister "men in black" (one being Jesse Ventura, the other is "Jeopardy" host Alex Trebek)! Then we go to another loser - a power-company lineman who claims he saw the rumored UFO abduction and was then given an "important" cosmic message from a huge alien. This revelation leads him to write down his experiences in a book in his garage - until the aforementioned "men in black" burst into his garage and threaten him - Ventura: "Did you know that a former President of your country - James Earl Carter - claimed to have seen a UFO?" Man (clutching his book): "I'm a Republican"! And, there's also the constantly grouchy local policeman who cusses like a sailor (and since Scully's telling the story, she hilariously "bleeps" out his profanity) - policeman: "Yeah, that's a bleepin' dead alien all right"! Along the way there are some of the "X-Files" most famous scenes - one of the best are the conflicting stories of Mulder and a bewildered cook at a local diner - Mulder remembers sitting in the diner late at night and questioning the "human" pilot of the suspected UFO until the military comes and takes him. The cook doesn't remember any of that, but he does remember Mulder all alone in the diner, eating slice after slice of sweet potato pie and asking bizarre questions to the cook - "Have you ever been probed by aliens?". Unlike most "X-Files episodes which concentrate almost solely on horror or dark humor or surrealism, this single episode combines all three genres into a brilliant, if bizarre, fifty minutes of entertainment.

If there were more stars, I'd use them
Both episodes on this tape are worth watching over and over (I should know). If you're not a regular fan of the show and are looking for something that stands alone, this is the tape for you. "Pusher" is a phenomenal look at an interesting idea. It is wonderfully acted, and Anderson and Duchovny shine in their very "emotional but not REALLY" way. "Jose Chung's..." is one of the series most self-aware episodes, but it still manages to convey a deeper meaning about how people are "all... alone." BUY THIS :)

Reality in Jeopardy
Although the "Pusher" episode left little impression on me, I give this video recording five stars for the latter episode alone. Written by Darin Morgan, known for funny and intellectually subtle "X-Files" scripts (as well as for playing the infamous "Flukeman"), "Jose Chung's from Outer Space" ranks as one of the best episodes in the series. Charles Nelson Reilly portrays perfectly the eccentric Chung, who interviews Scully for a "non-fiction science fiction" book about an alien abuction and crash of an extraterrestrial craft that may or may not have occurred near a small town. Various characters give their own accounts of what occurred, including a teenage couple supposedly abducted by "grays"; an electrical worker threatened by a double-talking "man in black" (played by a pre-gubernatorial Jesse Ventura); and a loser obsessed with conspiracy theories and role-playing games who perceives Mulder and Scully as brutal co-conspirators trying to cover up the crash.

Comparisons to "Rashomon" seem quite obvious, but Morgan does not confine this episode to that evident allusion. In-jokes about the show and popular culture in general abound, including allusions to the infamous "Alien Autopsy" video. Also, Morgan gives a cyclopian alien the moniker "Lord Kinbote," alluding to the unreliable narrator of Vladimir Nabokov's novel "Pale Fire." I read somewhere that Morgan considers Nabokov one of his favorite writers. How appropriate, considering Nabokov's own penchant for unreliable narrators (like Humbert in "Lolita") who distort and misperceive reality, and for throwing a variety of allusions (obvious and arcane) into his novels. Whether you understand everything in this episode or not, Morgan's little gem provides a well-done change of pace from the usual "X-Files" episode.

The best X-Files ever - needs a 6th star
Jose Chung's "From Outer Space" is my all-time favorite X-F episode, beating out War of the Copraphages and Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose. Yes, I'm a Darin Morgan fan. JCFOS throws in everything but the kitchen sink but, as in a great novel, all begins to make sense upon repeated study. I can't believe anything this good ever made it onto network television! Thank you to everyone associated with its creation......

Among the series best...
"Pusher" is close to flawless in terms of plot, characterizations, and execution. It's an X-Files classic. "Jose Chung's "From Outer Space"" is also a classic, but I believe you have to be a regular viewer of the show to understand it all. In "JCFOS" Mulder and Scully are much of the time the antagonists of the story, so the viewers see a different perspective of them than usually seen. It's interesting, and highly entertaining. I'm getting the urge to go watch it now. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Another bad decision under the guise of compassion
The Enterprise answers a distress call, to find that a ship crewed by a group of Talarian boys on a training mission has had an accident. They bring the boys back to the Enterprise for medical treatment and, much to their surprise, they discover that one of the boys is actually Human. Jono initially has no memory of his Human parents and seems completely at ease in the militaristic, male-dominated society of the Talarians. But when those memories do begin to surface and Jono's adoptive father arrives demanding his return, everyone is faced with some very difficult decisions.
There's actually a lot to like in this episode. It makes you think, and there are some strong performances from Patrick Stewart, in an unaccustomed father-figure role for Picard, and the actor playing Jono - whose character provides a good contrast to the nice-as-pie Wesley Crusher. But for me, this episode was really let down by the peculiar attitudes of the Enterprise's crew. Because Jono had a broken arm as a child they assume he must necessarily have been abused by his adoptive father and rush around looking for evidence to prove it. And just when Jono is starting to remember his past and realise what a difficult position he is in (he was orphaned in a battle with the Talarians), with a nod and a smile, Picard hands him back to his adoptive father. Sorry, people, you can't put the genie back in the bottle like that. The end of the episode is not the end of Jono's problems, but their barest beginning.
Three stars.

