Target Audience - UNCUT - Identity Crisis (TNG S4E18)

Ships had unique insignia in TOS. By the time the movies roll around they're all using the same design.

Jeffrey P

2024-10-28 20:14:14 +0000 UTC

The "parasite" has a five year gestation period. The colonists were on the planet the entire five years and the members of the away team were driven by instinct to return in five years when the DNA sac hatched like salmon driven to swim up river.

Jeffrey P

2024-10-28 20:12:16 +0000 UTC

I really need to get these on DVD/Blu-ray if I'm going to be able to get maximum enjoyment of these episodes uncut.

Owen Madden

2024-10-23 23:33:00 +0000 UTC

I love everything about the Gorn from "Arena!" Everytime I see him I'm 8 years old & the world is filled with excitement and hope.

Owen Madden

2024-10-23 23:24:24 +0000 UTC

I just now heard you react to my patron take. I didn't mean to come across THAT bad lol. This one is a D for me. I don't hate it. It's just one I always skip because I find it boring. D for "don't care." There's only one episode I rated an E this season, and this is not it. You'll know it when we get there. I think of E as "Erase from cannon." As in, I like to pretend that this episode never happened in Trek. Identity Crisis is no where near that level. As I said, it's inoffensive.

BN13

2024-10-23 21:54:42 +0000 UTC

I never bought the chemistry between Geordi and Suzanne either. I think that's my main problem with this episode. For one thing, the nature of their relationship is never made clear. The episode keeps telling us that they were "friends," but they keep acting like they were definitely more than friends. They definitely act closer than Geordi would with any other person on the Enterprise. But the episode does nothing to set this up or establish this, so the moments between them don't feel earned. Also, I first watched these episodes in random order growing up. The offness of the chemistry between them definitely has nothing to do with Leah Brahms. I don't even think I knew about Leah when I first saw this, but I still had the same reaction you guys did.

BN13

2024-10-23 14:05:51 +0000 UTC

Strongly feels like you guys missed some pretty clear dialogue but let it color things.. Susannah doesbnot serve on the Enterprise.

Ryan Fisher

2024-10-23 02:54:24 +0000 UTC

Omg enough with creepy weird pedo accusations against the traveler

Derek Orr

2024-10-23 01:12:21 +0000 UTC

Ok , what the heck is a stitch?

Derek Orr

2024-10-23 00:52:10 +0000 UTC

Geordi's friend is from another ship and not stationed on the Enterprise. And the insignia on their chest is a Starfleet insignia for everyone in starfleet regardless where their stationed. It is not exclusive to the Enterprise.

Toysruskiddd

2024-10-22 17:55:56 +0000 UTC

one of my favorite geordi episodes

David Marcoot

2024-10-22 14:14:57 +0000 UTC

I think this episode and Night Terrors are both episodes that get remembered later solely for one scene. Which isn't fair, because in both episodes, that one scene they get judged by ultimately has nothing to do with the rest of the episode, at least in terms of quality. In Night Terrors, the scene is Troi floating in green space, which is the weakest scene in the entire episode. In this episode, the scene is Geordi using deductive reasoning in the holodeck, which is the strongest scene in the entire episode. People forget that as a whole, the Night Terrors episode is far better than just "Troi in Space," and Identity Crisis is a lot more mid than just the one holodeck scene that they actually remember from it.

BN13

2024-10-22 13:47:30 +0000 UTC

There is no mention of the Enterprise away teams being infected or even checked for infection. It's just "assumed" that they would be checked and it would be removed if found. They certainly could have been infected, but this was not shown in the episode, and it wasn't important to the story, either.

Jovet

2024-10-22 08:33:58 +0000 UTC

Crusher sped it up with the T-cell stimulator, not yet realizing it would have the opposite effect desired.

Jovet

2024-10-22 06:02:28 +0000 UTC

Well, she did live it...

Jovet

2024-10-22 06:01:08 +0000 UTC

But really. Can you even come up with a way that a Gorn would look good in the early '90's? -- Side note: Patreon's comment feature blows.

Edweirdo

2024-10-21 23:32:54 +0000 UTC

It was definitely more on the guest star’s end but I wasn’t trying to be too harsh on her

Josh (Target Audience)

2024-10-21 18:13:27 +0000 UTC

LeVar did a great job of selling it imo. He called her Suz for Christ's sake! What more do you want?! ;)

James Bottas

2024-10-21 14:52:49 +0000 UTC

Nah, that may have had a small impact but I didn’t buy the relationship between the characters due to imo a lack of chemistry in the performances as I say in the discussion.

Josh (Target Audience)

2024-10-21 11:03:46 +0000 UTC

Hey Max have you ever looked into having your mom have in home caregivers? It's a process and some states are much harder than others (political dynamics and so forth...I assume you are in the US?). But you may be able to get paid to do what you do.

Greg Quinn

2024-10-21 07:54:31 +0000 UTC

Yeah I'm surprised they didn't pick that up.

Greg Quinn

2024-10-21 07:45:51 +0000 UTC

And don't forget, one of those giant Olmec heads now sits in the Simpson's basement thanks to Mr. Burns.

