"If you can't take a little bloody nose, maybe you ought to go back home and crawl under your bed. It's not safe out here. It's wondrous, with treasures to satiate desires both subtle and gross. But it's not for the timid." --Q
Guinan and Q: You can't negotiate with the Borg. They are not interested in talking Jurati: Maybe they're just lonely. Gonna defeat them with the power of friendship. Hey maybe the Borg were just the friends we made along the way.
I think Picard laying down his pride in front of Q is one of the defining moments for Picard. His willingness to admit he is wrong in front of the man who has challenged his worthiness to even be out doing what he was doing, his life work, exploring, and having to admit he's partially right about him not being prepared for what he'd find. It's a true mark of character that he could do that.
Just prior to admitting that he needed Q's help, Picard briefly attempts to outwit him, or at least point out a potential flaw in his scenario, informing him that if the Enterprise were to actually be destroyed by the Borg, Q would essentially be robbed of the opportunity to gloat. The first time my younger self watched this episode as it first aired, I recall thinking that it was an interesting maneuver on Picard's part. After all, if he couldn't negotiate with the Borg, perhaps it made more sense to try and bargain his way out of the situation by appealing to Q's own sense of pride and his well-established desire to win their little intellectual chess match.
@@BCBaron True it's a good play, but even that is a bit of an admittance of defeat on the captain's part. Overall just a great scene for Captain Picard and the actor Patrick Stewart.
I think that every time I've watched this episode since the first time, and it's revealed how damaged the Borg ship is, my immediate impulse is to scream "KEEP FIRING!"
One of the things that the audience realizes about the Borg in that first encounter (continuing on with the theme of their Otherness) is that, unlike Klingons, Romulans, Ferengi, or any other alien we've encountered, the crew isn't facing off with an alien. Their facing off with a wrench, or a screwdriver. They're encountering a tool, and if they destroy the first tool, a better tool is sent to replace it. The tools that are deployed have but one purpose: To evaluate what The Collective has found, and if what they've found can be of use, to pull it apart to serve The Collective. It really took Star Trek to a whole new level of sophistication, both narrative and thematic.
"You can't outrun them, you can't destroy them. If you damage them, the essence of what they are remains: they regenerate and keep coming. Eventually you will weaken, your reserves will be gone. They are RELENTLESS." The more that sinks in the more terrifying they become. I was barely 11 when that episode aired, and that was so chilling, I remember having nightmares. As brilliant a creation as they were, the writers kind of outdid themselves, because they painted themselves in to a bit of a corner. Although the Borg did give us some great stories, their decline in to alien of the week was almost inevitable. Either that, or the Federation had to lose. Still, I agree this is a fantastic episode, and I think that the good Borg stories are so strong that I can easily forget the bad ones.
@@andrewmurray1550 Some people say Janeway got good at defeating the Borg. In reality, the TV show Voyager defeated the Borg. Hell, I could have defeated the Borg on Voyager.
My favorite line from this episode is when Q goes “not a ‘he’ not a ‘she’”about the Borg in Engineering. Would we call the Borg enby/non-binary today? I guess those both suggest a sense of self. Either way, they threw the asexual drone concept out the window for the Borg Queen and Seven of Nine. Rick Berman never let narrative progressivism ruin a chance at sex appeal.
Actually my favorite part about that scene specifically is how for one second Q is “not a he, not a she” and then seconds later says “he’s not interested in your life form... he might try to gain control of your ship! I wouldn’t let him” Q mocks humans for beyond so linear. I say we mock Q for being so binary
Before here came Locutus, it's easy to forget in retrospect, but the Borg were severely retconned pretty much every single time they appeared on TNG. Q also said the Borg had no interest in them or their technology, this rather mysteriously becomes their only motivation later on.
I'd always taken it as a consequence of the Borg's lack of individuality rather than its physical sex organs. It's not a "he" or a "she" in the way that your finger isn't really a "he" or a "she", at least not in English. It's simply a functional part of a larger whole. Although, given that we later find the Borg exclusively reproduce through assimilation and not reproduction, maybe sex organs really are irrelevant. ... Maybe there's another reason why Captain Picard has that lone tear running down his cheek when he's assimilated.
it also had one of the few lines spoken in TNG by any character that always gives me goosebumps ... "the hall is rented, the orchestra engaged ... its now time to see if you can dance" -- followed by the iconic snapping of the fingers
"You brought us here, you exposed us to it, and you cost us the lives of our shipmates!" _"...Oh, please..."_ Gives me chills every single time. Q seems almost offended by the idea that any of their little lives are anything more than an amusimg diversion to him.
Q Who is my favorite episode of TNG. This is the first time we get to see Q as something more than his normal puckish self. I have rewatched this episode over and over for Q's Bloody Nose line and I love it This is also one of the very few times Whoopi Goldberg's Guinan loses her cool. And I love how much darker this episode gets when later Star Trek series reveal that the Borg don't procreate, meaning that the children Riker finds aboard the cube must have been recently assimilated.
There's so much world-building done in 45 minutes. We get insight into some members of the Continuum being "almost respectable". We get background information on Guinan's life and people. We also get a tie-in to season 1's "The Neutral Zone" with the "great rips in the surface" like they say in the episode. We have the genius tie-in of Q and Guinan having a past together. With the exception of Dr. Pulaski's conspicuous absence in this episode, Stefon from SNL would say: this episode has everything.
This episode, The Neutral Zone and The Best of Both Worlds are some of my of my favorite's because they're a good example of a happy medium between episodic and serialized television. It also was a fair point to make about TNG's utopia. The Federation's complacency in their current balance of power had made them arrogant about future challenges.
I remember being around 11 when I first saw the Borg in TNG. I remember how existentially terrifying they were. Even with all the goofy costumes and shit glued to their faces.
@@WhiteThumbs From the Borg pov it made excellent sense to study the alien ship before destroying it. They had no way of knowing when the next one might show up.
This was NOT the first "Borg" episode -- that would be "The Neutral Zone" though they weren't identified in that episode. That event was referenced in this episode, however -- after Q does his fling, Data mentions, upon scanning an uninhabited planet, that it had evidence of having been inhabited from a series of roads, but similar to the Federation outposts along the Romulan Neutral Zone (from The Neutral Zone episode) where there should be cities, there were only great rifts in the surface.
this is probably the most iconic villein heavy star trek episode ever made (not just in TNG but any series); it sounds like fanfic yet it is a well-regarded episode that actually introduced one of those villeins;
Great recap and a reminder of what made the Borg scary. The things you highlight about the Borg, being non negotiable, methodical, impersonal, cold, etc, were all brushed aside once they introduced the queen
The Borg scare the-CRAP-outta in this episode !!! The only episode I thought the ship/crew were in-BIG-trouble. When those Borg drones came aboard the ship,deadly silent I knew then they were-unstoppable.
@@DrewLSsix There's plenty of room for exploring the Borg like this if you treat it like a horror story. They're the boogeyman in the black of space. Once you illuminate the mystery, the fear abates.
@@ericmalikyte885 Yep. It's important that The Borg never explained why they did what they did. Though Guinan and Q did provide some context so we knew they weren't just sulky.
I remem when TNG was first airing, I would get to watch the first maybe 20 minutes with my dad before I had to go to bed, a little more during summer. I was maybe 5 years old, but the Borg always left a big impression on me. When I got a chance to binge the series, it was after watching the movies, I was eagerly anticipating this one episode that I wasn't even fully aware of. It is one of my favorites and rewatching brings back a lot of good memories.
One of the greatest episdoes of the early seasons, IMO. It's an interesting moment when De Lancie speaks to Picard about "Another man would have been humiliated to say those words. Another man would have rather died than ask for help." A nod to Kirk, perhaps?
Episodes like this are why I get confused when people say "skip Seasons 1 and 2". Q Who, Measure of a Man and others really set the scene for what is to come.
I love how this episode, and the Borg episode of Enterprise, gave the theory that Q was actually the good guy. The Enterprise episode retroactively revealed the Borg already knew of humanity, it just took 200 years for them to get the message. They were on the way, but humanity forgot about them what with the Klingons and Romulans. Q knew this, he is all knowing after all, and realized an unprepared Federation would be annihilated. So he flung Picard to the Borg to remind them so they could get ready for the invasion.
Also I found that best of both worlds works better as a 3 part story with family being the 3rd part …. The buildup pt1… the battle pt2… the fallout pt3 ( family )
Why do Picard seem to have such a knack for ignoring the completely reasonable advice from the people in the ship who's literal job is to... advise him of stuff?
Poor writing/low standards in TNG season 1 and 2. Seriously the director, producer, or head writer should've said "This doesn't seem very plausible for Picard to ignore a warning from Guinan about a species that destroyed her whole flipping planet. Come up with something better."
Because you need to have enough events to make a 40-45 minute story. If Picard had run like Guinan had advised him, we would have an episode of Voyager.🤔
See, the reason why Selena Gomez shows up in Lower Decks is simple: If you don't know who she is, she's just the Captain old friend who gets thrust into peril. This is an incredibly common star trek character trope that has happened literally dozens upon dozens of times, so is easily understood and graspable. If you DO know who she is you go, 'Oh, neat" then don't think about it again. Unless you're Steve! Then you get irrationally mad about it for what feels like TEN GODDAMN YEARS.
