The Next Phase, Gallifrey Gals Get Warped! S5Ep24

One of my most rewatched episodes. So much fun and still serious. Definitely agree with Kat that it's a fav.

Dan Williams

Holy shit! That woman who is the transporter operator and doing the chroniton sweep, she does the voice of the computer on DS9! That's crazy...still learning new things about Star Trek after all these years.

It’s important to mourn in the way that brings you the most comfort and catharsis, however that looks to you. When my grandmother died about a decade ago, I didn’t get to do that. We sat shiva at our house, and one of my close relatives basically invited her entire congregation. For days, people I’d never met (and had never met my grandmother) and didn’t give a shit about flooded our house, reciting prayers that had no meaning to me. People would also keep covering up the mirror in our bathroom with a hand towel, which wasn’t their place to do and really made me angry. (Traditionally, you’re supposed to cover mirrors during the mourning period, as it’s considered vain to worry about your appearance at such a solemn time. However, I’m an atheist who was raised in a very secular household, so religious ritual never brought me any comfort, and it certainly wasn’t a stranger’s place to force it on me.) When I went back to work, I felt like I hadn’t mourned at all. After blowing up at some coworker I didn’t even know, who made some insensitive comment, one of my other coworkers kindly sat with me and let me vent. I ended up going home early that day to give myself some time to reflect and breathe. I guess I feel some catharsis speaking about it now. Looking forward to next week’s episode/group therapy session.

Matthew Zeidman

Such a great episode. When I was a kid it really helped me think and talk about death, Worf's take on it is still such a huge part of the way i think about losing someone. Celebrate the best parts of what they were and what they meant to you.

Jay Fleming

I do LOVE this episode. It was one of the few I watched over and over again when I was growing up.

Arek Schneyer

This was always a cool episode glad you enjoyed it so much and that it resonated with you so strongly. Season 5 is definitely one of the stronger seasons for TNG.

Brian Hakala

This episode and I, Borg (the previous one) are some of the first episodes I remember really watching as a kid (I'd caught some glimpses and parts before, but not really full episodes). Been hooked to scifi ever since

MrEvers

It's hard to believe given her impact that Ro was in the number of episodes she was in. She would've been good as a regular cast member, not just recurring. I'd say all her episodes are really solid, aside from maybe one.

Joe Concepts

I don't like to hate on the new Trek shows too much. Sometimes I like them and sometimes I don't. But on a show like Discovery, if two friends and crewmembers died suddenly like this there would be crippling grief that would stop everything immediately. I think it's hard to explain to someone without sounding sort of lame that many of us appreciated the military style professionalism they used to have on the shows. I feel like new writers/producers don't like that tone.

Joe Concepts

Agreed, interesting observation. Probably just a coincidence, but I’ll go with your guess.

Andrew Hogan

I was never a huge Ro fan but she had some decent moments in this. I felt the same about Kira, but she grew on me as well.

Andrew Hogan

Well, hopefully someone can convince you to do the other shows. Maybe you could do them solo, I’m sure most people would still watch.

Andrew Hogan

Oh, wow. I remember that now. Good call! Also, recall who shows up in the season finale.

Henchman Twenty1

This is such a wonderful comment!! I'm so glad you're here on the journey with us!! I can't help the emotional being that I am, so I stopped fighting it and just lean into it now 😂 Thank you for the reciprocated validation! - Kat

Time Lord

I know I'd love to see that happen! - Kat

Time Lord

😭 😭 😭 I can't handle it! - Kat

Time Lord

I wonder if this episode was inspired by the part in Tom Sawyer when Tom and Huck are mistaken for dead and witness their own funeral.

Stephen Kronfeld

Funny...I've never watched "I Borg" or "The Next Phase" other then the first airing. Never really cared for either episode. However, re-watching with the Gallifrey Gals has really helped me appreciate these much more. I continue to be moved by Katrina's reactions to some of this stuff (cause shes the newbie). A few years ago I might have made fun of her for it. Now, I'm mesmerized by how much of her is invested in Star Trek. I see myself in her, back in the 80's and 90's. Thank you for that sort of validation. Also, as an aside, you can start to see that 'ST: DS9' was already funneling money away from 'TNG'. The number of 'Extras' starts to show.

