[00:00:03] Discovery going throttle up.
[00:00:10] 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
[00:00:26] Hello, everyone, and welcome back. Welcome back to the Warp Top 10 podcast.
[00:00:32] Thanks for checking us out again. We are back with another episode. I say we, but I mean, I. Our good partner Brian Bomber Parks is still on paternity leave there. He's still, still dealing with the newborn. The lovely Lucy has arrived. So I'm flying solo today.
[00:00:50] I didn't want to wait too long to put out another pod. I don't know how long our good friend Brian is going to be, you know, being super dad over there. So I wanted to connect. I wanted to connect and do a pod and keep it flowing. And I suppose it's fitting that today is another season pod. That's right. Today we're going to do Next Gen season six episodes. That's Star Trek the Next Generation, baby. For those of you who didn't know what Next Gen was short for.
[00:01:18] Yeah, we're going to look at season six. We're going to take a look at those episodes, break down our top ten.
[00:01:23] I should say break down my top ten of what I think the best ten episodes of season six are. Are. Can't wait to talk about it with you.
[00:01:32] You know, but first, I do want to say a couple things about Starfleet Academy. So, you know, I just watched the finale of Starfleet Academy about a week ago.
[00:01:44] You know, the whole season is kind of a blur because, you know, it's. You kind of watch these episodes quickly and then you kind of move on to something else. But I gotta say, man, I like it a lot. You know, I don't know where all the negativity comes from sometimes. I really don't.
[00:01:59] You know, maybe it's just maybe I got caught in some algorithm or maybe, you know, maybe I'm just looking in the wrong places. But I see a lot of hate, you know, similar to the Discovery hate.
[00:02:10] Folks, I don't get it. I don't understand it.
[00:02:13] If nothing else, the show paid tribute to what came before. I mean, you know, if nothing else, it's. It's taking what's established not just in, you know, the 22nd century. I should say the 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 32nd century. It's taking whatever has come before and it's just building upon it again.
[00:02:35] I don't know where the negativity is coming from. I see these, I see these ratings on IMDb and I'm shocked. Some of those episodes were absolute bangers.
[00:02:44] And I think for a first season, it was really, really well done. I thought they. They stuck the landing. They did not overuse Paul Giamatti, who was just so much fun to watch in that role. You know, he was great. I loved Holly Hunter. Holly Hunter. Hunter. Lantha Knight is what I was getting ready to say, and my lips kind of did that. So I loved Holly Hunter, the lanternite that she is.
[00:03:06] Thought she played that really well. I thought it. I thought between her and Giamatti, it brought some real, you know, gravitas to. To the opening season. You got these seasoned actors, you know, who clearly enjoy what they're doing, and, you know, I thought they just kind of nailed it, you know, and I thought the kids were great, you know, like, there wasn't a lot of cringe for me, like, and in the first season of any show, you're gonna have some cringe, especially a show that took some big swings like. Like Starfleet Academy did. So, listen, I just wanted to go on record as saying, look, I think this was a good show. I'm very excited for season two. I know there's been rumors that it was canceled. They're just rumors as far as I know. But, yeah, well done. Well done. Keep it up, please, and keep the shows coming, man. Look, if you're one of those trickies who just wants to watch the, you know, original series, Next Gen, knock yourselves out, baby. Like, you know. You know, you're always welcome here. Anyone's welcome here.
[00:03:57] If you just want to watch Voyager, if you just want to watch Discovery, there's a place for you here. But, you know, don't rain on our parade, man. Like, the more Trek, the better, as far as I'm concerned. And I want to see more Starfleet Academy. I want to see Star Trek legacy, man. I want to see more of this Terry Matalis. Make that happen.
[00:04:16] Yeah. So, you know, I'll have more to say about Starfleet Academy as the pods go on. But listen, I want to say I enjoyed the show. I thought it was great. I thought the actors were good. I thought the kids were great.
[00:04:25] God, who didn't love seeing Tony Newsom coming back? No spoilers here, but I'll leave it there.
[00:04:34] But that was a great reveal. I love that. And I thought they. They were really sincere, and they paid homage to what came before in. In a really great way. I thought there was a lot of heart in the show, and I thought some of the characters were really endearing, and, you know, good job. I'm just. Good job all around. Keep it coming. Love it.
[00:04:55] All right, so just Wanted to get that out there. I know that's a hot topic right now with Trek fans and Trekkies and Trekkers and the Trek. Curious, but not for me, man. Loved it. Keep it coming. Now, before we get to my top 10, listen, check us out on social media. You've heard it before. Threads, Instagram, TikTok @twarp10, shoot us an
[email protected]. Let us know what's going on. Let us know what you think of Starfleet Academy. Let us know what your thoughts top 10 next generation season six episodes are. Would love to hear it.
[00:05:26] Yeah, listen, I'm going solo today. Thanks for listening. Thanks for staying with me. We're going to dive right in. We're not going to waste any time. All right, so Star Trek the Next Generation, Season six. Oh, my gosh. So season six is a bit of a puzzle to me. So season six, which a lot of fans put way up there, and I get it. I totally get it. There are some absolute bangers in this season. But I'll tell you what, for me, season six, it's sort of a hit or miss now. I think there are more hits than there are misses. And in a 24 or 25 episode slate, that's pretty damn impressive. We've talked about that before. So the ratio's there, no question about it. And I would certainly put season six right behind seasons three, four, and five, not in that order.
[00:06:08] You know, I feel like it was 4, 3, 5 for me, but when I ran, when I did the Star Trek seasons. But six would fall perfectly into number four, it's definitely better than seasons one and two, and I think it's better than season seven, which I'm very much looking forward to diving into, you know, next. But season six, yeah. So like I said, it's a little uneven, but the ratio is weighing heavily, you know, weighing a little more towards the good episodes as opposed to the bad. One thing I did really take notice of when kind of zipping through a couple episodes here that I wasn't super, you know, schooled with. You know, there are some episodes that I've watched a gazillion times. There are some I've seen a handful of times, and there's some I've seen, you know, one or two times that's not true. Three or four times, which, believe it or not, is not a lot for me, you know. And Birthright Part two, for example, I remember not digging it when it first came out, you know, and of course I watched it probably Three or four times just, you know, through my life.
[00:07:10] But it's not an episode I reached, you know, to put on. So, for example, that episode, you know, obviously it's not gonna make my top 10, but that's one of the uneven ones. That's one of the ones. I kind of like the concept. It's. It's a big swing as far as the concept goes, but didn't land for me, which is odd because it was such a weird two parter. That's the weirdest two parter I want to say in Next Gen. Certainly in Next Gen, maybe even in Star Trek, but I'd have to look at that. But it's just a, the first part of Birthright is this interesting story about, yes, Worf and yes, Data.
[00:07:42] You know, Data is sort of exploring dreams. That kind of happened out of nowhere. Dr. Bashir, what's up? Julian Bashir on the Enterprise and Star and the, the NCC1701D crew on D Space 9. My God, how cool is that? I know we saw Picard on DS9 and emissary, the, the D Space 9 pilot, but it's just so cool to watch Picard and Crusher walking through the Promenade or, you know, Bashir just kind of breaking into Sickbay or wherever he, I think he was in sick bay and, you know, just trying to work it on his own experiments. He's such a, he's such a, such a young go getter, isn't he?
