The streak of callbacks to TOS episodes continues. Naked Time and Naked Now is obvious, but there’s also Journey to Babel and Lonely Among Us and The Apple and Justice. Even next week’s episode is somewhat reminiscent of Amok Time.  

But what about the Picard/Riker bromance? Most of Picard’s crew are hand-picked folks who are new to their position. Did he pick folks because they didn’t have that experience? It’s presumed he spent his time since the destruction of the Stargazer doing admin on Earth; was he grooming these kids?  

All weird, Professor-X stuff aside, does the Picard/Riker implicit trust and respect thing work? Has it been sufficiently established? 

So Wesley saves the ship for, like, the second of three times. This one seems perfectly organic and any perceptive crewman traveling between departments could have solved this.

What we should really be complaining about his the trope where the ship is saved by some contrived coincidence instead of, y'know, competence.

How is the aryan planet that genocided their minorities NOT the worst planet in Season One?

Balm Sheeny? Walm Chreni? Weab O'Ryan?

There's some good ideas in here, but I'm not sure where any of them are going. No one is. Not even the folks that wrote this. In a year's time, you won't even remember this episode happened.

That's just some bullshi--uh, "scientifically challenging conjecture about the nature of the universe as being based on happy thoughts and unicorn-based methane expulsions."

I love that The Next Generation continues the trend for long-lost alien civilizations whose ruins we tread respectfully upon until those ruins whip out laser and try to kill us and we're forced to reflect on--DAMN FERENGI!

oof

I don't think I'm out of line when I say this episode, an early-series affair where the crew gets drunk with a ticking clock of an exploding stellar body and a junior member of the crew wreaks havoc, reminds me a little bit of "The Naked Time," an early-series affair where the crew gets drunk with a ticking clock of an exploding stellar body and a junior member of the crew wreaks havoc.

I mean, apophenia, right?

What's great about this episode is how everything comes together. Are we hooked though? I think we're definitely buoyed by having seen "Contagion" first. 

There's so much happening here I don't know where to start. I think we end on a good note.