First-Time Watch – Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 02, Episodes 13-15
Welcome to another episode of the To Baldly Go Podcast, in which I – a newbie to the Star Trek universe – am watching through Star Trek from the beginning, in release order, and discussing with some of my long-time Trekkie friends.
This week, we get:
Thoughts of Interstellar
Family reunions
Violation of the Prime Directive
We covered:
Time Squared
The Icarus Factor
Pen Pals
“Time Squared” – Would you like to meet your future self?
The Enterprise encounters a mysterious shuttle adrift in space containing Captain Picard – from six hours in the future. As the crew investigates, they uncover a growing temporal paradox tied to strange spatial distortion pulling them in.
Second Picard’s broken memories present a disastrous future for the crew, confronting the unsettling possibility that his own decisions are (or will be) responsible.
Things we discussed:
Couldn’t tell if I fell asleep or not while watching
Patrick Stewart playing two Picards
Did Picard surrender again?
Great Picard and Riker scene
Finding solutions when we struggle to define the problem
Were we stuck in a time loop?
A captain outliving his crew
Can you be a fundamentally different person six hours from now?
“The Icarus Factor” – Character over career
Riker is offered command of his own ship and must confront long-standing tension with his father. He must decide where he wants to be for himself and his career.
Things we discussed:
Abbie doesn’t like family drama and sitcoms
Riker’s dad
Worf’s background and Klingon culture
A different sort of episode
Understanding versus justifying
The Icarus story
Correct names for things that don’t actually exist
Incorrect pronunciations as children
A heavy, character-driven episode.
“Pen Pals” – One does not simply walk into Mordor!
Data secretly communicates with a young girl on a distant planet on the brink of catastrophe. When he realizes the planet is doomed, the Enterprise crew is forced to confront the reality of the Prime Directive.
Things we discussed:
Remembering bits and pieces, but not the entire episode
Violating the Prime Directive
Wesley’s growth and leadership
How do you define “interference”?
Is Data an existential threat?
When and why we break the rules
Philosophy is about people
Great Picard episode. A very un-Data episode
An android’s perspective of what an emotional person would do – emulating
Handling conflict as a people-leader
Lord of the Rings trivia
Who is TNG really about?
Does Data pose an existential threat to the Enterprise and crew with his exhibited ability to ignore orders?
Additional Discussion Points
Remembering 9/11
Feeding bottle baby kittens
Studying the moon
Final Thoughts
This week, we learned:
It is difficult to identify solutions when we struggle to define the problem
Icarus was not only warned about flying too close to the sun, but also about dropping too close to the water
Apparently a pre-warp civilization has technology that the Federation is lacking
As always, remember – Never give up! Never surrender!
Listen to this episode of the To Baldly Go Podcast wherever you get your podcasts.
Where we are on our Trek:
Last week we covered:
Next week we will continue with:
If you want to see my journey from the very beginning, start here:
Also, be sure to check out Nate’s and my other podcast – The In Lap with Aaron and Nate – to listen to us discuss all things Formula 1 on race weekends, wherever you listen to your podcasts.