Mike and Rich's Top 5 Star Trek TNG Episodes! - re:View (part 1)

hello everyone and welcome to another episode of two old men and paper i'm your host mike and i am rich evans and uh today we have met on the review set to discuss our favorite show of all time but i can't speak for you but it's star trek the next generation and we've decided to select our top five favorite episodes [Music] [Applause] [Music] we've often called back to star trek right other than my reviews of the tng feature films we've called back to star trek moments here this reminds me of this but we never delved into it we very rarely talk about the star trek we actually like which is why when you came up to me a few weeks ago and said why don't we do a top picks for tng i'm like yeah why not only problem was i went to make my top five episodes of tnt and i couldn't [ __ ] do it all right that should do it you ready yes because there are too many great episodes of tng but let's let's get on with our tng top picks top picks at tng um we do not know each other's picks no and i've selected mine based on several things rewatch ability um a little guilty pleasure you could take episodes like measure of the man the inner light uh drum head episodes that have like a really strong um like moral message and then they're really quality written chain of command part one and two um but then there's really fun indulgent episodes and so i picked them based on the ones that i like to re-watch yeah because star trek tng i like watched that that was back in the day before there was an internet so like there was an episode on it was a rerun and it was an episode i was glad to see that was that's a big thing like oh it's that episode i like that episode well i think we both would agree without looking at each other's lists that best of both worlds one and two are on it no no no okay the best of the it's fine episode it it doesn't even make my top 10. okay okay is it on is it on your list it's on my list i assumed i want to talk about it i definitely want to talk about i have things to say about it it doesn't make my best of list though okay okay um i just assumed it would so i did it on mine okay um it is one that i rewatch and it is one that i like it's very pivotal here's what here's what i have to say about the best of both worlds it is not my favorite episode of star trek but it might be the most important episode of star trek for reasons i will get into when you talk about it well let's talk about it right now number five the best of both worlds this is the big borg episode it's the famous thing that everybody goes to uh you know that's what the star trek picard tv show dealt with sort of the borg picard becomes the cutest it's a two-parter it ends season three and begins season four considered the apex of the two seven seasons of tng a little rough in the beginning gets great and then a little rough at the end it's it's it's peak ripeness of star trek and that two-parter halfway through that was edge of your seat stuff when you saw it live on tv oh my god ryker's gonna blow up picard now i'm i'm curious were you watching this like did you see that like during season three at the end did you like did you have to wait for the cliffhanger to resolve actually no i was watching old star trek right uh-huh i i was i was uh my dad always had old star trek on and i used to watch it with him and then i started getting into the movies and this was probably around maybe season five of star trek the next generation yeah and i was watching a marathon and i was like blown away by the end and all i had to do was wait maybe 20 minutes for the continuation yeah and i was i was like hooked at that point i remember when it started and it was like 87 you know i was pretty young so i was like you know who's that bald guy where's captain kirk and i went outside and playing basketball outside similar to you i was like 10 years old when tng started and i was a dumb kid so when i heard about star trek the next generation my my first reaction was you can't do star trek without kirk and spock security this is the captain security what the [ __ ] are they doing this is gonna suck and so i i had a just so dumb ten-year-old me built in negative feelings towards dng you were the first like internet naysayers yeah i was first into nice hair before there was internet and then i probably saw like one season one episode and it was probably some crap like a code of honor and i was like yeah i was right this show sucks i see code of honor the racist episode that's the racist episode when tasha yar tries to hit a black lady with a spiked ball with the poison yeah and they're on a jungle gym yeah yeah it was terrible oh yes and i i i turned my back on tng i'm like yeah i was right i never watched it again meanwhile it's kind of ironic though not to cut you off because a lot of the season one episodes were carry over writers from the old old show and they all felt kind of horny and dated that's a different that's a different conversation why why the kind of [ __ ] they did on tos just did not work on tng i don't know why i don't have time to analyze that [ __ ] right now that's too much to think it's too much to get into i could picture kirk with a thing and a spike ball what's the problem i didn't have that music yeah okay but so i'm not watching star trek anymore i'm not watching it and meanwhile like season two of tng is like rocky but it gets really there's like some big peaks in season two some great episodes i'm missing all of that season three starts some of the best [ __ ] star trek ever made i am completely ignoring it and then the best of both worlds happen and it was like a pre-internet meme you know resistance is futile and that that image of picard with the laser eye staring at that that that just spread throughout the culture i i heard about that i'm like what's this [ __ ] up [ __ ] that's going on with star trek like there's a this borg these horrible these horrible monsters that suck away your individuality and do body horror and they got picard i got i'm gonna tune in to star trek again and when i tuned in because this wasn't the internet you couldn't watch any episode you ever wanted i just saw like a random season three episode and that's what got me hooked on tng but i didn't i didn't start watching tng again until the [ __ ] meme of resistance's feudal borg just started spreading through schools or wherever i heard about it well best of both worlds is like like a big it's a good it's like the best star trek movie it's a thriller acknowledged fire anti-matter spread [Music] it's a thriller um it's set up of course with uh cue who the earlier episode where the borg are just a stand-alone thing they're a device we don't even know if they're real maybe q invented them um to to take humanity down a peg like picard's like well we're ready for any challenge out there in space we're humans he's like oh be careful through a resolute we're determined and your help is not required we'll just have to see how ready you are and then they run into the borg just this unstoppable of mindless drones that are just gonna steal your individuality you can't fight them with weapons you can't you can't negotiate with them they're just unstoppable their technology is too far beyond anything starfleet has their biggest advantage their technology is completely [ __ ] useless