Every Sunday my Twitch subs and I watch Star Trek in my Discord. Here are my reviews and thoughts on each of the episodes as I see it. If you're curious about a nerd's views on Star Trek episodes, please read on, I go quite in depth with some of this episodes! I've watched some Star Trek before but not all of it!
Identity Crisis - TNG
7.5/10
Oh no. It's a Geordi episode again. Let's hope this one is better. So, Geordi was on an away team five years ago with some other people trying to look into some disappearances. Now all the people from that away team are disappearing themselves. The only two left are Geordi and this lady Suzy he used to be good friends with. At least hopefully they'll avoid any Geordi Relationship Drama this time, right? Oh no, she brings it up, and it's awkward. Of course it is.
One of the other people who was on that way team is Lt. Hickman, who recently stole a craft and was running to a planet. They chase him to the planet, where they see him fucking explode because he's going too fast. Solemn start to the episode. Two more shuttles are on the planet though, so it's time to explore.
Suzy starts to have a weird reaction, weird anxiety attacks, and is taken back. Everyone is a little worried that Geordi might suddenly go haywire on them too, but he seems fine so far. So far this is a good mystery.
Susy starts CRAVING going back to the planet, and then suddenly collapsed, her body morphing into something alien. Good makeup, impressive. Geordi wants to help, looking over the logs of what happened five years ago, and everyone wants him to sit in sick bay, because he may be next. But Geordi wants to help figure out what's going on, understandably. This might get him. He has to do what he can. Geordi is doing good here today.
And poor Data is WORRIED for his friend. Crusher asks him if he is and he's like "I am an Android". Yes, Data, we are well aware. Crusher has been in your guts. She knows you're an android.
Geordi feels himself... changing, but stays on the Enterprise and explores video records. He finds there's a shadow that's unaccounted for, like someone else was there. He uses Holodeck magic to determine what was there, and has an Alien Attack, turning. At the same time, Crusher determines that there's a parasite in Suzy's thymus that's changing her. They go to find Geordi, but he's able to cloak now, and has ripped off his clothing. There's a Naked Geordi running around the Enterprise.
Now the only one who can find him is Suzy, who is slowly becoming Human again now that they removed the parasite. But she can still detect them,
Suzy is able to talk him down, and convince him they can save him, and rescue what's left of his humanity. BTW this makeup is so impressive. It apparently got nominated for an Emmy for makeup. It deserved it. Most watchable Geordi episode yet.
The Nth Degree - TNG
7/10
BARCLAY IS BAAAACK! He's still an awkward anxious dude but he's doing better. The episode starts with him and Crusher acting out Shakespeare. Barclay's not great at it, he stutters but he's not BAD. Data is like "I don't get why we're clapping he wasn't very-" "Uh, cause it's POLITE?" responds Riker. Good lines. Barclay worries this isn't right, because escaping into acting as someone else isn't THAT much different than escaping into the Holodeck. If you don't remember Barclay, he was the dude who ran holodeck programs where he'd fuck Dr. Crusher and ESPECIALLY Counselor Troi as escapism fantasy.
They're examining some space array that's been damaged, and as they are, a flash happens that stuns Barclay and knocks him out! Oh no! He was fine, just literally flashbanged. As he wakes up he seems fine but... a little pushy?
So, I know what this episode is about, and it worries me. In the first episode, Barclay was a creepy sex offender. And it made me really unsure what to think of that episode. Barclay has been trying to improve himself, and it's been working, but now this flash has made him a Super Genius. And now he's an annoying mansplainer.
He's suddenly so good at everything. Including theater? That's not how that works. I guess they're showing him swinging from being shy and anxious to overly confident? That's really all his flaw was. I think it'd be really funny if he was garbage at the arts though. BIG SCIENCE BRAIN SMARTS does not equal good at the arts. And now he's becoming so... creepy. He's really creepy and weird towards Troi, it's uncomfy to watch.
"Oh, something is wrong with me? Why, because I'm now acting like the rest of the crew, confident?"
"REG, YOU SPEND THE ENTIRE NIGHT TALKING TO ALBERT EINSTEIN ABOUT QUANTUM THEORY."
His brain is 500% faster at, well, everything, and growing. Some are worried about not like, locking him up. But others are like "Yeah he can be a little weird and he made a pass at Troi (a good one, somehow) but he's the only one who can help us fix the array. Until he does something, let him be as he was."
Their attempts to fix the array are failing, and Barclay builds a computer in the Holodeck, and connects himself to it. He basically becomes the computer. And there's no way to get him out unless they wanted to kill him. Barclay still isn't antagonistic, he's apologetic. He had to do it, their physical systems just weren't enough. But it's... a tense situation, everyone is worried, he COULD go too far easily, and they couldn't stop him, especially since he is now the Enterprise computer. And as he goes further, he's doing more wild things, like creating a subspace distortion to let them travel across galaxies.
This feels like another take on the 2nd pilot of TOS, "Where No Man Has Gone Before", where a guy is hit by an alien effect and becomes a super genius super man, and slowly becomes evil as he feels he's above everyone else. Like everyone else is children and he knows what's right for them. This is happening with Barclay too, but he doesn't really go that evil route. He just knows What's Best, and ignore everyone asking him to stop. Then when they try to FORCE him to stop, literally attempting to murder him, he's like "Hey look, I get it. I'm not taking this personally. But I can't let you do this, sorry."
And suddenly, Deus Ex. Turns out, Barclay was Uplifted so that he'd get the Enterprise to these guys, the Cytherians, who just wanted to meet people and exchange information, but they can't leave their system. Barclay is de-uplifted, and everything is nice. He's a bit more confident now, though. This is a fine episode in the end, it totally coulda gone in worse directions, and the "mansplaining" thing I mentioned wasn't reallyh that much in the end.