@Steve Shives lol as a survivor fan, for a split second I thought you were talking about David Wright, no not the baseball player, the survivor player and a writer for Lower Decks. But I think its much more likely you are talking to the David, sorry DAVID, you are responding to.
I love DeLancie's delivery in the Observation Lounge of the line "Oh, please" after Riker notes about the 18 crewmembers who died. Very subtle, very well done. So glad they went with that instead of some over the top Q line from the previous episodes.
I watched the first few episodes of TNG when it first came out, and I really tried, but I just couldn't get into it - I gave up on it. A couple of years later, I decided to give it another try out of sheer boredom. The episode was "Q Who," and holy shit - it was amazing! It was one of the best pieces of sci-fi I had ever seen, and I was completely hooked. By that point, TNG was so heavily syndicated that it was on about 20 times a week, and I got caught up in a hurry. Anyway, love this episode, love your reviews, and love the channel!
When I was a teenager and in elementary school, I managed to see a few episodes of Star Trek TNG. I could only watch it when my father wasn't home because he wouldn't let me watch series, SF, fantasy and many others. Picard and Data were my role models. And I valued Picard - among other things - precisely because he was able to admit his mistakes. It's a rare feature. /Sorry for my english from google translate/. :)
The wobbling chair you mention, I felt was actually a very poignant and easily misable motif. It emphasised that Q was really there, as physical as the rest of them but, that he could escape anytime he felt like it. Our heroes could not! To me it added to the tension of the scenario. The camera is focused on the chair, without seeing it from behind the rest of the crew, and as we are engrossed in the events on screen, it adds a sense of helplessness for the viewer too. We feel as though we are in the room and that Q was directly addressing us. Very clever directing- I think.
Lucky you didn't have your computer behind you. When you talked about "no one has been known to have negotiated with the Borg" bit had me thinking Janeway would have just appeared behind you to just leave a big smug in her wake.
When I first started a TNG watchalong with my girlfriend, I was surprised to find how long they'd been forshadowing the Borg for. Not just the obvious planting of the seed in The Neutral Zone, but even blink and you miss it bits of dialogue, like the first few seconds of Measure of a Man, right before Maddox shows up.
I think it's important to remember just how scary the Borg in the 1980s. At this time, we hadn't seen TV like this, at least I don't remember seeing anything like it that, where heroes of TV shows have no-win scenarios. In this case they didn't really have any options to explore. It was more of a situation of the devil you know. And that was scary, especially as a kid.
I watched that on a Saturday night the first weekend it was on. It was my favorite episode to that point. Incredible. What a powerful episode. Fantastic story.
It had to be picard that Q sent to meet the Borg. If it had been Jainway she and her crew would have been assimilated doom to the federation. If it had been Cisco he would have gone home and never learned anything about the Borg. This would have left Starfleet unprepared.
What I love about this episode is that it has what appears, on the surface, to be a "Deus Ex Machina" type ending. The omnipotent god character saves the protagonists. But the way the episode is done, the way it leads up to that ending, is earned and satisfying. Because it's not about the omnipotent god character saving the day, it's about the hero swallowing his pride and begging the god to do it. It's just such a brilliant execution of Deus Ex Machina that actually works. And it's possibly the only time I've seen such a literal execution of that trope.
Indeed one of the best ST episodes. Like you said: What made the Borg so frightening here is how they are cold, alien, calculating and adaptive at the same time. One big part of them being so alien here was their acting as a collective, a hive-mind. IMHO it was a huge mistake to invent the Queen later, because that took a lot away from this alienating feeling. Suddenly, it WAS possible to negotiate with them. Even worse: Before that, they had no leader, they were a body without a head. That was their major power. Now they can be decapitated. Btw., I see a strong parallel between the Borg and the Terminator: "It can't be bargained with. It can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop... ever, until you are dead!"
So, this is unrelated to this episode but hey, if I want Steve to see this comment, putting it here is my best chance. So Steve, could you do an episode on the medical ethics of Starfleet, specifically on how there’s seemingly no concept of medical privacy? Crusher, Troi and Bashir seem to blab to any and everyone about the physical and mental health details of their patients (and then probably have sex with them.) I realize that in a quasi-military setting the rules may be a bit different but still, it feels like medical confidentiality is almost totally absent from their practices/ethics. There are plenty of examples and it seems like this could be an interesting look into how writing compelling medical drama conflicts with real-world practices and how Starfleet medical protocols differ from those of modern-day civilian or military healthcare. Could be a great episode!
Steve: I wanted to thank you for your efforts to create a community that I truly enjoy participating with and in. Also, I had a suggestion for a future topic for a video. I'm older than you, and grew up with TOS and TAS in the time before the movies and expansion of the property. I was lucky enough to see Leonard Nimoy live on stage in Sherlock Holmes and in the one-person show Vincent. Shatner and Nimoy were both on the classic series Columbo, and Shatner had TJ Hooker when Trek was making the early movies. Would you be able to consider making a video, or series, looking at other projects that Trek actors and creators have done? It would cover all the various series - TOS, TNG, DS9. VOYAGER, NuTrek - and the movies. Possibly look at The Questor Tapes, or other endeavors by scriptwriters, directors, and producers. Just an idea I thought I give to you as a thank you for the pleasure you have given all - well, most - of us.
It had never occurred to me before that Gomez disappearing from the show could be interpreted as Captain Picard transferred her off the ship off screen because he was mad at her for spilling hot chocolate on him. From now on I headcanon that's what happened.
Yeah, there was a lot of great dialogue in this episode. I see I'm not the first to think of the "desires both subtle and gross" speech, but concerning your comment about Q never being more serious than in this episode, I'm not sure I can think of a line Q delivered in more deadly earnestness than when, in response to Picard's clearly desperate plea to tell him that this is all one of his illusions, Q responds, "No, this is as a real as your so-called life gets" (well, unless you're counting "penny for your thoughts..."). A serious gripe now: something that is never made clear about the Borg is what they are (or, shouldn't the question be, what _it_ is?) The Borg are described as a collective consciousness, but, ignoring _everything_ except the laws of physics (and I mean _Star Trek_ physics), the _most_ the Borg could be would be a collection of collective consciousnesses, with each Borg cube or Borg-colonized planet being its own individual, with perhaps individual collectives forming higher-order collectives when they are in sufficient proximity to do so. After all, there are Borg ships spread all around the galaxy, and they're only (skipping waaay ahead here) able to cover great distances using massive constructs that are able to deliver them to a relatively tiny number of locations (you can bring up the conduits from Descent, but even these require a nonzero duration to traverse, which is the entire point). Fact is, all the numerous Borg ships and planets throughout the galaxy _couldn't_ comprise a single consciousness, since for all of them to interact with each other, they'd have to be able to transmit information at infinite speed. And, as everyone damn well knows, it is _impossible_ to travel at infinite speed, as was definitively proven by Tom Paris in the Voyager episode, "Welp, _That_ Didn't Work" (if I'm not mistaken, the subtitle was just a URL to a basic biology primer about how evolution works). The point is, the single Borg cube is depicted as a single individual in the episode. Sure, it's alluded to that there are _many_ Borg cubes, but in Q Who?, the Enterprise and her crew only ever interact with the Borg cube as though it is an individual unto itself, rather than a single node of access to a demigod with a consciousness that spreads across the entire galaxy. But here's the thing: The Borg introduce themselves by saying _"We_ are the Borg." And they say, "Your culture will adapt to service _us."_ Now, I'd _like_ to think that the writers who invented the Borg were thinking _so_ far ahead that my "each ship/planet is its own individual when it's not around other Borg" model is more or less true, and that the Borg's use of language was deliberate and accurate. More likely, I think the writers just screwed up. The approaching Borg ship should have said, "I am the Borg. Your culture will adapt to service _me."_ (ironically, this is something First Contact actually _corrects,_ only for the Borg Queen to be dismissed out of hand by 90% of Trekkies as a "gimp drone" [please note, if your specific complaint is that liquefying one gimp drone would cause the entire collective to self-destruct, we are in complete agreement], complaining about the Borg being represented by an individual. But that's *exactly* what the Borg were originally _supposed_ to be. No individual was ever physically depicted, but, in every communication with the Enterprise in Q Who?, the Borg speaks with a single voice (despite the inadvertent ambiguity by messing up the pronouns). Did any of this get resolved in Voyager? I mean, I _should_ know, I _think_ I saw every episode. But, I gotta tell you, while I could name any TNG episode by Stardate alone, I probably recall, like, maybe _half_ of what happened in Voyager. That might be an overestimate. And I also might, possibly, be subconsciously, but actively, suppressing the Borg episodes.
