Best Episode of Season 2, Part 2
- Thread starter Michael
- Start date
The Measure of a Man
Q Who is overrated--just like every other Borg episode.
Q Who is overrated--just like every other Borg episode.
Maybe, if you weren't there to see it first run. Remember, there weren't any Borg until Q Who. And after two decades of TV and movies, the mighty Federation ran into an adversary who was not only unstoppable, but totally alien in their motivation. In 1989, Q Who made people's eyes widen and their jaws drop. And for that it gets my vote.
"Q Who" just varely gets my vote over "The Measure of a Man" but I had to give it to "Q Who" because it introduced the Borg, sci-fi's best villians, and paved the way for the classic "The Best of Both Worlds" since “Q Who?” ominously hinted at an inevitable confrontation.
The Borg are just one of those instances of writers catching lightning in a bottle by creating an alien race that catches on like wildfire and that captures the imagination. I mean how many races have that kind of impact after only one brief appearance. Sure they might not be the first cybernetic race in science fiction but Hurley must be applauded for doing something original with them making them such a fascinating group with quite intriguing characteristics and unique behavior. They weren’t quite like anything I personally had seen before. Their appeal for me is the idea of a race of beings that communicate on every level that they are alien. Their society is so fundamentally different in every way.
I really thought the episode did a great job when it came to the design of the unforgettable Borg cube, that wonderful matte shot of its interior, the costume design, the androgynous appearance of the Borg extras, the chilling Borg nursery. I also thought the idea of the Borg possessing a Hive Mind to be fascinating. And who can forget the first face-to-face contact with our first Borg in Engineering when he turns toward the crew with that intelligent glare that captured so perfectly the feeling of intimidating terror and the collective intelligence of thousands of Borg within One.
Guinan was also used effectively giving her a prominent role while cleverly shedding some interesting light on her past as well as on the Borg.
The Borg are just one of those instances of writers catching lightning in a bottle by creating an alien race that catches on like wildfire and that captures the imagination. I mean how many races have that kind of impact after only one brief appearance. Sure they might not be the first cybernetic race in science fiction but Hurley must be applauded for doing something original with them making them such a fascinating group with quite intriguing characteristics and unique behavior. They weren’t quite like anything I personally had seen before. Their appeal for me is the idea of a race of beings that communicate on every level that they are alien. Their society is so fundamentally different in every way.
I really thought the episode did a great job when it came to the design of the unforgettable Borg cube, that wonderful matte shot of its interior, the costume design, the androgynous appearance of the Borg extras, the chilling Borg nursery. I also thought the idea of the Borg possessing a Hive Mind to be fascinating. And who can forget the first face-to-face contact with our first Borg in Engineering when he turns toward the crew with that intelligent glare that captured so perfectly the feeling of intimidating terror and the collective intelligence of thousands of Borg within One.
Guinan was also used effectively giving her a prominent role while cleverly shedding some interesting light on her past as well as on the Borg.
Don't read much science fiction, huh?
I voted for Contagion, because it is a very unique story and a lot of fun. I'm sure that it won't win, though.
I've never really liked Measure of a Man. The performances are absolutely solid, but there is a nagging plot hole in the episode. The whole issue of Data's sentience should have been solved long before this point in his career. It should have been issue #1 when he applied to join Starfleet Academy. I don't see how he can spend 20 years serving in Starfleet and rise to the rank of Lt. Commander and no one ever questions if he is a true lifeform.
I've never really liked Measure of a Man. The performances are absolutely solid, but there is a nagging plot hole in the episode. The whole issue of Data's sentience should have been solved long before this point in his career. It should have been issue #1 when he applied to join Starfleet Academy. I don't see how he can spend 20 years serving in Starfleet and rise to the rank of Lt. Commander and no one ever questions if he is a true lifeform.
Measure of a Man, as it is the best episode of not only this season, but the entire TNG show. Just classic.
Not that the others aren't good or as good, mind you.
Not that the others aren't good or as good, mind you.
I do like Measure of a Man, but I have the same problem with it. I voted for Q Who? I love the Q / Guinan interaction, and the Borg are an incredible menace in their first appearance.
Again... Q Who, the best season 2 episode. 
Time Squared.
The shot of Riker in the shuttlebay as the shuttle pulls away sends chills down my spine every time. Such a deep sense of foreboding in that shot.
Full marks for doing something different with Time Travel. The plot falls away in the last five minutes, but everything leading up to it is fantastic.
The shot of Riker in the shuttlebay as the shuttle pulls away sends chills down my spine every time. Such a deep sense of foreboding in that shot.
Full marks for doing something different with Time Travel. The plot falls away in the last five minutes, but everything leading up to it is fantastic.
I voted Q who?. I just like how the writers introduced us to the Borg, and the chilling comments, one of the better quotes in Star Trek IMO, that Q gives Picard. I thought that the "darkness" of the episode was a great way to show that it isn't all peaches and cream out in space.
But I do like the other choices, but this one beats them out for me.
But I do like the other choices, but this one beats them out for me.
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