Examining Star Trek: TNG's Favorite Premise

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  • เผยแพร่เมื่อ 20 ส.ค. 2020
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ความคิดเห็น • 389

  • @michaelolsen2760
    @michaelolsen2760 3 ปีที่แล้ว +222

    Showing empathy as a strength. Probably my favorite part of TNG and Star Trek in general.

  • @silentotto5099
    @silentotto5099 3 ปีที่แล้ว +150

    The episode where Picard is trapped in the elevator with the three children, "Disaster", could be another example of the theme Steve is on about. It was a more temporary situation, but it still placed Picard in a mentor role to children.

    • @lcflngn
      @lcflngn 3 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      That one I remember easily 😅

    • @TubbysExplorationsYT
      @TubbysExplorationsYT 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      "Fa re ja ka, fa re ja ka..." 🤣

    • @tonoornottono
      @tonoornottono 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@TubbysExplorationsYT “Frère Jacques.” Brother John.

    • @GothamClive
      @GothamClive ปีที่แล้ว +3

      @@tonoornottono This episode always makes me wonder how the universal translator works. Shouldn't it translate French? (Or Klingon terms like Qapla?)

    • @travismoore7938
      @travismoore7938 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      That was a great episode. I like the character arc of Picard and the children as they progress through the disaster that has taken place and where they end up at the end of the episode.

  • @DahVoozel
    @DahVoozel 3 ปีที่แล้ว +149

    Can we just all appreciate for a moment the gem that is Brent Spiner.

    • @colinmontgomery1956
      @colinmontgomery1956 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      He's a fine actor. I especially like his arc on "Enterprise".

    • @Rkenton48
      @Rkenton48 3 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      yep. My favorites are the recurring character he played in Night Court

    • @cheapenstein
      @cheapenstein 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@Rkenton48 haha I remember that

    • @bobjason7540
      @bobjason7540 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Look up Dreamland. It's a concept album in a musical style. He's a good vocalist

    • @CassandraHouse
      @CassandraHouse 3 หลายเดือนก่อน

      I will never not appreciate the gem that is Brent Spiner

  • @bentoth9555
    @bentoth9555 3 ปีที่แล้ว +120

    "The kid's never seen again." Well, yeah, he became part of Worf's family and Worf is a terrible parent.

    • @Mrdest211
      @Mrdest211 3 ปีที่แล้ว +13

      Maybe the kid became a brave warrior and died in a space battle because he couldn't find his way in a poorly lit Klingon ship. Why are all the alien ships so dark?

    • @duskyrc1373
      @duskyrc1373 3 ปีที่แล้ว +11

      The O'Briens are pretty good parents, though we see that mostly after they jump ship at DS9

    • @TechGroupF430i
      @TechGroupF430i 3 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      This raised a few questions for me. Has anyone else noticed that we don't see any of Worf's human family members in DS9? Okay, sure, Alexander had that picture with his grandparents, but neither they nor his adoptive brother Nikolai (played by Paul Sorvino) physically appears at Worf's wedding or at all in the series. Now I'll admit that I totally forgot about Jeremy, but what's the DS9 writer's excuse? "It was a ceremony that didn't have any actual documentation to back it up"? I'm just asking... are Jeremy and Alexander technically adoptive brothers? If so, how would that meeting have taken place (if at all), or if not, does that mean the ceremony was bullshit? I know there's a consensus about Worf being a terrible parent, but to the point where a child _he practically adopted_ disappeared on his watch? If it happened on Veridian III, that would give us some kind of closure (while again highlighting the weirdness of having kids on the Federation flagship), but then why no mention of this to literally anyone? I mean Martok did seem kinda blindsided when Worf revealed that Alexander was his son, but c'mon man... Jeremy wasn't even worth an *honorable* mention?

    • @BioGoji-zm5ph
      @BioGoji-zm5ph 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      @@TechGroupF430i Nikolai stayed with the surviving Boraalans on their new home since he'd impregnated one of them and also wanted to replace that one guy who committed suicide when he left the holodeck... because Picard was too busy sucking the Prime Directive's dick to recognize that saving people from extinction was more important than potentially changing their culture by exposing them to the reality that they weren't alone in the universe.

    • @jmoney9494
      @jmoney9494 3 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      @@Mrdest211 so they can hide how cheap the sets are lol

  • @markgrindol859
    @markgrindol859 3 ปีที่แล้ว +95

    I attended a convention when STNG was still being produced where Jonathan Frakes appeared and answered questions. He was asked what happened to Barash from "Future Imperfect" and he did not remember the episode. The plot was described to him and he said, “Oh you mean the kid who stabbed Patrick Stewart?” Which was Jono from "Suddenly Human" and not Barash and despite being told more of the plot Frakes could not recall the episode but told us, “He’s probably still on the ship, it’s a big ship.”

    • @PatBrownfield-TheRainmaker
      @PatBrownfield-TheRainmaker 3 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      🤣

    • @001SpecialAgent
      @001SpecialAgent 3 ปีที่แล้ว +28

      Yeah the conventions tend to be disappointing to anyone expecting these people to remember in-depth every story they work on. They spend most of their time learning their lines, getting hair and makeup on, acting tiny bits of story over and over again, and it moves fast shooting 26 hour-long shows a year.

    • @brianjlevine
      @brianjlevine 3 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      He's an actor doing a job. He's not a fan.

