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Your favorite TNG plot holes

tomswift2002 said:
In “Elementary, Dear Data” they also cannot shut down the holodeck Without vaporizing Dr.Pulaski.
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For me, almost every episode of every ST series that focused on the holodeck was: poorly written, contradictory, silly, and didn't enrich the deeper story arcs at all. I know that it provided a convenient escape for a change of scenery, both from a character's point-of-view and from a writer's point-of-view, but I kind of wish they would've skipped having the holodeck altogether or written it in with more thought behind it.
 
In "Hero Worship," Picard tells Timothy there's no way he could've caused the Vico's destruction, saying "the onboard control systems for every starship require a user code clearance." Well, that little tidbit gets forgotten altogether from ST lore, as countless episodes show aliens operating Starfleet ships without problem whenever they board or take over a ship.
 
Why didn't Data's head explode when he looked at the computer-destroying impossible shape in 'I, Borg'?
 
James H said:
Why didn't Data's head explode when he looked at the computer-destroying impossible shape in 'I, Borg'?
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Well, to be fair, we have no guarantee that this shape would actually have destroyed the Borg, had it been employed. It might have been an underestimation of the Collective. (After all, those proposed destructive nanites to destroy them would probably also have been eaten for lunch by the Borg's own nanoprobes).

Also, the shape wouldn't have destroyed them immediately, but only over the course of several months, and that's taking the vast processing power of the Collective into consideration (which I would assume to be far greater than data's processing power). And, of course, Data would have known the shape could be dangerous to him and therefore probably would have shut off any in-depth processing of it.
 
TNG's Haven is really less an episode than a collection of plot holes, held together by glittery fabric and 80s hair:

1) Why was the Enterprise at Haven?
2) Why were Lwaxana and the Millers randomly at this one planet the Enterprise was gonna visit?
3) Why do the Millers, who are fully human, participate in some weird, old Betazed marriage custom? (yet take umbrage at performing a Betazed wedding ceremony)
4) What's even the point of Genetic Bonding, how does it fit into Betazed culture and Deanna and Lwaxana's backstory and why would a Half-betazoid be "genetically bonded" to a human?
(I'd also ask why the plague ship was randomly there, but I assume Ariana's bond with Wyatt sent them there)
 
1) Why was the Enterprise at Haven?
Shore leave?

2) Why were Lwaxana and the Millers randomly at this one planet the Enterprise was gonna visit?
Lwaxana used her diplomatic contacts to get their itinerary?

3) Why do the Millers, who are fully human, participate in some weird, old Betazed marriage custom? (yet take umbrage at performing a Betazed wedding ceremony)
...They're odd?

4) What's even the point of Genetic Bonding, how does it fit into Betazed culture and Deanna and Lwaxana's backstory and why would a Half-betazoid be "genetically bonded" to a human?
Maybe an arcane custom? Possibly how they fostered their telepathic ability back in the day?
 
Orphalesion said:
2) Why were Lwaxana and the Millers randomly at this one planet the Enterprise was gonna visit?
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Reminds me of a fragment of Insurrection I recently came accross, where 'incidentally', Worf turns up.... once again. They ask him how he got there, and the moment he starts explaining they cut him off and tell him there's no time now, he'll have to explain later ... which of course never happens.

I like how they made a joke of it there, by first acknowledging how improbable it was and then ditching the explanation.
 
They had offered him a ship already, but it got blown up and it took them a while to build new ones.

Plus he doesn't want the job and they don't want to force him. Starfleet does reassign people against their will sometimes (Ben Sisko), but they'd offered Riker at least three commands at this point and it was optional every time, so it's not out of character for them to let the hero of the Borg crisis keep his job if that's what he wants.
 
Richard S. Ta said:
Does every First Officer want to be a Captain? I can imagine that for some, Number One is as high as they want to go. They get the privileges minus the pressure.
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I think Riker staying First Officer for so long irks so many because, especially early on, Riker was repeatedly stated to be ambitious in his career advancement, and especially eager to have a ship of his own (Deanna even says that is why their relationship ended). So him ending up being First Officer for so long and turning down Captain chairs left and right could be seen as going against that idea.
 