Nolan

2024-10-21 07:00:50 +0000 UTC

I think the order of this episode hurts it, it has a horror element coming off a much better (IMO) horror episode. Like you guys said, there's nothing wrong with it, it's just perhaps.. not even a little slow exactly, it just feels like, oh, ok, its over, that all happened quickly. Like something about the pacing. Also, its a Geordi epsiode, and Geordi isnt a bad character, but hes perhaps the least inteesting of the main cast and works better in tandem with others, so much of this is Geordi by himself (and a bit of Crusher), its not bad, but not as compelling as others. Like they said, its a good premise and well executed, but its not maybe trying to be anything more then it is. I think the show has been so consistently good at this point that an episode like this is only "ok", by season 1 and 2 standards it would be great.

paultardspambot .

2024-10-21 04:20:28 +0000 UTC

in my experience most people feel like how alex does about this one. i'm with josh. solid B for me. i liked the creepiness going in. make up effects were good. biggest fault for me was a little too much techno babble

penoyer79

2024-10-21 04:15:29 +0000 UTC

sorry for so many comments but i respond when i hear something I comment on. It wouldnt make sense to have another crew member who was infected, that would create a lore where geordi had a previous assignment with another bridge character, and that would require a pretty unbelievable retcon that geordi had this history with someone on the bridge weve never heard before. Riker and Troi's previous relationship is brought up, as well as Picard and Beverly. Everyone else we are meant to think they all are meeting for the first time, though Picard has reviwed their files. It would also be pretty unrealistic given the size of starfleet that there would be so many people who knew each other prevously, given we already have two "couples" who knew each other before the enterprise. I mean, what, we are supposed to believe that say Laforge and Worf had previously been assiged to the same ship, are super close, and its never come up before. The person Geordi is closest to on the bridge crew is Data, who wouldnt make sense for this episode. I also think the person being a woman is meant to show that geordi isnt some weird incel, he has trouble with relationships but not a problem with women in general, they were clearly close friends/comrades.

paultardspambot .

2024-10-21 04:14:11 +0000 UTC

With Barclay, it's been established there are many more officers then the bridge crew, and our known crew members discuss Barclay like hes a relatively recent addition and a nuisance, and the dialogue suggests his assignment to the enterprise was based on a recommendation from a previous captain who wanted to get rid of him.

paultardspambot .

2024-10-21 04:08:49 +0000 UTC

I wonder if he would have perceived the character differently if he had realized she wasnt supposed to be on the enterprise before. It's kind of frustarting when mistaken assumptions like that can color perception of an episode. Like its one thing if something doesnt work for you, but if doesnt work for you because you made an incorrect assumption, thats different. It's just a line, but picard or somebody says something like "she's here because she was the only other away team member that disappeared." It was a blink and you miss it line, maybe you were talking, but it was pretty clear she was only coming aboard the enterprise because the enterprise was assigned to investigate these disappearances.

paultardspambot .

2024-10-21 04:06:55 +0000 UTC

As far as the insignia thing, the retcon works, because in the few examples from early tos where there is a different insignia, for example "Charlie X" you can assume the first chip Charlie was on was not starfleet but some federation trading ship, which would explain why that crew lied as a starfleet crew wouldnt endanger another starfleet ship to save their own butts. The commodore in the Menagarie, that could have been a special insignia indicating a commodore assignment, which isn't a regular rank but a temporary assignment independent of rank as commanding officer of a fleet or base.

paultardspambot .

2024-10-21 04:03:06 +0000 UTC

Because he incorrectly assumed she was part of the regular Enterprise crew who just showed up for this episode based on thinking the insignia was specific to the Enterprise which was set in early TOS but later retconned.

paultardspambot .

2024-10-21 04:00:09 +0000 UTC

BY TNG, the starfleet insignia was uniform. Originally in TOS the premise was that each ship had its own insignia but thats been retconned. It only actually came up a few times in the first season of TOS, before the structure of starfleet and the federation was made clear. This is fully retconned, for example in the first TOS romulan episode they refer to "earth bases" and they later make clear the first romulan war actually took place before the Federation was founded (but when Earth had relations with Vulcan, Tellar, Andor, and Denobulus) and the romulan war was actually a crucial event in the formation of the federation between established powers who unite for common defense purposes.

paultardspambot .

2024-10-21 03:58:53 +0000 UTC

"This person is on the enterprise." Incorrect, she was sent to the enterprise as the only other surviving away team member, she wasnt an enterprise crew member. Maybe if you had realized that it wouldnt have felt so wedged in.

paultardspambot .

2024-10-21 03:55:11 +0000 UTC

I don't think she is supposed to be an engineer, she was assigned to the ship Geordi was on before the enterprise and came to the enterprise because the enterprise was assigned to investigate what happened. Trek all the time has characters from people's past appear, which is realistic because these people's lives and careers didnt start on the enterprise. Just as an example, Picard knew the lawyer from "Measure of a Man" and and Beverly knew the old guy from "Remember Me" This seems to be a pretty frequent trope in trek to raise emotional stakes, a character from someone's past who is introduced for the episode who never shows up again, and it doesn't strike me as unrealistic given the vast size of starfleet and the federation Wolf 359 hurt Starfleet but its not like they have no ships left, they have less ships then they should because of the gillworms and starfleet can mobilize for war if needed, my guess was before Wolf 359 starfleet had maybe 100 active ships so 39 is a loss, but starfleet can mobilize just like how the US quicky mobilized for WW2.)

paultardspambot .

