Episode of the Week: 2x11 "Contagion"

Discussion in 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' started by Jeyl, Apr 8, 2013.

  1. Forbin

    Forbin Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 15, 2001
    Location:
    I said out, dammit!
    That reminds me - hottest tactical officer EVER.
     
  2. t_smitts

    t_smitts Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

    Joined:
    Jun 11, 2005
    A planet isn't likely to be sent to the Neutral Zone or to fight the Borg.

    It seems rather unlikely the Saratoga was the only ship with civilians on board (though perhpas a few docked at a starbase may have had time to offload some non-essential personnel). Why they didn't stick them on shuttlecraft and tell them to clear the battle zone before the shooting started (this would keep the escape pods free if they needed to abandon ship) is beyond me
     
  3. Captrek

    Captrek Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    May 24, 2009
    Location:
    Captrek
    Do they even have enough shuttlecraft to evacuate all the civs?
     
  4. Timo

    Timo Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Aug 26, 2003
    Conversely, a planet near the Neutral Zone or under attack by the Borg can't easily be sent elsewhere...

    While Admiral Hanson maintained a brave face, most of the crews and families probably understood that there was no point in surviving the battle of Wolf 359. That is, unless the battle went for the Federation, which didn't really look all that plausible at the time.

    Timo Saloniemi
     
  5. horatio83

    horatio83 Commodore Commodore

    Joined:
    Oct 25, 2009
    It was one of those episodes that made space (and time) seem mysterious, unexplored and large. The kind of atmosphere which only existed in TOS and the first two seasons of TNG.
    I like it when Geordi arrives in disarray on the bridge, tells Picard to destroy the probe and Picard doesn't hesitate to act. With Jellico in command the Enterprise wouldn't have survived.
     
  6. Mr_Homn

    Mr_Homn Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

    Joined:
    Jan 30, 2010

    I agree that overall season 1 and 2 maintained that atmosphere and feeling on a more consistent basis, but I think some of the middle to late TNG episodes (the price, clues, cause and effect, the nth degree, night terrors, timescape, all good things, and a few others) still recreated that feeling from time to time, albeit sporadically..
     
  7. BillJ

    BillJ The King of Kings Admiral

    Joined:
    Jan 30, 2001
    Location:
    America, Fuck Yeah!!!
    What in the world does Jellico have to do with this episode? Or did you figure it was a chance to get a random slam in on a character you dislike? :rolleyes:
     
  8. horatio83

    horatio83 Commodore Commodore

    Joined:
    Oct 25, 2009
    The episode showed that Picard totally trusts Geordi and thus provided a leadership lesson.
     
  9. BillJ

    BillJ The King of Kings Admiral

    Joined:
    Jan 30, 2001
    Location:
    America, Fuck Yeah!!!
    He had also been serving with Geordi for anywhere from thirteen to fifteen months at that point and had appointed him Chief Engineer. A totally different situation than the one Jellico was in.

    I'm sure Picard was a terrible commanding officer for all time because of this exchange with his new first officer...

     
  10. Trek Survivor

    Trek Survivor Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

    Joined:
    Jan 12, 2009
    Location:
    UK
    Another fantastic season 2 entry. I was always get annoyed when people say TNG "wasn't good" (or variations thereof) until season 3. Season 2 is completely where it's at, before people in front of and behind the camera got too complacent.
     
  11. jimbotron

    jimbotron Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

    Joined:
    Nov 27, 2012
    Location:
    Bay Area, CA
    Season 2 is underrated. I think it's on par with season 6.
     
  12. Captrek

    Captrek Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    May 24, 2009
    Location:
    Captrek
    S2 has some excellent episodes, but it also has The Outrageous Okona (IMO the worst episode of any Trek series), The Icarus Factor, Samaritan Snare, Manhunt, Shades of Gray and four episodes that don't even exist.
     
  13. Jeyl

    Jeyl Commodore Commodore

    Joined:
    Feb 19, 2009
    Location:
    Asheville, NC
    Please feel free to mention the episodes that don't in future Episode of the Week posts if they occur after Pen Pals. I'm curious to see what you would consider worse than Shades of Gray to the point that it doesn't even exist.
     
  14. Captrek

    Captrek Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    May 24, 2009
    Location:
    Captrek
    S2 has 22 episodes. The others have 26. The four episodes that don't exist are 2x23, 2x24, 2x25 and 2x26.
     
  15. jimbotron

    jimbotron Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

    Joined:
    Nov 27, 2012
    Location:
    Bay Area, CA
    Ah, writers' strikes. Responsible for four missing TNG episodes, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, and reality shows.

    Unions, yaaaaaaay.
     
  16. BillJ

    BillJ The King of Kings Admiral

    Joined:
    Jan 30, 2001
    Location:
    America, Fuck Yeah!!!
    Yup. Damn those folks who want a fair share of the pie for their hard work...
     
  17. Jeyl

    Jeyl Commodore Commodore

    Joined:
    Feb 19, 2009
    Location:
    Asheville, NC
    Doh! I thought that was sarcasm.
     
  18. t_smitts

    t_smitts Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

    Joined:
    Jun 11, 2005
    The 2007/2008 strike caused the CBS show "Cane" to fizzle and caused Nestor Carbonell to come back to "Lost", where he belonged.

    On the downside, it also led to "Pushing Daisies" never quite finding it's audience, and both "Heroes" and "Sarah Connor Chronicles" dropping some storylines altogether.

    If "Enterprise" had gone seven seasons, like it should've, the strike would've occurred during the seventh season. I always wondered how they would've dealt with it; coming back with some episodes later, or just ending the season early and coming back with another season, as many other shows did.

    You can't really blame reality shows on the strike. They were around long before that. I think they're probably the offspring of "Survivor", which itself was a product of the game show craze that happened in the wake of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?". Much as I loathe them all (Millionaire only because they aired it FOUR NIGHTS A WEEK), we probably wouldn't have had "Lost" without "Survivor".
     
  19. Salvek

    Salvek Lieutenant Red Shirt

    Joined:
    Oct 6, 2009
    Just a curious bit of trivia -when Picard is on the Warbird -We hear a countdown in Romulan -I belive that is the first and only time we get to hear it spoken in all of the various TV series-I know we get words said here and there "jolan Tru" etc but thats the first time its been done as "spoken"
     
  20. Chensams

    Chensams Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Apr 25, 2001
    Location:
    Palm Beach Gardens, FL
    I rewatching TNG from the beginning for the first time in over a decade and I was really surprised how much better S2 was than I remembered. A big jump in quality from S1 to S2, not that it didn't have it's stinkers (and I hated, HATED Pulaski).