against the board right [Music] their technology and their their individuality their negotiation their humanity their all of all of the federation's strengths are weaknesses against the borg uh q saves them at the end but then there's this like looming threat that they return and that's how best of both worlds starts it's got it starts off with a spooky music captain's logs stardate 439 89.1 the enterprise has arrived at jury four in response to a distress signal from one of the federation's outermost colonies and it's just this ominous beginning and the admiral's there and he he brings in shelby and you know and then the story begins the borg have entered the outskirts of federation space by the way i don't i don't know if it was their original intention when they wrote that episode and they just kind of grafted the borg story onto it that was actually hinted at as early as i think season one two federation outposts in sector 3-0 have been destroyed romulans that's the assumption they think it's the romulans who are ripping colonies out of the ground we are here because our outposts which border on the neutral zone were also attacked destroyed in the exact same manner as your own it's this mystery back back even in like the end of season one i think maybe they were just planning to set up for a big villain and then they just decided this is it i've always thought that the borg like the kyuhu episode was like so like oh this new new enemy's cool let's bring them back you wanted to frighten us we're frightened the the plot is is fairly simple but the the undertones of the plot are what's the most interesting part as we've discussed this before in our private life off camera best of both worlds does not refer to the federation flagship and the borg it's really a story about commander riker it's a riker episode uh it's all about ambition commander data i realize your very nature omits ambition nevertheless i want you to know i seriously considered you as first officer thank you sir and that's the neat thing about it is the borg are a giant cube metaphor for ambition and and all they want is to move up consume become stronger and riker is at that point in his life where he's been offered many captaincies well when he was introduced on the show that was like his big drive i'm gonna be the big captain i gave up my relationship with with troy the love of my life because i'm so ambitious it's gonna hold me back i need to take the higher positions in starfleet goodbye troy i'm on the fast track yeah so you have the borg you have picardus is settled in his role as captain and riker has in the episode he gets offered a command you're ready to work without a net you're ready to take command and you know enterprise will go along just fine without you and he turns it down so he talks to troy and and ten forward and it's like you know what am i doing you know i'm like treading water here and she's he you know the question is brought up whether or not he's scared of the big chair he wants to stay in the enterprise but he also wants to be captain and so that's the big dilemma the the picard gets kidnapped and that's the end of this the first half the first episode is riker has the chance to blow up picard well he hit that point he has the best of both worlds he's he's on the enterprise he's with his friends he's got troy and he's the [ __ ] captain of the enterprise he's got it all yep the best of both worlds means he has the ship he wants and the position he wants um and so you also have it's reflected in other characters too you have the the super old admiral who dies and then you have a young woman named commander shelby who is an ambitious go-getter and so that theme is woven into her character too i have been reluctantly forced to conclude that commander shelby our expert on the borg has an ideal choice at this time for first officer everyone gets what they want except for card this is before um you had like plot leagues like seasons in advance and you didn't know what was going to happen or the next season of the show you got to that cliffhanger at the end of the best of both worlds for all you knew the future of star trek tng was going to have riker as the captain you didn't know if that was going to be the new status quo or not that's true that's why it was such a powerful uh ending great cliffhanger they couldn't they could never recreate that cliffhanger so many times they've tried you do it now and they'd say well they're not getting rid of patrick stewart he's under contract for a few more seasons you find that out on twitter well yeah so then you know you have a big you have a big federation crisis which which we haven't really seen before so then we get the battle of wolf three five nine the enterprise is late to battle level three five nine which is good for them because they would have gotten blown up and it's good for the show's budget because we don't get to see it yes um we see the remnants we see all the floating carcasses of the ships spark sparking in this this like graveyard of death as the borg have just plowed through them yeah and then we actually see the real battle of wolf 359 in the the pilot episode of star trek deep space nine we never saw the actual battle in uh star trek the next generation we just see the aftermath of it but deep space nine was just on the cusp of of not using models anymore so so that battle in comparison to something like star trek discovery a little tame but i'm very happy i'm very happy with tame in hindsight i'll take tame over this nightmare any day so riker has a talk with with gainan who i love i love gainan on tng i wish she showed up more yeah she's a far better counselor than troy ever was [Laughter] i don't hate troy but but man gainen was really great at just dealing with people's issues troy troy seems like she's reading out of like a counselor's script you know what i mean recovery from a great loss involves a great deal of pain if we try to avoid that pain we can make it harder on ourselves in the long run where she's just like saying like like platitudes and like rehearse stuff that a counselor should say but the ironic procedure 1a in the handbook says that the problem is this yeah would counselor troy not be a more appropriate choice to speak with keiko she already has didn't help but the the the ironic part is is that she's an empath no you're wrong i feel better today than i have in ages you're absolutely wrong deanna guyana is not although she very well could be she's very mysterious but she she's very wise she's lived for 800 years or something so she's seen a lot she's she's got her mysterious backstory with picard that's one of the hugest letdowns of the show but whatever now they're gonna dig her up for uh star trek picard season two and she's gonna run around with a machine gun she's gonna bring out that famous gun that she she has hidden behind the bar that she used to break up the bar fight remember that it shot out like like sparklers god i don't remember that i wish i did yeah and then guyan takes out this giant gun from behind the bar and shoots it into the ceiling with no regard for safety of the people in the deck above so yeah best of both worlds action-packed the bunch of encounters with the borg some fights they got to go rescue picard uh they they use uh their knowledge is he's still linked to collective and you