Better the Alien Species you Know...
The Enterprise rescues a group of young Talarians from a training craft. While dealing with the injured, Dr. Crusher discovers that one of them is human, identified as Jeremiah Rosa. When he was almost four his parents were killed in a border skirmish with the Talarians during their war with the Federation. It was assumed that Jeremiah was killed along with everyone else. However, Endar, a Talarian captain who's own son had died in battle against the Federation, adopted Jeremiah as his own, giving him the name Jono. When Endar asks for Jono to be returned along with the other Talarians, Captain Picard refuses, insisting that Jeremiah should be returned to his biological family. Endar warns Picard that if his son is not returned, there will be another war, but since Jono is of the age of decision, Picard does not believe it will ever come to that.

"Suddenly Human" is a variation on the story found in Westerns such as "The Searchers" or "Dances With Wolves" in which an "alien" culture brings up a child as its own (the theme does pop up in Science Fiction from time to time, most notably in the classic "Stranger In A Strange Land"). The key twist here is that Jono/Jeremiah is old enough to make the decision for himself, so the focus is more on how Picard and Endar make their cases in trying to persuade him where to live instead of the "law" trying to determine what is in the best interest of the child. So this might first seem like a Prime Directive episode, but it ends up being more personal than that. Of course, Talarian culture is a bit more barbaric and a bit less civilized than good old Terran culture (think more "human" looking Klingons), so the cards are stacked in Picard's favor in that regard, but this is the only culture and the only father that Jono knows. It is an interesting debate, even if you do not take it to any sort of allegorical level.

This is the weakest entery in the hightly success series.
This movie has its moments of grandeur, but I found it to be very lame and a real dissappointment (althoughI did like the part where John Luke goes inside that space time continuim and sees his family). The one after this movie "Star Treck First Contact" I think is a much better movie, with better special effects than any of the other ones (including the ones with William Shatner).

Had it's moments
Had it's moment ... Read more

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Though the title sounds generic, "The Chase" is anything but. In this historical mystery with conspiratorial underpinnings, Professor Galen (Norman Lloyd), an archeology legend and Picard's old mentor, tries to lure his favorite student for one last adventure. When Galen is killed en route to a far-flung planet, the Enterprise picks up his quest and finds the Klingons and the Cardassians on the same trail, which has something to do with ancient genetic codes and a DNA pattern. Part intergalactic Indiana Jones and part diplomatic poker game, it's a modest episode with epic dimensions: the search for the secret of the origins of life in the universe, or at the very least its primordial roots. For that reason it all feels a little rushed; this is the kind of story that cries out for a larger arc. Though the series never really revisited the revelations or dealt with its reverberations, "The Chase" remains one of the more conceptually ambitious and hopeful shows in the utopian vision known as Star Trek. --Sean Axmaker ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Picard unlocks one of the great secrets of the universe
Captain Picard is surprised when his old archeology teacher Professor Galen (Norman Lloyd) shows up on the Enterprise and asks his former student to join him on an expedition without only vague hints of a profoundly important discovery. Of course, Picard cannot give up his command. But later the Enterprise receives a distress call from Galen, whose vessel is being attacked by Y'Ridians. The Enterprise arrives too late to save the Professor, but Picard vows to retrace the professor's trail and discover just what was so important that it cost the archeologist his life. What he discovers is indeed shocking: Galen had found that certain fragments of DNA from different words are not only compatible, when joined they form a computer program that is over 4 billion years old. But obviously, there are others who are after the secret as well.

"The Chase" is one of the rare SNTG episodes that allows Picard to explore his often professed love of archeology. However, this is also one of those episodes where the set up is not as good as the payoff. As a Klingon says when the secret is uncovered, "Is that all?" However, what fans of Star Trek will recognize is another variation on Roddenberry's utopian future.

Aparently we are all related
This episode brings togeather all the major aliens of the alpha quadrant, friend and foe. The think they are going to find a weaon of unlimmited power instead they find a message from a long dead race that claim they planted races accross the galaxy, and we are in a way related to the cardassians, romulans and thousands of other alien races. ... Read more

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Commander Riker and Data are on the planet Melona IV overseeing construction of a new colony. Riker is also starting up an affair with one of the colonists and they seem happy together, which of course means she's doomed. Her destruction comes courtesy of the Crystalline entity, previously seen in the episode "Datalore" from season 1. The entity mines the entire planet for its energy, absorbing everything. All but two of the colonists are saved (Riker's girlfriend is killed when she stops to help another), thanks to a protective cave. Back on the Enterprise, the crew decides to pursue and study the entity, along with the help of xenologist Kyla Marr, who has devoted her life to studying it ever since it killed her son on Omicron Theta. She has no trust for Data because she knows that Data's "brother" Lore was responsible for luring the entity to Omicron Theta, but it's only with Data's help that she learns the secret to communicating with and possibly destroying the alien creature. Because the entity killed her son, she wants to destroy it before it kills again, and Riker agrees, but Picard would rather try to establish communications with it. Though the character of Marr is often annoying, and her communication with her son through Data's access to the Omicron Theta journal entries is a bit much, all is forgiven with an ending that is as brilliant as it is bittersweet. --Andy Spletzer ... Read more

Reviews (6)

The ending will blow you away!
Guest star Ellen Geer is memorable as a scientist that has motives, other than science, in her investigation of the mysteriously dangerous "Crystal Entity". The episode abounds in one revelation after the other, with an end that is possibly one of the series' most surprising...and thought provoking.

"Trek" doesn't get any better than this!