[00:08:19] Anyway, episodes like that, you know, so the first part was a lot of, a lot of fun. And then the second part kind of dragged for me and it completely dismissed the B story, which is just weird.
[00:08:29] Maybe they just, maybe they tried to. When they broke, when they broke the story, they couldn't break it down into two episodes. Entirely possible. But I feel like they, they needed something else in that second parter. The first part was way better than the second part. Neither made my list. But, you know, I think Birthright Part one will make my honorable mentions. We'll get to that when we get to it. So some big swings and we're going to talk about them as we go along. I mean, looking at my list, like number 10 already is just. It's a big swing, you know, so it's kind of a bonkers, kind of a bonkers concept. So, so we'll get to it and we'll talk about as we go along. So let's, let's not waste any more time. So let's go into it now.
[00:09:05] Thank you again for Joining us. And here we go. The top ten Next Gen season six episodes.
[00:09:12] Number ten, Realm of Fear.
[00:09:16] This might not be one that made a lot of your top 10 lists. If you are making top 10 lists out there, I know a lot of you are.
[00:09:23] So this one is a 7.3 on IMDb. This one came out in 1992. Overcoming his fear of transporter. That's literally what it says. Overcoming his fear of transporter. Lt. Barclay Barkley joins an away team, only to find something in the beam with him.
[00:09:39] That's pretty much the only explanation you need with a Barkley episode, right? You just throw some plot at him, let him take it from there. Dwight Schultz is awesome. I love seeing Barkley again.
[00:09:50] We pretty much get. Get a Barkley fix every season. I think there might. I think season five might not have had a Barkley episode. Am I wrong about that? I think that might be the only season since we saw him in season three without a Barkley episode. You know, correct me if I'm wrong. I could be wrong.
[00:10:06] You know, again, folks, you know me. I'm just kind of flying by the seat of my. My brain pants here. Yeah, that's not an expression. So, yeah, so this is an episode. Barkley, you know, is. Go figure, Afraid of the transporter. You know, hey, like, I know a lot of us would be right. You know, Bones isn't necessarily afraid of the transporter, but he certainly doesn't trust it. Right? And I love the idea that we get a lot of this on Enterprise, right? Which, by the way, my list is done. Coming at you very soon. Probably coming at you. Next is my enterprise top 10. Folks, I got some stuff on the burner real quick, and I'm gonna try to get them out to you. If it's solo, it's solo, and I apologize, but I'm not gonna. Not gonna hold you guys up.
[00:10:46] So I think after this, we're gonna do top 10 Enterprise episodes. I got a cool top 10 pilot episodes coming at you. So I look at all the shows, all the pilot episodes, and I rank those.
[00:10:56] I got an EMH list, a top 10 EMH episodes list happening. And of course, the Long Promised TOS top 10. So that's pretty much there. I'm re watching the 10 because I really want to go in fresh, so. So we're gonna hit you with that, too. That might even be first, because I've been talking about that a lot, so I might just go top ten TOS episodes. And we're trying.
[00:11:17] Trying to get Dr. Space back for that one. Luke, you're out there, buddy. You better pick a night, because we're doing top 10 ToS episodes, and we're also doing season eight, tweets part two. So lots of stuff coming for you. I'm gonna try to get them out sooner rather than later because it's been too long, and I want to. I want to get some more episodes out there for you guys. So, anyway, back to Realm of Fear. So, like I said, no Barclay episode in season five. So I was really anticipating when he would make his return, and he did. Right here, right after the season premiere, he comes in with this episode, Realm of Fear. So he gets in the transporter, he's afraid of it. Like, Barclays are afraid of a lot of things, you know, and. And he thinks he sort of sees something in the beam with him on his way back from.
[00:12:01] From the other ship. I believe it was. I don't think there was a big B story here. I think it was just Barkley doing his thing. So, you know, he's afraid of the transporter, overcomes his fear with a little help from Counselor Troy, which I love.
[00:12:14] You know, a little. Little tap on the plexus there. I want you. All right now to admit to me.
[00:12:20] Did you actually try that when you watched the episode? I did. I did. For a split second, I thought I felt something, but I didn't really feel anything. I think they made it up. Anyway, Counselor Troy gives him that little technique. He feels way better, goes, transports over, everything's fine, does his thing, transports back, sees something in the beam, which obviously enhances his fear, and it just kind of, you know, went on from there. You know, it's pretty much a Barclay, you know, he keeps it to himself, but not too long, thank God. I hate those episodes of any TV show where something crazy happens and then the protagonist of the episode waits just too long to get everybody involved, because that's where the fun is. The fun is when we get everybody involved and whether they look at you like you're crazy or they go, all right, let's figure it out.
[00:12:59] It's that this fun part of the episode, for me, that really is. So he finally gets everybody involved. They start working on it, and it's got a crazy, sort of crazy finale. I won't spoil it for you, even after 30 some odd years.
[00:13:13] But it's pretty bonkers. It's a pretty bonkers concept. The idea of the transporter already out there, right? Like, yeah, I know. We got the Heisenberg compensators and who Knows what's going to happen in the future, but you pretty much got to suspend your disbelief, even as a truck fan with transporters. And then there's this extra, you know, factor in the transporter. Now, now, now it's got this creature in there, and who knows what the creature's up to? Bites his arms. Kind of freaky, man. I know it was kind of cheesy special effects, but, hey, for 1992, I thought it looked pretty good. The thing swims. Yeah, I said swims because that's what it looks like it's doing. I guess you could swim through a transported beam. Like I said, bonkers episode, guys. Bonkers concept. But. And it bites him on the arm. And then, you know, Nancy from Freddy Krueger, you know, Nancy from Nightmare on Elm street style, she sees it. He sees it when he. When he comes out of the beam, you know, it starts turning blue.
[00:14:03] I think it was her left arm, too, that got all slashed up by Freddy. Right?
[00:14:07] Anyway, that's Realm of Fear, you know, Look, I got a soft spot for barkley. It's a 7.3 on IMDb. I'm not making. I'm not making excuses. I'm not ashamed to make it my list. But every once in a while, if I really like an episode and it's like a 6.5, I'm like, I feel like I gotta apologize a little bit. But now, not this time, man. It's Barkley. And. And, yeah, and, you know, it's just. Just a. Just a fun, fun episode to watch. It's one I return to a lot if and when I go for season six, which, like I said, isn't as often as I go for three, four, and five. But what are you gonna do?
[00:14:39] So that's number 10. Thanks, Barclay. You rock.
[00:14:42] Please, please don't decompress decade by hanging a picture of a car. We'd appreciate it. All right, number nine. Now, this is going against my, you know, sort of my type. It's going against my style, but we're gonna go rightful heir.
[00:14:58] That's a 7.1 on IMDb in 1993, during Worf's crisis of faith on Borath Kahless the Unforgettable makes his promised legendary return. But Klingon leader Gowron challenges his authenticity.
[00:15:14] I'm not usually a giant fan of Klingon centric episodes. There are some standouts, and I mentioned them before. I do like Sins of the Father.