know some action stuff um but really episode about riker i've always thought the ending of best of both worlds just kind of a letdown i put them all to sleep to sleep [Music] there's one thing that would have made it perfect the episode ends with picard in his ready room and he's got a couple of bandages on his head you know crusher took out all the implants and then it he he looks longingly out his window to his ready room and the camera pans back he's looking at earth too right he's looking at earth they're in orbit of earth and so he's just sort of like contemplative and he's looking out the window and it ends with just kind of a sad you know just the credits start rolling picard should have just been back at the desk hitting the pad captain or something something something we're in space doc where repairs are going to take so fine fine fine fine thank you thank you cut then it cuts to 10 forward and riker's having a drink all by himself and the camera pulls back you know one of those lonely forward endings yeah where he's looking out the window with contemplation oh because he's back where he started yeah i think at that point though they knew what got audiences excited was the hype about the borg and picard getting assimilated it stopped being a riker episode like i i think i think that story would have worked a lot better for me if riker actually did become a captain shortly after that like that's like that's the end of the arc for him after that story right yeah he has to decide to move on yeah and he he never does because it's a serialized tv show and he's one of your main characters right but if there was some reflection on that on and from his character and if that would have cropped up more throughout the rest of the show after best of both worlds riker is guy who asks questions about what's going on that's his job except it's missing several of the key roxic sequences it's been a long time since i took genetics doctor the warp field generator is a power flow anti-attenuator and that of course naturally created an amplification of the inherent energy output huh i see that you have to compensate for the gravimetric interference before [Music] is there something wrong sir no [Music] i don't know he is he is the guy whose career stalled just like like the admiral and other people were predicting was gonna happen to riker if he didn't make a [ __ ] move soon that's exactly what happened to him yeah yeah he was happy where he was but uh he he he was the first officer and and if the script needed somebody to ask a layman question they always went to riker yeah it also might mean they're shapeshifters of some kind so they could have appeared on earth as humans you mean if i go back only one of us could return that's right you mean we could have come into this room sat at this table and had this conversation a dozen times already a dyson sphere it's a very old theory number one i'm not surprised that you haven't heard of it but anyway that's the best of both worlds are well i guess it's my number five yeah mr wharf fire okay so we're gonna go on rich you're going to say your next episode um but i wrote up some things while i was picking out my episodes and i i was just fascinated by the variety of stories that that occur in in star trek the next generation and if you could think of any extra ones okay you tell me um so i have we have episodes that are about space anomalies problems with a space anomaly interpersonal relationships love stories etc space politics inter-species conflicts etc prime directive you know first contact that stuff uh light-hearted episodes about daily life aboard the ship scary nightmarish episodes alien abductions threats mysterious illnesses uh morality lesson episodes of course i would i would say specifically ethical dilemma sure ethical dilemma wharf wants to kill himself uh troy's mother is in love with the guy who has to do a ritual suicide at age 60. um things like that that's an ethical dilemma and inter-species ethical dilemmas guest spot characters who bring a mystery or problem to the enterprise the the fake time traveler from the future who's really from the past [ __ ] like that the guy who steals data the most toys uh wacky situations that characters find themselves in i have the menage menage troye episode where they're kidnapped uh there's some that are a little more like um where they're more dangerous you know picard's uh picard's vacation captain's holiday when he's in the wacky situation with vash and the ferengi is trying to find the the treasure um i consider that a wacky situation a character finds themselves in to understand someone that is different from you you have the the episode where jordy had to team up with romulan when when like one of them was blind and the other one could walk on the the electrical stump that's the london core episode i was going to say that's a more dangerous situation sure are y'all are dharmak and gelato dharmak and jalad uh dharmak episode yes um where you're trapped with someone you've got to understand them it's similar to the gorn episode dangerous or survival situations characters find themselves in there's just straight up like we've got to survive picard and beverly are fall in that hole and that guy's selling the automated uh laser things that are trying to kill people remember the planet that sells like like war weapons that's defunct and they're like stuck in this trap where these things are flying around trying to murder them or the episode final mission picard wesley and that guy are trapped on the desert planet and there's this waterfall and they're thirsty but it's covered with the foreshield you know there's some little character stuff going on there um straight up mysteries or whodunits do you remember when data wouldn't tell anybody uh what's going on and i think it was called clues yeah um and uh picard was like what's going on data you're lying to us you know and who's trying to save them because this alien said if they come back he's going to blow him up so data had to lie and cover it up mystery so it's also i'd say it probably fits in close with space now but also cause an effect cause and effect uh which can fall under space anomalies so that that's just a list and then i have a list of of types of episodes from star trek discovery number one violence i don't i don't have any so going through all the star trek episodes i i had to pick from all these wonderful variety of kinds of stories and i'm sure there's even more and there's different there's there you could blend these two together and uh we'll we'll talk a little bit more on that rich go next episode okay i got a measure of a man and i i i was reluctant to even bring this one up because star trek picard [ __ ] all over it i still i still have to bring it up it's an important episode it's a famous episode basically there is this the scientist maddox from the daystrom institute and um data is very special android and his creator is dead nobody nobody can figure out how to make data they can't figure out how to recreate this technology so this guy from the daystream institute he wants to take apart data's brain well technically a data's creator's not dead yet we don't know that everyone thinks he's dead you're getting i had to jump that in there you know why i know why but it would just confuse the discussion of this particular