What's wrong with everyone's memory?
This is a good, solid episode - well made, and with some real depth to it.
The Enterprise crew are helping some colonists establish themselves on an empty planet when the Crystalline Entity, that "giant snowflake" that sucks the life energy out of entire planets, attacks. Starfleet sends a xenobiologist, Dr Kila Marr, to study the attack and find some way of dealing with the Entity. But she has secrets of her own, and the developing relationship between her and Data, set against the background of their mission, provides some real emotional depth as the tension rises.
There are some flaws with this episode. Dr Marr is allowed to get away with too much, and it seems that Data failed to tell anyone about the growing instability in her behaviour. It also seems that everyone has forgotten about the Enterprise's last encounter with the Crystalline Entity, where Lore proved that it was intelligent and that he could talk to it and understand when it talked back.
But those quibbles aside, this episode is very good. The acting is excellent, as is the pacing. The special effects are rather good, too. This episode also raises some thought-provoking questions. How do you react to a life-form that is so different from your own? How does it view the world around itself, and how can you deal with it? Star Trek: TNG at close to its best.

One Of The Best
This episode has everything! Family loyalty, communicating with an intelligence, and the want for vengence. This one is a keeper & I'd recommend it to any Trek fan...

Yet Another Star Trek twist on "Moby Dick"
Riker, Crusher and Data are visiting a new Federation colony on Melona Four while the Enterprise is conveniently off elsewhere. Suddenly the crystal entity that befriended Data's "brother" Lore in "Datalore" (Episode 14) appears in the sky above them. Data leads the group into some caves and when the Enterprise returns they find the planet has been stripped of all life by the "Silicon Avatar." As they track down the killer crystal, the Enterprise is aided by Dr. Kila Marr, a zenologist who is Starfleet's foremost authority on the crystal entity and who has a melodramatic interest in pursuing it since it killed her son when it attacked the colony of Data's home world. Just to make things interesting, Picard insists that they will try to communicate with the entity before trying to destroy it, if such communication is possible (apparently no one remembers that Lore had no problem communicating with it at all the first time around). Consequently, we have a test of wills between Captain Picard and Dr. Marr to see who will win out. Of course, Marr has a slight advantage because Picard has no idea what she wants to do. "Silicon Avatar" is a slightly below average STNG episode. We have seen better versions of "Moby Dick" on Star Trek and it is somewhat amazing that the crystal entity has avoided being tracked down by Starfleet as it goes around the universe stripping planets of all life. Also, it is interesting that Picard is more willing to talk to the killer crystal entity than he was to Ensign Ro in the previous episode. Ah, consistency is the hobgoblin of shows where different people write different episodes. But "Silicon Avatar" has to be the most pretentious STNG episode title ever.

Criminal Justice with No Laws
Many people seem to feel compassion and mercy for those who have done wrong and even killed, but I am seldom among them. But this episode shows us an unique situation in which a creature, the crystaline entity, seems to kill on a large level because of its nature. IT MAY NOT EVEN KNOW IT IS KILLING.

Now enter the mother of a victim, who, since the death of her 16 year old son at the hands of the creature, has been obsessed with the study and eventual destruction of the entity.

The crew of the enterprise figures out a possible way of communicating with the creature (reminiscent of the "Companion" from the original series). Despite the deadly nature and our contempt for the creature, I found my curiousity in what the creature "has to say" out-weighing my hate for it.

Five stars if it were not for the high standard set by so many other episodes! ... Read more

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The Ferengi portrayed as powerful rivals to the Federation
This episode reintroduces the Ferengi, a new rival for the Federation. Their society is based on commercial interests and profit, although in this episode, revenge is the primary motivation. Many years ago, Captain Picard was commanding a ship called the Stargazer, which was the victim of an unprovoked attack by a ship of unknown origin. The Stargazer was on the verge of destruction, and Captain Picard used a desperate technique to destroy the attacking vessel. That action is now known as the "Picard maneuver" and is part of Star Fleet Academy training. However, the Stargazer was so heavily damaged that the crew was forced to abandon ship.
The attacking ship was Ferengi, although the Federation never learned that fact. It was commanded by the son of Daimon Bok, who is the commander of a Ferengi ship that requests a rendezvous with the Enterprise, although no reason is given for the request. Bok and his senior officers beam aboard the Enterprise and present Picard with the gift of the Stargazer, which is no longer a derelict. The ship is a Trojan Horse, as Bok uses it as bait to use a mind-altering device on Captain Picard. The device forces him to relive the battle, only this time he is alone on the Stargazer and he believes that the Enterprise is the enemy ship.
This episode serves to establish the Ferengi as legitimate rivals to the Federation. In episode 8, "The Last Outpost" the Ferengi are introduced, but they are portrayed as sniveling creatures, hardly worthy adversaries for the powerful Federation. In this episode, we see them as a species capable of building starships, with a command structure similar to that of the Enterprise. Riker's private conversations with the first officer of the Ferengi ship are more in the area of one officer to another rather than one species to another.
I rank this episode very highly, (4 1/2 stars is more accurate),as it corrects many of the errors made in "The Last Outpost." It also paves the way for Ferengi characters to appear in later episodes of TNG as well as the subsequent series, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

"Let the dead rest, and the past . . . remain the past."
A touch of action, a more threatening portrayal of the Ferengi, and a peek into Captain Jean-Luc Picard's (Patrick Stewart) past was the combination that made "The Battle" one of the more intriguing episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation's first season.

Captain Picard is in for a surprise as the Enterprise-D rendezvous with a Ferengi vessel that is towing his former ship, the U.S.S. Stargazer. Ferengi commander DaiMon Bok (Frank Corsentino) offers Picard the derelict as a gift, but its return is actually part of a revenge plot against the Enterprise's captain who the Ferengi holds responsible for the death of his son

It is always a treat when Star Trek: The Next Generation fills in the gaps between the start of its series and the end of the adventures of the original Star Trek crew. "The Battle" provides insightful details into Picard's career before taking command of the Enterprise and is an important step in providing his character with more depth. The less comical portrayal of the Ferengi also was a welcome sight as they leave behind their energy whips and employ deception and guile instead to gain the upper hand.