    • @Dilandau3000
      @Dilandau3000 3 ปีที่แล้ว +27

      @@001SpecialAgent I don't really understand why people ask those kinds of questions. I was at a convention in the 90s and James Doohan was there, and someone asked him how many ships Starfleet has. Why would he know that!?

    • @tayzonday
      @tayzonday 3 ปีที่แล้ว +11

      Many people can’t specifically remember six days of work thirty years ago 😀 I wonder if Chris Demetral (Riker’s “son,” now 43) remembers more?

  • @doctadave
    @doctadave 3 ปีที่แล้ว +124

    “Pen Pals” which has Data talking to a young girl on a dying planet has some similarities to these episodes too. She is not orphaned but Data takes a parent-like role.

    • @thomasjenkins5727
      @thomasjenkins5727 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      That was my first thought when Steve mentioned the theme.

    • @GoddessPallasAthena
      @GoddessPallasAthena 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +5

      What I loved about that episode is, we have this emotionless Android, logical, and you'd think by-the-book and yet all through the episode, he's DETERMINED to help the little girl (breaking the Prime Directive a few times) and even making sure she feels emotionally comfortable. If the characters were simply described to a non-ST (or even just not TNG) fan, you would think that Data would be the LAST person to do that, and yet, it makes sense in the show, because of the kind of person he is, despite WHAT he is.

  • @chipch9667
    @chipch9667 3 ปีที่แล้ว +110

    Regarding Jeremy’s fate: He moved back to Earth. Specifically, New Detroit, where he started working for the drug lord Cain. He assumed control of Cain’s operation when it was presumed he was killed, only to eventually get blasted down by Cain’s mutilated body as OCP’s RoboCop 2 project. He died the way he lived, laying in a pile of money covered in blood.

    • @SiriusMined
      @SiriusMined 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      What?

    • @robinburt5735
      @robinburt5735 3 ปีที่แล้ว +15

      @@SiriusMined It was the same actor in both hehe

    • @sctrgs3207
      @sctrgs3207 3 ปีที่แล้ว +15

      I'll buy that for a dollar

    • @michelleshouse6490
      @michelleshouse6490 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Epic! Forgot that was the same kid

    • @Seb1l
      @Seb1l 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@SiriusMined He's watching Robocop 2 air on ITV4 in the UK right now?

  • @edapplederry5888
    @edapplederry5888 3 ปีที่แล้ว +73

    You have missed the most important cast member. In the episode Galaxy's child the Enterprise herself becomes mother to an orphaned space creature.
    It seems they were absolutely determined to show every cast member as a parent in some form. Even Troi had a child, although not an orphan. If Tasha had survived beyond the first season she definitely would have had such an episode as well. Oh wait... She had a child too. Sela.

    • @PaulTheSkeptic
      @PaulTheSkeptic ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Troi's mom lost one of her children too. Maybe that's not precisely on topic but it has to do with themes of loss and kids and all that. Then Data had a kid or more precisely, made one.

    • @searchingfororion
      @searchingfororion หลายเดือนก่อน

      ​@@PaulTheSkepticAnd lost her. The scenes where Lal is describing her love for him (which they both know this miraculous ability is a side effect of a fatal cascade) is poignant, fantastically acted by both parties, and positively wrenching.
      "I'll feel it for the both of us."

  • @patrickdodds7162
    @patrickdodds7162 3 ปีที่แล้ว +91

    Also: MIND. BLOWN. I never thought that "The Bonding", "Suddenly Human", "Future Imperfect", "Hero Worship" and a slew of others were the same episode! I've pored over that show to an unhealthy degree and that totally escaped me. Good job, Steve!

    • @Spike-Prime
      @Spike-Prime 3 ปีที่แล้ว +10

      That's because they're really not the same. They're not even all that similar, really. Every one of them is thematically and tonally different, and each focuses on a very different central story idea. The only similarity is "grown up looks after child" and that's such a generic idea, of course it's gonna be done more than once. That it was only done 4 times over the course of 7 years and over 200 episodes by different writers is more surprising than if the basic concept hadn't been done more than once.

  • @philipjay2099
    @philipjay2099 3 ปีที่แล้ว +100

    Worf reaching out to Jeramy and not so much with Alexander is saddening. Ever consider a pure Alexander video? Touch on his chrono-suicide attempt... I dunno. Was the Dominion war in his timeline, can I blame him for that?

    • @Tareltonlives
      @Tareltonlives 3 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      I was hoping that would be used in a later episode, with Alexander feeling unloved and Worf feeling guilty

    • @Grizabeebles
      @Grizabeebles 3 ปีที่แล้ว +15

      @@Tareltonlives -- I think with all 4 of these boys Steve hit on a good premise for episodes in a future Trek series - especially if they can convince the grown actors to come back after 30+ years.
      In a very real way, these boys are "collateral damage/human debris" and seeing them all grown up would give fans a chance to see something teachers have known forever - you can't control the things kids learn from you. You can only hope and pray you pass on something useful.

    • @Ertwin123
      @Ertwin123 3 ปีที่แล้ว +9

      @@Grizabeebles They sort of did that in Picard with Elnor. They had flashbacks to Picard befriending him as a kid, then disappearing for well over a decade. Both Elnor, and Raffi are bitter about Picard abandoning them and going to live at his vinery. Seven's story arc also has shades of that with the fridging of Icheb, and her guilt over it. Raffi is also estranged from her son, and briefly meets up with him.
      So yeah, Picard definitely explores those themes.

    • @protoborg
      @protoborg 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@Ertwin123 The word is vineyard.