[00:15:23] I do like, you know, reunion is not bad. Not a fan of Heart of Glory. Not A fan of a lot of the Klingon episodes, but, you know, when they're good, they're good. And what are you gonna do? I should say Next Gen did a better job with the Klingon centric episodes than DS9 did, I think. I am not crazy about the DS9 Klingon episodes. Blood Oath and Sons of Moog and, you know, and of course, you know, you are cordially invited. Not a big fan of the DS9 Klingon episodes. Next Gen definitely did it better. I mean, it helps that, you know, for the entire run they had a Klingon main character and DS9 only had it for four seasons, but I think DS9 did it. I'm sorry. I think Next Gen did a good job and this is one of those cases where they did a really good job. So I like this idea.
[00:16:10] You know, it's such a great sort of conflux of faith and science and, you know, spirituality. And Worf is a deceptively spiritual guy, like he always kind of was. And I think that comes from his Klingon, you know, heritage. I mean, it comes from the actor choosing the writers choosing to make that choice with that character. I think it's a great choice. You know, Worf could be. He could have been a one note character. Worf could have been just the, just the big tough guy or the Kling or the comic relief or the fish out of water sort of joke guy. But now, like, you know, between Michael Dorn and the writers and the producers, they really did a great job of fleshing out Worf to the point where he, you know, had the longest run on tv, I think, of any, of any know, character.
[00:16:57] You know, when you stack the four seasons of DS9 on top of the seven for next gen, not to mention, you know, season three of Picard, you know, that's a lot of seasons to play a character and it would not work and he wouldn't be a fan favorite if he was One note. So good job, Worf. This was fun. It was fun seeing Kless come back.
[00:17:16] It was fun watching Garon Galron flip the fuck out about it.
[00:17:21] You know, it was cool because it's one of those episodes where like, you're like, all right, it's not a clone.
[00:17:26] You know, they established that pretty early. So what the hell is this guy like? It's kind of cool. It's one of those episodes where you're a little fooled, you know, you even maybe believe yourself a bit, you know, oh, wow. Maybe, maybe this is a Klingon prophet. Maybe he can transcend time and space.
[00:17:42] Turns out there's kind of a really cool explanation for how Kahless returned. And the resolution of this episode is really, really intriguing. I like the idea that it wasn't just a one off. They didn't just kill him off. They didn't just, you know, you know, seclude him on some, you know, planet or they didn't keep him in the monastery. Like, they made it a part of Klingon culture going forward now. I mean, did they really make a point of mentioning Kahless too many times in the future? No, no, but I know on DS9, at least once, Worf referenced that he pleaded his case to Emperor Kahless and even Kahless would not let him.
[00:18:21] Oh, yeah. It was the way of the warrior when he was trying to find out what the hell the Klingons were doing on Deep Space Nine and what the hell they were doing.
[00:18:29] Headed for. Well, when they found out they were headed for Cardassia so he reached out to Emperor Kahless. That was cool, just hearing that reference. At least they didn't just, you know, throw it away. Like I said, thought the actor did a great job. I don't remember his name. I'm sorry. I should have put Robert O'Reilly as. Gowron is always a lot of fun. And I thought that Picard, I thought that Patrick Stewart played, you know, he was really good in this episode because it could have been.
[00:18:57] He could have been more disciplinary. He could have been a little more stern with Worf. And he has been in the past, even despite Worf's, you know, when Worf's police have gotten in the way. Certainly when he murdered, you know, Duras, you know, he put a reprimand on his record. That's it. So he murdered somebody to get a reprimand?
[00:19:16] You know, this time he just kind of dressed him down once and then he kind of gave him just carte blanche, like, yeah, you know what? Yeah, take three weeks off. Go find yourself. You know, I didn't know that was possible in the military, but I guess. I guess it is. It is in Starfleet, I suppose. And that makes sense given their culture and their attitude. Either way. I thought that was a cool, cool scene in Wharf's quarters with Picard and him. He had the Captain's blessing to go kind of, you know, resolve this crisis of faith. Well done. It was a good episode. I liked it a lot.
[00:19:45] You know, it's. It's not. I wouldn't call it a Banger. I wouldn't, you know, I wouldn't say. Matter of fact, I wouldn't say my 10, 9 or 8 are bangers, but they're just fun episodes. They get the job done. And yeah, like I said, it's a somewhat uneven season, so we're not going to have a lot of bangers at the top, but we will have them as we go along, trust me. So let's move on. So number eight is suspicions.
[00:20:11] I bet you some of you are like, what? Really? That episode, come on, 7.0 on IMDb, which sounds about right to me. Also 93, second half of the season there. So Dr. Crusher puts her career on the line to prove a scientist's theoretical new shielding technology, which may have cost him his life.
[00:20:30] Interesting. So couple cool things about this episode. One, I like Crusher episodes. They did not give her enough.
[00:20:38] I feel like they gave her too much in season seven. We'll get to that. But Remember Me was one of my favorite episodes from Season 4, as you may remember.
[00:20:46] And you know what? I just kind of. I like Gates McFadden when she kind of gets a chance to shine. I love the narration, I love the voiceover. Very few characters get to do that.
[00:20:57] You know, Data had his episode doing that. Crusher has it. I don't.
[00:21:03] I can't remember. No. Others jump to mind, you know, next gen characters who got like, their. Their episode narrated by themselves, you know, sort of looking back and telling the tale. But I like the way it was done here. I like the idea of a Ferengi scientist.
[00:21:17] I think that's pretty cool. Like, obviously they have space technology, they have warp drive, they have weapons, they have. So obviously they have scientists.
[00:21:25] But apparently they're not all doing it just for profit. Apparently there are some who are doing it for the work. They're doing it to be respected. And I liked that this doctor was doing that. Dr. Gala. I want to say I could be wrong about that.
[00:21:40] But yeah, no, I like the idea. So. And then the idea of being able to shield a ship, to go through a star again, big swings this season, folks. Every. Pretty much every, every concept in these episodes is pretty, pretty bonkers. But who cares? It's sci fi. It's fun. So that's a pretty cool concept. And the idea of being able to fly through a star would be cool, I guess.
[00:22:05] Did they tell us the reason why he was creating that technology? I don't remember. Maybe to start up a star again or something. I don't know. I don't know why they would need to do that either way, cool concept. I like it. I like the mystery of it. I think they were kind of stretching a little thin having a Ferengi and a Klingon scientist on board.
[00:22:27] You know, those are two races that you don't think of when you think of scientists.
[00:22:31] And I think, you know, there's so many races to choose from. Right? Like, why you don't gotta go. You don't gotta go. Cardassian, Klingon, you know, Romulan, Ferengi. Every time, like, you know, there's a million races out there, you know, throw an Andorian at us.
[00:22:46] Let's see. An Andorian scientist. Let's see, you know, Vulcan, obviously, you know, that, that, that is a good choice. You know, there's gonna be a Vulcan. Of course I like that. She had a human husband. That was cool. It's another interesting dynamic. We've seen that before. We've seen, know Spock's parents, a human wife, but that was cool. It was a nice little twist thrown in. In there.
[00:23:04] Both scientists. Yeah. So, you know, maybe give us. Maybe give us another species instead of. Instead of Klingon, but what are you gonna do? So, you know, I'm sure there are scientists in the Klingon Empire as well, so they're trying to figure out, you know, how this thing works. They send, you know, the test guy through. I forget what his species was. Hadn't seen him before.