I know it was annoying for Steve in Season 3 of Picard, but the reality is that the Borg became inextricably linked to Jean Luc's character development. Even when they were no longer part of the story, there were signs that Picard was defined by his encounters with the Borg. They showed him that there were some things out of his control, even within his own existence. Season 3 knew that the Borg had to be part of the final story for Picard. They did a great job of hiding this fact until they had to. In the light of a Picard farewell, the Borg had to be invited to the party even if they tend to be one of those guests that show up late and drive other guests (plots) out. It's also the same reason that Q had to show up at the end. Predictable? Yes. Necessary? Also, Yes.
I remember seeing this as a pre-teen and how much the Borg scared the absolute crap out of me. Now, as an adult I can just rest easy...but seriously before I go to bed tonight, can someone please check under my bed?
I actually appreciated the fact that instead of using the villian of the week or recycling ones like the borg, DS9 decided to invent its own unique threat. They need to get that writing crew back together I swear because they wrote the best episodes in the entire franchise. It's the only trek I watch that I usually do in linear order, especially the later seasons.
I'll never forget seeing this episode first run. Q was always a welcome sight when he showed up on TNG, and I remember feeling like there was a real threat from the Borg. And they looked so cool, like less robotic Cybermen, but chilling because of their connection to a hive mind. Great review, Steve!
That's the kind of thing that happens when you write a show from the perspective of a fan and not a writer. Season 3 was everything all the "real gans" have been calling for since the start of new trek, and it shows. Sure it's great fun, but it feels like a high budget fan fic, the type of fic that is fastidiously protected from any re drafts, that's never allowed to be critiqued. It's all about the impulsive wishes of a fan reliving their favorite moments without a care as to the in universe rationale. It's the kind of fiction that takes Kirk's afgection for the life he lives as a captain of a fine ship and makes it into borderline slash porn between man and starship.
I'd say a lot of that stems from their run-ins in seasons 6 and 7. In the first few seasons, Q is always an irritating antagonist and Picard clearly despises him. But by the time of Tapestry, True Q, and All Good Things, their relationship has mellowed quite a bit and Q has seemingly altered his motivation from putting all of humanity on trial into helping Picard resolve lingering personal issues that he'd been suppressing. Obviously that shouldn't undo Q leading all those crewmembers to their deaths, but I suppose Picard may have come to view their deaths to be as much his own fault, given that his stubborn reluctance to acknowledge how out of depth the Enterprise was also gave the Borg the opportunity to attack them. I actually always liked the gradual evolution of the two characters because it implied that Picard had changed Q as much as Q had changed Picard, which is a testament to the kind of man Picard was. And as horrid as season 2 of Picard was, their final goodbye was about the only moment of that entire season I could say I liked.
Personally I always viewed it as we don’t know what would have happened if Q had done nothing. Perhaps if he hadn’t done anything their first meeting of the Borg would have been the end of the entire enterprise. That was always my head canon, that Q saved the majority of the ship, not that he caused deaths.
My favourite comment about this episode is on TV Tropes, when When Riker snaps at Q for his actions resulting in the Enterprise being sent halfway across the galaxy and indirectly getting 18 crewmembers killed, all Q can say is just a coldly delivered "Oh, please." John De Lancie delivers it so well.
So there with you. This episode is one of my favorites and it is chilling. Q is undeniably in control. The Enterprise crew are pawns. Picard is utterly out of his depth. The Borg are unstoppable, inexorable, and present. All starfleets tactics fail and Picard has to beg Q's deliverance. Which is granted. So...was Q villain or was he presenting and forwarning the approaching danger? I know which believe. 17:5017:50
The introduction to the Borg was probably one of the things that kickstarted TNG into high gear. Although I still have no idea why Guinan and Q made crab claw gestures at each other, introducing an alien that was essentially a swarm of locusts was brilliant. It wasn't just funny nose-bridge aliens of the week. I know eventually we'll have to discuss how Janeway and a few phaser rifles took down the collective, but they were a chilling villain for a long time. Definitely one of my all time favorite sci fi foes.
I rewatched Q Who after listening to Steve's retro review and every time they show the classic wide shot of the interior of the cube I say to myself "Yep you can get a galaxy class starship in here..."
This and Let Sleeping Borg Lie are the two best Borg episodes because it showcases their most compelling aspects, where the crew cannot defeat them, only delay and escape, knowing that now the Borg know who they are and hoping that the Borg won't care enough to continue looking in their direction.
Q Who is brilliant as a self contained episode and as a set up for Best of Both Worlds, but the downfall of the Borg was inevitable based on the premises established in Q Who. Star Trek just isn't the type of show where we're going to see the heroes repeatedly lose to a villain nor is it one with faceless villains who aren't interested in negotiation nor dialogue.
Episodes like Tapestry, All good things and Season 2 of Picard have always strengthened the suspicion in me, that the Continuum has access to all possible universes. When Q says another man would have chosen a more risky tactic, he still talks about Picard. A version of Jean Luc who encountered the Borg much later, and he still applied the Picard Manuever like he tried it here, but was saved by Q. Once can interpret Q dismissing Riker on the victims is because in most iterations Picard earned a hero cult and Starfleet in lieu of better weapons, simply chose mutual destruction, leaving UFP defenseless to invasion. Picard had to learn his limitations, yet he only did so after he was turned into Locutus and freed. I had a slight obsession with the Barzan Wormhole in the sense when Voyager, it always got me thinking what would have happened if instead of Arridor and Kol, Laforge and Data had gotten stuck in the Delta Quadrant. With them being there the instable but still usable wormhole could have been used to return to the Alpha Quadrant. It's not like a Star Trek show can last just 3 seasons like TOS.
5:53 I literally just right now noticed the 5.25 floppy drives in the wall of the Borg cube. Maybe the queen is REALLY into an authentic retro gaming experience.
Great review of a fantastic episode. Always fun to revisit a classic. I do have a question, sorry if it's a little out of place here, where should I look for the Ensign's Log live Q&A? Is that a Patreon benefit or something?
We haven't done this year's yet. Haven't even been able to figure out when we're gonna do it yet due to scheduling difficulties. But when we do it, it'll be livestreamed here on my channel for all to see. Once we settle on a date and time, I'll be sure to make a community post and post about it elsewhere on social media to make sure folks who wanna see it know about it.
I literally can't count how many times I had seen this episode as a child. I remember the tension; I remember the warnings of Q, and I remember how the "bloody nose" line -- even as young as I was -- rang true. It felt like Q had punted the Enterprise like a football just over the fence to the yard of that hostile neighbor who would probably shoot you for fetching it, and then you learn what's really living over there is whatever ate the neighbor. It was fantastically effective storytelling and mounted a sense of dread about the Borg and their inevitability. I loved every second of it.
I remember racking my brain for weeks trying to figure out how (and when) the Next Gen crew were ever going to defeat the Borg. I also remember figuring out how the Borg fit into the fantasy race trope package that Star Trek has inadvertently (?) found itself. I've never heard anyone else suggest such a thing, so forgive me if this is old news, but the way I see it, Humans are Humans (adaptable, curious and quick to make friends), the Vulcans are High Elves, (haughty, but helpful, if only on their own terms), Klingons are Dwarves (Intensely honorable, but easily provoked into glorious combat). These make up the Big Three, but to a lesser extent, Ferengi are the Ratfolk/Skaven (Avaricious and fundamentally untrustworthy), Cardassians are the Snakefolk/Naga (Silver-tongued, underhanded, overconfident and surprisingly hard to kill), and Romulans are the Dark Elves (Deceitful, ruthless and wickedly cunning). So where do the Borg fit in? Well, they're the Insectoids, relatively harmless alone, but increasingly and terrifyingly formidable in numbers. I think this was the episode that solidified this idea for me. It was quite the epiphany, suddenly realizing that there were High Elves and Dwarves running around in my space opera.
This is the episode where I realized that TNG was not messing around. TOS kinda skirted the deaths or had single, impactful deaths, not the mindless, cold, mechanical deaths in this episode. TOS generally went along with no real threats that could not be solved in the episode with a somewhat ambivalent universe, TNG went to almost Lovecraftian levels with a cold, uncaring universe that would just as willing to kill everyone as to grow a flower.
Yeah, I've watched this one a few times. Always liked this episode, not least of all because as much as I love Picard, it's fascinating to see a strong character humbled not necessarily by just someone or something "better" but literally by something they cannot overcome. And yeah, the borg were terrifying when they first burst on the scene. Now they're just...space zombies. And they're not scary anymore. And worse than that, they keep humanizing them, which completely takes away from the entire premise of the borg. It also showcased what someone like Q CAN be - not just a silly villain with a point to make (and a valid one at that), but a terrifying otherworldly entity who is basically an eldritch horror in human form. It really shows that he's NOT human, yet he's decided to teach humans a valid lesson - one they clearly need to learn. It's an amazing episode, one of TNG's best imho.