Picard Battles Bok
Battle Scars

In another encounter with the Ferengi; Picard fights the devious Captain Daimon Bok. He's sworn revenge on him for killing his son twenty years ago. Back then, Picard was leading the Stargazer. Bok's son fired on the starship without warning. Our good captain returned fire and inadvertently killed him. The fact his son initiated the "Battle of Maxia"was of no consequence.

Bok returns the old Stargazer as a "gift" to the unsuspecting Picard. He has a mind control device to torture him. As a result, Picard can't understand why he's getting headaches. It's a thing of the past in the 24th century. After a lot of hallucinations and sleepless nights he returns to the bridge of his dead ship.

Who else but Bok is waiting for him to perform the final stroke to finish Picard. Without giving away the ending, this one has a good confrontation between the Captains. One of the better ones of the first season.

DaiMon Bok plays mind games with Captain Picard
One of the improvements on the original Star Trek you get with the Next Generation is a much better sense of the backstories on the characters. In "The Battle" we learn about the fate of one of Jean-Luc Picard's earlier commands, the Stargazer. The Enterprise rendezvous with a Ferengi vessel and after three days of waiting around, during which time Picard mysteriously starts getting headaches, DaiMon Bok of the Ferengi presents Picard with the derelict Stargazer. The ship had been lost seven years earlier in an encounter with an unknown spacecraft, which turns out to have been Ferengi. Bok dismisses what happened as an accident, but it turns out his son was killed in the engagement. A mind control device sends Picard over the edge and he tries to repeat history on the bridge of the Stargazer, only this time with the Enterprise as his target.

You must remember that "The Battle" represents the original conception of the Ferengi, where they are more the marauding pirates of the galaxy than the highest form of venture capitalists. Consequently, it is difficult to reconcile the vengeful DaiMon Bok with Quark and his brethren, although at the end Bok is relieved of command for having engaged in an unprofitable enterprise. You really do have to cut the show some slack with a lot of these early episodes and not hold the producers and writers to everything that happens this early (e.g., in this episode Deanna can sense bad thoughts from Bok, yet in "Menage a Troi" she and her mother complain they can not read Ferengi thoughts).

This is a fairly representative episode of the first season, where the situation is usually simple or easily contrived, but we are getting a chance to learn about these new characters and see them in action. Patrick Stewart gets to work out his acting chops in this episode, which is always enjoyable. If only the original uniforms did not look so cheesy in retrospect.

The Battle
This episode explores Captain Picard's past as captian of the USS Stargazer. The Stargazer is a previously unseen type of starship which was pretty cool. The episodes story is OK which deals not only with Picard's past but with Ferengi (sp) as well. Not bad for the first season. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Picard and crew do the time warp again
While returning to the Enterprise in a shuttle, Picard, Data, La Forge and Troi take turns being momentarily frozen in time. They are in an area of space pocketed with temporal distortions. When they get to the Enterprise there is a warp core breach in progress, which has something to do with a nearby Romulan warbird and, in turns out, aliens from another continuum. Picard and his cohorts have to figure out the mystery before every goes "ka-boom." "Timescape" is an average STNG episode, with some interesting variations on temporal distortions, but the series has done much better (e.g., "Cause and Effect," the classic Episode 119).

Great acting, good plot, and a terrific episode in general.
I think that Timescape is a wonderful episode due greatly to the fact that it more realist than most episodes. Now of course I like all of the episodes being a trekker and all, but sometimes the science is a bit looney. This episodes only science flaw was the ability to isolate the crew so well, but I guess it had to be done to keep the show interesting. Still, science aside, the acting was the most important part, you really could feel the tension and the surprise of the crew when they found the Enterprise frozen in time, {well slowed way way down at least} and because of that I keep watching it over and over again. The plot is also excellent, with complexities being added in every ten minutes or so, thus keeping you suspence about what is actualy happening. All in all an excellent performance and definantly worth buying.

The Enterprise and a Romulan War bird frozen in time
This is a rather intruguing episode about what we consider to be the natural progression of time, and how we sometimes view it as going too fast or too slow. While Picard and company are returning to the Enterprise from a mission, Troi suddenly sees the rest of the crew on the shuttlecraft freeze. Later on, when the crew returns to the Enterprise, they notice that their ship was fired upon by a Romulan Warbird, but it's frozen in time! What will happen to the Enterprise once time is restored to its normal progression? ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Welcome to the wonderful and wacky world of Reg Barclay
"Hollow Pursuits" introduces us to Lt. Reg Barclay (Dwight Schultz), quite arguably the most popular guest star in the Next Generation universe after Q. Come to think of it, Barclay is just about the perfect counterpart to Q since he lacks confidence, . When La Forge complains about Barclay's performance to Picard, the captain insists his chief engineer find a way to motivate the man. What neither knows is that Barclay is spending a lot of his free time on the holodeck, where he acts out inspired fantasies that cast the Enterprise crewmembers in supporting roles and allow him to act out his unrequited love for Counselor Troi. Of course the man is totally addicted to the giant interactive game. However, when Troi, La Forge and Riker are about to do an intervention the Enterprise suddenly starts accelerating faster and faster. The ship is going to self-destruct unless La Forge can fix the warp engines and you will never guess who is suddenly needed to help save the day . . .

Not only does "Hollow Pursuits" have a great title, it deals with two realistic problems of the Star Trek universe, namely the great danger of being addicted to the fantasy world of the holodeck and the fact that not everybody on the Enterprise can be as capable and confident as the bridge crew. In that regard it is very easy for most traditional Trekkers to identify with the character of Reg Barclay. During the last part of the third season on STNG, there were several episodes with absolutely hysterical scenes, and Barclay being caught on the holodeck with his fantasies out is one of the best.