Orphalesion said:
I think Riker staying First Officer for so long irks so many because, especially early on, Riker was repeatedly stated to be ambitious in his career advancement, and especially eager to have a ship of his own (Deanna even says that is why their relationship ended). So him ending up being First Officer for so long and turning down Captain chairs left and right could be seen as going against that idea.
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I always took it as a combination of him getting comfy as time wore on and that he was learning a lot from Picard. He might have come onboard, full of vim and vinegar, but as time wore on settled. Being first officer onboard the flagship under Captain Picard is a cool job.

Or you could see it as him waiting out Picard to retire so he'd have a shot at the centre seat on the Enterprise.
 
Richard S. Ta said:
I always took it as a combination of him getting comfy as time wore on and that he was learning a lot from Picard. He might have come onboard, full of vim and vinegar, but as time wore on settled. Being first officer onboard the flagship under Captain Picard is a cool job.

Or you could see it as him waiting out Picard to retire so he'd have a shot at the centre seat on the Enterprise.
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Yeah I can definitely see that. While I don't think there was much conscious planning on how to develop the characters long-term, like modern serialized shows often have, it's clear that all the characters in TNG changed in some ways over the course of the show (some more than others), and especially after the 1st/2nd season.
I think the change in Riker was a necessary one due to how the show worked, and it was a remnant from Willard Decker from Phase II potentially becoming Captain after Shatner might have gotten too expensive for the show. Since it was pretty clear by season 3 that neither Patrick Stewart nor Jonathon Frakes had any intention of leaving the show anytime soon they pretty much had to retool that part of his character.
 
Orphalesion said:
Yeah I can definitely see that. While I don't think there was much conscious planning on how to develop the characters long-term, like modern serialized shows often have, it's clear that all the characters in TNG changed in some ways over the course of the show (some more than others), and especially after the 1st/2nd season.
I think the change in Riker was a necessary one due to how the show worked, and it was a remnant from Willard Decker from Phase II potentially becoming Captain after Shatner might have gotten too expensive for the show. Since it was pretty clear by season 3 that neither Patrick Stewart nor Jonathon Frakes had any intention of leaving the show anytime soon they pretty much had to retool that part of his character.
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Riker became mates with everyone on the ship. He had a massive room. He had Troi on tap. His home was a luxury liner. Fulfilling work and the longer he stayed, the more experienced and valuable he became.

Riker realised he had a cool job and chilled the fuck out basically. Just one more year becomes one more and one more and one more.
 
Richard S. Ta said:
Riker became mates with everyone on the ship. He had a massive room. He had Troi on tap. His home was a luxury liner. Fulfilling work and the longer he stayed, the more experienced and valuable he became.
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There's a really nice scene in 'Second Chances' between Will and Thomas Riker that really explores this change. Thomas Riker seems disgusted that Will seems to have given up on his careerism, and Will has to explain and reflect on how he's changed and how his former attitude towards his career hurt the person he cared for the most and how he's learnt to balance his ambition with his newfound sense of happiness and belonging. I think it happens to a lot of us as we grow older - my career dominated my 20s and now in my 30s I feel a lot more of a family person and happier for it. So I guess that's some really nice, subtle character development more than an error on the part of the show
 
It's certainly not a plot hole, but whether it's a plausible turn of events is debatable. That Riker would opt out of the opportunity to "have the pick of the fleet" might be hand wavable as a personal growth choice for him, but it's certainly not as easily dismissable in the context of a fleet that needed good captains before Wolf 359, & most definitely would been more so in need after numerous had been wiped out afterward.

Frankly, as someone in the service to others, your own personal wants aren't always paramount. The collective you serve merits your consideration at least equally imho.

Him turning down a command after that crisis is damn selfish IMHO, & probably the only reason no one said so is because he's they guy who was on deck when everybody's butts needed saving, & therefore has a little 'Good Will' working for him.

What gets me is how it's never even spoken of. Him walking away from command... then, would've been a BIG thing, compared to passing on some of the scows he'd previously been offered.

This wasn't passing on a ship like before. It was passing on the entire institution. Whatever the reason, it's a turn up of the nose
 
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