[00:23:23] He goes through the star, he dies.
[00:23:27] Does he? I won't blow it for you.
[00:23:30] It's a cool episode. Like I said, it's one of those ones. It's one of those. I don't have many comfort food episodes in season six, but this, for some reason, was one of them. Realm of Fear and then suspicions became another one. It was just kind of one that I would throw on. I have no explanation why in this case. I just kind of, you know, I just kind of. It kind of feels comfortable to me. Slide rockets. That's why it's number eight instead of 10 or even. Even one of the honorable mentions. It just became comfort food. So it made the list. And I like it. I like. It's a good episode.
[00:23:59] All right, so let's get to the good stuff here. So now we're talking. You know what I think are, you know, maybe not bangers, but really, really good episodes from season six. So my number seven is Starship Mine. This is a cool episode. This is a 7.9 on IMDb also from 1993, when the enterprise puts into Space dock for an energy sweep of the ship, which is lethal to humans. Picard gets trapped on board with technicians who are not what they appear to be.
[00:24:28] This is basically Die Hard on the Enterprise. That's pretty much what this was. I think I even remember hearing it called that back in the day.
[00:24:37] So the Enterprise is in space dock to do a baryon sweep.
[00:24:41] So apparently the Enterprise. Especially the Enterprise, because it's logged so many light years that it needs to be cleaned. You know, the Enterprise needs to be maintained. And sometimes those are things that Jordi and the team in Engineering just can't do while you're in space. So they go to space dock, they're gonna get the baryon sweep, and they have to evacuate because it's lethal to humans. So as everyone's leaving the ship, they're all going for shore leave. They're all doing this and that. And as Picard's ready to leave, he sees that the crew that's there to do the baryon sweep, or at least get the ship ready for it, are kind of suspicious. They're kind of doing a couple things that don't make any sense.
[00:25:15] Picard gets stuck on the ship and the baryon sweep begins.
[00:25:19] Great idea for a plot. One, you got your hero, you know, on the ship. We don't get to see action Picard that much outside of the movies. So it's really nice to get this, you know, get this.
[00:25:31] This take on Picard, where he is, you know, he's using ingenuity, he's quick on his feet. He's got the home turf. He's got the home field advantage, Right? He knows the ship, and he is just kind of making his way through these sort of bad guys very much. Now I have a machine gun. Ho, ho, ho. John McClane. Right.
[00:25:51] Obviously, it didn't get as bloody as that. This is next gen, but fun to watch Picard do that. It's also fun to have this ticking clock. Right? What a great idea to make this baryon sweep sort of moving through the ship from, I guess, bow to stern. I don't know if I'm saying that right from the back to the front and.
[00:26:11] Or is bow to stir. Is that the right or left? Who know? Who cares? Anyway, it's going from the back to the front, whereas 10 forward, which is in the forward part of the ship, is the last thing to get hit. So you got this ticking clock of this baryon sweep coming. He's trying to, you know, escape from being their hostage. He tells them he's Mr. Mott, the, the, the barber on the ship, which is cool, I guess. You know, it's good they didn't know that Mr. Mott was a Bolian. How would they know that? But fun episode. Totally fun episode. It was great to, you know, see Patrick Stewart sort of move away from what we normally see him do.
[00:26:46] Gets, gets physical.
[00:26:48] And we got Tim Russ. Tim Russ in a little guest starring role here. Two years before Voyager launched. We got Tim Russ here playing one of the bad guys. So that was kind of fun too.
[00:26:59] I don't remember any of the actors names who are on the ship, other than Tim Russ, obviously. But the, the main antagonist, she was very good.
[00:27:07] She was fun. She was large and in charge. I like that. And there was very much a action movie sort of ending there where she got, she got, you know, annihilated by the baryon sweep at the end. So tough cookies. That's what you get when you mess with Picard.
[00:27:20] So, yeah, fun episode. Die Hard on the Enterprise. How could you not like that?
[00:27:25] All right, number six, don't hate me.
[00:27:30] Don't hate me for this. All right, number six, we got relics. All right, maybe you're cool with it being in a number six. Maybe you're like, ah, come on. It should have been higher in this season. But you know what? It fell at number six. What can I tell you? So relics 8.5 on IMDb this was 1992. The Enterprise stumbles upon a Dyson sphere with a ship crashed on the outer surface. An away team finds some systems still powered up and the chief engineer from the old Enterprise, Montgomery Scott, locked in the transporter cycle. What's up, Scotty? Awesome stuff.
[00:28:03] You know, this would make the third TOS cast member to be on the next gen.
[00:28:12] By my count, anyway. Third main cast member, I should say. You know, we had bones, DeForest Kelly in the pilot episode with that lovely scene with Data. We got Spock and the two parter unification last season, season five.
[00:28:25] Now we got Scotty. Man, who doesn't love little James Doohan? Rest in peace. So awesome concept, you know, only Scotty would come up with a way to sustain his life when he's got no other choice. Locks his pattern into a transporter buffer and cycles it over and over so it doesn't, I guess, degrade. It doesn't matter. Awesome concept. Who cares? Who cares about the nuts and bolts when it's something so cool? And what an ingenious way to bring Scotty as he was, you know, close to the end of Star Trek vi, you know, as close in age, I should say, as he was when he did Star Trek 6 to the Enterprise. D. So much fun.
[00:29:04] So he. He comes back, they're trying to figure out what's going on with this Dyson sphere, which is just. It's a real concept, from what I know, which is really cool, you know, a sphere around a star. Could you imagine to harness the power of the star was sustain whatever civilization lived in there, probably forever, or at least till the sun. At least till the star went nova. But cool idea. I loved the scale of it. And I know Troy definitely.
[00:29:32] I don't think we've ever implicitly talked about it, but I guarantee this is one of the aspects of this episode that he loved. The scale of that Dyson sphere against the ship, you know, there's no curvature. You know, usually when you see the ship in orbit around these planets, you know, you can see the curvature. It's so big. There's no curvature. It's pretty much just a flat diagonal line.
[00:29:51] Really cool. Really cool stuff.
[00:29:54] Here's one aspect of the episode I don't like, and maybe this is why it's at 6 and not like at 3 or 4.
[00:30:02] Why create that tension between Geordi and him? I get that he's going to be a man at a time. I get that he's gonna need to find his place.
[00:30:12] That's a good mini arc for this episode. That's a good place to take this character who went from being the bee's knees to out of touch and sort of lost in this time.
[00:30:24] But why make.
[00:30:27] Why have Geordi treat him like a dick? Why have Scotty be such a wuss in this episode?
[00:30:35] And I know they make up at the end and, you know, and there's real. There's real heart there and. But I could have done without that. I could have done without that. I thought it kind of ruined the vibe for me a little bit. Not too much, clearly, but everyone did a little bit.
[00:30:48] But then we have the awesome scene in the holodeck when he goes to the original.
[00:30:54] You know, the NCC 1701. No bloody A, B, C or D.
[00:31:02] Love that. He's on. He's on the bridge and he's having a drink with the. With Picard Al Dilurn whiskey, which is. Which is cool.
[00:31:12] I know I've talked about this. When Data gives him the Booze in. In 10 forward and he's trying to identify what it is, and he says it is green. Great call back to Scotty. Scotty's Line in Damn it. I want to say wolf in the fold, but I don't think so.