My favorite Star Trek episode
This is my favorite ST:TNG episode, mainly because of the introduction of Reg Barclay, the extremely shy lieutenant with a crush on Troi. Dwight Schultz (Murdock on "The A-Team") plays Barclay very well. Having shown a talent for playing insane pilots and murdering psychiatrists("Diagnosis Murder"), among other things, Schultz reveals his versatility through his portrayal of Barclay's awkwardness and social anxiety. His behavior in the holodeck, as he fences with Picard and flirts with Troi (the Goddess of Empathy) make this episode hilarious.

Beyond Schultz's performance, I enjoyed the attitudes of the rest of the crew during the show. Their initial mockery of "Broccoli" gave way to offense when they saw how they were represented in the holodeck. Troi's indignation alone made the episode worth watching (she's funny when she's mad!). I would recommend this video to any Trekkies, of course, but also to fans of Dwight Schultz, as his acting is a large part of what makes this such a good episode.

"Hollow Pursuits"- Absolutely Hilarious!
This is one of my all time favorite episodes. Barclay, a junior officer who suffers from social anxiety and an extrememly nervous disposition retreats from interaction in the real world to the holodeck, where he creates alternate personas for the main crew of the Enterprise. Picard, Riker and (I think!) Data are the three musketeers, Crusher is a pastoral maiden who feeds Barclay grapes, and, best of all, Troi stars as the "Goddess of Empathy" dressed in Greek robes. When the crew finds out about this program, you can guess how they all repsond to their holodeck counterparts. The best point of the show- when Troi tells the Goddess of Empathy, who is spewing comforting pyschobabble to "stuff it." A must-see episode! ... Read more

Amazon.com

Trek trickster Q (John DeLancie) puts a spin on It's a Wonderful Life when he gives Captain Picard a chance to replay the follies of his youth. Picard lies dying on the operating table after a freak energy discharge damages his artificial heart when Q shows up like a devilish Clarence the Angel, offering him a do-over of his destiny and save his heart. Suddenly the older, wiser captain finds himself a young ensign of 21 (still played by Patrick Stewart, though his twentysomething comrades seem not to notice), fresh from the Academy and ready to take on the world. Picard is determined not to make the same mistakes again on that fateful day at the Academy, but immediately feels the repercussions of his decision when he slingshots back to the present a changed man, careful and cautious and no longer the sum of youthful mistakes. Stewart carries through with his usual dignity and confidence, but the episode really comes alive when he embraces his inner rascal and lets the impulsive ensign out with a smile and a mean right hook. The impish Q really only came into his own in later seasons, when his devious tests revealed an odd, usually well-hidden benevolence, and this is one of his more thoughtful outings. --Sean Axmaker ... Read more

Reviews (7)

What if Picard never took chances?..He wouldn't be captain.
This one shows how if Picard never got into a bar room fight in his acdemy years...he would have never taken chances that would have led him to be a starship captain. Q shows Picard what would have happened had he not taken the big risks that led to his career. I love the scenes with him in a blue starfleet tunic as a researcher for the Enterprise. Another priceless scene is when he asks Riker how he can gain advancement in his career. He essencially gave Picard the brush off. You could see his career was going to be one of redundant reports and endless monotony.

This one is a keeper. It's the ultimate Picard episode that gives you a lot of insight into the character.

Sometimes a second chance is not all its cracked up to be...
The Away Team beams up a badly injured Captain Picard, who dies on the operating table because of problems with his artificial heart. In the proverbial bright light of the afterlife Picard encounters a godlike figure--who turns out to be Q. They are going to spend eternity together, but first Q would like to know if there is anything Picard regrets. After all, if he had a real heart he would still be alive. Q refers to an incident that Picard told Wesley Crusher about in "Samaritan Snare" (Episode 43), where his heart was damaged in a bar fight with some Norsicans. When Picard does indeed express some regrets over having been so headstrong as a youth, Q gives him a second chance: Picard is again a young ensign, two days before the encounter with the Norsicans that will end up with him having a dagger piercing his heart. If Picard can avoid that fight, he will not die 30 years later. The "mature" Picard finds a way to avoid the fight and Q congratulates him and returns him to the present--where "Lieutenant" Picard discovers he is an assistant astrophysics officer, described by his superiors as hardworking but not command material. Jean-Luc has to wonder if maybe he would rather be dead than live out the rest of his life like this.

I have thought about it and I have considered it, and I think "Tapestry" is the best of the episodes featuring Q. We have all seen movies and television shows that deal with the big difference made on lives by little things, but that does not take away from the high quality of this episode. The scenes between Picard and Q have a certain sharpness to them missing in other encounters because of the significance of the subtexts here: this is not only about Picard's "life" as in the opposite of death but also his "life" in terms of who he is at his core being. This is definitely one of the top 5 STNG episodes focusing on Picard. Discuss Topic: It seems the best episodes with Q are the always the ones that do not have Q in their titles. Talk amongst yourselves.