    • @michaelnewell1969
      @michaelnewell1969 3 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      I always liked Alexander because he's so relatable for people that also have shitty fathers.

  • @OsirisMalkovich
    @OsirisMalkovich 3 ปีที่แล้ว +57

    I want a Star Trek show called _Orphans of the Enterprise_ where all the now adult kids that were adopted and then dropped by the Enterprise bridge crew band together to get revenge on the system that failed them.

    • @Grizabeebles
      @Grizabeebles 3 ปีที่แล้ว +11

      I've been dreaming for years of a time travel-centric Trek series where the ship is full of characters that only ever existed in a single episode and their job is to protect the "continuity" of the timestream.
      "Time, beyond all frontiers.
      These are the voyages of the timeship Continuity.
      It's eternal mission -
      To ensure those who boldy go got where they boldly went exactly the way they're boldly well supposed to."

    • @JosephDavies
      @JosephDavies 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      That sounds depressing enough you just might get your wish, Osiris.

    • @protoborg
      @protoborg 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@Grizabeebles Well, Voyager did meet the timeship relativity.

    • @jkjerbdhetheth
      @jkjerbdhetheth 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Kurtzman and Co are almost certainly working on it on the off chance their third (Lower Decks), fourth (Strange New Worlds), fifth (Prodigy), and sixth (untitled Section 31) attempts at creating a palatable series don't pan out...
      "Wesley and the Traveller adopt nine bitter orphans and seek profanity-laden vengeance against the Kazon for the scalping of Beverly Crusher in ORPHANS OF THE ENTERPRISE only on CBS All Access Prime Pro Plus!"

    • @shepwillner7507
      @shepwillner7507 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@jkjerbdhetheth Even better: Wesley and the Traveler use the Guardian to go back in time to adopt those supercharged kids from the ST TOS episode "And the Children Shall Lead" and leads them in battle against the Breen, the J'em Hadar, the Founders, and anybody else from the Dominion. Then they all join Q and destroy the Borg. That sounds like fun, especially the time traveling via the Guardian.

  • @ChristyAbbey
    @ChristyAbbey 3 ปีที่แล้ว +47

    You'd think they'd have a CPS officer.

    • @MoonMoverGaming
      @MoonMoverGaming 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      In the unexplored reaches of space?

    • @BioGoji-zm5ph
      @BioGoji-zm5ph 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Considering Picard's hatred of children in the early seasons, I'm pretty sure he secretly did everything legally within his power to make sure that his ship had as few people who wanted to protect children as possible.

  • @hewh0wearspants
    @hewh0wearspants 3 ปีที่แล้ว +55

    I admit, I still to this day get "The Bonding" and "Hero Worship" mixed up when either episode starts because of how similar the premises are.
    Edit: also, the boy from "Future Imperfect"'s true form was probably the most Roswell-ass looking alien ever to appear in the franchise

    • @Seal0626
      @Seal0626 3 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      I had them mentally filed away as the same episode. I was remembering that the kid who tried to turn into an android ended up being adopted by Worf as a brother instead.

    • @BogeyTheBear
      @BogeyTheBear 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      Must gave been the last (and the only child) of the Vanir from _Stargate_

  • @jeannebrady2600
    @jeannebrady2600 3 ปีที่แล้ว +155

    Riker had to be somewhat prepared to be a father because, at any time, one (or more) of his female conquests could show up with a kid he didn't know he had.

    • @shinyagumon7015
      @shinyagumon7015 3 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      Maybe he pulls a Kyle Riker and just leaves

    • @zyme4569
      @zyme4569 3 ปีที่แล้ว +13

      The Riker manoeuvre lol

    • @icwiz
      @icwiz 3 ปีที่แล้ว +12

      no way, he never forgets his monthly birth control hypo.

    • @justincoleman3805
      @justincoleman3805 3 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      He could just say it was the other Riker.

    • @shepwillner7507
      @shepwillner7507 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@artman2oo3 Riker taught that chair sitting method to Wesley Crusher, who appeared in the ST TNG novel 'Imzadi," by Peter David.

  • @lozpycock12
    @lozpycock12 3 ปีที่แล้ว +14

    There's a trope that is used more, for the subject of empathy, which is when one of our heroes is made to believe they are someone else, the episode where Riker ends up in the alien asylum, where Picard lives and entire life after being zapped by an alien probe, where Riker joins a Klingon crew for a bit, when Troi is made to think she's a Romulan, when Kira is made to believe she's a Cardasian, when the Doctor is made to think he's a flesh and blood human, when Neelix and Tuvok become Tuvix...

    • @protoborg
      @protoborg 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      The self is a powerful part of a human's psyche. Playing on that is a great way to really expose who someone actually is. That is why therapy will often delve into such things.

  • @roy1701d
    @roy1701d 3 ปีที่แล้ว +16

    Another great episode, Steve.
    My favorite moment in "Future Imperfect" is when Riker learns that his (imaginary) wife was Minuet, a holographic character from the S1 episode "11001001". That touch of continuity was amazing for such an episodic series.
    PS All the ads YT placed in your show were for religious movies and conspiracy theories. Thought you might appreciate the irony. 🙂🖖

  • @Docsharpie
    @Docsharpie 3 ปีที่แล้ว +16

    I think Picard in the turbo lift with the 3 kids is the start of his evolving attitude toward children

    • @MHLegacy
      @MHLegacy 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Absolutely! And remember that part after the turbolift "falls" (for no logical reason) where Picard cuts the rope, kicks the blonde haired boy on the head and screams "I...(kick)...have had...(kick)...enough of...YOU (kick)!" and then laughs maniacally as they also fall (illogically) to their fate in the oblivion that is the writers room? That was really wild. Especially tragic how the power was restored right after. Picard looked pretty sad, did the "Picard Maneuver" and went about his day whistling a little song.
      Just kidding, obviously, but yes, I genuinely agree about your point with the kids in the turbolift. They might have been the impetus for Captain Picard Day later on.

