For the Riker on the Yamato... I like to think of it as he was scared. We all have moments where we are going into a scary basement alone and we start narrating our thoughts to ourselves. Its comforting. Blame it on the Human Condition!
I like the idea that Nagilum could have stopped the self-destruct at any time - that fixes a potential plothole nicely. With regard to the Holodeck safeties, if Riker and Worf brough real weapons onto the Holodeck with them then I assume that they could still have killed each other. Despite Worf's mischaracterisation, Ido enjoy this episode a lot - one of the best of season 2, and one of the best bottle shows (I can only think of "The Drumhead" that's better off the top of my head). Excellent atmosphere, and that wonderful bit of philosophy with Picard and the ersatz Data. Poor old Haskell had lousy timing - if his shift had started 10 minutes later then Wesley would have died instead of him ... !
What I like about Pulaski is that she feels a bit like a beta Seven of Nine in that she enters and already pre-established crew and provides some interpersonal conflict. I know it goes against TNG's "best of humanity" theme, but I do like that aspect more from DS9 and VOY. I have nothing against Dr. Crusher, but she could come across as a bit bland, and I do enjoy the fact that Pulaski and Data's relationship grows across the season she's in to the point where they are basically presented as friends, or at least on their way there. I also think having someone actively challenging Data helps him grow as a character and prevents him from stagnating. I could probably make more specific comments in upcoming episodes.
Idea: Nagilum as a dark matter life form? I do like it when Trek does speculative physics. But with little technobabble and without pseudoscience (there is a difference).
Except for this episode and the 1100101 (or something) episode, I can’t remember ever seeing that turbolift to the right of the view screen. (Where Worf flips out seeing yet another bridge)
This didn't occur to me when I watched it, but whilst listening to you. Is it possible that the ship instruments DID detect the phenomenon, but Nagilum either messed up the outputs on the screens, or the crew's interpretation of them? Also I agree, Worf and Riker are both portrayed very badly in this episode.
On Worf and Riker: While I agree that Worfs bloodlust was way over the top (I'll adopt your headcanon in that regard), I like their dynamic. Riker tends to mirror Worfs sentiments when he's around him, just somewhat toned down. It nicely shows that of all the human characters, Riker has probably the most affection for Klingon culture. I also like his reaction when Worf growls at him in frustration on the Yamato. He steps back a tiny bit, but then raises his head and looks at him challengingly. No need for words.
I agree with your interpretation of worf's attitude in the holodeck. Makes more sense. Btw, il like the "classic ST" feel of the monsters they fight in there. The kind Kirk would fight with his bare hands...
Hi Lore, I did enjoy this episode, but I only really like the first half of the episode aside from the holodeck simulation. When ever I think of this episode, the scene of Riker standing in an empty, dark corridor with eerie sounds and screams (which turns out to just be the music) in the background comes to mind. Maybe it's just because of my personal preference when I try to write stories and such, but I wish this episode had kept going with the uncanny valley concept. An idea I had for a re-write is that the Enterprise stumbles upon this strange phenomenon in space and still gets sucked in, but that when they find the Yamato, it's the real ship and it maybe went missing in this region weeks or months prior to the episode. They beam over a boarding team, but find the ship completely empty with no sign of the crew. Eventually, weird things start happening to the boarding party and to the crew on the Enterprise. They start seeing weird phenomenon like spectres of the Yamato's crew. Maybe the boarding party's members start to go missing. Eventually, Worf walks into a room where he hears someone tapping onto a console only to find it to be a ghost crew member, or Riker walks into a room with multiple Yamato crew members staring at him, unblinking and emotionless. I have no idea how I would resolve the episode, other than the Enterprise-D obviously escaping the void. I guess I just wish that Star Trek would do more uncanny valley stuff. There are episodes that do creepy stuff throughout the franchise, but the only two that come to mind where it sort of works for me are in Enterprise with 'Daedalus' and 'Impulse'. I don't find Nagilum all that interesting, and the first part just sticks with me because of its potential. Just my opinion.
It bugged me even more than the character discontinuity that the Yamato had a different registry number compared to "Contagion" (ironically as its new registry ID serves it better) when it's the same ship and Nagillum (an anagram for the surname of another actor they wanted to get for the role), but the episode really sells the claustrophobia and fear. The ending gets a little mushy with the lab rat stuff, which is almost cliche, but it's all held back and letting the suspense and atmosphere do the heavy lifting. Very well directed. It's an underrated gem in the series.