episode because for all practical intents and purposes everyone thinks that he is dead correct so he he decides you know we this is important technology we need this i need to take commander data's brain apart i thought that we could talk this out that i could try to persuade you your memories and knowledge will remain intact and data because he has free will he he doesn't want this done to him but maddox being the villain of this episode is like no you're you're a machine you are property and i am going to demand that you come with me because you are starfleet property you're going to come with me i'm going to take apart your brain and picard is like commander data is a valued member of my bridge crew based on what i've heard i can't allow commander data to submit himself to this experiment [ __ ] that [ __ ] and so they're they're on the starbase and they're going to have a little trial because the the local local judge is in town who has a backstory of a card but no way to go anywhere it doesn't go anywhere and nobody [ __ ] cares and so we're gonna we're gonna have this this legal battle to determine the fate of data yeah i guess they need a prosecuting attorney and the only qualified person is riker and the unenviable task of prosecuting this case would fall on you commander as the next most senior officer of the defendant's ship i can't i won't and so riker is forced against his will to testify against data she adds a little interpersonal drama yeah yeah and it's just a i i i think it's just this episode's a good example of just the the the ethics of of star trek the the federation's willingness to just accept things that are different from them like no data's person he's got rights and we're gonna we're gonna fight for his rights uh yeah and where where this this new ethical challenge has not come up yet and now here it is it's like pen pals yeah you know yeah my emotions are involved data's friend is going to die that means something to data uh which is another good example of uh that kind of episode and that that definitely belongs in in a top five episode list it is also probably the the ultimate example of the picard speech because the entire ending of this episode is just one epic picard speech that saves the day your honor a courtroom is a crucible in it we burn away irrelevances until we're left with a pure product the truth for all time this is one of the best examples of that it's also a good guiding episode because he gets the he gets the advice he needs from gainan right right beforehand he's he's he's at his cards at his lowest point like picard riker did a really good demonstration that date is just he's a machine you can take his arm off press the button he turns off and yeah card's like oh no what what can i do and then guyana he goes 10 forward goes to the bar talks to guyana and she she points out no no it's not about whether or not he's a machine this is a slavery issue he's talking about slavery i think that's a little harsh i don't think that's a little harsh i think that's the truth and picard's like owned it inspires him to make the ultimate picard speech he saves the day with his words perfectly well written episode yeah perfect it's a shame that star trek picard [ __ ] all over it that eventually androids became slaves and picard didn't seem to give two [ __ ] i [ __ ] hate that so much that show i'm so glad coronavirus happened oh yeah hell yeah my next episode will also be a similar kind of ethical dilemma kind of episode uh probably not a fan favorite episode but it's one that i i like a lot in the regard of measure of a man it's called the drum head are you familiar with this oh yeah yeah i haven't seen it in a while so you might need to remind me of stuff but yeah um it's not a fun re-watch but it's a good episode that ends with a great picard speech the the premise is they they foolishly allow a klingon scientist aboard the enterprise who uh the best klingon scientist was in that beverly crusher episode yeah where she was just like obviously just abused by her own culture that klingons obviously do not respect scientists and so she is extremely insecure about everything yeah i have heard enough of your accusations now i will have your silence uh but this guy does not look like a scientist he's really angry and he gets accused uh rightfully so of stealing secrets you accuse me because i am klingon because he he claims to have a disease that he has to take daily injections for and then they discover he's used a device and encoded in the uh injection serum like i don't know micro rna sequences that compute to computer information so he's literally carrying secrets out in his bloodstream so they they catch them but but the the trigger point for the episode is uh the warp engine explodes not not destroying the ship but a part of it blows up leaks radiation out into the warp engine area and they have to close the door and vent the radiation so it's this big like it's a conspiracy who sabotaged the warped core right obviously somebody sabotaged the warp somebody sabotaged the warped core and stole secrets so then you have this this admiral her name is admiral satie they established counselor troy in the very beginning and she's determining whether or not the klingon is lying she says it's hard he's hard to read it's hard to tell he's very closed captioning not idea what happened to available troy or why picard didn't ask her you know can you help out here it's a drum head trial which picard explains is like an old like uh military uh tribunal uh what do they called court martial but but not an official one where they they you sit on a drum and they just like they like say you're guilty you know uh so like like an unfair trial is a drum head trial and um like kangaroo court kangaroo court right uh admiral saty comes in there and she's got we discover later she's gotta hang up she's a little nuts she's trying to live in the shadow of her father who is a great judge what you're doing here it's unethical it's immoral i'll fight it do what you must captain and so will i they begin this prosecution she's got a betazoid with her and this other lady who just takes notes and looks like smug and they come investigating and so um it's just you know without just going through the entire plot it starts to spiral out of control because i have access does not would you say if i told you there is evidence that the explosion in the engine room was caused by a corrosive chemical one that is kept stored in sickbay i had nothing to do with that they they accused this they find this this guy who has like kind of vulcanish romulan ears his name is something tarsus lieutenant ensign tarsus and they're they're like did you chat with this klingon you know and he's like a little bit i guess and then they're like he's hiding something he's hiding a dirty secret and it turns out he lied on his application to starfleet his great grandfather or grandfather was romulan and not vulcan which makes him ineligible you know and they ruin his career and then they're like okay stop stop stop and then and then jordy and data say oh it's an accident i believe sir that the conclusion to our investigation must be that the explosion was not intentional that's the way i see it this wasn't sabotage at all it was nothing more than an accident there was a flaw in the in the casing on the warp core