[00:31:29] But there was episode where Scotty was trying to get, you know, one of the enemy to.
[00:31:35] To drink. Get him drunk. And he was like, what is it? He's like, it is.
[00:31:39] It is blue. So great little callback there. I love that fun episode. Anytime you get Scotty, you know, it's a good episode. A great moment at the end where they just kind of let him. Let him, you know, drift off to his next adventure. We kind of don't know what happened to him, but, you know, it was just lovely seeing James Doohan. And I think the show, you know, paid tribute to that character, you know, in a good way.
[00:32:08] About as good as you can be, as far as.
[00:32:11] About as good as you could, while still maintaining, you know, a modern episode kind of thing. So that was fun. It was fun seeing Scotty again. Relics. Nice job.
[00:32:21] All right, number five, here we go. So this episode is Schisms.
[00:32:27] This is not a big favorite among a lot of fans. This was one of the ones I always found intriguing. I love the idea of this episode. It's a 7.5 and IMDb 92. Commander Riker's inability to fall asleep begins to show in other members of the crew in other forms. Folk. I'm reading these verbatim here, and the grammar is not always correct, but just so you know, my. I just take the first description, whatever it is, and I read it. And that's kind of what we do. So Commander Records and ability to fall asleep begins to show in other members of the crew in other forms.
[00:32:58] Putting the Enterprise on the trail of a mystery.
[00:33:01] It's not a great description.
[00:33:04] So basically, Riker can't sleep. He seems like he's closing his eyes and he's, you know, it's already morning, doesn't know what's going on. Turns out him and a few other members of the crew, something's been happening to them while they were sleeping. Creepy episode.
[00:33:20] This is one of the few episodes in Next Gen where it's sort of like a horror movie episode.
[00:33:28] You know, Genesis comes to mind as well in season seven. We'll talk about that episode and that frickin concept when we get there. But this was a fun episode. Yeah, it was really cool. One of the best, I should say one of the most fun scenes in this season was when they go to the holodeck and they try to break down, you know, what.
[00:33:49] What's happened to them. They're trying to remember the Details. Those dream details that are just there on the fringes, but they can't quite wrap their heads around it.
[00:34:00] And yes, the.
[00:34:01] The computer is largely intuitive and makes some really great leaps.
[00:34:06] You know, there's one leap, I think, when it goes from a wooden table to a metal one, and it just. It gets it 80% there when, you know, you could add a couple more prompts to get them there. I know. You know, it's an only. They only have 42 minutes to tell these stories. I know, but it's the only blemish in what I think is a really, really great episode.
[00:34:26] So. Really creepy. Turns out they're being taken into another Dimens while they're asleep and being, like, freaking operated on. It's very scientific method from Voyager, right?
[00:34:38] It's really, really creepy. It's very, very Vidian. Something the Vidians would do.
[00:34:43] So, yeah, like, you know, I think Riker's arm was severed and then reattached. Like, what the hell?
[00:34:48] Crazy stuff, crazy stuff, but a fun episode. And when you finally, you know, when they finally, you know, realize what's going on and they get Riker, they give him a little thing on his shoulder so he'll be cautious when he gets taken. Oh, that's a. A nightmarish sort of scene there. Really crazy.
[00:35:04] So, yeah, it's just, Just. Just some real good horror vibes there. I'm digging it. Great Riker episode. And, yes, I will not forget to mention it, believe me. Yes, we get maybe the best poem ever written by the human race.
[00:35:20] Ode to Spot. That's right, Data's freaking poem. It's super clever. Crazy clever, as Jordy points out, but, man, was that fun to watch. That was hilarious. And I love the idea that, you know, every time they think they think he's done and they go to applaud and get up, he just keeps going.
[00:35:39] Very, very emh. Right? Very. The Doctor took some cues from Data, clearly, when he was doing his slideshow with Voyager in that one episode. Anyway, Schisms. What can I say? Fun app. Just. Just my. Just my style. Love that. Just creepy enough, just mysterious enough, and a great record episode. What else can you ask for?
[00:36:00] All right, we're down to it now. Let's go. So unless it. Folks, I'm going to pause here real quick. I'm going to tell you the reason. I'm telling you the years that these episodes came out as well.
[00:36:09] I know it's only going to be either 92 or 93, because it was the 92. 93 season in which season six aired.
[00:36:17] But, you know, I'm 51 years old. I often, you know, we all as Trek fans talk about, you know, the good old days. Right.
[00:36:25] If you're not referring to Tus, you're referring to, you know, the 90s, and I should say the 80s 90s, early 2000s, the whole run of Next gen to Enterprise. What a great era that was. And I talk about it a lot, and I often talk about it in terms of dates and times and that kind of context. So I think it's interesting to be reminded about when these episodes came out, when they were produced, when they were aired, and probably more to the point, when I saw them for the first time and when we all saw them for the first time. So if you're wondering why I'm telling you, you know, either 92 or 93, it's just to give you a little bit of. A little bit of frame of reference. Anyway, let's do it. Number four. Now, these are all bangers. Number four. Tapestry. Yes, yes. I know. Some of you are like, wow, that's got to be number two. It's got to be number one. I know, I know. It's a great episode. It's a great Q episode.
[00:37:15] But, yeah, no, it's only number four.
[00:37:17] So when Captain Picard's artificial heart fails, he's offered the rare opportunity to go back in time and set right the mistake that led to his demise.
[00:37:26] That's a good description. Good description. Very succinct. So I'm not sure if I mentioned this was an 8.8 on IMDb. This is actually the highest rated episode on my list. There weren't a lot of. Actually, there weren't any nines, I don't think, in season six. So there you go. So an 8.8 is about as good as it gets on IMDb.
[00:37:46] Q's back.
[00:37:48] Great callback. And, you know, I know we talked about this on the Q pod, but that was so long ago. I was like four years ago. So we're going to talk about it again. No parrot sketching tapestry today, kids. So Picard is undergoing surgery, emergency surgery for his heart. He's, you know, clearly regretting that he has to have this surgery. You know, when he was younger, he got into a fight with some Nausicans. They pierced his heart because he was being brazen, he was being a dick.
[00:38:18] And, you know, and he told this whole story to. I want to say Wesley Crusher in season two. I want to say.
[00:38:27] I can't remember the Name of the episode it was.
[00:38:30] I can't remember. Believe it or not, I can't remember. I know it was Picard and Wesley in a shuttlecraft. And he told him this whole story. He opened up to him and you know, what a really nice moment in the final mission, Wesley's last regular character appearance on Next Gen. And he mentions this episode in which Picard tells him the story and opens up to him. Anyway, I'm just confusing the crap out of everybody. Back to Tapestry. So we heard the story first in season two, and this is a great revisiting of that story. And they kind of took it, ran with it. We see the whole story fleshed out now. Q pops out of nowhere, says he's God. Intriguing. And offers Picard the chance to go back and right his wrong and change his mistake.
[00:39:15] We get to see Picard at the Academy, which is hilarious because they did not cast a younger actor. Interesting.