  • @BaronVonYolo
    @BaronVonYolo 3 ปีที่แล้ว +15

    After Worf leaves kid it became junior drug lord under Kane on the streets of Detroit in RoboCop 2...

  • @charleschapman3418
    @charleschapman3418 3 ปีที่แล้ว +51

    I suppose the proto-episode these look back on could be TOS' "Charlie X," and the further expression/expansion of this theme is Seven of Nine's and Janeway's relationship in VGR.

    • @fisk0
      @fisk0 3 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      Voyager had a few other episodes very much in this vein too - the Naomi Wildman episodes, when they find the Borg kids and I think there were a few more.

    • @pufthemajicdragon
      @pufthemajicdragon 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      I'm suck a trekkie that I read your comment as "V'ger" and my first thought was "But Seven and Janeway weren't in The Motion Picture".

    • @kirkdarling4120
      @kirkdarling4120 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      You might check TH-cam for "Of Gods and Men" for a star/fan flick (a number of TOS and later actors are in it). The acting is rather stodgy, but the premise is fascinating. An adult Charlie X (the actual original actor) has gone back in past through the time ring ("City on the Edge of Forever") and killed Kirk's mother before Kirk was born. The universe--lacking Kirk--suddenly transforms dramatically for the worst. The reason it changed so dramatically is quite novel. And Ston, who married badly the first time, marries much better the second time around.

    • @Rkenton48
      @Rkenton48 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      wasn't there also a child later on in Voyager? A young girl?

    • @devenscience8894
      @devenscience8894 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      @@fisk0 nice pull. The Naomi Wildman arc is a better example in many ways, as she doesn't magically disappear. She's still seen from time to time thereafter, which was nice for continuity.

  • @ericposter8608
    @ericposter8608 3 ปีที่แล้ว +19

    As someone who started playing the trombone when I was 9 and now teaches music for a living, the comment about Riker's son wanting to play the trombone stings a little bit...but I can also recognize sarcasm (I think). Anyway, all that being said, you mention how Riker is revealed to be one of Star Trek's best parents in Picard, and we see a preview of that through the illusion in this episode when Riker is watching home movies to try and jog his memory. He has a very close relationship with his "son." Wouldn't it make sense for that son to want to emulate his father? Musical talent tends to run in families and it's not that uncommon to find families where everyone plays an instrument.

  • @kevinjordan1146
    @kevinjordan1146 3 ปีที่แล้ว +21

    Don't forget "The Offspring" in which Data has a daughter.
    I forget the episode in which Data saves a young girl.
    All about parenting which resonates with me.

    • @johnpotts8308
      @johnpotts8308 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Pen Pals (and he breaks the Prime Directive to do it, too)

    • @Bastion90
      @Bastion90 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Pen Pals

    • @BioGoji-zm5ph
      @BioGoji-zm5ph 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@johnpotts8308 Not quite. In Pen Pals, that little girl's parents were still alive, and Data convinced Picard to actually do the right thing and save the girl's people from extinction. Although it is sad that Data had to manipulate Picard in the first place to get him to help save those people from extinction.

  • @kaitlyn__L
    @kaitlyn__L 3 ปีที่แล้ว +12

    And of course there's that DS9 episode with the orphaned Cardassian boy,.. his adoptive Bajoran family go to DS9 to sightsee or for business or something, and end up having their child removed from their custody by Sisko!
    Great video as always :)

    • @shibolinemress8913
      @shibolinemress8913 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      It's fascinating to compare Rugal's fate with Jono's. Rugal's parents obviously loved him, but they were unwittingly psychologically abusing him because of their own prejudice. Still, they were the only family he knew. Was it right for Sisko to send him to Cardassia against his will, or should they have let him return home to Bajor? Or could they have found a 3rd option, like letting him stay with someone on the station? The answer is much less clear cut than with Jono, but I love comparing the two.

  • @sinswhisper9588
    @sinswhisper9588 3 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    Those episodes ALWAYS brought me to tears ... having had to grow up without a mother, and even growing up as somewhat the 'black sheep' of the rest of the family ive always felt like an outcast and even created my own fantasy worlds as a kid in order to cope

  • @MHLegacy
    @MHLegacy 3 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    Steve, you might as well throw Wesley Crusher into that trope too. He lost his father and later bonds with Picard because his father was both a Starfleet officer AND Picard's friend (and Picard even steps into the step-dad role with his relationship with Beverly).
    Is he an orphan? No...BUT he was temporarily "orphaned" during Season 2, when Gates McFadden had been replaced and her character was at Starfleet Medical (why Dr. Crusher wouldn't bring her child with her still doesn't make sense; the storyline of him staying on board simply doesn't cut it).
    Wesley also has the whole Traveler storyline of him finding his place and eventually deciding NOT to pursue a career in Starfleet (until Star Trek X: Nemesis, I guess). In that thread, he moves away from being like Picard, similar to how Timothy moves away from being like Data.
    I know, I know, lots of people hate Wesley...but his storyline is very similar to the ones you listed.
    Also, now that I think about it, Worf and Riker were both orphaned as children. Worf's biological parents were killed and Riker lost his mother and was abandoned by his father. Riker's losses were replicated in Alexander, whose mother died and was essentially abandoned by Worf, who kept sending him away to his adoptive parents' home for them to raise because he was too busy having his ideas and suggestions shot down by the Next Gen crew ( th-cam.com/video/edflm7Hh3hs/w-d-xo.html ).