Your take on Worf with self-constraint hits the spot. I need to see this episode again as I recall the Riker fight in the pre-credits. And I recall later in the episode of Worf almost losing control when stuck in the fake Yamato. Ditto for Nagillum stumbling our universe in its own way... I'll return to this later, but the myatery and visceral feel to the episode was always palpable.
Man I was really hoping you would go into the terror of suddenly being enveloped into nothingness. I FELT the crews anxiety about being trapped in the void. In many ways I find the idea of being tapped in this void more alarming than dealing with the borg. At least with somehting like the borg it is something of a known. With this, it is unknown, or even unknowable. This episode is about mortality and the unknown abyss that is in reality, around us all the time - and there is very little we can do about it.
I think also, compared to Star Trek these days, it is really nice to see an episode where you are going WTF throughout the whole thing, much like the old series.
I always create "work around justifications" for goofy Trek moments. ...But I've never considered Worf going after Riker being a continuation of the 'Klingon fun room'. ...I like that point of view. ( Don't they call doing this a "fictional reinforced delusion...?")
Good episode, genuinely creepy and unsettling. Star Trek meets Silent Hill. What stuck with me the most, was Nagilum's verdict on humanity. We're selfish, but we value loyalty. We're quick to judge, slow to change. That may be the most unsettling part for me: Nagilum's absolutely right about us humans in the real world.
What does Picard do while awaiting obliteration? Play some Satie, of course. I agree with the comment below that the episode has a Lovecraftian feel to it.
Picard may have been worried Worf would attack Riker. Which is what happened, as dumb as it is at least it is consistent. Picard suspected Worf to lose control and this whole episode he did. Its out of character but at least it is consistent? There are no safeties for your fists!
Ah, there it goes. Disregard my direct message (unless you got it and very promptly fixed whatever was wrong). Pretty sure I've heard the director say his own name, and he pronounced it as "veen-rick" (with a very soft "k"), which would fit with him being German. IMO this is one of the best Next Gen episodes, possibly of the entire show, and certainly of these first two seasons (although 2 in general is nowhere near as bad as 1 in general, IIRC). I don't recall every detail from when I saw it a few months ago, but I don't remember finding anything off about Riker or Worf. I absolutely believe that Worf was bloodlusted in the training exercise, that for just a second he couldn't control himself, and it took Riker barking in "command voice" at him to snap him out of it...to me, that whole scene felt quite right. Remember, we don't see how the two of them got in there...I imagine that it could have gone two ways. Either Worf invited Riker to join him, or Riker found out about it and asked to be included, but either way, I suspect that Worf was very concerned about the idea of Riker seeing him this way, likely anticipating that exactly this might happen, and Riker (who is very much the kind of human that wouldn't shy away from seeing the roughness of Klingons - he's not fully "Roddenberry Boxed" to the extent that most of the other characters are, he still has an admiration for the savagery within humankind, even if he keeps control of himself just as much as Picard and Worf do) had to reassure him that he could handle it, and wouldn't hold any of this against Worf. Very much a bonding experience, I think. It never occurred to me that the ensign didn't actually die. The fact that his nostrils were still moving was just an effect of the fact they didn't actually kill the actor; we're not meant to have noticed it, I'm sure. And I have one more thing to say, but this comment box is too long already, so I'll split that one off by itself.
The one big question that this episode poses IMO...when the characters are first figuring out that there seems to be an intelligence testing them, some sort of higher being that is behind the mysterious events, it never occurs to anyone to wonder if it might be Q. Obviously Nagilum and Q are very different beings, and the situations are wildly un-alike, but there are still enough parallels that I thought the characters should have brought Q up, only to say aloud that it doesn't seem like his work. Having them not mention it at all bothers me a little, though it's obviously par for the course. With more continuity in the show (and a longer runtime to work with), not only would I have had the Q discussion happen, but I'd also tie this episode very heavily into "Hide and Q", and also with the episode where Riker exchanges aboard a Klingon ship (I can't remember that one's name). The Riker-Worf relationship and Riker's awareness of Klingon nature are very much developed in those episodes - Riker gets the power of the Q (call him "RIQER"?), and he tries to give Worf something of himself, and it goes embarassingly awry when he summons what can only be called a Klingon bitch in heat, *on the bridge in front of everybody*. I can only assume Riker didn't quite know what he was doing there, and it must have been intensely embarassing for Worf to have that side of himself exposed, but at the same time Riqer doesn't act like he made a mistake. I like to think this was a learning experience for him, and that the two men probably talked about it at some point. Combine that with the other episode (which was later in season 2, and I would either move it before this one, or have this episode be directly part of the leadup to that one), there's a very clear theme that I would like to focus on some more.