[00:39:23] We suspend our disbelief for that, of course, but it would have been interesting to cast someone younger to play the young Picard. But honestly, I don't think it detracted from the episode. So I'm not even sure why I'm mentioning it, but either way, so we get to see his interactions with his friends, you know, the love that he could have had, all that kind of stuff, all that good stuff, and kind of, you know, the gist of the story is, you know, once he does right his wrong, he avoids getting into that fight with the Noskins and his heart is never pierced. Therefore, he never has this crisis in the present day. But guess what, folks? It's not. His life's not the same.
[00:40:04] You know, any change is going to change the outcome of your life. And a change that Picard didn't know at the time but was so significant would significantly alter his path.
[00:40:16] And it basically comes down to he learned his lesson when his heart. When he almost died, when his heart was pierced by a Nausica knife. He learned that lesson, and it made him a better person, made him a better leader, a better captain, a better Starfleet officer. He never had that lesson in this timeline. Now he's wearing blue.
[00:40:35] What a jarring thing to see, Picard wearing a blue uniform. Oh, my God.
[00:40:42] It's crazier than Data wearing red in Future Imperfect. It's crazier than. It's just bonkers.
[00:40:48] It's. It's jarring to see.
[00:40:50] It's crazy. So, yeah, so, you know, he realizes that, you know, his new path is, you know, it. It's not what he is. Somebody Wants to be. It's not where he wants to be.
[00:40:59] And he asks Q to set things right. Hey, lesson learned, man. You got to give it to Q on this one, man. He. He intervened. He. You know, he. With him. But he was dead right. He was dead right. And Q sets it right. Everything's back to normal.
[00:41:15] Really cool episode. Plays with time, plays with the. Obviously, the idea of second choices, second chances, alternate timelines, what would happen what if, right? Star Trek. What if. What if Picard never got into a fight with the Noskins? That would be a Marvel what if title.
[00:41:35] So, yeah, a lot of fun and maybe the funniest queue delivery of all time.
[00:41:43] Is there a John Luck Pickard here? Come on, come on.
[00:41:49] John de Lancie. Stop it. You're killing me. I love it. I love him. Love Tapestry. Great episode.
[00:41:56] All right, top three, folks. Let's do it. Number three.
[00:42:00] Ship in a bottle. Yeah, ship in a bottle. 8.5 on IMDb 1993. Lieutenant Bark Lee mistakenly. I'm done. Mistakenly awakes Moriarty in the forgotten holodeck program, who then makes his demands clear and unforgettable. What?
[00:42:19] I'm gonna read that again.
[00:42:21] Lieutenant Barkley mistakenly awakes Moriarty in the forgotten holodeck program, who then makes his demands clear and unforgettable. That is. That is bonkers. All right.
[00:42:31] He makes his demands unforgettable and. Not exactly sure what that means, even in the context of this episode. Maybe I'm. Maybe I'm dumb. I don't know. Who knows? Anyway, Moriarty, man. Daniel Davis back. Is Moriarty. Come on. We knew that this had to be revisited at some point. Like, you know, elementary, Dear Data was too good an episode. They gave us what we wanted. They brought back Moriarty, and I thought it was great. There's some great choices here. They didn't make him the Joker. They didn't make him this Machiavellian, you know, the villain that he can be or truly is. They just kind of made him, you know, they just kind of had to outsmart him, not. Not survive him. I'm not sure if I'm making sense, but, you know, to me, you know, there were signs in elementary, dear Data, that he was going to be that megalomaniacal, you know, super villain.
[00:43:23] You know, he. He was controlling the Enterprise with it with a lever in the holodeck. You know, it's awesome. And the rate at which he was learning was. Was really cool to watch. So on this episode, I love that they focused on, like, you know, just, like, what he Truly wants. Like, I think it's because partially, even though he is angry at Picard and the crew for not making any progress and that he was aware of the time that had passed. So even if you're going TV time, he sat.
[00:43:52] Sat. He existed, was conscious for four years with nothing to do.
[00:43:58] Pretty crazy. Very, very black mirror, right? Very, very high concept horror. But he just wants his. He just wants his love. He just wants his. Countess Stephanie Beacham. Welcome to the Enterprise. D so, you know, that actress was fun to see her. I like the storyline. I like where it went. I love that Barclays a part of it. I love. We're getting a double shot of Barkley in this season. So fun, you know, and Barkley's the one to just find him, but makes sense.
[00:44:23] I guess the conceit is that Barclay was not on the Enterprise until season three. That's kind of what it sounds like to me. You know, they kind of had to have somebody to stretch out the storyline who didn't know who Moriarty was, who didn't know what had happened, you know, with Dr. Pulaski and the holodeck in season two.
[00:44:43] So.
[00:44:44] Great idea. So Barclay, I guess, wasn't on the ship until season three. I know he wasn't in episodes until season three, but I guess canonically he wasn't on the ship until season three.
[00:44:53] Stumbles upon the Moriarty program. Has no idea. You would think there would be some kind of security around it, or you would think that there would be a warning like, hey, don't start this program. He will destroy the universe. But they didn't have that. So thank God he came out looking for love and not for blood. So we got lucky there. And Barclay has been known to make mistakes. So there you go.
[00:45:17] Barclay finds him. Another Barkley episode. Moriarty's great. Daniel Davis is great. So, yeah, just. Just a fun episode. It's always fun. You know, back to the Sherlock Holmes of it all. Great job there, guys. All right, number two, these are the big boys now, okay? So, number two, I guess you have to know.
[00:45:37] You know what? Maybe you don't, because I'm going to surprise you here when I get done with this list, and you're going to see a couple episodes that aren't on this list. But for now, let's go with timescape number 2. Timescape 8.5 on IMDb 1993.
[00:45:52] Aboard a shuttlecraft and en route back to the Enterprise, Picard, La Forge, Data and Troi find themselves trapped in a time trap of some sort where The Enterprise is being taken over by Romulans and the ship itself on a course of destruction.
[00:46:07] Interesting choice using Trapped there twice. But hey, look, I swear to God, I'm not making fun of anybody who writes a synopsis on IMDb. Thank you for participating. Thank you for giving me the synopsis. I love it. Sometimes it just throws me. I have to giggle a little bit.
[00:46:20] Anyway, so here's one of those just insane plots, but it's so damn fun, you can't help it. So just like it said, you know, Picard, Data, laforge and Troy are on their way back from a conference.
[00:46:33] And by the way, they're not even in. This isn't a runabout because this is. This is bigger than a shuttlecraft, but I want to say bigger than a runabout too. Like, runabouts got those. I mean, they caught a runabout, but we've never seen a room that big on a runabout that I can remember. On DS9, they're pretty much in, like, a big dining room. It's pretty crazy. There's so much room on these runabouts. It's almost like a apartment on a ship. Whereas the runabouts on DS9, yeah, they're spacious, but not that much. Anyway, it was a cool set design for this episode and what a cool way to start.
[00:47:14] Jordy is talking about what it's like to touch a.
[00:47:18] Whatever he's trying to touch, I don't know, some shield or something, some phase or screen or some. I don't remember the exact science, to be honest, but him, Data and Picard all freeze. And Troy's like, what the hell's going on? And as a viewer, you're like, oh, that's so cool. What's. What's happening?