and it blew up and she's like there wasn't an accident i'm going to keep digging they ally themselves with wharf because wharf is crazy it said his klingon blood man he just becomes a true believer in prosecuting everybody oh yeah for everything they they instantly recognize wharf as an ally he can be your your ss officer and he does recruit like a team of security people that all start doing digging he's just like immediately down with it wharf wharf is not the best starfleet officer i do not understand i mentioned something new not in that episode do you remember conundrum when which one was that which one's it's they they uh they get all their minds erased their memories erased and nobody knows rank the computer's offline it's so this these aliens can take over the ship and blow up their enemies wharf thinks he's the captain because he's got the sash he's like i must be the captain and he's like i think we should kill everyone the faces are operational we now have full tactical control you know and picard's like but mr wharf captain wharf maybe we should look into this a little more i disagree full phasers target them and destroy them you know it's kind of funny wharf is he has violent tendencies and he doesn't think very clearly if there is a conspiracy on board i promise you i will find it they they they recruit them to their cause it starts getting out of control and eventually like they're pointing at everyone you're a conspirator you're a conspirator and um then picard is put up on the stage just last year you had a vulcan ambassador on board who turned out to be a romulan what did you do about it in fact she was not a vulcan at all was she she was a romulan spy that's correct did you try to steal her back from the romulans because she had federation secrets and they the the the head of starfleet security comes to the trial and first it was a closed session now it's like open to the public everyone's there and it becomes like like a witch trial yeah um picard makes a great speech and then the admiral melts down in front of everybody and the the head of surface security just leaves without saying a single word and um he's just like like that's how and it's kind of reflective in today's society you know that's how things can just spin out of control you think we've come so far torture of heretics burning of witches all ancient history then before you can blink an eye suddenly it threatens to start all over again uh so it's a good like episode about that kind of um kind of fear that could happen slippery slope um mccarthyism uh that sort of stuff but she or someone like her will always be with us waiting for the right climate in which to flourish spreading fear in the name of righteousness another great example of a picard speech yes yes picard just is this who we've become you know you put you're [ __ ] putting me on trial now the first was a was a dirty klingon who was literally stealing secrets but it was a coincidence it was unrelated to the explosion but there's this like this conspiracy has to go further um and so you know it's not an action-packed episode it's it's not a whole bunch of fun but uh it's a smartly written episode and and i'd like to point out too before i forget this episode made me think about it was that in the measure of a man too is is i prefer episodes that are not a b story episodes um in tv when you write an episode most times there's an a story in a b story where you have the a story is the main story and then you cut back tng episodes with a and b stories i tend to not like as much as when they focus all 42 minutes on a single story and that's what the drumhead did it builds it up yeah but it just depends on how it's structured and what it's about yeah if it if it needs a lot of big scenes like measure of man or you know where everyone's talking and figuring something out um or you're building up this you know this drum head trial where you're moving from one person to the next and and you have to show progression you don't want to distract from that by having you know deanna troy her her replicator isn't making her chocolate ice cream right you know what i mean well that episode is way too serious for something like that yeah yeah i just i just threw that out as a silly example but maybe something like different you know like you have one story where data's experimenting with a relationship and the b story your your ensign is getting merged with part of the whole yeah that was that episode right that was the yes in theory yes the lady stuck on the floor those two things are totally wildly different they have nothing more to say perhaps we should call a recess what you got next rich all right well what what i have next is i i would be uh i'd be very sad if we didn't have a q episode and so i have deja q it's a great episode it might not be the best beginner episode because if you're not familiar with q the fact that he lost his powers might not mean much to you but if you're a fan of q it's a delightful episode q of course is is the omnipotent being he is he is all-powerful all-knowing he could just snap his fingers and he could do anything like a mariachi band appear like a mariachi band appears in deja queue yes [Music] give riker some ladies then give him the wharf and he seems to be obsessed with picard he's fascinated with humanity and more specifically picard and he frequently shows up on star trek the next generation episodes and they're usually lighthearted episodes and he torments up he torments everybody and they're really fun episodes q it's about time you showed up i would prefer if you addressed me as his honor the high sheriff of nottingham he was a little more menacing early on even even then though there were some fun moments yeah yeah the first the first appearance of q was the the first episode of star trek yeah the pilot and then the second one was when he sent them all down to the planet so when he made them fight pig monsters yeah that was a very bad episode but it was season one the napoleonic pig warriors with the muskets those aren't muskets i don't he was tempting riker to become a cue i think i don't remember that one very well but um his appearances became less and less uh threatening and more more and more benevolent as time went on too oddly first the first q appearance he is clearly clearly the antagonist and then by the time you get to the end it's almost like he's guiding everybody but deja q is an episode starts off where the the enterprise they're in orbit over this planet and this planet is a huge problem literally because their moon is crashing into the planet so the enterprise they're desperately trying to figure out scientifically how to use their tractor beams or whatever just to save save this planet from their moon crashing into it when out of nowhere a naked queue appears on the bridge of the enterprise and he has been stripped of his powers the the rest of the queue all of the other queues have decided he is too much of a menace he's terrible and they're going to punish q by making him mortal and so you have this wonderful episode where like the tables are reversed normally normally q is the one [ __ ] with everybody and now you have an episode where q is completely powerless and and he's completely confused by everything like he doesn't know what sleep is he's he's terrified when he falls asleep i lost