I don’t know why, but this episode just doesn’t do it for me. It feels… I agree, very TOS, but not the style of TOS I was super into. Maybe that’s why. One thing I really like about this though is the call forward to the Pitcher Plant. It implies the Klingons have a sort of BSG thing going on. They used to be a big major power back during the Hur’q and possibly Iconians, but got knocked down to the Stone Age and have to start over with everyone else, with legends of actual things out there which are horrifying, and the knowledge that dangers out there will knock them back to Kronos without hesitation or mercy, which informs their warrior culture.
A weird episode that I can only describe as the cat-trap episode. It was odd Picard is focused on so long before he voices his issues with Klingon ways. Worf and Riker in the holodeck aren't connected to Picard at this point in any way. Sure I can buy Worf dealing with bloodlust, to see something of the things he struggles with as a Klingon in Starfleet. Pulaski - like last episode, she appears rude, but never without justification. It is not hate but her trying to come to grips with an android as a person who is suspicious of some aspects of technology. She is not proud or hateful in showing her issues here, and that makes her a character still in the good books. It is interesting in that they get caught in a zero dimension with no way out and at the mercy of a completely superior-powered entity. How they get out of the rat maze is simply by becoming entirely boring to the catlike Nagilum. I guess that is probably the only way out - have nothing they want and they'll leave you alone. Worf and Riker in the infinite bridge - their interaction is more befitting of TOS, but still believable enough for fascination and incredulity. Curiosity - cat. The mutual studying of each other, Enterprise and Nagilum. Intentional or not, Enterprise seem to be tested on whether to leave without Worf and Riker and they instantly refuse to leave them behind. Nagilum not blinking could also be an accidental touch of genius. 'I will have to study every kind of dying' - the dead crew member, those are chilling, working with so little. Good job. Overall I think this episode was pretty good and to hear they had little to work with for sets to produce it makes it impressive. They have to go through a few wrestles with deep issues through this about purpose.
On the one hand, I agree, he/it should have been able to stop the self destruct... on the other hand I've always wanted Captain Picard to name drop Q the Nagilum.
Well if you remember Data SMILED after Picard shutdown the self-destruct (which is obviously not Data doing htat in that moment) plus there's the whole thing of Nagilum being able to talk to Picard outside the void, he easily could have, he simply decided to change the experiment.
I forgot one detail of this episode that does feel badly done, although I love it in a B-movie way because of how bad it was. Nagilum hears about sexual reproduction and says "Please, demonstrate how this is done" and pins Pulaski to the wall! If taken seriously, that moment could have really ratcheted up the already-high tension, but her reaction is absurd, and Picard basically just says "Knock it off, Nagilum" and he does so. Completely failed at a moment that probably didn't need to succeed, but I'm glad to have it in there even though it was all wrong, if that makes any sense. Of course, I'm a sick bastard, so I would enjoy the "done right" version of it, but even today with Game of Thrones being a thing, you probably couldn't get away with it on a Star Trek show.
Pulaski's entire attitude toward Data is such a forced attempt to ape the Spock/McCoy dynamic, and if fails so badly. I'm glad you see more into Pulaski than I do, but her interactions with the crew mystify me, and I have too much of a negative reaction to the character to examine her further. I imagine the dynamic w/ Pulaski would have smoothed out, but she never had the time to gel with the rest of the crew.