[00:47:33] And then, you know, they come out of it, they just go back to normal. They didn't notice the passage of time. Troy tells him, they start investigating and then she freezes. And then, like, what is happening? Happening? So turns out there's all these just pockets of differently running time just sort of floating through the area of space that they're in. And you know, which is. Talk about a great plot device that just lets you freeze anybody at any time for any reason. It's just so. It's such a cool concept. Again, it's bonkers. It's ridiculous. But, you know, you know, the idea that they wouldn't float through, that they wouldn't die, basically is. Is unbelievable. But again, when. When the premise is so fun, who gives a shit? It's just so cool. Anyway, so this episode's great. You know, you get that great opening, you know, moment. You get, you know, they're trying to figure it out. You get the cool stuff with the fingernails and the flowers and then a cell and all time's moving all around. They're trying to figure it out and.
[00:48:25] And then they come upon the Enterprise and what a cool reveal. It's in the middle of what looks like an attack from the Romulans.
[00:48:35] The only thing they could do is board the ship. The. The Enterprise and the Romulans are frozen as well. So this, you know, this is a. One of those big pockets where. See what I'm saying? The concepts a little, but big pocket of frozen time. So they board the ship and it's just cool. I mean, these actors did a phenomenal job of just staying still.
[00:48:55] Like, they did not have the technology to seamlessly freeze the scene and have somebody walk through it. So you could tell these actors are all staying completely still, but they're also staying completely still. So it's really weird. You can see that they're real, but they're doing a phenomenal job. I didn't know too many, you know, flutters or anything. I thought it was really, really well done.
[00:49:18] Hard to do, I would imagine. I've never tried to stay perfectly still for some of these people are on screen for, you know, 15, 20 seconds. It's really hard to do.
[00:49:26] So, yeah, good job there. And then another twist when Troy goes into sickbay and sees Beverly getting shot point blank with a disruptor. Jesus. So cool. And that looked amazing.
[00:49:39] You know, I just said they didn't have the technology to do that. But the special effects in this episode were really, really well done.
[00:49:46] Really well done and it made for a more fun episode. And yes, we get the same moment in this episode that we got in the next phase from season five where Ensign Row and Geordi are running around the ship and they're the only ones who are out of phase.
[00:50:03] Or are they?
[00:50:05] There's a Romulan there as well, who was also out of phase. So they kind of, you know, borrowed that. That plot twist again. But again, it's so fun. So who gives a.
[00:50:16] Really enjoyed this episode. Again, this is one of those episodes that just. The sci fi guy in me just keeps going back to it over and over. So I've seen this one a lot and it's a lot of fun timescape man. Just a fun episode.
[00:50:29] All right, listen, we are up on number one, but before we get to number One, I want to talk just briefly, very briefly about a couple honorable mentions. And this is going to shock you folks because my honorable mentions are probably the ones that you're thinking is my number one. So the first honorable mention is Chain of Command part one and two. God, I know, it's almost blasphemous to leave off this episode in which, well, the two parter anyway. In which, like, it's probably the most memed moment of Star Trek ever. You know, I'm leaving out the whole. There are four lights, you know, this episode, it was well done. Patrick Stewart was amazing.
[00:51:06] I loved David Warner. Rest in peace as Gol Madred Madrid. That's a hilarious name, by the way. It's very, it's very Darth Sidious. Goal Madred. Right? Just throwing those names out there.
[00:51:21] But yeah, you know, obviously it's a horrific story, but it does, you know, bring up questions of, you know, of tolerance and torture and, you know, stamina and how long can you can the best of us that Jean Luc Picard is hold out against such, you know, cruelty and, and pain. So it's interesting to see that. Of course we got Admiral Jellicoe. Of course we got Ronnie Cox as Admiral Jellicoe. Look, I love Ronnie Cox. I love my Bogumill from Beverly Hills Cop.
[00:51:54] He, it was a douchebag in so many movies in the 80s.
[00:51:58] Got absolutely mangled in deliverance. But love Ronnie Cox and for no other reason, it gave us Admiral Jellicoe in the New Frontier series.
[00:52:07] So love hating on him as always.
[00:52:09] It was fun to see the Enterprise get shook up. I gotta tell you, I was only 8020 against Jellicoe. I mean, you know, tell me if I'm wrong. Come at me, man. But I feel like the Enterprise crew are being little bitches too. I gotta tell you, you know, here's a guy who's trying to just, you know, he's got a style, he's got a way of doing things.
[00:52:29] Nobody loved Picard, I don't think, when he first came on board. Right. You know, these captains, you got to get used to them.
[00:52:35] They didn't give him, they didn't give him a chance, so. Especially Riker, like, all right, come on, come on, Will. Let's just give a little bit again. I'm 80 20. I'm not Angelico's side. I'm just saying I feel like they were kind of overly sensitive to what he was trying to do.
[00:52:50] Could he have gone about it better? Of course.
[00:52:52] Could he have used some leadership conferences? Yes, of Course, he wasn't a great leader, but I feel like he was a guy who could get shit done.
[00:53:00] He did. He did. He actually got it done.
[00:53:02] So. Yeah. So Jellicoe came and went. We hardly knew ye. But, you know, I wasn't all about the hatred for Jellicoe and it wasn't all about the hatred for Shelby either.
[00:53:14] You know, a lot of fans just hated the fact that she, you know, she got under Riker's skin. But I thought the actress did a great job. And I thought again, sometimes the Enterprise could use a little. Little kick in the ass. You know, they get a little comfortable with their comfort, you might say. You know, they lean a little more towards Discovery in that way sometimes. Too familiar, maybe.
[00:53:35] Anyway, look at me shitting on these guys. Another honorable mention. I mentioned it before. Birthright Part one. I love Part one. Part Two, and not so much. So enough said on that. And I'm not. I didn't include dissent. Part 1 I wasn't crazy about is probably other than Shades of Gray, of course. And that's not a season finale. I think it's the worst season finale of Next Gen, and I'm including the Neutral Zone. I like the Neutral Zone. I think it's by far the worst season finale.
[00:54:03] I love seeing Lord, but wasn't crazy about what they did with them. The Data storyline was ridiculous. You know, Data's not gonna, you know, turn bad and, you know, try to take down the whole Federation. So I like that they were trying to resolve the Iborg hue issue. I like that they were trying to resolve that, but they kind of did it wrong. Nothing in that episode worked for me, so that didn't work. And look, there were other episodes in this season that are fine. Of course, you know, Face of the Enemy is a fine episode, and, you know, there are some that are fun, but they just didn't make my list.
[00:54:35] Maybe through process of elimination, you're kind of zeroing in on my number one. I'm not gonna make you wait any longer. Let's do it. Number one. In my opinion, the best episode of season six is the Chase. The Chase. I know, I know. It might be a little controversial.
[00:54:49] 8.0 on IMDb 1993, the crew of the Enterprise must race against various rival powers to uncover an archaeological secret that explains the predominance of humanoid life forms in the galaxy.
[00:55:02] Great synopsis. Great episode. Great premise for an episode. I'll tell you how great this premise is for an episode. It's so great that it launched an entire season of another Star Trek show. If you are not a Discovery fan, this episode was the basis for the overarching plot in Discovery season five.
[00:55:22] So there you go. That's how important this episode is. We see Picard's old archaeological professor, Professor Galen. It's a lot of Galens and Galas and I guess in the science field in the 24th century, isn't there?