Sal Sanchez

Pretty sure the episode you're thinking of is TNG's "Realm of Fear" from season 6. I loved that discussion about risks vs safety measures with transporters.

Raja

This was one of the episodes I had missed watching, but my first thought was something to do with cloaking. It surprises me there are so many episodes I didn't see. I watched certain episodes in the original run because my mom was a fan. I watched a lot reruns and I bought and watched the first 3 seasons on dvd. Figured I'd seen it all, but always happy to find an episode I'd never seen.

DarkAshtar

It would have been weird with Troi IMO...I could definitely see Dr. Crusher though...but Ensign Ro was great

Chris Lane- Venturi 3D

After watching this again, I wonder if Michelle Forbes had become more of a regular, Ro and Geordie might have become closer.

Mark Chrisco

Five seasons down. Two to go.

Andrew Hogan

It did get out of hand, it’s just that no one noticed the difference because you’re Irish.

Andrew Hogan

I’m guessing they aren’t doing the other shows. I think others have mentioned they won’t be doing the TOS movies or the other shows. Oh well.

Andrew Hogan

Before my dad died, he said he didn't want a wake, he wanted a party. He wanted everyone to have fun, so we had a big party. Maybe a little surreal but this episode makes me think of that.

Jarrod Wild

A precursor to The Pegasus.

Andrew Hogan

DS9 was in development, so they were probably trying to figure out what they wanted Bajorans or specifically Ro / Kira’s style to look like.

Andrew Hogan

Yeah, I just make up my own excuses as to why or why not something doesn't work, when it’s an otherwise solid (pun intended) story.

Andrew Hogan

Five minute episode, if he does.

Andrew Hogan

There have been terrible comments a-plenty here on Patreon, believe me.

Firefly24601

Katrina's face at each of the big plot beats, and then when Geordie checked the Romulan through the hull... Priceless. Thanks again for the fantastic episode you two. EDIT: Ro still doesn't know what Riker was going to say.

Bill

Oh, something else I really liked about this episode: Two crew members and friends die in an accident and the IMMEDIATE response is not to have a big emotional, weeping moment at the expence of everything else, but to first look for answers to the accident and a potential solution, but also TO PUT THAT INVESTIGATION ON HOLD because there were others in more immediate, verifiable danger. There was NO hesitation or emotional inability to do the job they set out to do and only AFTER dealing with the crisis did the crew allow themselves a moment to grieve. In the shuttlecraft, Data and Worf discuss the funeral arrangements, but only when a break in their duty to allow anothe shuttlecraft to clear the airspace lets them. And then they put that conversation on hold to set up the next, uh, phase of their approach before continuing. Man, that is the type of competence I go to Star Trek to see.

Nolan

My mom's side of the family is Irish-American so when each of my grandparents passed away we had an Irish wake after their funerals. All three generations of the family after them. Surprisingly they're not big drinkers so things didn't get out of hand.

Henchman Twenty1

There IS some great stuff in season 6... and there's also the start of another great show halfway through that you could watch concurrently... ;)

Neil McRae

Responding to Paula's final remarks about only responding to comments on Discord and not YouTube - I get that. Sure, But what about us, your paying patrons here on Patreon? We seem to be a fairly civil lot for the most part here. And you do get the irony of the name 'Discord' if everyone over there is supposedly more behaved, right?

Henchman Twenty1

It is terrifying to think that while you're in a transporter cycle, you could accidentally be lost as easily as we accidentally delete an important file or video on a computer. "OOPS... Shit! I just deleted grandma! And I have the recycle bin turned off!"

LogicSequence

We're all here for that!