Excellent Episode With A "Dead" Captain Picard!
I must comment on this wonderful episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. It involves my favorite , and probably most other Star Trek fans' favorite character, the abominable "Q". In this episode, Capt. Jean-Luc Picard faces death for the first time (and the last time) in my favorite Star Trek series. He perishes on the sick-bay table from a fighting accident and goes to heaven to meet.....who else than God himself, Q! Q welcomes him with open arms (actually, an open handshake) into his eternal world and Capt. Picard is surprised to see him, and does not believe the heavens is run by HIM! But, it is, and Q gives him a chance to make changes and right the "wrongs" that he did as a younger man.....a cadet fresh out of the Academy. This is to relieve Capt. Picard of any regrets that he had when he was alive, so Q doesn't have to hear him...."whining and complaining through time!" "How much time?" says Capt. Picard. "Eternity", replies Q! Q is humorous and witty as usual in this episode and transports him back in time to his Academy days. It is at the point in time just before he got stabbed through the heart by a Nausican where he was transported back to....to his dormitory room. If he can manage NOT to get stabbed through the heart, Q would bring him back to the present day. All of this is REAL, not an illusion that Q made up for his amusement. After many a disillusionment and losing his former friends from the Academy, he DOES manage not to get stabbed through the heart by that Nausican, and is brought back to the present day. But it's not the present day that HE remembered! In his NEW "afterlife", he is just an ordinary crewman serving under Capt. Thomas Halloway as an astrophysics officer! He doesn't like this one bit, and asks Comm. Riker and Counselor Troi if he can be more.....like captain of the ship. Comm. Riker replies, "....We'll see"!. Funny. Capt. Picard mumbles to himself my favorite line that he gives in this episode, "All right Q, you made your point. Having a good laugh now?" He then goes into the turbolift to give his assignment to Lieut. La Forge and is brought back to heaven by Q. He and Q have a one on one confrontation with Q giving him a verbal war of how good he has it now...."with a real heart beating in your chest!" Capt. Picard admits it was a mistake, and that now...."I would rather die on that bed than live the life I just saw!" Q grants him his request and Capt. Picard is revived on his sick-bay bed chuckling at his experience! Was it a dream, or was it a real after-death experience?

A philosopher's episode?
Great episode - brimming with Neitzsche's concept of eternal recurrence - Star Trek TNG seems to find philosophically pregnant themes like this often, to its credit!

100% Compliments! by Elliott Lewis UK
I am no major fan of Star Treck, however I watch it when I can, and thank the lord I did! This was by far the best episode of Star Treck Gen. to ever be showen. The story line is complex and gripping and it realy ilustrates an important fact of life... You have to take chances. In this particular episode "Q" gives the Captain a chance to re-live a part of his life, which indirectly lead to his death, but also helped him become the captain of the Star Ship Enterprise. This was a truly fantasic episode and strangley ironic. SO RECOMENDED! ... Read more

Reviews (4)

X-Files staples
Other reviewers here have paid tribute to Small Potatoes, which is definitely up there in the comedy episodes hall of fame and the David acting episodes hall of fame. I just wanted to put in a word about Gethsemane, which I think belongs in the noir episodes hall of fame. It's got some of the best music and locations of the series, and it delivers high drama while staying clear of sentimentality. This particular cliffhanger ending might strike fans and non-fans alike as somewhat manipulative, but David and Gillian glide through it at their restrained-under-pressure best. Since the X-Files have only released on VHS through season four, there aren't many other examples avaliable of mythology episodes on this level of production and deftness from all departments.

Agent Mulder kissed Agent Scully. Agent Mulder is dead.
Small potatoes is the funniest episode I've never seen in the X-Files. David plays two roles in this episode, one is Agent Mulder and the other is Eddie who can change his face to become other people. When Eddie becomes Agent Mulder (played by David), he tries to lure Agent Scully. When they are going to kiss, real Mulder breaks in and ..... You can see many cute fake-Mulder scenes played by David. Very cute. What a pity I cannot show you a picture here. Gethsemane is the last episode in Season Four which leaves a BIG shock to all fans. AGENT MULDER COMMITTED SUICIDE. This episode is the first part of the three episodes. (Redux I & II in Season Five). This episode is a little gloomy, but it explains why Agent Scully has cancer, why Agent committed suicide (it's not true if you see the first two episodes in Saeson Five), all the conspiracies and lies, etc. Go get the two episodes NOW. I've seen the two episodes for more than ten times. Now you know how they are "ATTRACTIVE".

I wish I could give it more stars!
I have never watched the x-files, until now. These two episodes are just great, the second episode had a ending that really suprised me. but I wont say more, becuase i don't want to spoil it, but trust me, if your a x-files fan, or a new fan like me, you'll love it.

Come To The ("X-Files") Lite Side!
We "X-Philes" have a few categories for all episodes: X-Files Lite, Stand-Alones, and Mythology episodes. This tape has one stand-alone X-Files lite episode ("Small Potatoes") and one mythology episode ("Gethsemane") from the show's heyday. It's perfect for all Philes and people who have always been curious about the show but haven't yet indulged themselves by watching a whole episode. "Gethsemane" is a little dense for new viewers, but "Small Potatoes" is the real star of this video. The story (without giving anything away) focuses on a small West Virginia town that's been having an unusual spate of obstetric abnormalities. It's got a classic paranormal X-File storyline (and funny references to "Star Wars"), yet displays both Gillian Anderson's, and especially David Duchovny's, incredible ability to switch between drama and dry wit at the drop of a hat. There's also that UST ("unresolved sexual tension") between Mulder and Scully that has become a hallmark of the series. The last two scenes, in particular, will have you ROTFL... ("rolling on the floor laughing") The show has always had a real knack for using guest actors who are real ACTORS as opposed to just stars, and the supporting cast in "Small Potatoes" is a prime example of the series' effective use of guest actors to highlight Anderson's and Duchovny's talents. The only bad thing I can say about this episode is that, if you're from West Virginia, you may not appreciate the stereotypical references to the residents' "pedigrees." All in all, however, "The X-Files" is definitely NOT small potatoes. It's definitely one of the best series in television history. Give it a try; you'll be glad you did! ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Booby Trap: A story about a guy in love with his ship!
Geordi's long awaited date with Christi on the holodeck doesn't go as well as he planned; sadly he strikes out again with yet another woman. He laments about this to Guinan in Ten Forward who offers him comfort and reassurance before he returns to duty. Meanwhile the Enterprise is exploring an asteroid belt that is the site of an interstellar battle between two warring alien races and has been over for nearly 1,000 years. They pick up an alien S.O.S. and in tracing it to the source find a battle cruiser left over from the war and still intact. They board it to conduct research and also to determine the cause of the demise of that ship's crew. When they attempt to leave the asteroid belt it is discovered that they are now caught within a minefield that is draining the ship's power and is impossible to attempt to navigate out of. Geordi's effort to determine a means of escape leads him to recreate the Enterprise's design labs on the holodeck. When Geordi asks for some assistance from the computer on the holodeck it fabricates a replication of Dr. Leah Brahms, the starship's designer - who Geordi falls for.