Yep. The Borg started off being a genuinely unique adversary. Not villains per se, but rather a culture so radically different in its values as to be an irreconcilable foe. This is far more interesting philosophically than simply giving us a race of straightforward bad guys. Sadly though, the writers basically gave up on this idea after a while and straightforward bad guys is what the Borg became.
i agree the way the borg are presented in this episode is perfect, they are terrifying and unstoppable, but that is the actual problem with the borg from a writing stand point. there is no where to go, there is no way to have our heroes win, and while an occasional episode of start trek where the heroes lose is great, a steady diet of that would kill the series. It tales the premise from "See how much better we could be if we tried." to "Well it was nice while it lasted, but when all was said and done, it didn't stop the existential horror of assimilation.", they had to weaken the borg, because star fleet had to win. Q being the darker side of the trickster is absolutely magnificent, he dances that line of actually caring about what happens to the crew and just screwing with them for the lolz beautifully, but i think he warning is one of his most caring moments. He knows what's out there, and knows we're screwed unless we accept hat sometimes people die, and we have to take the punch and run. Great review overall though thanks.
One of the best Q episodes also contains one of Worf's best moments. Q: "I have no powers! What must I do to convince you people?! Worf: "Die." Hahahahahaha
Hey Steve, have you ever watched any Stargate? The point about the Borg being so great but eventually being wittled down reminded me of the Wraith from Stargate Atlantis. The first episode established them as an almost horror-movie-level supernatural monsters from just a couple individuals. Later that season, they're just squads of generic baddies with laser guns. Fun Fact, Trip plays one.
Honestly, I think this almost *is* the best Borg episode, surpassed only by part 1 of Best of Both Worlds. The sense of mystery is just awesome. I'm someone who usually gets into the beginnings of things, so not knowing anything about the Borg and seeing them in action for the first time*is* the most stimulating. Plus, Q's here. I do love a good Q episode, and this is certainly one of the best.
With 700 episodes and 13 movies in this franchise, every so often I will come across someone who wants to get their girlfriend or teenage offspring into the universe: “How do you introduce Trek to anyone you want to love it?” “Q Who?”isn't just gripping and well-written, it best communicates the themes and conflicts, the resolutions and tensions, within the franchise. It’s a standalone. You don't need to introduce Q; Riker summarizes their encounters well. It establishes Starfleet’s purpose in the conversation between Picard and Q. Q makes his point that the unknown can have extraordinary highs and lows. It establishes the “Rules of Engagement” for first contact. The fear and confidence that Picard and Q grapple with towards the unknown is on full display. As a sampler, it’s a great introduction. I imagine our conflicts with superior beings as the writer’s room imagining the end of exploration: do we look like Q or Trelane, Gary Mitchell at the so-called “end of exploration?” Q Who? Is Q’s first win. The trial, Riker’s turning down the Q's power, failed. This is Picard groveling, reflective. It foreshadowed not only the Borg, but The Dominion. The fallout in Picard considering genocide, enjoying killing Borg, and punishing the Borg like Ahab. It sets the table for all that is to come. Mitchell is never defeated. The Talosians were an aspect of power. Trelane is annoying. And Q grapples with humanity’s failings in his two previous appearances, not the threat from without. This makes the most of establishing conflict in the Trek universe, and why we need morality, this show. A defensive weapon. A diplomat’s touch.
Q Who is brilliant, and the Borg were terrifying. I always preferred them without a queen. They were inexorable and singular, not prone to emotion or pettiness. I also loved the Enterprise blowing a hole in one of the edges of the cube. It was a brilliant effect, especially for the time.
The Borg were such a great device for Star Trek in general. Even for items like the Defiant. Why was the federation making a warship in peace time? Oh, it is to be ready to fight the Borg.
I've got a video idea for you: What if the Ferrengi had been introduced the way the Borg were, and the Borg were introduced the way the Ferengi were. The first Borg episode ends with the Borg standing in the background hissing and clawing at the air while a 7 foot tall alien tells the humans how delicious their reproductive organs are. The first Ferrengi episode ends with them carving up the Enterprise like a turducken and the crew are only saved by the sci-fi equivalent of Divine intervention.
I love this episode, Jones's score is excellent in this. Great atmosphere, pacing and tension. Borg's first time is great, really felt scary and intimidating De Lancie is great in this, that "Oh please" line in the ready room had me cracking up. Guinan vs Q relationship had an interesting conceit there, I really wish that was explained and fleshed out. I'm still annoyed at the lame payoff that got in Picard season 2
Your hypothetical scenario of Picard being the great diplomat to communicate with the Borg would make for a great two part episode. Say the bridge from season 3 to 4. How awesome would that be if TNG picked up that thread.
The sense of danger the borg evoke in this session is unparalleled in the later trek episodes. Really effective storytelling. Unfortunately they were nerfed later, but I do think they were almost impossible to write about, because they were really overpowered compared to the enterprise.
This is probably my favorite TNG episode over all, especially the music is exceptional, pretty subtle but with a fantastic mellow fanfare that recurs throughout.
I can picture Picard sending a report to Starfleet of their encounter with this "Borg" species...and Starfleet giving it a shrug and filing it away in some dusty archive somewhere. Starfleet was full of the same complacency that Picard had shattered, or at least shaken, in this episode, and this resulted in the Federation being caught completely by surprise by the Borg attack in the next season -- despite being given advance warning right here. This may be why the Battle of Wolf 359 is so well known in Trek lore and Trek fandom.
Wait...only two years to return to Federation Space despite the fact it's way outside where they came from? Even at warp 9.99 by Gene's estimate wouldn't be as fast moving system to system as the show depicts. It'd probably be more like fifty years or something.
I've always interpreted Q's actions here as a warning to Starfleet to get their act together, and events in later episodes have only reinforced that mindset. Based on things that happen later/earlier in "Regeneration", the flashbacks of "Dark Frontier", and the confirmation in this episode that the damage to planets in J-25 match what happened to the outposts in "The Neutral Zone", it's not hard to put together that the Borg were already on the way. This was Q stacking the deck against them in favor of Starfleet, even if only slightly.
Maurice Hurley, who wrote this episode, said he was inspired by insects when he came up with the Borg. But he actually came up with the perfect symbol of the 80s. The ship is like an office building, full of workers who all look the same, talk the same, and spend their days in cubicles. The Borg have one goal, to assimilate other cultures into the collective, similar to how corporations in the Reagan era would buy up smaller companies until pretty soon there would be only one big corporation that we all belonged to, mindlessly devoting our lives to like a bunch of soulless zombies. This is why I hated the introduction of the Borg queen. It basically ruined the metaphor.
When Roddenberry originally came up with the race who would later be adapted into The Borg, he envisaged them as a Tyrannid-esque insectoid race; literally worker drones and warriors instinctively serving a queen. They were ultimately adapted into the cyborgs we saw here.
I was today years old when i realized that the Borg are like a swarm of Locust from the biblical story, coincidentally in much of the same fashion when the Borg go to invade Earth like a swarm ot "Locust" they are lead by Locutus of Borg no less. 🤔🤔🧐
In fairness, how often does the Enterprise D win ANY straight fight? Writing structure usually meant they could only outsmart enemies at the last minute rather than win a conventional engagement.
What I find interesting about the Borg is how they changed. They went from "only being interested in your ship and your technology" to being space zombies who care nothing about your technology. They just want to assimilate the crew. Now, you can chalk that up to bad writing or that the Borg simply changed tactics. How could they defeat us with comparably primitive technology? Maybe their power lies more in their crew than their technology. So they shift focus to assimilate their crews. I doubt that was the writer's intent but it offers a plausible explanation for the discrepancy.
I always wondered. They never had any trouble beaming over to the Borg ship. So why didn't they just beam an ounce or so of anti-matter over and be done with it
Arguments about Q's morality notwithstanding, his speech to Picard about how its not safe out here is a great speech
"If you can't take a little bloody nose, maybe you ought to go back home and crawl under your bed. It's not safe out here. It's wondrous, with treasures to satiate desires both subtle and gross. But it's not for the timid." --Q
Such a great little monologue - one of my faves.
Guinan and Q: You can't negotiate with the Borg. They are not interested in talking
Jurati: Maybe they're just lonely. Gonna defeat them with the power of friendship. Hey maybe the Borg were just the friends we made along the way.
I think Picard laying down his pride in front of Q is one of the defining moments for Picard. His willingness to admit he is wrong in front of the man who has challenged his worthiness to even be out doing what he was doing, his life work, exploring, and having to admit he's partially right about him not being prepared for what he'd find.
It's a true mark of character that he could do that.
Just prior to admitting that he needed Q's help, Picard briefly attempts to outwit him, or at least point out a potential flaw in his scenario, informing him that if the Enterprise were to actually be destroyed by the Borg, Q would essentially be robbed of the opportunity to gloat.
The first time my younger self watched this episode as it first aired, I recall thinking that it was an interesting maneuver on Picard's part. After all, if he couldn't negotiate with the Borg, perhaps it made more sense to try and bargain his way out of the situation by appealing to Q's own sense of pride and his well-established desire to win their little intellectual chess match.
@@BCBaron True it's a good play, but even that is a bit of an admittance of defeat on the captain's part. Overall just a great scene for Captain Picard and the actor Patrick Stewart.
I think that every time I've watched this episode since the first time, and it's revealed how damaged the Borg ship is, my immediate impulse is to scream "KEEP FIRING!"
Yup me and my friends were all yelling “What!!! Conference?!? Now?!?!” “Keep firing!!!!