Mark Ten

As a viewer of "Mayday: Air Crash Investigations" that is affected by those shows somewhat who can't NOT watch it, there's a LOT of tiny little malfunctions and minor things that can bring down an aircraft. And yet, it's still put forward as a safe method of travel. So too with transporters. You know Kat, there might be only 2 seasons, 52 episodes left of Star Trek TNG... buuuut there's 18 seasons, 498 episodes left in this production era of Star Trek, one of which starts in the next season. And then you'll really get a chance to explore those Bajoran beliefs Ro brought up. =P (He hoped, but did not expect, but wished, lol) One question I see asked is "Why don't they fall through the floor into space?" and I'm going to assume it has something to do with how a starship generates gravity, so that even phased, they are held at floor level and prevented from falling through. One question I have is why Geordi kept leaving random chroniton fields while Data was scanning when he could've written a message in the hopes Data would pick it up, but oh well. Still, a good meditation on grief and After and a good sci-fi premise doing what sci-fi does best: Allowing the exploration of real ideas through escapism. And a good story about helping others, even if they might stab you in the back. Was Picard naive to help? Maybe. But the Romulans only became treacherous because their science experiment was about to be found out. A phased cloak. What a wacky idea. (I would go on the discord more, but as one who just cannot bring myself to like the new shows, nor understands [but does not attack against] the praise for them as I personally view them so inferior as television, I've felt a little talked down to at times by those that do like them. Oh well, c'est la vie, right here is good enough)

Nolan

Seriously, what is up with Ro's headband? As I pointed out before, they just kept changing her hairstyle, and now this. I preferred her hair as it was when we first saw her. Uggh! And I normally don't care about such things, but it just bugged me for some reason. But Kat's looks totally fine on her. ☺ When Riker actually agrees to one of Worf's security concerns you see the big guy get all misty-eyed and throw his arms around Riker in a big hug. "Thank you! Thank you, Commander, for listening to me!" [Starts sobbing with happiness] Considering what happened to the phased Romulan you gotta respect Geordie's confidence walking though walls and stuff to get around. He Really knows his way around his ship. The episode should have concluded with showing the Romulan still floating in space after the Enterprise warps off.

Henchman Twenty1

The great thing about Season 5 is that it still gets better. Can't wait for next week =)

AdmiralKnight

My favourite episode

Brett Whittaker

I love this episode. An underrated classic I think.

Darren Seal

There's some episode— I'm not sure if it's in TNG or another Star Trek series— where someone talking about the transporter uses wording we use today about air travel: "Statistically, it's the safest way to travel." We see episodes like this across all Star Trek series which focus on some transporter accident or other, and start to think "Why do they even use this deathtrap of a device?" but it seems the reality is that, just as airplane crashes sometimes happen but overall flying is very safe, the number of transporter accidents is tiny compared to the amount of use the transporters get. ...but all that said, I'm with Kat that this is a terrifying way to travel that I'd never have the nerve to use. Although perhaps that's only because I live in a civilization that's not used to it.

Keith Goodnight

So this is Kay's favorite episode now. I'll bet see said that about the last two episodes as well. 😀 The series just keeps getting better.

Bruce Bromley

Kat does know that Pulaski was modeled a bit off McCoy. Who is is also a fan of.

Bruce Bromley

Whenever I see this I always wonder why Geordi didn't just "write" messages in the wall with his finger for Data to read.

Joe Concepts

Ro's brief comments about Bajoran beliefs feel like the first hint at what's to come in Deep Space Nine. Where, with no spoilers, their religion and faith in general is explored. I was sometimes annoyed that before that series the general attitude towards any religion was a bad one. I'm not ultra religious and I know all the bad aspects of it, but I like Trek being more open minded about that on DS9.

Joe Concepts

I've always liked this episode, but for some reason I thought I was an outlier. It was fun to see Kat be so into it. I think that the episode sometimes takes a hit with because they're so wildly inconsistent with how they interact with non-phased matter. I can forgive it because I understand the practical realities of making a television show and I care more about the story than the scientific accuracy.

R. Chang

For me, this is one of those stealth episodes that I never think of when coming up with my Top TNG Episodes list, but every time I watch it, I am surprised all over again how good it is! I love all the Data/Geordi BFFs moments, but my favorite is Ro, especially when she shoots Riker in the head.

Kathy A

Yeah I was surprised Paula never pointed that out.

Mike

Poor doctor McCoy. Doctor Pulaski gets created so the Next Gen has a version of him for the cast to play off of, then she gets credit for all his character traits.

Dan Crucy