consciousness what happened you fell asleep q you fell asleep oh terrifying how can you stand it day after day it's just got some great one-liners this episode he was trying to prove to everybody that he doesn't have his powers anymore they won't they won't believe that that q is immortal now and it's like how how can i prove it to you and then worf just says die what must i do to convince you people die it's perfect oh very clever wharf eat any good books lately whoever thought wharf would have a witty comeback and then he says eat any good books yeah lately line makes me laugh too it's nowhere near as clever no but it's just funny yeah yeah this is also the episode where you get the famous picard facepalm because in all the universe you're the closest thing i have to a fringe on luke oh that's in this episode when q shows up on the bridge card's like i got enough [ __ ] to deal with now what what the [ __ ] is what what the [ __ ] is you doing sneezing having an itch a pimple bad breath having to bathe too bad uh this is also a good example of a b story where they are they are more intertwined um because q's appearance there he they start making him help trying to um figure out how to pull the moon away from or back into a stable orbit and so he he's actively working on the problem at the end that the two stories connect as they should as they usually do that's what b story is done well they think everything comes together it comes together at the end q at the end he uh gets his powers back hmm fine you got your powers back try and stay out of trouble and um he solves their problem with the moon yeah and shows it shows a little bit of uh benevolence and kindness from him uh they helped him out they took care of him when he didn't have his powers they protected him most importantly why chose to become human yeah he knew he knew all of the other people he tormented were going to be coming after him and and only only starfleet would be gullible enough to take him in and help him out and space electric space fish or whatever he'll come to come to get him the uh calamari catamari we have sustained light damage from an attack by an alien species known as the calamarine well also it's also a good episode with data yeah because they they team queue up with data in that episode and the the irony is that q is this being who has been forced against his will to become a human he doesn't want anything to do with being human and data his entire ambition in his life has been to become more human and now now you get scenes with them together where data's kind of teaching you how to be a better human being i'm not good in groups it's difficult to work in a group when you're omnipotent and um another uh note is the q q moment of kindness is that this is the same episode where it gives data that moment of uh humor laughter data understands laughter for just a minute and then it's taken away from them great pick rich thank you oh that is that is that is up there for me is that one of your is that on your list no wow however you did it thank you we're we'll segue with q okay and i'm going with tapestry i don't have it on my list but it's a great episode written by ronald d moore uh this is this is the the star trek's quantum leap episode uh i love this episode it's so great the premise is we opened with uh the away team has been ambushed we don't see it but they beam right into sickbay picard has been shot square in the chest with some kind of high-powered laser beam he's dying his artificial heart is giving specifically because he has an artificial heart yeah and um dr crusher can't save him he dies he wakes up in a white landscape and then q is there in like monk robes and he's like i'm god you're dead it's great opening q's not wrong i mean for all practical intents and purposes he is god and it's and it's ambiguous at the end whether or not picard actually died or q played a trick on him we don't really know it's near the end of q's transformation from pure antagonists to secretly benevolent and they went so far benevolent on q in that episode that they had to say oh it was a dream and we don't know if it was really cute or not yeah we don't know if picard had a dream if q really intervened and prevented him from dying who knows um he doesn't magically recover in sickbay at the end but um yeah so it's the star trek quantum leap episode he leaps back into his former self they do a bit where he looks in the mirror and i'm really glad they didn't they didn't show a younger self it would have been copyright infringement um but he's like he's like i don't you know i don't look 21. he's like well and everybody else you do that's what q says suddenly don't look it well to everyone else you do so uh basically it's a uh it's kind of a time travel that he's given q has given picard the opportunity to be less brash in his youth to not get into the fight that caused him to need an artificial heart right that's that's the the heart of the episode it's also it's also about all the like the choices you make throughout your life and how they mold you as a person because picard looks back at his that his younger self as brash arrogant um violent even he's a womanizer he makes a date with an elderly lady i know he had the hearts for his friend he had the hots for his friend he gets slapped in the face by a girl in the beginning walks out and then he remembers that he made he drunkenly made a date with an elderly lady and he shows up and and and she she's like she's like is am i not as pretty as i was when you had beer goggles what's wrong i don't look as attractive to you as i did last night and he's like he's like no no no you're you're a handsome woman i think you're a very handsome woman handsome that's something you say to old ladies and then she she throws a drink in his face or slaps him or something she's like i'm out of here he bastard and uh so yeah he's he's a bit of a womanizer and i love that line you're you're a very handsome woman because to me it's a lovely reference to the salt vampire episode of the original star trek series you remember this i don't remember this line that you're referencing but i remember that episode i love william shatner's delivery of this line in the salt vampire episode because they go down to the planet to find that scientist and his wife is there and uh mccoy knew her when he was younger and it's not really the wife it's the salt vampire in disguise and um he sees her as young and beautiful and kirk sees her as an old lady oh this is captain jim kirk of the enterprise [Music] this is greater and and mccoy's like she doesn't look a day over 25 when i when i dated her yeah 100 years ago and and and kirk's like and he goes because bones she's a a handsome woman but you know he's just like what the [ __ ] are you talking about she looks exactly as i knew her 12 years ago amazing jim like a girl at 25. she's got some gray bones excuse me professor she's a handsome woman yes but hardly 25. and so you never say a woman is handsome it means it means they still look pretty good when they're old so that's what that's picard's first mistake and so he's he's he's a womanizer he's he's arrogant he starts fights with nausicans and so he becomes the the the the killjoy of the party when he's he's an old man and everybody sees him as 21 year old because he's hanging out with his two cadet friends