@@walsh4president and I love cognitive dissonance of keep trying to use photon torpedoes, except they have never worked but keep trying.
One of the things that the audience realizes about the Borg in that first encounter (continuing on with the theme of their Otherness) is that, unlike Klingons, Romulans, Ferengi, or any other alien we've encountered, the crew isn't facing off with an alien. Their facing off with a wrench, or a screwdriver. They're encountering a tool, and if they destroy the first tool, a better tool is sent to replace it. The tools that are deployed have but one purpose: To evaluate what The Collective has found, and if what they've found can be of use, to pull it apart to serve The Collective. It really took Star Trek to a whole new level of sophistication, both narrative and thematic.
"You can't outrun them, you can't destroy them. If you damage them, the essence of what they are remains: they regenerate and keep coming. Eventually you will weaken, your reserves will be gone. They are RELENTLESS." The more that sinks in the more terrifying they become. I was barely 11 when that episode aired, and that was so chilling, I remember having nightmares.
As brilliant a creation as they were, the writers kind of outdid themselves, because they painted themselves in to a bit of a corner. Although the Borg did give us some great stories, their decline in to alien of the week was almost inevitable. Either that, or the Federation had to lose.
Still, I agree this is a fantastic episode, and I think that the good Borg stories are so strong that I can easily forget the bad ones.
The Borg haven't met JANEWAY by this time so they don't know that Resistance is no longer futile.
@@andrewmurray1550
Some people say Janeway got good at defeating the Borg.
In reality, the TV show Voyager defeated the Borg.
Hell, I could have defeated the Borg on Voyager.
My favorite line from this episode is when Q goes “not a ‘he’ not a ‘she’”about the Borg in Engineering. Would we call the Borg enby/non-binary today? I guess those both suggest a sense of self.
Either way, they threw the asexual drone concept out the window for the Borg Queen and Seven of Nine. Rick Berman never let narrative progressivism ruin a chance at sex appeal.
Actually my favorite part about that scene specifically is how for one second Q is “not a he, not a she” and then seconds later says “he’s not interested in your life form... he might try to gain control of your ship! I wouldn’t let him”
Q mocks humans for beyond so linear. I say we mock Q for being so binary
Before here came Locutus, it's easy to forget in retrospect, but the Borg were severely retconned pretty much every single time they appeared on TNG. Q also said the Borg had no interest in them or their technology, this rather mysteriously becomes their only motivation later on.
I'd always taken it as a consequence of the Borg's lack of individuality rather than its physical sex organs. It's not a "he" or a "she" in the way that your finger isn't really a "he" or a "she", at least not in English. It's simply a functional part of a larger whole. Although, given that we later find the Borg exclusively reproduce through assimilation and not reproduction, maybe sex organs really are irrelevant.
... Maybe there's another reason why Captain Picard has that lone tear running down his cheek when he's assimilated.
I think borg function best as a they. Not a singular they but plural at all times. At best they would be multi gender since they are a collective
True. Poor Kess! Did they even craft an in universe explanation for the Seven of Nine outfit?
Q was so parental in this episode. Picard's like "we don't need you" and Q just humbled their asses real quick 😂
it also had one of the few lines spoken in TNG by any character that always gives me goosebumps ... "the hall is rented, the orchestra engaged ... its now time to see if you can dance" -- followed by the iconic snapping of the fingers
"Q Who?" is a great example of how to introduce an iconic recurring villain, in much the same way that "The Last Outpost" isn't.
"You brought us here, you exposed us to it, and you cost us the lives of our shipmates!"
_"...Oh, please..."_
Gives me chills every single time. Q seems almost offended by the idea that any of their little lives are anything more than an amusimg diversion to him.
Q Who is my favorite episode of TNG. This is the first time we get to see Q as something more than his normal puckish self. I have rewatched this episode over and over for Q's Bloody Nose line and I love it This is also one of the very few times Whoopi Goldberg's Guinan loses her cool. And I love how much darker this episode gets when later Star Trek series reveal that the Borg don't procreate, meaning that the children Riker finds aboard the cube must have been recently assimilated.
There's so much world-building done in 45 minutes. We get insight into some members of the Continuum being "almost respectable". We get background information on Guinan's life and people. We also get a tie-in to season 1's "The Neutral Zone" with the "great rips in the surface" like they say in the episode. We have the genius tie-in of Q and Guinan having a past together. With the exception of Dr. Pulaski's conspicuous absence in this episode, Stefon from SNL would say: this episode has everything.
This episode, The Neutral Zone and The Best of Both Worlds are some of my of my favorite's because they're a good example of a happy medium between episodic and serialized television. It also was a fair point to make about TNG's utopia. The Federation's complacency in their current balance of power had made them arrogant about future challenges.
Even Q understood their nature, “Don’t provoke the Borg!”
I remember being around 11 when I first saw the Borg in TNG. I remember how existentially terrifying they were. Even with all the goofy costumes and shit glued to their faces.
@@WhiteThumbs
From the Borg pov it made excellent sense to study the alien ship before destroying it.
They had no way of knowing when the next one might show up.
This was NOT the first "Borg" episode -- that would be "The Neutral Zone" though they weren't identified in that episode. That event was referenced in this episode, however -- after Q does his fling, Data mentions, upon scanning an uninhabited planet, that it had evidence of having been inhabited from a series of roads, but similar to the Federation outposts along the Romulan Neutral Zone (from The Neutral Zone episode) where there should be cities, there were only great rifts in the surface.
Back when The Borg were scary. Oh, so long ago now. "They are...relentless". Lovely.
this is probably the most iconic villein heavy star trek episode ever made (not just in TNG but any series); it sounds like fanfic yet it is a well-regarded episode that actually introduced one of those villeins;
Great recap and a reminder of what made the Borg scary. The things you highlight about the Borg, being non negotiable, methodical, impersonal, cold, etc, were all brushed aside once they introduced the queen
The Borg scare the-CRAP-outta in this episode !!! The only episode I thought the ship/crew were in-BIG-trouble. When those Borg drones came aboard the ship,deadly silent I knew then they were-unstoppable.
It's also a plot element that's not very flexible,
@@DrewLSsix There's plenty of room for exploring the Borg like this if you treat it like a horror story. They're the boogeyman in the black of space. Once you illuminate the mystery, the fear abates.
@@ericmalikyte885
Yep.
It's important that The Borg never explained why they did what they did.
Though Guinan and Q did provide some context so we knew they weren't just sulky.
I love the part when Picard tells Worf to get the drone away from the computer and then Worf orders an ensign to do it and he gets pummeled 😂
Worf knows when he can get away with just being thrown across the room, and when an alien intruder is probably straight-up deadly.
Q Who, I think, was like one of those.. ground breaking.. videos that really made trek. From Q WHO - we got entire seasons from other series.
I remem when TNG was first airing, I would get to watch the first maybe 20 minutes with my dad before I had to go to bed, a little more during summer. I was maybe 5 years old, but the Borg always left a big impression on me. When I got a chance to binge the series, it was after watching the movies, I was eagerly anticipating this one episode that I wasn't even fully aware of. It is one of my favorites and rewatching brings back a lot of good memories.
One of the greatest episdoes of the early seasons, IMO.
It's an interesting moment when De Lancie speaks to Picard about "Another man would have been humiliated to say those words. Another man would have rather died than ask for help." A nod to Kirk, perhaps?
Episodes like this are why I get confused when people say "skip Seasons 1 and 2". Q Who, Measure of a Man and others really set the scene for what is to come.
I love how this episode, and the Borg episode of Enterprise, gave the theory that Q was actually the good guy. The Enterprise episode retroactively revealed the Borg already knew of humanity, it just took 200 years for them to get the message. They were on the way, but humanity forgot about them what with the Klingons and Romulans. Q knew this, he is all knowing after all, and realized an unprepared Federation would be annihilated. So he flung Picard to the Borg to remind them so they could get ready for the invasion.
Also I found that best of both worlds works better as a 3 part story with family being the 3rd part …. The buildup pt1… the battle pt2… the fallout pt3 ( family )
Q Who is hands-down my favorite TNG episode. Good review, nicely done.
Why do Picard seem to have such a knack for ignoring the completely reasonable advice from the people in the ship who's literal job is to... advise him of stuff?
Poor writing/low standards in TNG season 1 and 2.
Seriously the director, producer, or head writer should've said "This doesn't seem very plausible for Picard to ignore a warning from Guinan about a species that destroyed her whole flipping planet. Come up with something better."
Because you need to have enough events to make a 40-45 minute story. If Picard had run like Guinan had advised him, we would have an episode of Voyager.🤔
See, the reason why Selena Gomez shows up in Lower Decks is simple: If you don't know who she is, she's just the Captain old friend who gets thrust into peril. This is an incredibly common star trek character trope that has happened literally dozens upon dozens of times, so is easily understood and graspable. If you DO know who she is you go, 'Oh, neat" then don't think about it again.
Unless you're Steve! Then you get irrationally mad about it for what feels like TEN GODDAMN YEARS.