Qpid - TNG
9/10
This is one of those Big Ones.
Picard is nerding out about Archaeology. He has a big event where he has to speak on Archaeology soon. He can't keep his mind off of it, but as he's going over his speech in his room, Vash suddenly appears, she "climbed through the window", and they make out.
Remember Vash? She was the archaeologist Picard fucked on that one planet after Riker forced him to go down there and get laid.
She has a run of the Enterprise, including sitting in the captain's chair. But Vash is a little unhappy, because as she meets the entire crew, she finds out that NO ONE knows who she is. Picard told her all about them. But he never told his crew about her. He's a "very private man". Picard found it'd be inappropriate, and she's extremely offended, and they have an argument.
And then Picard's day gets worse.
Last time we saw Q, he was a human. He's back to his old self now, and considers that he would have died if not for Picard, so he wants to do something nice for Picard, get him a gift. Picard says his gift can be to go the fuck away. He's very hard to gift shop for.
Q eventually gives him his gift. During Picard's speech, everyone suddenly grows silly outfits, then are all transported back in time and put in place of Robin Hood.
THE LINE! THE LINE! THE LINE!
Q explains what's happening. Madame Marian, in this case Vash, is in the castle and will be killed soon. So what is Picard to do, put his people in danger just to save one life? Well, Vash is doing well, seducing Sir Guy.
Half of this episode is utterly hilarious. There's just scene after scene of hilarity.
This classic scene. Also the following one where Data is shot with a fucking arrow. Everyone is clearly having LOADS of fun.
Vash agrees to marry Sir Guy, confusing Q. And then Vash betrays Picard and gets him locked up, playing the EXCELLENT double agent. But oh shit, it's a TRIPLE AGENT, as she tries to send a letter to Riker to get him to come and save Picard! But alas, Q finds out before it can go further. He finds her SO fascinating.
COOL FIGHT SCENE TIME! Riker comes, and Data causes an explosion to distract them, and the fight begins! It's fun~. This episode just has fun with itself. There's hints of grossness like, none of the women are allowed to fight with swords, THAT would be SILLY! Fuck off Berman, I can smell your stink. In the end Picard saves Vash, but Q offers her the WORLD, offering to help her travel across to places she's never SEEN! Picard demands he keep her safe, fulfilling their debt. And we'll see how THIS plays out in DS9 (not well)
This episode is goofy fun.
The Drumhead - TNG
10/10
This episode starts with a Klingon exchange officer who is the only suspect in sabotage and spying, selling secrets to the Romulans. He's to be expedited to the Klingon High Council, but he tries to bribe Worf to help him escape. This pisses the fuck out of Worf, who's family died due to spies for the Romulans, and he beats the fuck out of the guy. Fair.
An Admiral comes out of retirement to figure out what's going on. The Enterprise exploded a bit because of the sabotage, and she's here to figure out exactly what's going on. Worf is a good investigator, figuring out he used some tech to steal stuff, disguised as a hypo syringe. After confronted, the Klingon admitted it, claiming that Klingons were getting WEAK due to their Federation alliance! The Romulans are STRONG! That's why we should sneak and spy, you know, like Klingons do? But he didn't do the explosion. That means there's another spy onboard. It's a conspiracy!
This Admiral seems interesting. She resented working with Picard at first, she prefers working alone, but feels it's promising to work with Picard now. This is also good with Worf, who as I said, has Personal Feelings about all this. It's all set up very well.
The Witch Hunts begin. The Admiral and her Betazoid investigator are rather... harsh. Picard, at first happy to work with all this, ends up becoming quite uncomfortable. Shortly after, Geordi and Data work to find out the explosion was actually a complete coincidence. The Admiral and her aides are... not convinced. It's too much of a coincidence. You can see the hysteria of the witch hunt grow, with each small thing she does. Each thing she says, each reasoning, she comes up with reasonings and excuses which make sense. They're... REASONABLE, sure, when you say them that way. But everything is a slippery slope, when it comes to fear of conspiracy and deceit.
And anyone who disagrees, or pushes back even slightly... is a suspect. I really love how Picard is pushing against this. "The road from suspicion to rampant paranoia is shorter than we think". And he supports the current target of the witch hunts, Tarses. Picard talks to Tarses, who lied on his application to Starfleet about his grandfather, who was a Romulan, not a Vulcan. Well, too bad there isn't any kind of prior legal precedent about someone lying on their application about their race, huh?
For even daring to defend him, for claiming their actions unethical and immoral, Picard is now under suspicion. CLEARLY the only reason he'd be against the Rule of Law is because he's ALSO guilty, right?
He's on trial now. They twist so many things from previous Trek episodes. The Romulan spy they worked with before, but didn't stop (because they COULDN'T). His experiences with the Borg. Being pushy is putting it lightly. They are being downright fascist. And when Worf, who has been their ally this entire time, is like "Hey wait" they IMMEDIATELY turn on him. After all, his father CONSORTED WITH ROMULANS.
If there's one thing I think I disagree with about this episode, it's that the trials only stopped once the Top Brass walked out, as the admiral became irrational. It's like, the fascism only stopped because she broke decorum, or was slightly irrational. Not because it was wrong, and fascist. This was my immediate thoughts, at least, like he DOES kinda give looks of "you brought me out for THIS SHIT?" I might have liked him more directly calling out her bullshit, instead of keeping it quiet, but still, it's not THAT bad, just a small thing.
Worf is... PAINED that he helped her. Picard does not hold it over him, he does not belittle him. It's easy. It's easy to be taken in by paranoia. Vigilance, it's the price we must pay.
Yeah this episode is very good. I love how it showed almost everything, and it did it so well. Showing how shitty McCarthyism is never looked so good.