I dunno why they keep potraying Worf as some kind of rage fighting machine when he keeps getting his ass handed to him ..... By this stage Admiral Quinn in Conspiracy beat him down and of course Lore in episode Datalore.......even Riker could handle him IMHO.... See how easily riker dispatched his alien creature in the holodek quicker than Worf . Worfs a clown
I don’t think I mentioned the new DR on last weeks video, but I really disliked her, it didn’t help her case that I didn’t see the reason she was there (I’m guessing the BBC showed them out of order) so from my POV suddenly there’s just a new doctor for no reason. As for the rest of the ep I don’t remember it and due to a money hiccup I can’t use Netflix to recap it as such I don’t have much to say.
On Nagilum: What a let down. After all the build up, we get yet another god-like oh-so-beyond-our-comprehension space-face that's actually quite human in it's behavior. It's basically Q without the charme. Even visually it's boring, borderline comical. They should have kept it mysterious, make it into a kind of loftcraftian entity without a face OR voice. Rats can't talk with the lab assistant, they can probably just vaguely recognize him/her as a being that does something to them for no decipherable reason. That's what they should have gone for. Let the crew speculate on the intelligence and motives of the being based purely on its actions.
I much prefer the Nagilum we got. The face is subtly wrong in a way that makes it clearly artificial, a pandering attempt at communicating with a creature you think is too inferior to notice the difference, like us putting a stuffed mouse into the maze and hoping it fools the real mouse. Much, much better than having it be a complete cipher. Lovecraft wrote an entire story about "the unnameable", but he did an awful lot of naming in that one; you really have to work at making "impossible to describe" work, without just being lazy.
This was not horrible, especially for an episode from the first 2 series. But, it was not remotely comparable to a really good episode like either part of Chain of Command. It was a lot better than Sub Rosa - but then, nothing is as bad as Sub Rosa. Sub Rosa is the pits, the epitome of TNG badness. WSHL is about as good as the episode with the Binars.
I agree that the script sucked. The director and composer did their best to paper that over, but the results are ... uneven shall we say. Whoever wrote this thing seems to have misunderstood basically all the characters. And I mean all of them, with the possible exception of Troi. And there's only so much you can do with that.
I liked this episode a lot up until the floating head showed up. I thought it was a very interesting concept straight through til that happened. This is supposed to be a pure and simple void (and yet there are clouds when shown on the viewscreen even though there is no matter or energy) and then... out of nowhere a giant alien head that's toying with them. That lost me. It was no longer investigating a very strange natural phenomenon and turned into a silly cartoon premise. Mostly a pretty good episode, ultimately kind of a failure. Also i had no recollection of this episode at all despite having seen it multiple times in my life. Very forgetable.
What the hell is wrong with Pulaski picking on Data. I know she was in the original series so I guess they thought they could get away with this stuff.
They were jsut mirroring the McCoy Spock relationship, whcih never panned out in TNG. It doesnt work as well because data is like a child who cannot defend himself, Spock is not. So we dislike Pulaski for it.
I have no idea why, but i can't stand that episode. I also fully agree with you that there is no payoff... Nagilus is the kind of adversary that picard speach and surprising evolved way of be wouldn't save them.
For the Riker on the Yamato... I like to think of it as he was scared. We all have moments where we are going into a scary basement alone and we start narrating our thoughts to ourselves. Its comforting. Blame it on the Human Condition!
Nagilum was played by Earl Boen, most famous as Dr. Silberman in The Terminator sequence.
He was also LeChuck in the Monkey Island games, and the voice of the new character opening narration for World of Warcraft.
I like the idea that Nagilum could have stopped the self-destruct at any time - that fixes a potential plothole nicely. With regard to the Holodeck safeties, if Riker and Worf brough real weapons onto the Holodeck with them then I assume that they could still have killed each other.
Despite Worf's mischaracterisation, Ido enjoy this episode a lot - one of the best of season 2, and one of the best bottle shows (I can only think of "The Drumhead" that's better off the top of my head). Excellent atmosphere, and that wonderful bit of philosophy with Picard and the ersatz Data.
Poor old Haskell had lousy timing - if his shift had started 10 minutes later then Wesley would have died instead of him ... !
No he couldnt
I personally like the idea that Nagilum has these experimental labs set up at various pints throughout the galaxy to ensnare test subjects.
It shouldn't be, but this is a top 5 season 2 episode. Really holds your attention and peaks your interest.