2024-10-21 03:48:56 +0000 UTC

So I'm a "fan wanker" as opposed to "nitpicker" . There are often things in trek that arent explictly explained, but the show having expository dialogue to satisfy all potential nitpicks would not make for a better show then to use your imagination to explain things. The people on the base were there for a long time and probably had repeated exposure/infection from mutlipe creatures which made them transform faster. Geordi's away team was only there for a short time, and the creatures or a creature infected them but only once, so the viral crest took much longer to become active. The rate of exposure and maybe even the genetics of the individual creature causes variance of when the transformation begins. While it happened for all members around the same time, the actual transormation differed. Clearly the planet itself was some sort of trigger, so its also possilbe something triggered the first transformation, and other away team members then looking into it had their infections triggered by looking back at the recording or thinking back to the event.

paultardspambot .

2024-10-21 03:42:04 +0000 UTC

What you missed- a year before season 1, a research base on that planet had its entire crew of 49 people disapper. Geordi and the women were part of an away team investigating the disapperance and were infected by the creatures back then. The away team never found out why the 49 people disappeared. The away team members were infected by the invisible creatures who were still hanging out around the base. It took five years for the viral crest in their immune systems to become active, presumably because the away team was only infected once and the people at the base had multiple exposures and thus transformed faster. As we can see from the women, the people who were infected before they fully transformed had a strong instinct to return to the planet. At the beggining of the episode, only three members of the away team remained, one of them had stolen a shuttle and was on his way to the planet. Presumably he transformed en route and could no longer operate the shuttle. The enterprise away team wasnt infected, we can assume the 49 people who were transformed have since dispersed from the area of the base whereas they hadnt when geordi's away team went to invesitigate. The members of that away team who had peviously transformed were still hanging around th base, but perhaps since they had only recently transformed, the instinct to infect others wasnt as strong as their fearf instinct, or the enterprise team were wearing bio safety belts to be on the safe side or something like the ones from TAS but it isnt mentioned.

paultardspambot .

2024-10-21 03:36:30 +0000 UTC

This feels a lot like a season 2 episode. As soon as Susana is transformed back, she becomes an exposition machine and just magically knows everything about the parasite.

tyranusfan

2024-10-21 03:20:41 +0000 UTC

if they had turned into predators they would be easy enough to stun and capture. Creatures that hide and run are tougher to find.

paultardspambot .

2024-10-21 03:01:02 +0000 UTC

they specified the transformations took different amounts of time which makes sense given its spread by your own t-cells and people will have a different immunoprofile. By the way. the "technobabble" as you call it is basic and makes sense if you have some familalirity with sicence. It isnt till voyager that the techo babble gets bad and is just nonsense.

paultardspambot .

2024-10-21 02:53:11 +0000 UTC

Josh's score aligns with the most common take on this episode, and is probably the most fair, but I have a soft spot for this one, so it's an A- for me. It's got X-Files vibes before X-Files was a thing. Also this originally aired on my third birthday. Oddly enough in almost 6 decades and close to 1000 eps, it's the only trek episode to air on March 25th. It's fair to say Leijten kinda came out of nowhere and her connection to Geordi felt unearned, but the 10 Forward scene where they're catching up tells us they've been serving on different ships, and that combined with already knowing their history makes it work better on subsequent rewatches IMO. Actress did a good job, and I do really like the scene where she slowly convinces him to come back. I think they hit some good emotional notes there. Still would have laughed my ass off if Riker had snuck around the side while he was distracted and just done this flying tackle right as he's starting to listen. Riker "I GOT HIM!!! Worf, Data, give me a hand!" The holodeck scene is by far the most commonly cited part of the episode. The sets and lighting on the planet also added a lot to the atmosphere of the episode. What makes it so creepy to me is not just this grey figure popping out of nowhere(which was pretty scary as a kid), but the fact of realizing that 5 years ago when they all just assumed they were investigating an abandoned outpost, there was someone or something there with them, and nobody had any idea. Imagine watching an old video from a birthday or something and everyone who had been there (aside from the person behind the camera) were gathered into 1 shot, and at the edge of the shot you can see through a doorway into another room, and you see a shadow move across the wall? You never saw it at the time, and there is seemingly no way to explain it, short of assuming something you can't see was in that room casting that shadow. I would never stop looking over my shoulder if that happened to me. I get that a lot of people aren't fond of this one, or just find it mediocre, but it's stuck with me over the years, so I'm a bit more generous. It's also 1 of the 2 TNG episodes I feel best captures that creepy, foreboding, X-Files type of atmosphere. The other one is even better. It's deliciously unsettling IMO.

Timothy Nikiforovs

2024-10-21 02:45:09 +0000 UTC

Agreed, but it's a pretty common fan theory

Timothy Nikiforovs

2024-10-21 01:44:42 +0000 UTC

or forgot as the transformation took hold

Timothy Nikiforovs

2024-10-21 01:38:05 +0000 UTC

Geordi LaForge, the only man in the galaxy who can get pregnant without getting laid😂

Timothy Nikiforovs

2024-10-21 01:36:34 +0000 UTC

Leighton's transition probably took longer because Crusher was able to slow it down a bit.