'Booby Trap' is a superior second season episode that is brilliantly conceived and soundly delivered. Though the premise of finding an ancient alien warship floating in space amidst an undetected minefield is intriguing on it own, the creators concern themselves primarily with Geordi and his pursuit of a relationship. In less capable hands the story may have concentrated on the discovery of the antique hardware and the ship's eventual escape; however, the writers of 'Booby Trap' dealt with the dimension that Trek always places the highest importance on - what it is to be human.

Geordi is experiencing some painful feelings that a lot of people do, namely that life has unfairly dealt him lemons in the love life department. He also suffers from the same sense that many do in his situation, acutely aware of his loneliness, struggling to do something about it and having to continually reassure himself of his qualities when he doesn't succeed. The writers use this to their advantage having Geordi meet the proverbial "girl of his dreams" in the form of the starship he cares for beyond anything else. As Dr. Leah Brahms, Susan Gibney is both perfectly ethereal in appearance and gorged with all the same intimate knowledge of the Enterprise as is Geordi. Naturally the two begin to feel a strong attraction to one another but do realize the limitations of their relationship, which the writers emphasize in the credible and sensitive ending to the show.

Other elements worth mentioning include Picard's alluding to his childhood hobby of building ships in a bottle that gets a variety of quizzical and humorous responses from the crew; this theme would be brought back later for the aptly titled sixth season episode 'Ship In A Bottle', that dealt with the holographic Sherlock Holmes nemesis, Professor Moriarty. Dr. Leah Brahms would make a later appearance, in the flesh, in the fourth season episode 'Galaxy's Child' and inadvertently discovers Geordi's holographic representation. Also the incidental music used here is a cut above the usual, though still familiar sounding.

Can Geordi find true love before the booby trap hatches?
In the previous episode, "The Bonding," one of the Enterprise crew was killed when a land mine from a war long ago exploded on the surface of a planet. In this appropriately titled episode, the Enterprise encounters a much more sophisticated "Booby Trap." In a debris field from the last great battle a thousand years earlier between the now extinct Promellians and Menthars, the Enterprise responds to a distress signal and finds a pristine Promellian battle cruiser. When their engines suddenly fail and the Enterprise is surrounded by a high intensity radiation field, Picard realizes they are caught in the same trap of 100,000 aceton assimilators draining power that originally caught the derelict ship and killed off its crew. The clock is ticking, or whatever it is clocks do in the 24th century, and the race in on.

This episode provides a simple but effective deep space problem to be solved by the crew, but the most interesting part of this episode involves the sub-plot with Geordi La Forge, who has been having a real bad streak of luck with the ladies. While working on how to increase the ship's power to save their lives, La Forge recreates the original prototypes of the engines on the holodeck. Surprised it is an option, La Forge also has the computer create a representation of Dr. Leah Brahms, one of the key engineers on the original design team. While "Leah" helps La Forge solve their dilemma, the Chief Engineer finds himself drawn to this holographic creation. On the one hand this episode is another chapter in the interactions of the ship's crew with the wonderful creations of the holodeck (e.g., "11001001," Episode 16), but it also sets up a very interesting episode down the road when the REAL Leah Brahms the following season in "Galaxy's Child" (Episode 90). ... Read more

Amazon.com

This curious episode re-introduced the meddling Q (John de Lancie) to the show, following the quasi-villain's key role in The Next Generation's two-part pilot, "Encounter at Farpoint." Establishing a pattern for all his visits to the Enterprise, Q simply pops up on the starship's bridge while Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) makes haste for an important mission. In this instance, Q transports key personnel (Data, Geordi, Tasha, Wesley, Worf, and Riker) to a barren planet, where they battle horrid creatures wearing the uniforms of Napoleon's army. Most importantly, Q bestows his powers onto Riker (Jonathan Frakes), who then struggles not to use them--and fails spectacularly. The script by series staff writer Maurice Hurley (under the pen name C.J. Holland) was stripped of action by Gene Roddenberry in favor of a talky, philosophical approach to questions concerning human destiny. Things look and feel even more dry on the alien planet set, which looks like a holdover from the zero-budget third season of the original series. More positively, a climactic scene in which Riker attempts to grant his Enterprise friends their most cherished dreams is quite singular in its ensemble work and drama.--Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (5)

We learn about the ethical code of the "Q" continuum
This episode is in many ways a combination of two of the episodes of the original series. When "Q" is on the desert planet with Riker and some of the other officers, his speech and mannerisms are very similar to those of Trelane in "The Squire of Gothos." Riker is granted the power of the "Q", which is similar to what happened to Gary Mitchell in "Where No Man Has Gone Before." However, unlike Gary Mitchell, while Riker grows very arrogant, he maintains his fundamental humanity and does not turn into a monster that must be destroyed.
The most significant event in the episode takes place in the conversation between Riker and "Q" on the surface of a desert world. "Q" admits to Riker that the "Q" continuum is concerned that humanity is advancing quickly and they believe that over thousands of years, the human species may even advance beyond what the "Q" can do. At first, this seems absurd, as the relative evolutionary development between humans and the "Q" is roughly equivalent to that between humans and microbes. However, this demonstrates that the "Q" are governed by a very severe code of ethics when it comes to their interaction with humans. Even though "Q" treats the Enterprise and her crew like toys, the fact that the continuum is concerned about the potential of humans means that he is essentially powerless to affect it in any substantial way. With their tremendous power to alter time and space, it would be a simple matter for the "Q" continuum to eliminate any potential threat that humans may pose.
In the end, Riker renounces his powers and "Q" is forced to return to the continuum against his will, much like Trelane was forced to do. Nevertheless, we learn that even the "Q" have their limits, although we do not know if they are self-imposed or a requirement of an even more powerful authority. I rank it barely in the top quarter of TNG episodes.

