We'll Always Have Paris

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Star Trek TNG S01E24-26 We’ll Always Have Paris, Conspiracy, The Neutral Zone – “The Biggest Trekkie” | First Time Reaction – To Baldly Go Podcast (Ep. 040)

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First-Time Watch – Star Trek: TNG Season 1, Episodes 24-26

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:

  • Exceptional mediocrity

  • Practical effects worthy of a Michael Scott production

  • A fight with the Romulans that could have been great

We covered:

  • We’ll Always Have Paris

  • Conspiracy

  • The Neutral Zone

“We’ll Always Have Paris” – At least there’s that much

Sometimes an episode is so great that we don’t take many notes because we can’t get pulled away from it.

Sometimes an episode is so bad that we get pages of notes to discuss how bad it really was.

And then there are episodes like “We’ll Always Have Paris” – which was so exceptionally mediocre, we were all in agreement with almost nothing to say.

Things we discussed:

  • Picard backstory and similarities with Kirk

  • Time implications

  • Nobody cared

  • Writers’ strike impacts

A mediocre, forgettable episode.

“Conspiracy” – Cleanup on Aisle Five!  Threat Level Midnight

Picard brings the Enterprise back to Earth to find answers after the USS Horatio is destroyed, uncovering an alien conspiracy.

Things we discussed:

  • Mystery and intrigue at the Federation

  • Callbacks to prior episodes

  • Worf doesn’t like swimming – or bathing

  • Threat Level Midnight

  • Practical effects reminiscent of the earworms from Wrath of Khan

  • More impacts from the writers’ strike

  • A remaining existential threat?

  • The opposite of zero-trust

We are seeing more callbacks and connections to prior episodes which we didn’t see so much in The Original Series.

“The Neutral Zone” – Romulans?  Nah…

The Enterprise investigates attacks on outposts near the Neutral Zone and a potential new Romulan threat.  While investigating, they find some cryogenically frozen, 20th-century humans from Earth.

Things we discussed:

  • Side stories that detract from the main story

  • Could have been a great opportunity to expand on the Romulans

  • Downside of the writers’ strike again

  • More space for Worf

  • “There’s still much to do.  Still so much to learn.”

What could have been an awesome episode exploring the Romulan threat just fell flat by cramming in story elements that didn’t add up.

Holy crap!  Aaron’s a bigger Trekkie than us!

As the To Baldly Go Podcast’s resident Star Trek fan, I can proudly announce that we have reached the end of Season 1 of Next Generation.

  • Season 1 quiz and Trivia

  • Dealing with internet lag

  • Robin Williams discussion

  • TNG Season 1 wrap up

Final Thoughts

This week, we learned:

  • The writers’ strike hurt the product

  • There’s much more to come

  • You shouldn’t watch Robin Williams on Whose Line is it Anyway? when you are in the hospital after having your appendix removed

  • Through the first season of Star Trek: The Next Generation, I, Aaron, am the biggest Star Trek fan of our little away team.

I have now watched all of The Original Series, The Animated Series, four movies, and the first season of Star Trek: The Next Generation.  I never would have guessed any of that just a handful of years ago.

Where the end of season 1 of The Original Series felt like it had peaked, Next Generation feels like it’s just getting started.  I can’t where it will take us from here.

As always, remember – Never give up!  Never surrender!