THEY COULD HAVE GIVEN HER SOMETHING FUNNY TO DO SINCE IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE A COMEDY SHOW DAVID
@Steve Shives lol as a survivor fan, for a split second I thought you were talking about David Wright, no not the baseball player, the survivor player and a writer for Lower Decks. But I think its much more likely you are talking to the David, sorry DAVID, you are responding to.
@@SteveShives erm, it is a comedy DRAMA Steve. And it's funny. Grumpy old man.
@@Mazvec She was in the holodeck chasing wolves.
@@Mazvec Listen, if you want me to remember names for more than five seconds, then you need to cure my ADHD
I love DeLancie's delivery in the Observation Lounge of the line "Oh, please" after Riker notes about the 18 crewmembers who died. Very subtle, very well done. So glad they went with that instead of some over the top Q line from the previous episodes.
I watched the first few episodes of TNG when it first came out, and I really tried, but I just couldn't get into it - I gave up on it. A couple of years later, I decided to give it another try out of sheer boredom. The episode was "Q Who," and holy shit - it was amazing! It was one of the best pieces of sci-fi I had ever seen, and I was completely hooked. By that point, TNG was so heavily syndicated that it was on about 20 times a week, and I got caught up in a hurry. Anyway, love this episode, love your reviews, and love the channel!
When I was a teenager and in elementary school, I managed to see a few episodes of Star Trek TNG. I could only watch it when my father wasn't home because he wouldn't let me watch series, SF, fantasy and many others. Picard and Data were my role models. And I valued Picard - among other things - precisely because he was able to admit his mistakes. It's a rare feature. /Sorry for my english from google translate/. :)
Drawers!!!
Of course! I should've thought of that.
Damn things keep dying on me in these plastic bins.
The wobbling chair you mention, I felt was actually a very poignant and easily misable motif.
It emphasised that Q was really there, as physical as the rest of them but, that he could escape anytime he felt like it. Our heroes could not!
To me it added to the tension of the scenario. The camera is focused on the chair, without seeing it from behind the rest of the crew, and as we are engrossed in the events on screen, it adds a sense of helplessness for the viewer too. We feel as though we are in the room and that Q was directly addressing us.
Very clever directing- I think.
Lucky you didn't have your computer behind you. When you talked about "no one has been known to have negotiated with the Borg" bit had me thinking Janeway would have just appeared behind you to just leave a big smug in her wake.
You are absolutely great in what you do.
"That works btw, you can barely hear them"
😂I cracked
When I first started a TNG watchalong with my girlfriend, I was surprised to find how long they'd been forshadowing the Borg for. Not just the obvious planting of the seed in The Neutral Zone, but even blink and you miss it bits of dialogue, like the first few seconds of Measure of a Man, right before Maddox shows up.
I think it's important to remember just how scary the Borg in the 1980s. At this time, we hadn't seen TV like this, at least I don't remember seeing anything like it that, where heroes of TV shows have no-win scenarios. In this case they didn't really have any options to explore. It was more of a situation of the devil you know. And that was scary, especially as a kid.
I watched that on a Saturday night the first weekend it was on. It was my favorite episode to that point. Incredible. What a powerful episode. Fantastic story.
It had to be picard that Q sent to meet the Borg. If it had been Jainway she and her crew would have been assimilated doom to the federation. If it had been Cisco he would have gone home and never learned anything about the Borg. This would have left Starfleet unprepared.
What I love about this episode is that it has what appears, on the surface, to be a "Deus Ex Machina" type ending. The omnipotent god character saves the protagonists. But the way the episode is done, the way it leads up to that ending, is earned and satisfying. Because it's not about the omnipotent god character saving the day, it's about the hero swallowing his pride and begging the god to do it. It's just such a brilliant execution of Deus Ex Machina that actually works. And it's possibly the only time I've seen such a literal execution of that trope.
Indeed one of the best ST episodes. Like you said: What made the Borg so frightening here is how they are cold, alien, calculating and adaptive at the same time. One big part of them being so alien here was their acting as a collective, a hive-mind. IMHO it was a huge mistake to invent the Queen later, because that took a lot away from this alienating feeling. Suddenly, it WAS possible to negotiate with them. Even worse: Before that, they had no leader, they were a body without a head. That was their major power. Now they can be decapitated. Btw., I see a strong parallel between the Borg and the Terminator: "It can't be bargained with. It can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop... ever, until you are dead!"
So, this is unrelated to this episode but hey, if I want Steve to see this comment, putting it here is my best chance. So Steve, could you do an episode on the medical ethics of Starfleet, specifically on how there’s seemingly no concept of medical privacy? Crusher, Troi and Bashir seem to blab to any and everyone about the physical and mental health details of their patients (and then probably have sex with them.) I realize that in a quasi-military setting the rules may be a bit different but still, it feels like medical confidentiality is almost totally absent from their practices/ethics. There are plenty of examples and it seems like this could be an interesting look into how writing compelling medical drama conflicts with real-world practices and how Starfleet medical protocols differ from those of modern-day civilian or military healthcare. Could be a great episode!
Steve: I wanted to thank you for your efforts to create a community that I truly enjoy participating with and in. Also, I had a suggestion for a future topic for a video. I'm older than you, and grew up with TOS and TAS in the time before the movies and expansion of the property. I was lucky enough to see Leonard Nimoy live on stage in Sherlock Holmes and in the one-person show Vincent. Shatner and Nimoy were both on the classic series Columbo, and Shatner had TJ Hooker when Trek was making the early movies. Would you be able to consider making a video, or series, looking at other projects that Trek actors and creators have done? It would cover all the various series - TOS, TNG, DS9. VOYAGER, NuTrek - and the movies. Possibly look at The Questor Tapes, or other endeavors by scriptwriters, directors, and producers. Just an idea I thought I give to you as a thank you for the pleasure you have given all - well, most - of us.
I love the look the second Borg drone gives them in engineering while its scanning the computer, made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.
It had never occurred to me before that Gomez disappearing from the show could be interpreted as Captain Picard transferred her off the ship off screen because he was mad at her for spilling hot chocolate on him. From now on I headcanon that's what happened.
Yeah, there was a lot of great dialogue in this episode. I see I'm not the first to think of the "desires both subtle and gross" speech, but concerning your comment about Q never being more serious than in this episode, I'm not sure I can think of a line Q delivered in more deadly earnestness than when, in response to Picard's clearly desperate plea to tell him that this is all one of his illusions, Q responds, "No, this is as a real as your so-called life gets" (well, unless you're counting "penny for your thoughts...").
A serious gripe now: something that is never made clear about the Borg is what they are (or, shouldn't the question be, what _it_ is?) The Borg are described as a collective consciousness, but, ignoring _everything_ except the laws of physics (and I mean _Star Trek_ physics), the _most_ the Borg could be would be a collection of collective consciousnesses, with each Borg cube or Borg-colonized planet being its own individual, with perhaps individual collectives forming higher-order collectives when they are in sufficient proximity to do so. After all, there are Borg ships spread all around the galaxy, and they're only (skipping waaay ahead here) able to cover great distances using massive constructs that are able to deliver them to a relatively tiny number of locations (you can bring up the conduits from Descent, but even these require a nonzero duration to traverse, which is the entire point). Fact is, all the numerous Borg ships and planets throughout the galaxy _couldn't_ comprise a single consciousness, since for all of them to interact with each other, they'd have to be able to transmit information at infinite speed. And, as everyone damn well knows, it is _impossible_ to travel at infinite speed, as was definitively proven by Tom Paris in the Voyager episode, "Welp, _That_ Didn't Work" (if I'm not mistaken, the subtitle was just a URL to a basic biology primer about how evolution works).
The point is, the single Borg cube is depicted as a single individual in the episode. Sure, it's alluded to that there are _many_ Borg cubes, but in Q Who?, the Enterprise and her crew only ever interact with the Borg cube as though it is an individual unto itself, rather than a single node of access to a demigod with a consciousness that spreads across the entire galaxy.
But here's the thing: The Borg introduce themselves by saying _"We_ are the Borg." And they say, "Your culture will adapt to service _us."_ Now, I'd _like_ to think that the writers who invented the Borg were thinking _so_ far ahead that my "each ship/planet is its own individual when it's not around other Borg" model is more or less true, and that the Borg's use of language was deliberate and accurate.
More likely, I think the writers just screwed up. The approaching Borg ship should have said, "I am the Borg. Your culture will adapt to service _me."_ (ironically, this is something First Contact actually _corrects,_ only for the Borg Queen to be dismissed out of hand by 90% of Trekkies as a "gimp drone" [please note, if your specific complaint is that liquefying one gimp drone would cause the entire collective to self-destruct, we are in complete agreement], complaining about the Borg being represented by an individual. But that's *exactly* what the Borg were originally _supposed_ to be. No individual was ever physically depicted, but, in every communication with the Enterprise in Q Who?, the Borg speaks with a single voice (despite the inadvertent ambiguity by messing up the pronouns).