  • @fionavalkyrie
    @fionavalkyrie 3 ปีที่แล้ว +15

    I love your content. Keep making great stuff :) Fun, unsolicited, idea I had for a video: "How would Sisko have likely handled major "two parters" better (or worse) than the captains that faced them in TNG /Voyager/TOS?

    • @RolandWolf
      @RolandWolf 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Or pick a two parter and set each captain in the main role

  • @nacnuDsuperb
    @nacnuDsuperb 3 ปีที่แล้ว +14

    The favorite premise might be even wider than these 4 episodes. The orphan aspect is an easy way of putting a character in a parental role for 1 episode, but there are plenty of none orphan examples. Troi in The Child, Beverly in Brothers (yes she is already a mother to wesley, but he isn't a little kid any more) and Picard in The Inner Light. Worf in Reunion actually had the same premise, but is retroactively excluded from this list for receiving several follow up episodes.

    • @Ertwin123
      @Ertwin123 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Also in Birthright part 2 where Worf thinks it's a great idea to impose his cultural ideals and hatreds on the children of a colony of Klingons living peacefully with Romulans.

  • @KKellyMeine
    @KKellyMeine 3 ปีที่แล้ว +19

    It's interesting that you point out how so many of the main characters have lost or been estranged from their parents. As a child, I watched TNG regularly. While not a fan, my mother would occasionally pick up plot points because of this. One day while I was watch, out of the blue she said, "Everyone in that show has father issues. It seems like that's what they're talking about in every episode." I started paying closer attention to this aspect and realized that, obviously not every episode is about this, there ARE a lot of episodes in which someone's father issues comes up, whether due to their father being dead, or just a dick (I'm looking at you, Riker's dad.) While I'm not super into psychodynamic theory, it does seem appropriate to suggest that the writer's room contained some people with daddy issues.

    • @Scuzzlebutt142
      @Scuzzlebutt142 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Won't say I agree, but it may just be a bit of confirmation bias, as we simply don't hear about people who have parental issues. And we do get at least one of the opposite, with Family, and Worf with his adoptive parents, who he seems to absolutely adore.

    • @sbvera13
      @sbvera13 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      @@Scuzzlebutt142 People with flawless, happy lives tend to make poor subjects for a drama.

    • @ryane3703
      @ryane3703 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Holodeck Freud would have something to say about all of this

  • @Tarvok
    @Tarvok 3 ปีที่แล้ว +15

    Hey now, don't be hating on the trombone. :p
    Actually, Riker breaks through multiple layers of fiction to discover reality is a common trope I enjoyed. The one in this episode, Frame of Mind (my favorite episode), and to a lesser extent that one with the subspace alien abductions all illustrated this character trait of his.

    • @mantramoon9
      @mantramoon9 10 หลายเดือนก่อน

      I always really enjoyed the altered reality Riker going crazy episodes!

  • @SiriusMined
    @SiriusMined 3 ปีที่แล้ว +9

    Data almost feels bad that he can't feel bad

  • @MissingSirius
    @MissingSirius 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I can't even listen to a vague description of the Data episode without tearing up. I love that one so much.

  • @Nerdbomber586
    @Nerdbomber586 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    Thank you Steve. Your videos had not been in my feed for a while. And after listening to your analysis while searching my feelings I find I needed this. Thank you once more and may you live long and prosper.

  • @starclone4
    @starclone4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Being a child who lost both parents during my teen years... It was so comforting to have an adult step into my life, and assure me that things were gonna be alright, and that I wasn't alone !!!! Thank you for discussing this topic... 😊

  • @staumahn
    @staumahn 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    Amazing video. So grateful I stumbled across this channel!

  • @Spatula007
    @Spatula007 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    every time i watch one of your videos i'm compelled to rewatch TNG episodes you bring up... all of these episodes fell into the cracks in my memory but when you bring them up I remember how they were great and your analysis gives a good angle to rewatch them on!

  • @beaker8706
    @beaker8706 3 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Steve, thanks for another interesting analysis. I always enjoy the Trek Actually (& Not Actually...) videos. I don't disagree with any of the points you made, but noticed there seemed to be one that wasn't mentioned (or just didn't work with this episode/script?).
    As I watched those episodes as a teenager (when they originally aired), I felt as though they were allegories for the "step-family". Growing up in the 80's-90's, it felt like the topic of step-families were often being addressed socially and in media. In some ways it's similar to the way we're discussing same-sex parenting today.
    While my parents weren't divorced many of my friends were in single-parent and/or step-families. Episodes like the ones you mention helped me understand the issues my friends were going through. They showed some of the struggles that parents and children experience, and proposed a "what's best for the child" approach. (which just so happens to be today's accepted approach, go figure)

  • @MyMagnificentOctopus
    @MyMagnificentOctopus 3 ปีที่แล้ว +15

    I thought the favorite plot for all Star Trek was "seemingly benevolent culture is secretly exploiting or persecuting minority or other species." That one is reused from TOS all the way through ENT (I haven't seen STD or Picard, so can't say if it made it into those.)