As much as I disagree with that idea... yeah I have to agree lol
Why do people dislike Polaski for being rude to Data, but give McCoy a pass for being a jerk to Spock? Double standard.
have tp say that i've always loved the scene where the crew drop the stationary beacon mainly for the sound effects. Good episode
This was a great episode that perfectly described what I've always felt about the question 'What happens when you die?'
What I like about Pulaski is that she feels a bit like a beta Seven of Nine in that she enters and already pre-established crew and provides some interpersonal conflict. I know it goes against TNG's "best of humanity" theme, but I do like that aspect more from DS9 and VOY. I have nothing against Dr. Crusher, but she could come across as a bit bland, and I do enjoy the fact that Pulaski and Data's relationship grows across the season she's in to the point where they are basically presented as friends, or at least on their way there. I also think having someone actively challenging Data helps him grow as a character and prevents him from stagnating.
I could probably make more specific comments in upcoming episodes.
Get rid of Data, keep Pulaski.
Reminds me of the anomaly from Immunity Syndrome.
I like this episode, as it doesn't explain who Negilum is or where he comes from. He remains a mystery throughout.
Nagillum is truly Lovecraftian .
Idea: Nagilum as a dark matter life form?
I do like it when Trek does speculative physics. But with little technobabble and without pseudoscience (there is a difference).
Except for this episode and the 1100101 (or something) episode, I can’t remember ever seeing that turbolift to the right of the view screen. (Where Worf flips out seeing yet another bridge)
I haven't watched it in a long time, but I definitely remember enjoying it more than most early TNG episodes.
This didn't occur to me when I watched it, but whilst listening to you.
Is it possible that the ship instruments DID detect the phenomenon, but Nagilum either messed up the outputs on the screens, or the crew's interpretation of them?
Also I agree, Worf and Riker are both portrayed very badly in this episode.
On Worf and Riker: While I agree that Worfs bloodlust was way over the top (I'll adopt your headcanon in that regard), I like their dynamic. Riker tends to mirror Worfs sentiments when he's around him, just somewhat toned down. It nicely shows that of all the human characters, Riker has probably the most affection for Klingon culture. I also like his reaction when Worf growls at him in frustration on the Yamato. He steps back a tiny bit, but then raises his head and looks at him challengingly. No need for words.
I agree with your interpretation of worf's attitude in the holodeck. Makes more sense. Btw, il like the "classic ST" feel of the monsters they fight in there. The kind Kirk would fight with his bare hands...
Yeah, seeing a lot of the Worf and Riker from the Retrogenesis episode in this.
Hi Lore,
I did enjoy this episode, but I only really like the first half of the episode aside from the holodeck simulation. When ever I think of this episode, the scene of Riker standing in an empty, dark corridor with eerie sounds and screams (which turns out to just be the music) in the background comes to mind. Maybe it's just because of my personal preference when I try to write stories and such, but I wish this episode had kept going with the uncanny valley concept.
An idea I had for a re-write is that the Enterprise stumbles upon this strange phenomenon in space and still gets sucked in, but that when they find the Yamato, it's the real ship and it maybe went missing in this region weeks or months prior to the episode. They beam over a boarding team, but find the ship completely empty with no sign of the crew. Eventually, weird things start happening to the boarding party and to the crew on the Enterprise. They start seeing weird phenomenon like spectres of the Yamato's crew. Maybe the boarding party's members start to go missing. Eventually, Worf walks into a room where he hears someone tapping onto a console only to find it to be a ghost crew member, or Riker walks into a room with multiple Yamato crew members staring at him, unblinking and emotionless.
I have no idea how I would resolve the episode, other than the Enterprise-D obviously escaping the void. I guess I just wish that Star Trek would do more uncanny valley stuff. There are episodes that do creepy stuff throughout the franchise, but the only two that come to mind where it sort of works for me are in Enterprise with 'Daedalus' and 'Impulse'. I don't find Nagilum all that interesting, and the first part just sticks with me because of its potential. Just my opinion.
It bugged me even more than the character discontinuity that the Yamato had a different registry number compared to "Contagion" (ironically as its new registry ID serves it better) when it's the same ship and Nagillum (an anagram for the surname of another actor they wanted to get for the role), but the episode really sells the claustrophobia and fear. The ending gets a little mushy with the lab rat stuff, which is almost cliche, but it's all held back and letting the suspense and atmosphere do the heavy lifting. Very well directed. It's an underrated gem in the series.