martha britannitis and the guy with the red hair i don't know what his name is bobby whatever point is though without without that ambition of his youth without that fire he he never made much of his life cardi that won't solve anything they'll teach him that he can't go around cheating starfleet officers all it'll do is provoke him and provoking a nausea is not a good idea so he's he's being more older picard and he's saying the the they do a thing where they're playing dom jot which is like pool in a pool hall basically with with um play dumb shot you will play come on that's a famous line human play dumb jet human it's like darmac enchilada into an agra a resistance is futile it has a famous line in this one rich ah dom jawed human and um and the the the nausicans look silly playing this little game with the glowing balls it's a terrible prop terrible but it's a great line it's a great line terrible prop great line uh they find out the nausicans are cheating god i'm not here to help you i'm here to stop you from making a serious mistake you sound like my mother you know picard's buddy is like pissed off about it and he wants to get back at them and no no let's not and then the fight is about to happen and picard stops his friend from attacking the gnostic and like throws him over a table you know yeah he also sleeps with with the girl which they never did they were always friends and he kind of soils that friendship and it's it's ruined there as well and so then boom flash forward mr picard lieutenant junior grade mr wolfe what is my rank of position you are lieutenant junior grade assistant astrophysics officer are you feeling all right he's got the blue uniform on and he's like what and so they show his future it's a little bit too of like it's a wonderful life where you kind of see how if he was never born but now it's picard is the changes he made didn't mold his character and and q explains it to him he's like if you never did this you wouldn't have taken command of the stargazer bridge when the captain died and you wouldn't you got you have to be seen you know and then riker explains it to him too he's like you never take chances you never you never you got to stand out you got to get noticed you know yeah if you want to get ahead you have to take chances stand out in the crowd get noticed it's a very simple lovely story about the folly of regret i can't live out my days as that person that man is bereft of passion and imagination that is not who i am the folly of regret yes it's regret is a huge part of this episode and and i watched this one live on television or you know first run i guess yeah and i had known from the samaritan snare episode when when picard and wesley take the shuttlecraft to get his heart fixed by dr uh pulaski he tells the story you fought them and won i had this one norse again down in this uh somewhat devious joint lock when uh unbeknownst to me one of his chums drew his weapon and impaled me through the back of how he got stabbed in the heart and he looked down and he laughed in fact i do actually remember that i laughed out loud and when i saw that scene i was like he's got to look down and laugh and then it happened i was like okay okay i'm watching your canon already star trek the next generation that was a undisciplined loud-mouthed opinionated young man who was way out of his league quality quality callback it was it was accurate they knew their canon they knew it as they were writing it that show was not its [ __ ] a game man senior officers please report to the captain's ready room acknowledged there's so there and there's just there's some touches of humor i just i love when picard realizes in the future that he's a nobody yeah and you know mr picard and he's asking what year is it who's the captain of this ship and they're just like the fog and he's like pleading with riker to like you know give him a chance and you know nah it's too late he wrote and riker's like just like desperately searching for compliments he's like you're punctual punctual and he does this like like you know look on his face see that's that's all these little moments like when when riker and troy are kind of like talking to picard and they're you know giving him an evaluation even though it's in an appropriate time there's riker's just like he's like well you know yeah like little little human character moments and that's stuff you don't get from modern star trek not to bring up the bad i don't know i think it would have been better if picard turned to the nausea and said please friend choose to live and then pulled out a sword and just started decapitating everybody in the bar that would have been better yeah and then q's like what oh my god what are you doing nothing changed i had this whole thing set up i was wrong about humanity i have to destroy you all i like when the noskin says to them you talk and you talk like all star fleet you talk and you talk but you have no grandma but you have no groundbar one of my favorite lines blu-ray star trek i don't have the blu-rays well here's the thing you can still buy these on blu-ray uh this is this is my pitch to not watch this on star uh cbs all access blu-rays oh it's on netflix is it yeah that's all i've been well i saw when we watched some of them watch on netflix or buy the blu-rays the blu-rays are wonderful and i thought some of the effects looked nice they might be the newer cleaned up versions on netflix yeah i'm not i'm not 100 sure on that i was watching this episode and i could go through the whole series and look for little things i love looking at details on the sets that are like messed up or not proper where you could see like the carpet cut you know like stuff like that and i noticed um that he sits down on the bed with the girl and i noticed on the base of the bed there's like black scuff marks from their boots hitting it probably doing multiple takes the things you don't notice the the they're at the bar and um picard and the girl both have like similar glasses but the guy has a klingon blood wine cup which i thought was neat something i've never noticed before it's probably like okay maybe this bar had that cup randomly or more likely that's just a cup prop they happen to have in the back and they needed more costs right right yeah so so the blu-rays are great and it's funny in uh i saw i posted a wonderful clip on our patreon it's from the episode uh i think is it is it data's day what have i've watched that recently uh i was one of my candidates that didn't make a list when data is um he's he's yeah it is data stay when he's when he's typing a journal to bruce maddox and the keiko and uh miles are getting married and then there's the vulcan ambassador on board vulcan ambassador they bring that up in the drum head so it's funny they reference that because there's a wonderful little shot in in that episode data stay when the vulcan ambassador is standing on the bridge and talking to the view screen to the romulan and she is like she's like i'm an actress lady i'm talking like a vulgar blah blah blah blah and behind her in the background is picard just standing there and patrick stewart falls asleep in the shot he nods off because he's it it's not his line he's just standing there and this lady's probably doing 20 takes and he and he's just he goes like this he goes like that and it's like ah blu-ray