    • @sobertillnoon
      @sobertillnoon 3 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      I thought its favorite premise was:
      In a situation a conflict is arises, it is delt with, and then rarely or never spoken about again

    • @shinyagumon7015
      @shinyagumon7015 3 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      A variation of that is "seemingly benevolent culture has one fatal flaw that could destroy it whole existence and try to force the heroes to fix it."

    • @Tarvok
      @Tarvok 3 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      @@sobertillnoon Nah, that isn't Star Trek in particular, just television in general, at least during that era.

    • @krim7
      @krim7 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@sobertillnoon Only the cool bits are referenced again.

  • @abqmagic
    @abqmagic 4 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Absolutely fascinating analysis! 👏 The way TNG explored the theme of chosen family through these episodes shows the depth and heart of the series. Love how you broke it down!

  • @pjcollects
    @pjcollects 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    That was a really great video. Very well done.

  • @carycharlebois5965
    @carycharlebois5965 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    I know this was focusing on TNG, but as I watched this, my mind kept going back to 'Charlie X' from TOS. Kirk was (VERY reluctantly) shoved into the father figure role with Charlie, and a few of these concepts were explored in that episode, as well. Perhaps also 'Miri', now that I think of it.
    I think parenthood and family are major themes in the various Star Trek franchises (to different extents, certainly) because the crews of the various ships / space stations are very much families in their own way. The members of the crews aren't just co-workers, doing a job (kind of like how the crew of the Nostromo were portrayed in 'Alien') - the Star Trek crews cared for each other in ways that transcended mere friendship. Maybe I'm just reading too much into it, but I have always gotten that impression.
    Anyway, great episode, as always. Thanks, Steve!

  • @n.l.g.6401
    @n.l.g.6401 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    Hey, popped over from Jesse Gender's channel, have been binging that Hot Trek Content for a few hours and enjoying the hell out of it. You've got great insight, passion, and humor. Really happy to have found you. Peace!

  • @Scott-J
    @Scott-J 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    NIce video, Steve. Solid critical observation. I enjoyed it.

  • @AzaleaJane
    @AzaleaJane 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    One of my favorite continuity moments in TNG was where, in Future Imperfect, Riker sees a picture of himself and Minuet and realizes everything is fake.

  • @Euroflounder
    @Euroflounder 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I spent three hours this morning trying to set up CBS on my television to watch "Lower Decks" and failed. Then I come on TH-cam and there's this video. Thank you Mr. Shives, you may have actually saved me from self-harm.

  • @thomasjackson2105
    @thomasjackson2105 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I really enjoy your content
    Thanks😄

  • @wintermute7378
    @wintermute7378 ปีที่แล้ว

    This was rather brilliantly done, especially at the beginning.

  • @ExploringFate
    @ExploringFate 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Steve Shives Let's not forget Jason Vigo who for a minute was thought to be Picard's son in "Bloodlines".

  • @cowoffun3545
    @cowoffun3545 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    Another well done video! Great job; no notes!

  • @Tahir_Ali
    @Tahir_Ali 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    Again a great video. Thank you.

  • @poitter82
    @poitter82 6 หลายเดือนก่อน

    coming after the guidance counselor episode, addressing some of the episodes about trauma, brilliant.

  • @elaniarkady7351
    @elaniarkady7351 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    I never thought about how many kid episodes there are. Thank you for the mash up it's wonderful!

  • @FreulerAZ
    @FreulerAZ 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I'll have to check your past episodes, Steve, but I'm sure you've explored the episode where Data creates Laal(?), his android 'daughter'. One of my favs, and always has me a little teary-eyed.

  • @LookyLoon
    @LookyLoon 3 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Wasn't there an episode where there's a Borg they named Hugh? doesn't that fit in with this premise?

    • @krim7
      @krim7 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Definitely does.

  • @michaelstenger5411
    @michaelstenger5411 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    Great video, Steve. I hope you enjoyed the DNC last week - it's given me hope. Keep rocking!

  • @kmc16
    @kmc16 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    Another great video! Thank you Steve for your insight. I would Love to have your take on my personal fave TNG episode "Who Watches the Watchers?" The dynamic of Science & Superstition is if huge interest. Clearly DS9 tackled that subject quite well but this single TNG episode and that amazing Picard speech about why he refuses to send this civilization back into the dark ages was so epic!

  • @cschami
    @cschami 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    Another good video and excellent sign off!

  • @user-uj8oh3eg5z
    @user-uj8oh3eg5z 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Just wow. Thank, Steve ❤

  • @VelocityTheory
    @VelocityTheory 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Fantastic analysis. Future Imperfect is actually one of my favorite episodes.

  • @paleiko811
    @paleiko811 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    You do so much better than contemporary Star Trek, actually, Steve. At least when it comes to entertaining me, for what it's worth. Thanks for the continiously great content. Cheers!

  • @baitbait65
    @baitbait65 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    Great video. I'm just discovering your channel.
    I would include two Wesley episodes under this theme.
    When the Bough Breaks: In the episode Wesley and some other children are kidnapped by an alien species that can't have their own children. Wesley's forced to take on a leadership/big brother role.
    I'd also highlight Wesley and the Traveller. It's very much the inverse of this theme: Wesley encounters a father like figure.
    Also, the episode where Data builds Lal could be included here.

