Benjamin_Cox

On the eve of delivering a speech to a Federation archaeology conference on board the Enterprise, Picard is dismayed to find Q once again complicating things - especially as an old flame of Picard comes back into his life.

Nothing but pure silliness in this episode as the TNG crew are thrown into a holodeck-style adventure with Q quipping from the sidelines. It's good to see Hetrick back in an interesting role but this episode will probably be mostly remembered for Dorn's excellent comedic performance as a very unhappy Worf, turning it into a meme for the ages. But apart from that, this is a fairly inconsequential episode that doesn't have much in the way of impact.

Members of Geordi's former assignment on the USS Victory begin disappearing and together with his former colleague Lt. Commander Susanna Leitjen, Geordi's investigations uncover a more terrifying prospect than simple abduction. The secrets lies on a mission conducted years before, where an alien parasite infected those involved - including Geordi and Susanna.

I'm pleased that La Forge was finally getting some back story after seemingly waiting ages for such a luxury. The episode's core mystery is a solid one and while the pace of the investigation feels rather slow, it keeps things tense and interesting. There is some impressive makeup work later on as well while guest star Plunkett is a solid addition to the cast. Overall, this is a solid and satisfying episode.

The Enterprise is caught in a phenomenon known as a Tyken's Rift, an energy-absorbing rupture in space that drains the Enterprise of its power preventing it from escaping. Worse still, strange hallucinations begin affecting the crew which causes the crew to become increasingly paranoid and violent.

What starts off as a mildly scary, atmospheric episode quickly becomes bogged down in narrative circles and familiar scenes. O'Brien and Keiko are still arguing as newlyweds, another bar fight erupts in Ten Forward... the only thing new this episode gives us is Troi drifting in some nightmarish dreamscape and Guinan with a comical large laser rifle that looks like a thinly disguised Super Soaker. The story soon falls apart and what started promisingly ends up a bit wishy-washy. All in all, a bit meh.