We did it! We made it to the end of TNG’s fifth season. It’s been a helluva ride, but did season five measure up with TNG’s best? Who won the season? What was the best script? What was the third worst episode? All of that and more, including a giveaway prize, in this episode!
Data’s head is found in cave! It was put there… 500 years ago! In this season finale cliffhanger, Data travels back in time to 19th century Earth and rips off a plot line from the Original Series. Clay is here to break down bellhops, paper mache aliens, and soul eaters! That’s it for season five, see you in season six!
We invite you to listen to our podcast, as long as you don’t mind us playing the flute for about an hour or so? The Inner Light is a classic episode of Trek, but does it deserve its celebrated status? Was there ever a Kamin? Is Picard a superhuman? Clay is here to discuss losing 40 years, actor’s children, and doctors treating patients on the floor!
Even ignoring the excellent title, “The Next Phase” is a solid science fiction story built from a terrific script. Geordi and Ro Laren are “phased out” and everyone thinks they’re dead! Will Data be able to stumble into a solution? Modi is here to break down plot holes, Trek spirituality, and funeral services!
The Borg are back! We haven’t seen them since The Best of Both Worlds, so how would TNG deal with bringing back an unstoppable juggernaut as a recurring villain? Wouldn’t Hugh like to know! Trekabout returns to the show to discuss Borg biology, Angry Guinan, and character foils!
We’ve all been lonely before, right? And who among us hasn’t created an imaginary friend? And how many of those imaginary friends haven’t turned into physical manifestations of an alien presence? I thought so! Modi stops by to discuss nebulae, Worf’s useless scenes, and child actors!
A telepathic metamorph boards the Enterprise and is a huge cock tease! Riker might be a lost cause, but can Picard resist the charms of this beautiful woman, one who was raised to be the “perfect” mate? He better damn well try! Christian stops by to discuss the end game, holodeck clean up, and future X-Men.
Lwaxana! Alexander! In the same episode! And you know what? It’s not that bad. When alien parasites start to devour the ship, Lwaxana decides to get married! And no, it doesn’t make any more sense in context!
They were trying to ignite the plasma! When Welsey Crusher gets up to some zany antics at Starfleet Academy, only Picard can talk some sense into the young cadet!
It’s that episode where the Enterprise blows up! It’s that episode where the Enterprise blows up! It’s that episode where the Enterprise… blows up? Clay, is this that episode where… the ship… blows up?
Finally, Riker meets someone who can make him blush! When the crew encounters an androgynous race, Rikers fierce masculinity inspires love and Prime Directive complications! It’s the TNG episode “about” gay rights, and Clay is here to break down what works and what doesn’t!
Klingons aren’t ones to be laying around, so when an injury takes away Worf’s ability to walk he’s forced to consider a radical Klingon tradition! Will Riker bring Worf the blade that he’ll use to end his own life? Modi is here to discuss Alexander, doctor on doctor violence, and 24th century surgery!
When Data, Troi, and O’Brien are taken over by hostile aliens, Ten Forward becomes a hostage situation! Modi stops by to discuss unnecessary story lines, a Data and Worf throw down, and action episodes!
At long last, another good TNG episode! It’s been a while since we’ve had a very strong one, but Conundrum is one of Wes’ favorites. When the crew is mind wiped, they forget who they are but they discover that they’re on a secret mission to destroy the home base of their long time adversaries! Clay is here to talk Lysian deaths, how memory works, and Riker vs Ro!
In a debate about… something… the crew believes… something. When the Enterprise has to rescue a genetically engineered colony from destruction, Wes gets serious flashbacks to the first two seasons of TNG. Tana and Sean stop by to discuss political structures, whether or not this episode is talking about eugenics, and bad clothing!
It’s been a while since we’ve had some freaky flashbacks (and Picard in a hairpiece), so TNG steps it up this episode! A telepathic historian visiting the Enterprise mentally invades the minds of various crew members, including Counselor Troi. Tana and Sean stop by to discuss lead characters, background details, and Skype problems!
To be an android, or not to be an android: that is the question. When a young boy is rescued from a destroyed science ship, he immediately bonds with Lt. Commander Data. Using Data’s lack of emotion as a crutch to avoid the guilt he feels over the death of his parents, the boy might just be the solution to this “Dark Matter” problem the ship faces! Clay stops by to discuss ASMR hair combing, Data stories, and the middle of the road.
Does anyone remember that Worf is a father? Well, he is, and even he forgets sometimes. He’s going to have to remember now, since his son Alexander has joined him full time on the Enterprise. I’m sure this will go well! This Alexander seems like a really great character! Modi is here to break down child actors, rooms on fire, and Riker’s pole!
Time travel can be tricky business! That’s why it’s best to just stick to your own time period. Unfortunately, sometimes people from the past visit the future and then claim to be from even more into the future. Again, it’s all very tricky. Modi stops by to discuss great names of the future, technology working even when you’re unconscious, and flirty Dr Crusher!
After the tease of Spock at the very end of Part One, Part Two gives us even more of the pointy eared Leonard Nimoy! Unfortunately, it’s to mixed (or even poor) results. Clay stops by to discuss the lack of a Romulan stereotype, wasting a prime TOS character, and Sela as a recurring character!
Ambassador Spock has defected to the Romulan Empire! Or so it seems, at least, but Data and Picard are sure to get to the bottom of this surprising turn of events! Clay stops by to discuss Klingon sleeping arrangements, filler material, and a mission made for Troi!
Jigsaw from the “Saw” film series boards the Enterprise and wants to “play a game”! Not really, but close. Wesley returns from the Academy and runs into a ship full of zombified crew members (including Ashley Judd!) who only wish to play a horrible CGI game of headsets, discs, and funnels. Can Wesley save the day and get laid at the same time? Sean stops by to discuss!
When the Enterprise collides with a quantum filament, we get five different stories all at the same time! Troi is in command, Crusher and Geodi have a plasma fire, Picard breaks his ankle, Worf births a baby, and Riker takes off Data’s head! Eric and Richard from Trekabout stop by to discuss D and E story lines, Ro Laren as a character, and DS9 overtones.
It’s season five, which means it’s about time we start digging around for stories from the first season, right? The Crystalline Entity makes its re-appearance in this episode, and an agent of vengeance disguised as a middle aged scientist also appears! Plus, we get another “Cold as Ice” Data moment! Modi stops by to break it all down!
Ro, Ro, Ro your boat! Terrible pun aside, Ensign Ro is a pretty solid episode of TNG. Introducing the Bajorans is a big milestone in Trek history, and this episode manages to portray them in a pretty nuanced manner. Modi stops by to discuss angry officers, plots you can’t quite grasp, and Guinan usage!
Shaka, when the walls fell! When Picard and crew encounter the Children of Tama, a species described as “incomprehensible”, their attempt to communicate is abruptly ended when the Captain of the Tamarian ship beams himself and Picard down to the surface of a nearby planet! Can Picard learn to communicate with the other captain? Will Riker get a chance to yell a bit? Let’s find out!
Welcome to season five! Redemption Part 2 is the climax of the Redemption story line, and an interesting episode to start the new season. The Klingon Civil War comes to end, and the Federation is introduced to Sela, a Romulan with a secret history! Plus, Data gets to command and runs into a first officer with an outright hatred of androids! Drop your cloak, and join me and Clay as we break down Redemption!