  • @dheisey1014
    @dheisey1014 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Can we just talk about my favorite thing with future imperfect? When Riker figures out the sim is fake the first time, it’s because they made his wife Minuet, and he’s like she’s fake. The way the Romulans are like “she’s real to you, bro.” Love it.

  • @kevinjordan1146
    @kevinjordan1146 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    BTW very incisecive observations Steve.
    A great post.

  • @scottyj2221
    @scottyj2221 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    Definitely a go to trope, and I never really thought about it, that it was to give these parentless characters an episode to be a parent.
    Keep up the good work, I love your videos.

  • @sobertillnoon
    @sobertillnoon 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    The slick back trio

  • @MatthewCaunsfield
    @MatthewCaunsfield 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    That was a fun opening. I twigged something was up when you couldn't immediately name the episode in question 😉

  • @johnnafunkhouser5999
    @johnnafunkhouser5999 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    Fun and well done!

  • @RapidCityJM
    @RapidCityJM 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    I also think there's another thread - you see it in DS9 when Odo refers to the Founders sending baby changlings out into the universe as 'seeing how societies treat the most vulnerable' - that lost children, or children in general, are the responsibility of everyone not just the parents. 'It takes a village to raise a child' = 'On the starship Enterprise, no one is alone.'

  • @greggarciajr.1906
    @greggarciajr.1906 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    The “crew member playing surrogate parent to an orphan” plot is to TNG what the “Enterprise crew comes across an omnipotent being” plot is to TOS.
    I did a mini-TOS marathon when this pandemic began and my wife -a novice Trekkie- asked me after watching “The Squire of Gothos,” “Arena,” and “An Errand of Mercy” back to back “Do they come across an omnipotent being in every episode?”

    • @krim7
      @krim7 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      They did the same thing in TNG and Voyager, the writers just realized it was easier if the omnipotent being was just the same dude each time :P

  • @krim7
    @krim7 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    This was definitely one of your best written episodes!

  • @Pikeandglaive
    @Pikeandglaive 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    This is a fascinating breakdown! I'm really glad I found this video (and yes, I just subscribed to your channel as well).
    I grew up on TNG, so this type of stuff really hits home.
    Did you/do you have plans to do a breakdown like this of voyager? The ep where the doctor creates a holographic family ("Real life")jumps to mind...and yeah, that one was a gut punch I wasn't ready for.

  • @laurasetchell7212
    @laurasetchell7212 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I'm surprised the episode featuring Q and Amanda didn't feature here. Crusher mentored her, but so too did Q. Her parents were tragically killed, and she was never heard from again. It bears a lot of similarities to these four episodes.

  • @killerecho
    @killerecho 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    Shades of this theme in I, Borg as well. Even Perfect Mate has that born sexy yesterday thing going on.

  • @andrewmurray1550
    @andrewmurray1550 ปีที่แล้ว

    I got it mixed up too... the kid who starts acting like Data I thought was this one where the boy's mother dies.....which would make sense, his disconnection from emotion surrounding his mother's death, and the episode concluding with Worf stepping in to essentially be a foster-father figure - if only in action.

  • @fplgregfrost
    @fplgregfrost 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    Re:view - two amazing TNG recaps btw. Steve if you wanna talk about every TNG episode , we will watch it.

  • @FuelDropforthewin
    @FuelDropforthewin 5 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    Picard quietly spaces the kids after their episode is over. It's cleaner that way. :P

  • @Kae6502
    @Kae6502 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    The Third season episode "The Offspring " also comes to mind, although it lacks several of the criteria you chose for this video. In this case parenthood wasn't suddenly thrust on Data, it was actively pursued by the character. Still, another emotional episode featuring the role of parenthood as experienced by one of the crew members.

  • @eldorados_lost_searcher
    @eldorados_lost_searcher 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    I'm not surprised that Steve found something good about Star Trek V. It's becoming his calling card.

  • @jeffc5974
    @jeffc5974 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    He may not have been in the core cast, but Miles O'Brian had kids and a spouse, and he was in 52 episodes.

    • @stein1919
      @stein1919 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      and was kind of a reluctant father figure to a Cardassian orphan on DS9 (or at least, eventually tolerated him)

  • @RobbyBurney
    @RobbyBurney 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    Hey Lord Shives, don't know how much control you have of this but there were *a lot* of ads breaking up this episode. Even one fewer would have helped the flow.
    Thank you good sir

  • @justarandomgothamite5466
    @justarandomgothamite5466 5 หลายเดือนก่อน

    The idea that the Enterprise isn't just a war ship and a convention center but also an orphanage is hilarious .

  • @FinalFerak12
    @FinalFerak12 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    You should do an episode on DS9s favorite premise; having someone live another life. (Far beyond the Stars, Second Skin, Most Dax episodes, Things Past, Paste Tense, ETC.)

  • @ChrisSaad
    @ChrisSaad 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    Love it. You almost touched on it, but the show Picard is also a riff on this plot device

  • @joshdaniels2363
    @joshdaniels2363 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    "And then he's never seen again, because it's [Worf]."

    • @krim7
      @krim7 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      Worf is a devoted husband but a terrible father.

  • @mr51406
    @mr51406 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    Head canon: Mirasta Yale (1st Contact) stays on the Enterprise and becomes foster mother to Barash (Future Imperfect), Jeremy Aster (the Bonding), Alexander Rozhenko often, Timothy (Hero Worship)... and almost Jono (Suddenly Human).
    The Admiral Berman Home for continuity discards on deck 13.
    Connected to the David Marcus-Kirk Institute on Miri’s Planet. 😜

  • @ryanmiller6605
    @ryanmiller6605 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    We could also include “Disaster” as dipping into this well of tropes.