"Oh, your species is always suffering and dying."
John de Lancie has always done an outstanding job whenever he has guest-starred as the mischievous and omnipotent Q. The unique interplay Q had with the crew, especially with Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart), was always amusing to watch as he never failed to cause some trouble whenever he could. In fact, Q-episodes actually developed into its own sub-genre of Star Trek: The Next Generation with many of them still remaining fan-favorites. Yet, every now and then there came along a clunker Q episode and "Hide and Q" was one of them.

Q intercepts the Enterprise-D as it is heading to a planet that has just experienced a terrible mining disaster. The entity grants Commander William Riker (Jonathan Frakes) the powers of Q so that he can be studied by the Continuum. Eventually Riker comes to the conclusion that being a God is not all it is cracked up to be and declines Q's gift in order to remain with the Enterprise.

"Hide and Q" is one of the more serious Q outings that just comes across as too heavy-handed and too narrow in scope. The notion of having God-like powers given to Riker is intriguing but instead of exploring how this development will redefine his place in the universe and the implications of accelerated evolution, we are treated to Riker performing parlor tricks for his fellow crew members. "Hide and Q" had a chance to explore genuinely profound ideas but instead chose to limit its ambition by only exploring how Riker's friends would react to his new place in the galactic food chain.

Hide and Q ..........or Q Number 2?
Q Number 2?

In this poignant episode; the notorious Q decides that Riker is to become another member of the continuum. He takes his away team and Wesley and Worf perish in the first half of the episode! It's how Riker decides to bring them back that makes this story a keeper. This is what tempts him to the dark side.

Aboard the bridge, Picard has to deal with a first officer with the power of a God. Riker takes it upon himself to attempt to cure Geordi's blindness, make Data human and Wes into a mature man. It's the outcome of this tele-play that makes this one that I call a Q classic.

The Last Temptation of Riker, Courtesy of Q
One thing you have to admire about the Next Generation series is that they showed admirable restraint when it came to appearances by Q (and the same for Lwaxana Troi). Apparently the Q Continuum finds some hope for humanity on the basis of the Farpoint Station test and have decided to invite Commander Riker to join the Q. Given the power of the Q, Riker uses them to restore Worf and Wesley to life after the pair are killed during one of Q's little tests. Picard persuades Riker not to give into the temptation, but Riker's will power is put to the test during a particularly brutal rescue mission to Sigma III when he looks at the dead and wounded. Rethinking his decision, Riker uses his power to provide "gifts" to the bridge crew: Wesley becomes ten years older, Geordi is given sight, and Worf is provided with a Klingon female. However, when Data refuses the chance to be human, Riker and the others rethink exactly what they are being offered.

"Hide and Q" is one of the more thoughtful episodes from the first season although I always think Jonathan Frakes looks so baby-faced without his beard in these early episodes. The idea of Q as a meddlesome presence to the Enterprise's mission is being developed, but without the constant comic twists that will become standard fare. This is not only the second episode with Q, but also the second time the series explores the Riker character (see: Episode 7, "The Last Outpost"). At this point in the development of the Next Generation, Commander Riker is the Away Team Leader as the series tries to avoid the "Kirk beams down into danger" paradox that has the captain repeatedly putting himself into harm's way because he is the hero of the show and that is what heroes do. Eventually Riker's leadership abilities will be developed in other ways. The brief look into the hopes and dreams of the various characters is much more satisfying that the too little, too early examinations in "The Naked Now" (Episode 3).

Hide & Q
This episode marks the second appearance of the entity known as Q. Q gives Commander Riker the power of Q in an attempt to make Riker one of the Q. To this end, Q places the crew of the Enterprise in some 'games' to tempt Riker to join with him.

All in all it's not a bad episode for the first season. ... Read more

Amazon.com

"The Naked Now" is a must-own for all TNG fans. Who cares if it's basically a retread of the original series' "Naked Time" or that it breaks out every Star Trek cliché in the book? This episode lays the groundwork for fundamental relationship story lines that take seven years to unfold. Thanks to some nasty alcoholic space bug, the crew of the Enterprise-D loses all inhibition and has a good ol' time. See Picard and Doctor Bev get hot and heavy. Watch in awe when Troi asks Riker "Don't you want to be alone with me in your mind?" Find out what "fully functional" really means whether you want to or not. Of course, all good things must come to an end. (Un)fortunately, Dr. Crusher finds a cure and Wesley saves the day. "Naked Now" is so joyously and transcendentally bad, it's good. A number one guilty pleasure among TNG fans everywhere. --Kayla Riggney ... Read more

Reviews (14)

Interesting Episode Quite a crowd pleaser.
This is the second episode of TNG's first season making it the Second episode of the series. Officially is is listed as episode 3 because the pilot episode was a 2 part or "double" episode.

This episode is a spin-off of the TOS episode "The Naked Time" Basically the same type of thing happens. In this episode the Enterprise meets up with the U.S.S. Tsiolkovsky, in observing a star that is about to go nova (Named after the great Russian physicist and rocket scientist, Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky if you look closely you will notice that one of the plaques on the ship is wri