First-Time Watch

This week, we continue our first-time, release-order journey through Star Trek with three episodes from the fourth season of The Next Generation.

We begin with Barclay suddenly becoming the smartest person on the Enterprise in The Nth Degree. Then Q returns to teach Picard a lesson about love by dropping the crew into his own version of Robin Hood in Qpid. Finally, an investigation into sabotage aboard the Enterprise grows into something much larger in The Drumhead.

This week, we get:

• The next stage of human evolution
• Q and his Merry Men
• Conspiracies

We covered:

The Nth Degree

• Broccoli
• Another trip to the center of the galaxy
• Data's IQ
• Life 3.0
• Becoming one with the computer
• A strong ending
• Barclay's redemption

Qpid

• Was this a fun episode to make?
• Q is back
• A disjointed, forced plot
• Nate sounds like Gregg
• Weird and disappointing
• What did Q actually add to the episode?
• The Princess Bride
• Swearing
• Robin Hood vs. Camelot themes

The Drumhead

• Sabotage and treason?
• An ambitious episode
• Was the ending deliberately unsatisfying?
• Did they try to do too much?
• Not all conspiracy theories are real—but conspiracies exist
• The difference between asking questions and drawing conclusions
• When our discussion is more compelling than the episode
• Picard's pronunciation of "Aaron"
• Parallels to McCarthyism

Final Thoughts

Three very different episodes give us plenty to talk about this week. Barclay gets an unexpected chance at redemption, Q returns for an adventure that doesn't quite work for us, and The Drumhead takes a swing at paranoia, conspiracy, and the dangers of reaching conclusions before the evidence supports them.

Next time, we continue Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 4 with:

• Half a Life
• The Host
• The Mind’s Eye

Never give up. Never surrender.