Scott Reeves

2024-10-21 00:45:41 +0000 UTC

Roanoake isnt really a mystery. They craved the word "croatan" into a nearby tree. That was a native place name. This was an early colony that was struggling with the climate and feeding itself. Croatan was a nearby place in the local indian language. It was later found that tribe had some partially "white" members. The people of the Roanokae colony were unable to survive on their own and joined up with a local tribe to survive. The Mayans, historians have a pretty good idea of what happened. It was a very stratified society with teribble inequality between the priests and chieftains and the regular people. A climate shift lead to famine which lead to revolution. The people didn't die out entirely but the Mayan civilization fell. Subsequently, the descendents formed the Olmec and Toltec societies which didn't differ much in structure and fell to the same fates. But the Mayan/Olmec/Toltec civs were extremely influential in the development of meso-american societies, as can be seen from the various cultures of the later meso-american city states including the Aztec empire, the influence extending across modern day mexico, central america, and into the southwestern US and northern south america. Of course as we know, the Mayans and Aztecs didn't create their societies themselves but were helped by aliens, one who pretended to be a god that Kirk later met and another group we havent met yet.

paultardspambot .

2024-10-21 00:34:39 +0000 UTC

What a luxury to complain about this story which they had to squeeze in a 1 hour time slot......

James Baloun

2024-10-21 00:00:46 +0000 UTC

The Take that mentioned never remembering this episode among all of Trek: yeah, that pretty much sums up why I gave it a D. Not a "bad" episode per se, but so dang slow and booooring that I never remember it or want to rewatch it. This is one of those examples where boring can actually be worse than bad.

Lovok

2024-10-20 23:58:49 +0000 UTC

You guys can calmly nit pick your reaction. Remember this aired in 33 years ago and using the holodeck for an investigation was pretty amazing.

James Baloun

2024-10-20 23:55:19 +0000 UTC

Remember when you first heard about the Holodeck and wondered what it could be used for.....We did not spoil it for you.

James Baloun

2024-10-20 23:50:06 +0000 UTC

It started very early on. The crew of the Antares had a different insignia on their uniform in Charlie X. Commodore Decker had a different insignia for the Constellation. Ron Tracey had a different insignia for the Exeter. Then things got messed up because someone (I forget who) clarified they weren't supposed to be different and people who aren't from the Enterprise on the starbase in Court Martial are wearing the arrow head. Also, the crew of the Defiant are all wearing the arrowhead logo in The Tholian Web. Without giving any spoilers for things they haven't seen - some of this will be retconned both ways by shows they haven't seen yet (sometimes going with ships having unique insignias, and sometimes all ships having the arrowhead during the TOS time period).

Bret Kay

2024-10-20 23:43:10 +0000 UTC

She's not on the Enterprise. Remember the scene she and Geordi have in Ten Forward where they're catching up as if they haven't talked in years?

Steven Linden

2024-10-20 23:39:03 +0000 UTC

There's a weird disparity about the insignias in TOS being ship specific. Apparently the differences existed between ships, bases and stations, but in one episode the costume designer gave another starship captain a different insignia, thus setting off the whole, every ship has it's own insignia thing. Interestingly the symbol for Starfleet seemed to be a boomerang type arrow. By the time of TNG, the arrowhead "delta" became the starfleet symbol, so all personnel have that, regardless of posting

Nolan

2024-10-20 22:20:08 +0000 UTC

Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG) was never sold to a single official network. Instead, it was distributed through first-run syndication, allowing local stations to purchase and air the show individually. This approach was pioneered by Paramount Television, led by president Mel Harris. Key Facts: Initial Launch: TNG premiered on September 28, 1987, and concluded on May 16, 1988, with 26 episodes broadcast in its first season. Syndication Model: Paramount Television sold the show to local stations, market by market, rather than going through a major network. Wide Reach: TNG was carried in almost every market in America, making it a ratings behemoth on par with major network shows. No Network Affiliation: TNG did not have a traditional network affiliation, unlike other shows of the time. Station-by-Station Sales: Paramount Television sold the show to individual stations, giving them the flexibility to schedule it as they saw fit. Impact on Television Syndication TNG’s success in first-run syndication paved the way for other shows to follow a similar model. This included Xena: Warrior Princess, Baywatch, and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, among others. The syndication market continued to evolve, with the rise of cable television and eventually, the decline of traditional syndication in the late 1990s. Legacy TNG’s innovative syndication strategy allowed it to reach a broad audience and achieve significant ratings success. Its impact on television syndication can still be seen today, with many shows opting for similar distribution models. The show’s legacy extends beyond its on-screen success, influencing the television industry’s approach to syndication and distribution.

C

2024-10-20 22:15:30 +0000 UTC

I did a bit of research and they sold it to individual stations, so it was on local ABC, CBS, or NBC affiliates and different times. Here is an AI summary with no spoilers I can see:

C

2024-10-20 22:15:18 +0000 UTC

Oh yeah, I think you're right. Because they became incredibly sensitive to light and the planet being plagued with sandstorms was quite dark.

ZRX-89

2024-10-20 22:06:04 +0000 UTC

@ZRX-89 Perhaps there was no source of ultraviolet light for Geordi to see until Data brought one down.

Jovet

2024-10-20 22:03:43 +0000 UTC

I don't remember that. I only got three TV stations growing up, eventually four (and today it would be five). I remember watching the first season of Voyager, and then it was taken off the "big three (four)" and I never saw any more of it for decades.