  • @ermixonscraziesttheories
    @ermixonscraziesttheories 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Without his parents Jeremy moved to Earth and became a drug dealer, going by the alias "Hob" and sadly was gunned down by drug addicted cyborg.

  • @MadTheDJ
    @MadTheDJ 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    A further good bit of continuity strung through from "Skin Of Evil" to "The Bonding" also ties to "Ethics," where, when Worf asks Riker to kill him, Riker at one point berates Worf by listing lost crewmates who died while serving, including both Tasha Yar and Marla Astor. I always liked touch. Yar was a main character many in the audience would remember, while fewer at the time would recall Astor by name. Yet, the writers put her in there as another example of a pointless death that affected them, and Worf in particular.

  • @thewhiskeybends
    @thewhiskeybends 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I wonder if Hugh the borg might also fit into this premise. His companions are killed in an accident. Laforge and Crusher heal Hugh physically and begin to introduce individuality, everyone grows.

    • @protoborg
      @protoborg 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      It's interesting that Voyager also tackled the "individual Borg" thing with 7 of 9.

  • @shibolinemress8913
    @shibolinemress8913 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Love these episodes! Have you ever compared "Suddenly Human" with DS9's "Cardassians"? I'd love to hear what you have to say about them both, especially regarding the differing decisions on what to do with the kids.

  • @jp1701A
    @jp1701A 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I am surprised when making a ToS comparison you didn't bring up Charlie X

  • @scottcomber
    @scottcomber 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    I was just watching "Cardasians" which includes a child adopted by Bajorians and his fate is basically a c plot in the episode. He's been kidnapped, raised by loving foster parents and then almost off screen he's just shipped back to Cardasia. The deep and emotionally problematic issues he faces are never resolved or even acknowledged, the episode feels like a political drama.

    • @lorcannagle
      @lorcannagle 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      There's a novel - The Never-Ending Sacrifice - that tells the story of the boy after he's shipped back to Cardassia, and it's pretty much the best Trek novel I've read.

  • @WTSD850
    @WTSD850 ปีที่แล้ว

    in the expanded universe jeremy does go to live with relatives of his, and even forms a bond with alexander and helps him to accept his klingon heratige. and barash lived on the enterprise making friends with the crewuntil he was brought the federation displaced persons agency who couldn't find his people and concluded that they lived somewhere in romulan space and gave him a home on earth where he grew up to mentor kids and help people displaced by the dominion war. timothy's fate is still ambigious.

  • @TheTroutkitty
    @TheTroutkitty 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Gosh, I'd think they're favourite premise is when they treat the prime directive like a guideline at best.

  • @SkunkWerks7
    @SkunkWerks7 5 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I loved that Data episode. I really identified with the kid at the time... probably because I wasn't too far from being his age, among other things.

  • @brianyoung157
    @brianyoung157 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    Pen pals as mentioned before, the one with the alien pretending to be girls imaginary friend, rascals where the crew become kids, the Alexander eps, picard and the kids in that elevator, tng had a lot of eps about kids

  • @ContinuumTrek
    @ContinuumTrek 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    There was also that episode where Damon Bok returns claiming to have found Picards son and vows to get revenge.

  • @Walrus1701D
    @Walrus1701D 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    And DS9 turns this trope on its head with “Cardassians,” “The Abandoned” and the Ziyahl arc.

  • @Dlstufguy2
    @Dlstufguy2 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    They should do a series of movies where Jonah becomes the caption of a ship with a ragtag crew of misfits who go on whacky adventures. They could even guard the galaxy.

  • @willowphil582
    @willowphil582 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    From the thumbnail, I thought the premise in question was the anxiety of reverse colonization. That is, where TOS had many stories about human culture contaminating other worlds, the TNG era seemed obsessed with humans being assimilated by other species. Like "Identity Crisis," "The Inner Light," "Masks," Voyager's "Nemesis," "Remember," and "Memorial," and "Extinction" from Enterprise. Plus Borgity Borgs.

  • @utubepunk
    @utubepunk 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    Hey Steve! Happy Friday. That is all.

  • @shoresean1237
    @shoresean1237 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    It's not much, but in DC Comics' TNG run, Jeremy meets Alexander after he moves to Earth and he helps Alexander overcome a distrust of Klingons using a story from Klingon culture.
    One vast weakness of 'Suddenly Human' was in my eyes that, while his explanations were ultimately true and correct, Jono's Telarian father's reasons for Jono's past injuries sounded a lot like excuses that actual vicious abusers use to cover up and get away with it.
    It also brings up another seemingly frequent later Trek trope: Our entire fleet to retrieve one person. I count at least 3: this one, Half A Life, and the Voyager ep with the resurrected crew member now a member of another species. I think there may be more.

    • @Stettafire
      @Stettafire 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      I agree, that relationship seemed like a "oh let's return the kid to the abusive parents cus the kid wants to be with their abusive parent" a yikes from me

    • @shoresean1237
      @shoresean1237 5 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@Stettafire There was once (I think it's somewhat tempered and diminished now) for authorities to 'keep a family together' no matter what condition that family was in, even to being Family In Name Only. But again, when the Telarian captain talks, it almost sounds like a Family Guy cutaway for how awkward it comes out, particularly in retrospect, but even at the time.