Did any of this get resolved in Voyager? I mean, I _should_ know, I _think_ I saw every episode. But, I gotta tell you, while I could name any TNG episode by Stardate alone, I probably recall, like, maybe _half_ of what happened in Voyager. That might be an overestimate. And I also might, possibly, be subconsciously, but actively, suppressing the Borg episodes.
I know it was annoying for Steve in Season 3 of Picard, but the reality is that the Borg became inextricably linked to Jean Luc's character development. Even when they were no longer part of the story, there were signs that Picard was defined by his encounters with the Borg. They showed him that there were some things out of his control, even within his own existence. Season 3 knew that the Borg had to be part of the final story for Picard. They did a great job of hiding this fact until they had to. In the light of a Picard farewell, the Borg had to be invited to the party even if they tend to be one of those guests that show up late and drive other guests (plots) out. It's also the same reason that Q had to show up at the end. Predictable? Yes. Necessary? Also, Yes.
They can't be negotiated with... until Voyager comes along.
I remember seeing this as a pre-teen and how much the Borg scared the absolute crap out of me. Now, as an adult I can just rest easy...but seriously before I go to bed tonight, can someone please check under my bed?
@@marckyle5895 and the dust bunnies joined in with "resistance is futile."
Engineering replicators making food is reasonable, but any drinks should come in Starfleet sippy cups
I actually appreciated the fact that instead of using the villian of the week or recycling ones like the borg, DS9 decided to invent its own unique threat. They need to get that writing crew back together I swear because they wrote the best episodes in the entire franchise. It's the only trek I watch that I usually do in linear order, especially the later seasons.
Actually Sonya appeared in another episode of Season 2, Samaritan Snare, before Picard quietly transferred her.
I'll never forget seeing this episode first run. Q was always a welcome sight when he showed up on TNG, and I remember feeling like there was a real threat from the Borg. And they looked so cool, like less robotic Cybermen, but chilling because of their connection to a hive mind. Great review, Steve!
They're extremely like Cybermen.
And became more so over time.
I never understood why Old Picard regards Q as a friend when Q literally murdered so many Enterprise crew
That's the kind of thing that happens when you write a show from the perspective of a fan and not a writer. Season 3 was everything all the "real gans" have been calling for since the start of new trek, and it shows. Sure it's great fun, but it feels like a high budget fan fic, the type of fic that is fastidiously protected from any re drafts, that's never allowed to be critiqued. It's all about the impulsive wishes of a fan reliving their favorite moments without a care as to the in universe rationale.
It's the kind of fiction that takes Kirk's afgection for the life he lives as a captain of a fine ship and makes it into borderline slash porn between man and starship.
Because the writers didn't understand the characters
I'd say a lot of that stems from their run-ins in seasons 6 and 7. In the first few seasons, Q is always an irritating antagonist and Picard clearly despises him. But by the time of Tapestry, True Q, and All Good Things, their relationship has mellowed quite a bit and Q has seemingly altered his motivation from putting all of humanity on trial into helping Picard resolve lingering personal issues that he'd been suppressing. Obviously that shouldn't undo Q leading all those crewmembers to their deaths, but I suppose Picard may have come to view their deaths to be as much his own fault, given that his stubborn reluctance to acknowledge how out of depth the Enterprise was also gave the Borg the opportunity to attack them.
I actually always liked the gradual evolution of the two characters because it implied that Picard had changed Q as much as Q had changed Picard, which is a testament to the kind of man Picard was. And as horrid as season 2 of Picard was, their final goodbye was about the only moment of that entire season I could say I liked.
Personally I always viewed it as we don’t know what would have happened if Q had done nothing. Perhaps if he hadn’t done anything their first meeting of the Borg would have been the end of the entire enterprise. That was always my head canon, that Q saved the majority of the ship, not that he caused deaths.
Because even starfleet didnt like Enterprise
My favourite comment about this episode is on TV Tropes, when When Riker snaps at Q for his actions resulting in the Enterprise being sent halfway across the galaxy and indirectly getting 18 crewmembers killed, all Q can say is just a coldly delivered "Oh, please." John De Lancie delivers it so well.
So there with you. This episode is one of my favorites and it is chilling. Q is undeniably in control. The Enterprise crew are pawns. Picard is utterly out of his depth. The Borg are unstoppable, inexorable, and present. All starfleets tactics fail and Picard has to beg Q's deliverance. Which is granted. So...was Q villain or was he
presenting and forwarning the approaching danger? I know which believe. 17:50 17:50
The introduction to the Borg was probably one of the things that kickstarted TNG into high gear. Although I still have no idea why Guinan and Q made crab claw gestures at each other, introducing an alien that was essentially a swarm of locusts was brilliant. It wasn't just funny nose-bridge aliens of the week. I know eventually we'll have to discuss how Janeway and a few phaser rifles took down the collective, but they were a chilling villain for a long time. Definitely one of my all time favorite sci fi foes.
Great video as usual. I’d love to see some interviews with Trek cast members!!
I rewatched Q Who after listening to Steve's retro review and every time they show the classic wide shot of the interior of the cube I say to myself "Yep you can get a galaxy class starship in here..."
This and Let Sleeping Borg Lie are the two best Borg episodes because it showcases their most compelling aspects, where the crew cannot defeat them, only delay and escape, knowing that now the Borg know who they are and hoping that the Borg won't care enough to continue looking in their direction.
Q Who is brilliant as a self contained episode and as a set up for Best of Both Worlds, but the downfall of the Borg was inevitable based on the premises established in Q Who. Star Trek just isn't the type of show where we're going to see the heroes repeatedly lose to a villain nor is it one with faceless villains who aren't interested in negotiation nor dialogue.
Episodes like Tapestry, All good things and Season 2 of Picard have always strengthened the suspicion in me, that the Continuum has access to all possible universes. When Q says another man would have chosen a more risky tactic, he still talks about Picard. A version of Jean Luc who encountered the Borg much later, and he still applied the Picard Manuever like he tried it here, but was saved by Q.
Once can interpret Q dismissing Riker on the victims is because in most iterations Picard earned a hero cult and Starfleet in lieu of better weapons, simply chose mutual destruction, leaving UFP defenseless to invasion. Picard had to learn his limitations, yet he only did so after he was turned into Locutus and freed.
I had a slight obsession with the Barzan Wormhole in the sense when Voyager, it always got me thinking what would have happened if instead of Arridor and Kol, Laforge and Data had gotten stuck in the Delta Quadrant. With them being there the instable but still usable wormhole could have been used to return to the Alpha Quadrant. It's not like a Star Trek show can last just 3 seasons like TOS.
5:53 I literally just right now noticed the 5.25 floppy drives in the wall of the Borg cube. Maybe the queen is REALLY into an authentic retro gaming experience.
You know, this is like what Adam West once said.
Sometimes, you just can't get rid of a Borg..... or something like that....
Great review of a fantastic episode. Always fun to revisit a classic. I do have a question, sorry if it's a little out of place here, where should I look for the Ensign's Log live Q&A? Is that a Patreon benefit or something?
We haven't done this year's yet. Haven't even been able to figure out when we're gonna do it yet due to scheduling difficulties. But when we do it, it'll be livestreamed here on my channel for all to see. Once we settle on a date and time, I'll be sure to make a community post and post about it elsewhere on social media to make sure folks who wanna see it know about it.
I literally can't count how many times I had seen this episode as a child. I remember the tension; I remember the warnings of Q, and I remember how the "bloody nose" line -- even as young as I was -- rang true. It felt like Q had punted the Enterprise like a football just over the fence to the yard of that hostile neighbor who would probably shoot you for fetching it, and then you learn what's really living over there is whatever ate the neighbor. It was fantastically effective storytelling and mounted a sense of dread about the Borg and their inevitability. I loved every second of it.
I remember racking my brain for weeks trying to figure out how (and when) the Next Gen crew were ever going to defeat the Borg.
I also remember figuring out how the Borg fit into the fantasy race trope package that Star Trek has inadvertently (?) found itself. I've never heard anyone else suggest such a thing, so forgive me if this is old news, but the way I see it, Humans are Humans (adaptable, curious and quick to make friends), the Vulcans are High Elves, (haughty, but helpful, if only on their own terms), Klingons are Dwarves (Intensely honorable, but easily provoked into glorious combat). These make up the Big Three, but to a lesser extent, Ferengi are the Ratfolk/Skaven (Avaricious and fundamentally untrustworthy), Cardassians are the Snakefolk/Naga (Silver-tongued, underhanded, overconfident and surprisingly hard to kill), and Romulans are the Dark Elves (Deceitful, ruthless and wickedly cunning). So where do the Borg fit in? Well, they're the Insectoids, relatively harmless alone, but increasingly and terrifyingly formidable in numbers. I think this was the episode that solidified this idea for me. It was quite the epiphany, suddenly realizing that there were High Elves and Dwarves running around in my space opera.
Interesting perspective.
This is the episode where I realized that TNG was not messing around. TOS kinda skirted the deaths or had single, impactful deaths, not the mindless, cold, mechanical deaths in this episode. TOS generally went along with no real threats that could not be solved in the episode with a somewhat ambivalent universe, TNG went to almost Lovecraftian levels with a cold, uncaring universe that would just as willing to kill everyone as to grow a flower.