Jovet

2024-10-20 22:00:59 +0000 UTC

Have you discussed one of the big reasons that TNG has such a random distribution of "first episode I saw"? It was not picked up by the big 3 networks in the US, but went right to syndication on small channels. In Chicago, it was on channel 50 that previously did reruns and shopping. Later in the 90s it became the Paramount Network. Trekkers in many areas could not get TNG and ask people in large markets to VCR tape them.

C

2024-10-20 21:58:17 +0000 UTC

surely the computer should have told them that it can no longer scan Geordi's life readings, from the computers perspective it like he ceased to exist, clear a alert should be sent

Dark Kronis

2024-10-20 21:37:34 +0000 UTC

When canon was 'there's only 12 ships' that made sense. By the time of TNG it's presumed there are hundreds of starships across the fleet, imagine the art department the federation would have to maintain to keep churning out all those new, and unique insignias. Let alone being the encyclopedic mind that could keep track of them all.

Angelaina Marie

2024-10-20 21:22:37 +0000 UTC

Much more interested in the reaction to the next episode!

Joe Concepts

2024-10-20 21:21:43 +0000 UTC

They did, they specifically said they were doing it. But they didn't expect 'change into another species' as the way he'd leave the enterrise.

Angelaina Marie

2024-10-20 21:19:26 +0000 UTC

the resistance to the guest character being a friend from Geordi's past is odd. Characters from the past are introduced without any prior reference practically every other episode. Not sure what didn't work for you this time

James Bottas

2024-10-20 21:09:27 +0000 UTC

That trailer gave everything away.

John

2024-10-20 21:05:04 +0000 UTC

I think it's an animal instinct thing that drives the people to go back to the planet, like salmon that instinctively migrate back to the river they were born in so they can reproduce. So Alex is correct, the transformation takes different amounts of time for different people. Could be weeks, could be an hour. A couple people from the away team made it all the down to the planet while the one blew up in the shuttle

James Bottas

2024-10-20 21:01:45 +0000 UTC

Yeah that's a fascinating take. I never even really considered that.

ZRX-89

2024-10-20 20:31:29 +0000 UTC

It has one of those great Trek endings, with a personal moment of affirmation between two team members, in this case Laforge and Leiten. "Must have been all that good advice I was always giving you." And the scene with her pulling him back from the brink was also perfect.

Artribution

2024-10-20 20:00:34 +0000 UTC

Federation computer screens probably show lots of spectrums in addition to the human one. I've always thought that the computer's constant chirping sounds are there to convey data to blind races, like a more efficient screen reader.

Artribution

2024-10-20 19:55:27 +0000 UTC

Ah holodeck creepy scene is the best part of the episode for me. Leighton was just visiting she is not an Enterprise crew member and the Starfleet insignia is standard, we’ve seen it from crews of several ships by now. Weirdly until now never noticed registered Geordis old ship was the Victory which is a nice call back to Elementary Dear Data But yeah this is solid, B is about right for me.

Darren Seal

2024-10-20 19:44:04 +0000 UTC

my biggest criticism is didn't they set the computer to monitor him, shouldn't it have alerted them the minute he disappeared

Dark Kronis

2024-10-20 19:34:35 +0000 UTC

Yeah and given that why couldn't he have just seen the creatures? It would make more sense since he can see all the way across the UV spectrum if he could have just seen the creatures but no one else could have. Until they shined the UV lights on him, I don't know. It's just a bit of a weird plot hole. I know not everything can be perfect but.

ZRX-89

2024-10-20 19:19:25 +0000 UTC

👍👍👍 (He wasn't creepy at all. The notion is preposterous!)

Jovet

2024-10-20 19:17:02 +0000 UTC

Nah, it's a good one all-around. I quite like it.

Jovet

2024-10-20 19:16:48 +0000 UTC

The parasite was microscopic. They've been carrying them around for five years and were never detected in any scans. They were small enough to, basically, be inhaled.

Jovet

2024-10-20 19:15:52 +0000 UTC

A viral crèche is a real thing! At least, for some viruses, upon infecting a host.

Jovet

2024-10-20 19:13:27 +0000 UTC

Geordi can see all across the electromagnetic spectrum. It just seems he can't see perfectly clearly across the spectrum, or else it would make sense to filter everything but normally-visible light.

Jovet

2024-10-20 19:11:25 +0000 UTC

@Column Meanie Almost married. Dodged a bullet. 🙂

Jovet

2024-10-20 19:01:09 +0000 UTC

59:59 I've always presumed it was that Susanna went through the transformation herself and there is something still about her that allows Geordi to trust her. Their previous, long-standing friendship also helps.

Jovet

2024-10-20 18:59:15 +0000 UTC

I always thought it's weird how he can see the computer screens given the fact that it's already been established, That Jordy sees in a abnormal way to the way that we see with our normal human eyes, so I've always kind of wondered how he can even see computer screens properly. Maybe because they emit em radiation?

ZRX-89

2024-10-20 18:57:41 +0000 UTC

59:05 There is no "Enterprise insignia." That is a concept they tried to do in TOS but it was misguided and did not stick. Everyone in Starfleet has the same communicator, with the insignia of Starfleet on it.

Jovet

2024-10-20 18:57:24 +0000 UTC

58:56 No. Her and Geordi's talk in Ten Forward made it clear that they went on very diverging career paths, and had not seen each other for many years. The pre-titles hook scene establishes that she is on board to assist the investigation (which the Enterprise is carrying out) into the disappearance of crew members from the away mission five years ago.