Channel: RedLetterMedia

Views: 2,137,557

Keywords: redlettermedia, red letter media, red, letter, media, plinkett, half in the bag, mike stoklasa, jay bauman, rich evans, star trek, next generation, top 5, picard

Id: m-hGLHOzvgs

Length: 62min 1sec (3721 seconds)

Published: Tue Aug 04 2020

Reddit Comments

[u/davinfelth5]

Genesis is my guilty pleasure. It's a terrible episode that makes no sense, but it works for me for some reason on that crazy level.

[u/FlipWizard]

"Hanging out in bar" and "Doing Jazz" is what killed my parents!

[u/The_Angry_Finch]

This legitimately got me to watch Star Trek for the first time ever. Thanks for that at least.

[u/North_South_Side]

I wish RLM would switch into more content about stuff they enjoy versus trashing shitty things. I still enjoy BotW—but that is fine for its own thing... I appreciate when they highlight content they like and appreciate. Recently watched "Vast of Night" based on their review and really enjoyed it. Never would have found that without RLM.

More positivity would be appreciated. I can easily find shitty content on Netflix.

[u/[deleted]]

[removed]

[u/misomiso82]

Is there a list of their top 3 so far, and the 'honourable mentions'?

[u/Isolated_Stoner86]

I hope ‘The Nth Degree’ makes one of their lists

total guilty pleasure

[u/maxbrown111]

whr eod i email them i need to tsend them an ad? how much does it cost to play an ad please i have a produc ti want to dveritsie market how do i emai lthem whats theyre busienss email? anyone know?

[u/Isolated_Stoner86]

ANYONE ELSE HOPING SOMEONE PICKS the episode where Barclay becomes a genius?