Happy birthday, Steve!
Yeah, I've watched this one a few times. Always liked this episode, not least of all because as much as I love Picard, it's fascinating to see a strong character humbled not necessarily by just someone or something "better" but literally by something they cannot overcome. And yeah, the borg were terrifying when they first burst on the scene. Now they're just...space zombies. And they're not scary anymore. And worse than that, they keep humanizing them, which completely takes away from the entire premise of the borg.
It also showcased what someone like Q CAN be - not just a silly villain with a point to make (and a valid one at that), but a terrifying otherworldly entity who is basically an eldritch horror in human form. It really shows that he's NOT human, yet he's decided to teach humans a valid lesson - one they clearly need to learn.
It's an amazing episode, one of TNG's best imho.
Yep. The Borg started off being a genuinely unique adversary. Not villains per se, but rather a culture so radically different in its values as to be an irreconcilable foe. This is far more interesting philosophically than simply giving us a race of straightforward bad guys.
Sadly though, the writers basically gave up on this idea after a while and straightforward bad guys is what the Borg became.
i agree the way the borg are presented in this episode is perfect, they are terrifying and unstoppable, but that is the actual problem with the borg from a writing stand point. there is no where to go, there is no way to have our heroes win, and while an occasional episode of start trek where the heroes lose is great, a steady diet of that would kill the series. It tales the premise from "See how much better we could be if we tried." to "Well it was nice while it lasted, but when all was said and done, it didn't stop the existential horror of assimilation.", they had to weaken the borg, because star fleet had to win. Q being the darker side of the trickster is absolutely magnificent, he dances that line of actually caring about what happens to the crew and just screwing with them for the lolz beautifully, but i think he warning is one of his most caring moments. He knows what's out there, and knows we're screwed unless we accept hat sometimes people die, and we have to take the punch and run. Great review overall though thanks.
Much respect for the mug sitting behind you.
Q Who is also one of my personal favorites of TNG
One of the best Q episodes also contains one of Worf's best moments.
Q: "I have no powers! What must I do to convince you people?!
Worf: "Die."
Hahahahahaha
Hey Steve, have you ever watched any Stargate? The point about the Borg being so great but eventually being wittled down reminded me of the Wraith from Stargate Atlantis. The first episode established them as an almost horror-movie-level supernatural monsters from just a couple individuals. Later that season, they're just squads of generic baddies with laser guns. Fun Fact, Trip plays one.
Honestly, I think this almost *is* the best Borg episode, surpassed only by part 1 of Best of Both Worlds. The sense of mystery is just awesome. I'm someone who usually gets into the beginnings of things, so not knowing anything about the Borg and seeing them in action for the first time*is* the most stimulating. Plus, Q's here. I do love a good Q episode, and this is certainly one of the best.
With 700 episodes and 13 movies in this franchise, every so often I will come across someone who wants to get their girlfriend or teenage offspring into the universe:
“How do you introduce Trek to anyone you want to love it?”
“Q Who?”isn't just gripping and well-written, it best communicates the themes and conflicts, the resolutions and tensions, within the franchise.
It’s a standalone. You don't need to introduce Q; Riker summarizes their encounters well.
It establishes Starfleet’s purpose in the conversation between Picard and Q.
Q makes his point that the unknown can have extraordinary highs and lows.
It establishes the “Rules of Engagement” for first contact.
The fear and confidence that Picard and Q grapple with towards the unknown is on full display.
As a sampler, it’s a great introduction.
I imagine our conflicts with superior beings as the writer’s room imagining the end of exploration: do we look like Q or Trelane, Gary Mitchell at the so-called “end of exploration?”
Q Who? Is Q’s first win. The trial, Riker’s turning down the Q's power, failed. This is Picard groveling, reflective.
It foreshadowed not only the Borg, but The Dominion. The fallout in Picard considering genocide, enjoying killing Borg, and punishing the Borg like Ahab. It sets the table for all that is to come.
Mitchell is never defeated. The Talosians were an aspect of power. Trelane is annoying. And Q grapples with humanity’s failings in his two previous appearances, not the threat from without.
This makes the most of establishing conflict in the Trek universe, and why we need morality, this show. A defensive weapon. A diplomat’s touch.
Q Who is brilliant, and the Borg were terrifying. I always preferred them without a queen. They were inexorable and singular, not prone to emotion or pettiness.
I also loved the Enterprise blowing a hole in one of the edges of the cube. It was a brilliant effect, especially for the time.
The Borg were such a great device for Star Trek in general. Even for items like the Defiant. Why was the federation making a warship in peace time? Oh, it is to be ready to fight the Borg.
I've got a video idea for you: What if the Ferrengi had been introduced the way the Borg were, and the Borg were introduced the way the Ferengi were.
The first Borg episode ends with the Borg standing in the background hissing and clawing at the air while a 7 foot tall alien tells the humans how delicious their reproductive organs are.
The first Ferrengi episode ends with them carving up the Enterprise like a turducken and the crew are only saved by the sci-fi equivalent of Divine intervention.
I love this episode, Jones's score is excellent in this. Great atmosphere, pacing and tension.
Borg's first time is great, really felt scary and intimidating
De Lancie is great in this, that "Oh please" line in the ready room had me cracking up.
Guinan vs Q relationship had an interesting conceit there, I really wish that was explained and fleshed out.
I'm still annoyed at the lame payoff that got in Picard season 2
Your hypothetical scenario of Picard being the great diplomat to communicate with the Borg would make for a great two part episode. Say the bridge from season 3 to 4. How awesome would that be if TNG picked up that thread.
The sense of danger the borg evoke in this session is unparalleled in the later trek episodes. Really effective storytelling. Unfortunately they were nerfed later, but I do think they were almost impossible to write about, because they were really overpowered compared to the enterprise.
I loved the episode and loved it when I first watched it. Looking forward to your review of best of Both Worlds :)
This is probably my favorite TNG episode over all, especially the music is exceptional, pretty subtle but with a fantastic mellow fanfare that recurs throughout.
I can picture Picard sending a report to Starfleet of their encounter with this "Borg" species...and Starfleet giving it a shrug and filing it away in some dusty archive somewhere. Starfleet was full of the same complacency that Picard had shattered, or at least shaken, in this episode, and this resulted in the Federation being caught completely by surprise by the Borg attack in the next season -- despite being given advance warning right here. This may be why the Battle of Wolf 359 is so well known in Trek lore and Trek fandom.
Wait...only two years to return to Federation Space despite the fact it's way outside where they came from? Even at warp 9.99 by Gene's estimate wouldn't be as fast moving system to system as the show depicts. It'd probably be more like fifty years or something.
“You can barely hear them..”
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣👏👏👏
If they ever do Short Treks again, I'd love it if they did an episode that's just someone losing horrifically to the Borg.
I've always interpreted Q's actions here as a warning to Starfleet to get their act together, and events in later episodes have only reinforced that mindset.
Based on things that happen later/earlier in "Regeneration", the flashbacks of "Dark Frontier", and the confirmation in this episode that the damage to planets in J-25 match what happened to the outposts in "The Neutral Zone", it's not hard to put together that the Borg were already on the way. This was Q stacking the deck against them in favor of Starfleet, even if only slightly.
Is it worth noting Q always wants to teach whoever he visits something, and technically has never lied?
Maurice Hurley, who wrote this episode, said he was inspired by insects when he came up with the Borg. But he actually came up with the perfect symbol of the 80s. The ship is like an office building, full of workers who all look the same, talk the same, and spend their days in cubicles. The Borg have one goal, to assimilate other cultures into the collective, similar to how corporations in the Reagan era would buy up smaller companies until pretty soon there would be only one big corporation that we all belonged to, mindlessly devoting our lives to like a bunch of soulless zombies. This is why I hated the introduction of the Borg queen. It basically ruined the metaphor.
How so? From your own metaphor, you could say the Borg Queen is the CEO.
When Roddenberry originally came up with the race who would later be adapted into The Borg, he envisaged them as a Tyrannid-esque insectoid race; literally worker drones and warriors instinctively serving a queen.
They were ultimately adapted into the cyborgs we saw here.
I was today years old when i realized that the Borg are like a swarm of Locust from the biblical story, coincidentally in much of the same fashion when the Borg go to invade Earth like a swarm ot "Locust" they are lead by Locutus of Borg no less.
🤔🤔🧐
In fairness, how often does the Enterprise D win ANY straight fight? Writing structure usually meant they could only outsmart enemies at the last minute rather than win a conventional engagement.
What I find interesting about the Borg is how they changed. They went from "only being interested in your ship and your technology" to being space zombies who care nothing about your technology. They just want to assimilate the crew. Now, you can chalk that up to bad writing or that the Borg simply changed tactics. How could they defeat us with comparably primitive technology? Maybe their power lies more in their crew than their technology.
So they shift focus to assimilate their crews. I doubt that was the writer's intent but it offers a plausible explanation for the discrepancy.
I always wondered. They never had any trouble beaming over to the Borg ship. So why didn't they just beam an ounce or so of anti-matter over and be done with it