Jovet

2024-10-20 18:55:34 +0000 UTC

@Target Audience Oh, I thought you were going to do that starting S5.

Jovet

2024-10-20 18:50:35 +0000 UTC

49:15 Well, you always wanted away team video recordings! There you go.

Jovet

2024-10-20 18:43:31 +0000 UTC

45167 is the Zip Code for a town called Ripley, 50 miles up river from Cincinnati. So it’s obviously another Ohio reference. Or an Alien reference.

Aramis Calcutt

2024-10-20 18:42:03 +0000 UTC

41:40 No, they can't. After not much time, the change is permanent. This was stated earlier.

Jovet

2024-10-20 18:36:17 +0000 UTC

Worf: Geordi, what you are doing to the commander?! Geordi: Back off, Worf! I'm giving her a viral cresh! Worf: What is this, dis Worf day?!

Michael Figueroa

2024-10-20 18:32:48 +0000 UTC

36:45 That isn't how the holodeck works.

Jovet

2024-10-20 18:31:00 +0000 UTC

33:28 SUPER CREEPY moment!

Jovet

2024-10-20 18:27:43 +0000 UTC

22:34 Because of their very first mission on the planet, 5 years ago.

Jovet

2024-10-20 18:16:54 +0000 UTC

1.5x playback speed for this episode

Narnman

2024-10-20 18:12:31 +0000 UTC

The only real take I have to say is that this episode has a scene in the holodeck that creeped me out WAY more than anything in the previous episode!

Jovet

2024-10-20 17:58:09 +0000 UTC

That would’ve been neat

Josh (Target Audience)

2024-10-20 17:56:31 +0000 UTC

Links to patron takes for the rest of season 4 are all in the pinned post

Josh (Target Audience)

2024-10-20 17:56:01 +0000 UTC

Now it's me who didn't get any notice of the Patron Takes thread for this one. 🤷

Jovet

2024-10-20 17:53:24 +0000 UTC

The second i saw the planet, Geordi and the team i sighed audibly. Snoozefest, one of the most boring episodes of TNG.

Captain’s Log

2024-10-20 17:52:51 +0000 UTC

I would have appreciated if they showed the parasite - a small thing on a tray, and a possible explanation that it has those sensor chameleon properties — I would expect that it would probably be detected otherwise. Make finding it a Crusher moment.

xadg

2024-10-20 17:50:21 +0000 UTC

Yep. This is one I skip every time I watch.

Spencer Loften

2024-10-20 17:45:27 +0000 UTC

Nice

Josh (Target Audience)

2024-10-20 17:26:09 +0000 UTC

Leijten not being part of the crew was obvious. The scene in Ten Forward when she talks about who she married was pretty much a dead giveaway. If she was on the Enterprise Geordi would have known this.

Column Meanie

2024-10-20 17:14:48 +0000 UTC

Common TOS W

Josh (Target Audience)

2024-10-20 17:07:57 +0000 UTC

Susanna wasn’t a part of the crew. She just came on board for the investigation into what happened. TOS used to have the different badge designs for each ship, but by TNG, the Enterprise delta had become the standard Starfleet emblem, so it’s what everyone wears. There’s no more visual queues as to who belongs to which ship or starbase.

Brian Moore

2024-10-20 16:59:23 +0000 UTC

Not just Invisible Geordi running around. It's Invisible NAKED Geordi running around. 🙀🙀🙀

KatWithAttitude

2024-10-20 16:54:51 +0000 UTC

I've always really liked this episode, but I realize that it's probably just the really cool holodeck investigation scene which makes me overlook the rest.

Adam Zey

2024-10-20 16:43:43 +0000 UTC

Geordi was creepy? Oh give me a break.

Column Meanie

2024-10-20 16:32:36 +0000 UTC

This episode used to creep me out when I was a kid. Especially the part where Geordie is recreating the recording in the holodeck, and finding the source of the shadow.

Clyde Frog

2024-10-20 16:32:09 +0000 UTC

Geordi and the woman had served together on the USS Victory. That’s another reference to an earlier episode, namely “Elementary, Dear Data”.

Geoffrey Linehan

2024-10-20 16:31:48 +0000 UTC

I thought it was that Leijten was assigned to head up the mission to investigate the missing people, not that she was already on board. We just didn't see an introduction to her coming aboard like we usually do, we were dropped right in it. All of Starfleet uses that communicator pin style, it isn't like TOS where everyone had a different one for their different ships.

THE LORE!!!

2024-10-20 16:22:46 +0000 UTC

I didn't think she was on the enterprise, I think the enterprise picked her up because of what is going on so she can investigate with the enterprise.

Eric Wilson

2024-10-20 16:19:09 +0000 UTC

So they went down to investigate the crew where the same thing happened, and then that 5 person away team 5 years later started to transform, and by instinct they felt the need to get back to the planet. Like with Geordi using the transporter to get down there, they felt the need too. Maybe the guy that crashed didn't even know how to fly a shuttle well.

Eric Wilson

2024-10-20 16:16:28 +0000 UTC

I HATE this episode

Phil Ken Sebben

2024-10-20 15:52:11 +0000 UTC

According to the 25th Anniversary tv special of Star Trek aired on television, the other two creatures scurrying away were played by popular hosts of a radio show.

