Was Picard being forced to live out an entire lifetime...

[borgboy]

I am uncertain as to why/how Picard was chosen as the one to receive the false memories. Was there any true interactiveness to the program, which helped tailor the experience for Picard personally. What if someone very nonhuman had encountered the probe? Would a Klingon or Ferengi have been forced into the same role?
What if a woman had encountered the probe? Would she have had the same false memories complete with a wife that bore her children? If the experience were truly immersive, and felt to Picard like he really lived every moment of that life, it would include him falling in love, having sex...having those memories implanted in your head against your will could be seen as a violation. Was it just a happy accident that the experience seemed to agree with Picard, that he felt genuine feelings for his wife and seems to have a relationship with her of his own free will. Was this really Picard's choice? Would anyone have the choice to follow a different path - I don't think so. If the subject chosen were committed to someone else, or gay, or a heterosexual woman, or for whatever reason just not attracted to the wife...then what?
I don't agree with throwing the word rape around lightly. The experience Picard had was a real emotional journey, and I think he saw it as a positive experience. I do wonder how real the experience was for him. We didn't see any lasting effects on the tv series, but that was the formula at the time. Does anyone know if any of the novels or short stories ever explored Picard's reaction. What I think of this would be shaped in part by knowledge the episode doesn't give us. If Picard had to grieve for his lost family and home it would be a horrible thing done to him. If after it was over the memories were more detached from his emotions like a dream, then it wouldn't be so bad.
I do like this episode. It is very moving and touching, but the mechanics of how it works, and how it could've worked with a different person does spark my curiosity and imagination.

First, it's obvious that the program was at least partially interactive since Picard talks about his starship in it. Second I believe that his family was tailor made for him. If it were a woman or a gay person then the parameters would have changed accordingly. I don't think that they would have given him a wife that wasn't compatible with his personality and indeed they seem to be getting along very well in the parts that were on camera. It's also very likely that his best friend in the program that he named his son after was also tailor made for his personality. The goal was to make him experience their culture in a setting that was comfortable for him. So it couldn't possibly have been bad. It was as if he had met his wife through a very sophisticated and efficient match making service.

I think the level of personalization of the program is open to interpretation, but I think that the program tailor making the spouse and friend characters to fit with Picard's personality makes sense.
I still wonder how the program would've coped with a non human, like a Klingon or Ferengi. Did the aliens really look human or was that for Picard's benefit?

 

[Kobayshi Maru]

...
I still wonder how the program would've coped with a non human, like a Klingon or Ferengi. Did the aliens really look human or was that for Picard's benefit?

That's a good question. For all we know the aliens could have looked awful even nightmarish to a human eye and in that case sending a program instead of recordings of what they actually looked like makes sense. They wanted Picard (or anybody else that the probe would have selected) to remember their culture, their customs, their type of government etc... not their appearance. Kinda like Wesley's girlfriend, if you know what I mean.

 

[Taelon]

The only thing this episode was missing was a giant white balloon threatening to suffocate Picard if he strayed too far beyond the village limits.

 

[Kobayshi Maru]

The only thing this episode was missing was a giant white balloon threatening to suffocate Picard if he strayed too far beyond the village limits.

I wonder how many here will get the reference.

 

[Mutai Sho-Rin]

The only thing this episode was missing was a giant white balloon threatening to suffocate Picard if he strayed too far beyond the village limits.

I wonder how many here will get the reference.

Well, certainly not me.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

It's a reference to The Prisoner, and the Rover guardian of the Village that's shaped like a white balloon.

[yt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6Ffr1U7KMY[/yt]

 

[Timo]

How can people not get it? It was in The Simpsons, for crying out loud!

(OTOH, did, like, anybody watch the recent Prisoner remake?)

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Kobayshi Maru]

It's a reference to The Prisoner, and the Rover guardian of the Village that's shaped like a white balloon.

[yt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6Ffr1U7KMY[/yt]

That series started really good but it got a little boring toward the end.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

(OTOH, did, like, anybody watch the recent Prisoner remake?)

Sure did. Loved it, in fact.

 

[Kobayshi Maru]

(OTOH, did, like, anybody watch the recent Prisoner remake?)

Sure did. Loved it, in fact.

I didn't. Is it very different from the old one?

 

[Makarov]

I liked the new Prisoner a lot, although I never saw the original. Thought it was pretty strange and interesting. Ian McKellen and Jim Caveizel is a good combination.

The original seems way too 60's for me. Although I give it credit for making that roving ball thing, which I think inspired the smoke monster on Lost.

 

[Kobayshi Maru]

I liked the new Prisoner a lot, although I never saw the original. Thought it was pretty strange and interesting. Ian McKellen and Jim Caveizel is a good combination.

The original seems way too 60's for me. Although I give it credit for making that roving ball thing, which I think inspired the smoke monster on Lost.

No offense but you would have needed to know something of the original to answer my question.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

(OTOH, did, like, anybody watch the recent Prisoner remake?)

Sure did. Loved it, in fact.

I didn't. Is it very different from the old one?

Very.

 

[Kobayshi Maru]

Sure did. Loved it, in fact.

I didn't. Is it very different from the old one?

Very.

Does it have anything at all in common, beside the title?

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

^ The basics are still there. There's still a Number Six, trying to escape from the Village, and opposed by a Number Two. There is also a Rover as well. However the nature of what the Village is and what it's doing there, are completely different.

Spoiler: remake

In this version, the Village is a kind of parallel world or alternate dimension. It is used by a corporation - in our world - called Summakor, which uses it as a form of therapy. Most of the characters in the Village have counterparts in the real world - for example, the real world version of Number Two is a man called 'Curtis' who is the head of Summakor, Number Six is "Michael" who is an employee of that company, and #2's wife essentially "dreams" the Village into existence.

 

[Kobayshi Maru]

^ The basics are still there. There's still a Number Six, trying to escape from the Village, and opposed by a Number Two. There is also a Rover as well. However the nature of what the Village is and what it's doing there, are completely different.

Spoiler: remake

In this version, the Village is a kind of parallel world or alternate dimension. It is used by a corporation - in our world - called Summakor, which uses it as a form of therapy. Most of the characters in the Village have counterparts in the real world - for example, the real world version of Number Two is a man called 'Curtis' who is the head of Summakor, Number Six is "Michael" who is an employee of that company, and #2's wife essentially "dreams" the Village into existence.

I see, thanks for your answer.