Your take on Worf with self-constraint hits the spot. I need to see this episode again as I recall the Riker fight in the pre-credits. And I recall later in the episode of Worf almost losing control when stuck in the fake Yamato. Ditto for Nagillum stumbling our universe in its own way... I'll return to this later, but the myatery and visceral feel to the episode was always palpable.
Man I was really hoping you would go into the terror of suddenly being enveloped into nothingness. I FELT the crews anxiety about being trapped in the void. In many ways I find the idea of being tapped in this void more alarming than dealing with the borg. At least with somehting like the borg it is something of a known. With this, it is unknown, or even unknowable. This episode is about mortality and the unknown abyss that is in reality, around us all the time - and there is very little we can do about it.
I think also, compared to Star Trek these days, it is really nice to see an episode where you are going WTF throughout the whole thing, much like the old series.
A formless shapeless malevolent presence. Real Star Trek meets Silent Hill.
Didn’t you watch Galaxy Quest? All self-destruct countdowns end at 00:01.
Riker is just talking to himself. He's expressing his thoughts. That's all. Worf, I can't justify that!
I think if Riker didn't say that then the audience would think it was the intended location.
Great episode
Hey lorerunner, I was wondering your opinions on Westworld, show or movies, given your feelings on droid-effect.
I always create "work around justifications" for goofy Trek moments.
...But I've never considered Worf going after Riker being a continuation of the 'Klingon fun room'. ...I like that point of view.
( Don't they call doing this a "fictional reinforced delusion...?")
Good episode, genuinely creepy and unsettling. Star Trek meets Silent Hill.
What stuck with me the most, was Nagilum's verdict on humanity. We're selfish, but we value loyalty. We're quick to judge, slow to change. That may be the most unsettling part for me: Nagilum's absolutely right about us humans in the real world.
What does Picard do while awaiting obliteration? Play some Satie, of course.
I agree with the comment below that the episode has a Lovecraftian feel to it.
Picard may have been worried Worf would attack Riker. Which is what happened, as dumb as it is at least it is consistent. Picard suspected Worf to lose control and this whole episode he did. Its out of character but at least it is consistent? There are no safeties for your fists!
Ah, there it goes. Disregard my direct message (unless you got it and very promptly fixed whatever was wrong).
Pretty sure I've heard the director say his own name, and he pronounced it as "veen-rick" (with a very soft "k"), which would fit with him being German.
IMO this is one of the best Next Gen episodes, possibly of the entire show, and certainly of these first two seasons (although 2 in general is nowhere near as bad as 1 in general, IIRC). I don't recall every detail from when I saw it a few months ago, but I don't remember finding anything off about Riker or Worf. I absolutely believe that Worf was bloodlusted in the training exercise, that for just a second he couldn't control himself, and it took Riker barking in "command voice" at him to snap him out of it...to me, that whole scene felt quite right. Remember, we don't see how the two of them got in there...I imagine that it could have gone two ways. Either Worf invited Riker to join him, or Riker found out about it and asked to be included, but either way, I suspect that Worf was very concerned about the idea of Riker seeing him this way, likely anticipating that exactly this might happen, and Riker (who is very much the kind of human that wouldn't shy away from seeing the roughness of Klingons - he's not fully "Roddenberry Boxed" to the extent that most of the other characters are, he still has an admiration for the savagery within humankind, even if he keeps control of himself just as much as Picard and Worf do) had to reassure him that he could handle it, and wouldn't hold any of this against Worf. Very much a bonding experience, I think.
It never occurred to me that the ensign didn't actually die. The fact that his nostrils were still moving was just an effect of the fact they didn't actually kill the actor; we're not meant to have noticed it, I'm sure.
And I have one more thing to say, but this comment box is too long already, so I'll split that one off by itself.
The one big question that this episode poses IMO...when the characters are first figuring out that there seems to be an intelligence testing them, some sort of higher being that is behind the mysterious events, it never occurs to anyone to wonder if it might be Q. Obviously Nagilum and Q are very different beings, and the situations are wildly un-alike, but there are still enough parallels that I thought the characters should have brought Q up, only to say aloud that it doesn't seem like his work. Having them not mention it at all bothers me a little, though it's obviously par for the course.