Geoffrey Linehan

2024-10-20 15:48:34 +0000 UTC

With all due respect, I'm going to skip this one for awhile. There are still good episodes coming up... but I predict you guys are going to lose your shit on the season finale.

Monty Crawford

2024-10-20 15:44:34 +0000 UTC

Thanks for the earlier release guys. Your patrons in Europe appreciate that.

Sam Langanke

2024-10-20 15:23:29 +0000 UTC

The sex scoreboard update. No official change to the bangin board Riker 9 Troi 3 Data 1 Picard 1 Worf 1 Geordi 1 Broccoli 2 i Chief 1 Keiko 1 extras: Although the official scores are not changed there is a question. Is this a Pon Farr situation? Was the "things" drawn there to do a little lizard lollipop fun? If so, then did Georgi-IT have time for some salamander sidewinder or did Georgi-IT not have time. We at the porn-publishers have determine there is not enough evidence of a chameleon crawl so Jordy does not get a +1.

Prof Moff

2024-10-20 15:21:42 +0000 UTC

Keep doing what you need to do! You're not alone! I'm a writer and it's important for me to try to support people who are doing their own creative thing because that support is what I want for myself and my work. I see it as "I'm putting in the hours and just waiting while my paycheck is processed..." But in the meantime, LIFE... so... yeah. Thank you! This is a great community from the top down.

Max Shenk

2024-10-20 15:16:12 +0000 UTC

The episode where Geordi meets Venom

Randy Benton

2024-10-20 15:01:24 +0000 UTC

Believe me Max i am in a very similar position, and feel the same.

jon bolton

2024-10-20 14:59:19 +0000 UTC

On first watch i wasn't overly keen on this, but on future watches i've enjoyed it a lot more. I think it's worth a B from me.

jon bolton

2024-10-20 14:57:22 +0000 UTC

Not recently lol but that’s the goal

Josh (Target Audience)

2024-10-20 14:29:33 +0000 UTC

Appreciate it Max. Hope everything goes well 🙏🏻 Just sent you an email

Josh (Target Audience)

2024-10-20 14:26:07 +0000 UTC

Dang, do these always go up this early? I crashed after work so my internal clock is all screwy right now.

Nolan

2024-10-20 14:25:13 +0000 UTC

I do love and appreciate this early access just for being a non-paying member on here... believe me... honest to god, right now, financially I just can't chip in (I'm caretaking my mother full time and haven't worked or had income in over 2 years) but as soon as it's possible, I'll start to pay. Thanks!

Max Shenk

2024-10-20 14:13:08 +0000 UTC

great pregame for the battle of ohio today

Isaac Schreiber

2024-10-20 14:09:54 +0000 UTC

Perfect thumbnail!

Paul Hess

2024-10-20 14:08:34 +0000 UTC

UNCUT - Identity Crisis (TNG S4E18) | Star Trek Journey 199

Comments

Ships had unique insignia in TOS. By the time the movies roll around they're all using the same design.

The "parasite" has a five year gestation period. The colonists were on the planet the entire five years and the members of the away team were driven by instinct to return in five years when the DNA sac hatched like salmon driven to swim up river.

I really need to get these on DVD/Blu-ray if I'm going to be able to get maximum enjoyment of these episodes uncut.

I love everything about the Gorn from "Arena!" Everytime I see him I'm 8 years old & the world is filled with excitement and hope.

Strongly feels like you guys missed some pretty clear dialogue but let it color things.. Susannah doesbnot serve on the Enterprise.

Omg enough with creepy weird pedo accusations against the traveler

Ok , what the heck is a stitch?

Geordi's friend is from another ship and not stationed on the Enterprise. And the insignia on their chest is a Starfleet insignia for everyone in starfleet regardless where their stationed. It is not exclusive to the Enterprise.

one of my favorite geordi episodes

Crusher sped it up with the T-cell stimulator, not yet realizing it would have the opposite effect desired.

Well, she did live it...

But really. Can you even come up with a way that a Gorn would look good in the early '90's? -- Side note: Patreon's comment feature blows.

It was definitely more on the guest star’s end but I wasn’t trying to be too harsh on her

LeVar did a great job of selling it imo. He called her Suz for Christ's sake! What more do you want?! ;)

Nah, that may have had a small impact but I didn’t buy the relationship between the characters due to imo a lack of chemistry in the performances as I say in the discussion.

Hey Max have you ever looked into having your mom have in home caregivers? It's a process and some states are much harder than others (political dynamics and so forth...I assume you are in the US?). But you may be able to get paid to do what you do.

Yeah I'm surprised they didn't pick that up.

And don't forget, one of those giant Olmec heads now sits in the Simpson's basement thanks to Mr. Burns.

in my experience most people feel like how alex does about this one. i'm with josh. solid B for me. i liked the creepiness going in. make up effects were good. biggest fault for me was a little too much techno babble

Because he incorrectly assumed she was part of the regular Enterprise crew who just showed up for this episode based on thinking the insignia was specific to the Enterprise which was set in early TOS but later retconned.

"This person is on the enterprise." Incorrect, she was sent to the enterprise as the only other surviving away team member, she wasnt an enterprise crew member. Maybe if you had realized that it wouldnt have felt so wedged in.

This feels a lot like a season 2 episode. As soon as Susana is transformed back, she becomes an exposition machine and just magically knows everything about the parasite.

if they had turned into predators they would be easy enough to stun and capture. Creatures that hide and run are tougher to find.