[00:55:35] Anyway, Professor Galen pops up. Hey, what's going on? Mr. Picard, here's an old relic. Come adventure with me now.
[00:55:44] Didn't work. Didn't work. He wanted the Picard to come, you know, on an adventure with him. He's on the last leg of his journey and his findings are going to be profound and they're going to be felt throughout the galaxy or the quadrant. So Picard can't do it. He can't just up and leave the Enterprise. He wants to, kind of, but he pretty much knows that the Enterprise is his home. Doesn't go. Professor Galen dies and Picard decides to take up the mantle of this mystery and this journey. And this journey is pretty fucking cool, folks. So, you know, much like the Enterprise episode I just revisited where they sort of explain why the Klingon ridges go away for a little while.
[00:56:27] We get to see why every species in Star Trek has arms and legs and noses and ears and they all sort of look humanoid.
[00:56:37] So we get to find out why. So they're all trying to put pieces of the puzzle together. And by all, I mean there are Cardassians, there are Romulans, there are Klingons involved again, I know it's a 42 minute show, I know there's a budget, I know, you know, they got to make it sleek and they got to get it in, but, you know, I find it a little hard to believe that another Klingon would be, you know, dominant in this science.
[00:57:03] Now also, I get that the main reason the Klingons were there and the Romulans for that matter, maybe are because this is a powerful weapon.
[00:57:11] So they think, they feel like it's a weapon. That's why the Cardassians are there, certainly. And that's why the Klingons are there, I would imagine. But again, it would have been cool to see, like another couple species.
[00:57:22] Anyway, I'm, I'm just picking nits here, kids.
[00:57:26] So they decide to work together, more or less, and they put all of their puzzle pieces together and it points them in a direction. The idea of this alone is cool, right? The idea of these enemies, friends, frenemies are coming together to solve a mystery together, because we have no other choice. We have a piece of the puzzle, you have a piece of the puzzle. The only way we're gonna have solved this is if we solve it together.
[00:57:50] Cool idea. Always a big fan of that. Always a bigger fan of enemies coming together to do something else. That's just a fun concept in movies, tv, literature, anything. So they do it and they get to the point where they figure it out and, oh, look, it's the changeling. It's not really the changeling. It's the Founder.
[00:58:09] It's not really the Founder. It's Salome Jens. It's the actress who plays the founder from DS9. But, yes, she plays a race who explored the galaxy millions and millions of years ago. But unfortunately, they were the first ones to sort of develop technology and a civilization as vast as theirs, and there was no one else in the galaxy knowing that their race, any race, was finite. They wanted to preserve their legacy. And what they did was they seeded the oceans and the oceans of many different worlds with their DNA, so they would kind of have a lasting legacy. And in these DNA strands, I guess they put these, like, puzzle pieces. So I guess the idea was that when these races got to the point where they were technologically advanced enough to understand what was hidden in that DNA, they would solve the puzzle and come together in peace and unity to, you know, unlock this mystery.
[00:59:08] Very cool, very profound. You know, the Klingons and the Cardassians didn't. Didn't take it at all. But, man, was that a great moment at the end of this episode where Picard is talking to the Romulan commander and there's just that, you know, when the Romulans give you just a little bit, man, it's. It's. You're like, oh, shit. All right, there's something cool there.
[00:59:27] You know, basically, it was like. And I'm gonna paraphrase, the Romulan was like, all right, we're leaving. And by the way, him just reaching out, just hailing Picard to tell them that they're leaving is. Is really telling and really cool. It's a nice, nice touch. They could have did it on the planet, but it was way nicer that they did it this way, you know, to the point that I'm getting to, you know. So the Romulan says, I just want to let you know we're leaving. And of course, I go, all right, okay, cool. And he's like, so it appears we are not, you know, not that all dissimilar or you know, it appears, you know, basically seems like we have more in common than I thought.
[01:00:05] And Picard, you know, great, great moment by Patrick Stewart just kind of, you know, so, so it seems.
[01:00:11] And then I think the Romulan says then maybe perhaps one day. I mean, come on. Like that's, that's, that's great, great writing. That's knowing your universe, that's knowing the, the pieces you're playing with. And that's just, that's just a great bit of writing, a great way to end that episode. The point of the episode, by the way, you know, and, and it doesn't, you know, it's not a tear jerker moment or anything. It doesn't like, you know, doesn't hit you in the feels, as the kids say. But it is a moment nonetheless. And it's one of those moments that, that puts this episode at number one. I mean that's just kind of how, that's kind of how I'm programmed, you know. I think I've mentioned this before, like when I watch movies, tv, books, you know. Watch books, Phil, you read books? When I experience movies, tv, music, books, comics. Anything you want to say? I'm looking for the next moment. I'm looking for those moments that grab me and they're fleeting.
[01:01:06] Moments are fleeting, folks. Sometimes they're there and they're gone.
[01:01:09] You know, I was watching the angel finale years ago, probably 20 years ago.
[01:01:14] And that last moment in that finale, you know, let's go to work.
[01:01:19] One night it just fucking hit me, man. And I was like, wow, that is, that's. It blew me away.
[01:01:25] I've never felt that moment again since then. I wasn't drunk, I wasn't high or anything. I was just watching angel like I did all the time back then.
[01:01:33] Just hit me, just hit me. It was one of the moments that, you know, just. I'll never get back again. I couldn't even quantify it. I can't even explain what it was. But that is what I live for, those moments. And this wasn't quite like, oh my God. But this, it's up there, it's a moment and just, just well done. It's just well done on the part of all the creators behind the show. The episode right down to, to the Romulan, you know, the actor playing the Rondon, Romulan commander. Just, just really well done. Yeah, you know, the chase, it's, it's a fun, fun episode. Oddly enough it's the most unimaginative title I think on my list. But well, maybe suspicions, but yeah, it's not going to bring down the episode for me. The chase is fine. So you went from where silence has least to the chase. That's okay. That's fine. I'll live with it. But just a fun app. And like I said, it launched a whole season of Discovery and I like that. Obviously, I won't spoil that. You know, when we get to discovery, our top 10 for that, which again, is happening at some point, folks, we do not ignore some of our brothers and sister shows on this pod. We. We embrace it all. Some are better than others, of course, but we'll get to Discovery at some point. But I do like the idea that they took this episode, one of my personal favorites, and made it sort of the swan song plot for. For Discovery. So I like that.
[01:02:53] The chase, what could I say? Season six, you know, again, it's the fourth best season in my opinion, which is nothing to sneeze at, believe me. You know, Next Gen is an amazing show and being number four out of seven is not a dispar on the season.
[01:03:09] But like I said, it's a wild season.
[01:03:12] I feel like they had the viewership, they had the comfort level, and they were just like, let's just do whatever, who cares? And you'll see more of that in season seven.
[01:03:22] Trust me, when we get to season seven and we break down my top 10, you're gonna see more of that.
[01:03:27] But for now, season six, a very good season. A very good season of sci fi, very good season of Next Gen. And yeah, what can I say? I love it.
[01:03:37] So that's all I got for you today. Thanks so much for listening. It is really, truly appreciated. Hopefully you had a good time and we'll be putting out some new episodes really soon. Hopefully you'll listen to those as well.
[01:03:48] Take care.