With more continuity in the show (and a longer runtime to work with), not only would I have had the Q discussion happen, but I'd also tie this episode very heavily into "Hide and Q", and also with the episode where Riker exchanges aboard a Klingon ship (I can't remember that one's name). The Riker-Worf relationship and Riker's awareness of Klingon nature are very much developed in those episodes - Riker gets the power of the Q (call him "RIQER"?), and he tries to give Worf something of himself, and it goes embarassingly awry when he summons what can only be called a Klingon bitch in heat, *on the bridge in front of everybody*. I can only assume Riker didn't quite know what he was doing there, and it must have been intensely embarassing for Worf to have that side of himself exposed, but at the same time Riqer doesn't act like he made a mistake. I like to think this was a learning experience for him, and that the two men probably talked about it at some point. Combine that with the other episode (which was later in season 2, and I would either move it before this one, or have this episode be directly part of the leadup to that one), there's a very clear theme that I would like to focus on some more.
So, what you're saying in this episode is Riker was no Xanatos
Can we expect to see a review of Infinity Wars from you at some point?
Wait, wait, let me get my cofee :)!
Now we're talking :)!
i always thought negilem was q.It's part of the test of humanity.
Not everything in the universe has to be connected.
I don’t know why, but this episode just doesn’t do it for me. It feels… I agree, very TOS, but not the style of TOS I was super into. Maybe that’s why.
One thing I really like about this though is the call forward to the Pitcher Plant. It implies the Klingons have a sort of BSG thing going on. They used to be a big major power back during the Hur’q and possibly Iconians, but got knocked down to the Stone Age and have to start over with everyone else, with legends of actual things out there which are horrifying, and the knowledge that dangers out there will knock them back to Kronos without hesitation or mercy, which informs their warrior culture.
A weird episode that I can only describe as the cat-trap episode.
It was odd Picard is focused on so long before he voices his issues with Klingon ways. Worf and Riker in the holodeck aren't connected to Picard at this point in any way. Sure I can buy Worf dealing with bloodlust, to see something of the things he struggles with as a Klingon in Starfleet.
Pulaski - like last episode, she appears rude, but never without justification. It is not hate but her trying to come to grips with an android as a person who is suspicious of some aspects of technology. She is not proud or hateful in showing her issues here, and that makes her a character still in the good books.
It is interesting in that they get caught in a zero dimension with no way out and at the mercy of a completely superior-powered entity. How they get out of the rat maze is simply by becoming entirely boring to the catlike Nagilum. I guess that is probably the only way out - have nothing they want and they'll leave you alone.
Worf and Riker in the infinite bridge - their interaction is more befitting of TOS, but still believable enough for fascination and incredulity.
Curiosity - cat. The mutual studying of each other, Enterprise and Nagilum. Intentional or not, Enterprise seem to be tested on whether to leave without Worf and Riker and they instantly refuse to leave them behind. Nagilum not blinking could also be an accidental touch of genius.
'I will have to study every kind of dying' - the dead crew member, those are chilling, working with so little. Good job.
Overall I think this episode was pretty good and to hear they had little to work with for sets to produce it makes it impressive. They have to go through a few wrestles with deep issues through this about purpose.
On the one hand, I agree, he/it should have been able to stop the self destruct... on the other hand I've always wanted Captain Picard to name drop Q the Nagilum.
Well if you remember Data SMILED after Picard shutdown the self-destruct (which is obviously not Data doing htat in that moment) plus there's the whole thing of Nagilum being able to talk to Picard outside the void, he easily could have, he simply decided to change the experiment.
I forgot one detail of this episode that does feel badly done, although I love it in a B-movie way because of how bad it was. Nagilum hears about sexual reproduction and says "Please, demonstrate how this is done" and pins Pulaski to the wall! If taken seriously, that moment could have really ratcheted up the already-high tension, but her reaction is absurd, and Picard basically just says "Knock it off, Nagilum" and he does so. Completely failed at a moment that probably didn't need to succeed, but I'm glad to have it in there even though it was all wrong, if that makes any sense. Of course, I'm a sick bastard, so I would enjoy the "done right" version of it, but even today with Game of Thrones being a thing, you probably couldn't get away with it on a Star Trek show.
What kind of payoff were you looking for ?
Would I rather watch it than what was on in the same time slot on all the other channels. Yes. Can't say that for STD or The Picard Show.