Agreed, but it's a pretty common fan theory

or forgot as the transformation took hold

Geordi LaForge, the only man in the galaxy who can get pregnant without getting laid😂

Leighton's transition probably took longer because Crusher was able to slow it down a bit.

What a luxury to complain about this story which they had to squeeze in a 1 hour time slot......

You guys can calmly nit pick your reaction. Remember this aired in 33 years ago and using the holodeck for an investigation was pretty amazing.

Remember when you first heard about the Holodeck and wondered what it could be used for.....We did not spoil it for you.

She's not on the Enterprise. Remember the scene she and Geordi have in Ten Forward where they're catching up as if they haven't talked in years?

I did a bit of research and they sold it to individual stations, so it was on local ABC, CBS, or NBC affiliates and different times. Here is an AI summary with no spoilers I can see:

Oh yeah, I think you're right. Because they became incredibly sensitive to light and the planet being plagued with sandstorms was quite dark.

@ZRX-89 Perhaps there was no source of ultraviolet light for Geordi to see until Data brought one down.

I don't remember that. I only got three TV stations growing up, eventually four (and today it would be five). I remember watching the first season of Voyager, and then it was taken off the "big three (four)" and I never saw any more of it for decades.

surely the computer should have told them that it can no longer scan Geordi's life readings, from the computers perspective it like he ceased to exist, clear a alert should be sent

Much more interested in the reaction to the next episode!

They did, they specifically said they were doing it. But they didn't expect 'change into another species' as the way he'd leave the enterrise.

the resistance to the guest character being a friend from Geordi's past is odd. Characters from the past are introduced without any prior reference practically every other episode. Not sure what didn't work for you this time

That trailer gave everything away.

Yeah that's a fascinating take. I never even really considered that.

It has one of those great Trek endings, with a personal moment of affirmation between two team members, in this case Laforge and Leiten. "Must have been all that good advice I was always giving you." And the scene with her pulling him back from the brink was also perfect.

Federation computer screens probably show lots of spectrums in addition to the human one. I've always thought that the computer's constant chirping sounds are there to convey data to blind races, like a more efficient screen reader.

my biggest criticism is didn't they set the computer to monitor him, shouldn't it have alerted them the minute he disappeared

👍👍👍 (He wasn't creepy at all. The notion is preposterous!)

Nah, it's a good one all-around. I quite like it.

The parasite was microscopic. They've been carrying them around for five years and were never detected in any scans. They were small enough to, basically, be inhaled.

A viral crèche is a real thing! At least, for some viruses, upon infecting a host.

Geordi can see all across the electromagnetic spectrum. It just seems he can't see perfectly clearly across the spectrum, or else it would make sense to filter everything but normally-visible light.

@Column Meanie *Almost* married. Dodged a bullet. 🙂

59:59 I've always presumed it was that Susanna went through the transformation herself and there is something still about her that allows Geordi to trust her. Their previous, long-standing friendship also helps.

59:05 There is no "Enterprise insignia." That is a concept they tried to do in TOS but it was misguided and did not stick. Everyone in Starfleet has the same communicator, with the insignia of Starfleet on it.

@Target Audience Oh, I thought you were going to do that starting S5.

49:15 Well, you always wanted away team video recordings! There you go.

45167 is the Zip Code for a town called Ripley, 50 miles up river from Cincinnati. So it’s obviously another Ohio reference. Or an Alien reference.

41:40 No, they can't. After not much time, the change is permanent. This was stated earlier.

Worf: Geordi, what you are doing to the commander?! Geordi: Back off, Worf! I'm giving her a viral cresh! Worf: What is this, dis Worf day?!

36:45 That isn't how the holodeck works.

33:28 SUPER CREEPY moment!

22:34 Because of their very first mission on the planet, 5 years ago.

1.5x playback speed for this episode

The only real take I have to say is that this episode has a scene in the holodeck that creeped me out WAY more than anything in the previous episode!

That would’ve been neat

Links to patron takes for the rest of season 4 are all in the pinned post

Now it's me who didn't get any notice of the Patron Takes thread for this one. 🤷

The second i saw the planet, Geordi and the team i sighed audibly. Snoozefest, one of the most boring episodes of TNG.

I would have appreciated if they showed the parasite - a small thing on a tray, and a possible explanation that it has those sensor chameleon properties — I would expect that it would probably be detected otherwise. Make finding it a Crusher moment.

Yep. This is one I skip every time I watch.

Nice

Leijten not being part of the crew was obvious. The scene in Ten Forward when she talks about who she married was pretty much a dead giveaway. If she was on the Enterprise Geordi would have known this.

Common TOS W

Not just Invisible Geordi running around. It's Invisible NAKED Geordi running around. 🙀🙀🙀

I've always really liked this episode, but I realize that it's probably just the really cool holodeck investigation scene which makes me overlook the rest.

Geordi was creepy? Oh give me a break.

This episode used to creep me out when I was a kid. Especially the part where Geordie is recreating the recording in the holodeck, and finding the source of the shadow.

Geordi and the woman had served together on the USS Victory. That’s another reference to an earlier episode, namely “Elementary, Dear Data”.

I didn't think she was on the enterprise, I think the enterprise picked her up because of what is going on so she can investigate with the enterprise.

I HATE this episode

@Column Meanie Almost married. Dodged a bullet. 🙂