One person gave this video a down vote. Is that you Nagilum?
The ensign obviously didn't get back up. You're reading way too much into this.
Pulaski's entire attitude toward Data is such a forced attempt to ape the Spock/McCoy dynamic, and if fails so badly. I'm glad you see more into Pulaski than I do, but her interactions with the crew mystify me, and I have too much of a negative reaction to the character to examine her further. I imagine the dynamic w/ Pulaski would have smoothed out, but she never had the time to gel with the rest of the crew.
I dunno why they keep potraying Worf as some kind of rage fighting machine when he keeps getting his ass handed to him ..... By this stage Admiral Quinn in Conspiracy beat him down and of course Lore in episode Datalore.......even Riker could handle him IMHO.... See how easily riker dispatched his alien creature in the holodek quicker than Worf . Worfs a clown
I don’t think I mentioned the new DR on last weeks video, but I really disliked her, it didn’t help her case that I didn’t see the reason she was there (I’m guessing the BBC showed them out of order) so from my POV suddenly there’s just a new doctor for no reason.
As for the rest of the ep I don’t remember it and due to a money hiccup I can’t use Netflix to recap it as such I don’t have much to say.
On Nagilum: What a let down. After all the build up, we get yet another god-like oh-so-beyond-our-comprehension space-face that's actually quite human in it's behavior. It's basically Q without the charme. Even visually it's boring, borderline comical. They should have kept it mysterious, make it into a kind of loftcraftian entity without a face OR voice. Rats can't talk with the lab assistant, they can probably just vaguely recognize him/her as a being that does something to them for no decipherable reason. That's what they should have gone for. Let the crew speculate on the intelligence and motives of the being based purely on its actions.
I much prefer the Nagilum we got. The face is subtly wrong in a way that makes it clearly artificial, a pandering attempt at communicating with a creature you think is too inferior to notice the difference, like us putting a stuffed mouse into the maze and hoping it fools the real mouse. Much, much better than having it be a complete cipher. Lovecraft wrote an entire story about "the unnameable", but he did an awful lot of naming in that one; you really have to work at making "impossible to describe" work, without just being lazy.
This was not horrible, especially for an episode from the first 2 series. But, it was not remotely comparable to a really good episode like either part of Chain of Command. It was a lot better than Sub Rosa - but then, nothing is as bad as Sub Rosa. Sub Rosa is the pits, the epitome of TNG badness. WSHL is about as good as the episode with the Binars.
Why wasnt Wesley at the helm? :D
Because we couldn't have been lucky enough to have that little shite killed off!
Because we needed it to be a redshirt to be an appropriately pointless Star Trek death.
Because the guy who was at the helm portrayed dying at the "hands" of an eldritch entity far better than Wheaton could EVER have.
Watching a moon in space talk. Where's the episode??
There's a great tv show my sister showed me. 1000 ways to die!! Look it up. Nagilum might enjoy it haha
I agree that the script sucked. The director and composer did their best to paper that over, but the results are ... uneven shall we say. Whoever wrote this thing seems to have misunderstood basically all the characters. And I mean all of them, with the possible exception of Troi. And there's only so much you can do with that.
I liked this episode a lot up until the floating head showed up. I thought it was a very interesting concept straight through til that happened. This is supposed to be a pure and simple void (and yet there are clouds when shown on the viewscreen even though there is no matter or energy) and then... out of nowhere a giant alien head that's toying with them. That lost me. It was no longer investigating a very strange natural phenomenon and turned into a silly cartoon premise.
Mostly a pretty good episode, ultimately kind of a failure. Also i had no recollection of this episode at all despite having seen it multiple times in my life. Very forgetable.
What the hell is wrong with Pulaski picking on Data. I know she was in the original series so I guess they thought they could get away with this stuff.
They were jsut mirroring the McCoy Spock relationship, whcih never panned out in TNG. It doesnt work as well because data is like a child who cannot defend himself, Spock is not. So we dislike Pulaski for it.
It feels like a TOS episode right up to the ending. TOS would have done something clever with the ending.
I have no idea why, but i can't stand that episode.
I also fully agree with you that there is no payoff... Nagilus is the kind of adversary that picard speach and surprising evolved way of be wouldn't save them.