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Joined 2 years ago
Cake day: November 9th, 2023
  • rogermccoy@startrek.websitetoStar Trek Social Club@startrek.website•Is there a list of important/key episodes – but not just the good episodes?English
    6·
    2 days ago

    I’ve been doing a rewatch and making notes of things that are referenced later. Considering most classic Trek has a reputation for being episodic, you’d be surprised just how much gets referenced later, whether in a passing comment or an in-joke or something. The only episodes of TNG season 1 where I didn’t spot at least a passing reference later was “Too Short a Season”, “Home Soil”, and “When the Bough Breaks”. (The references to a few of the others are vague and/or arguable though, and admittedly “Knowing where that clip in ‘Shades of Gray’ is from” qualifies a few of them.)

    So it kind of depends on how strictly you define “important.” Most people could probably skip almost the entirety of TNG season 1 and not be that confused, but for example:

    • “All Good Things…” loses a lot without “Encounter at Farpoint”
    • “The Naked Now” is important to “The Measure of a Man”
    • “Haven” introduces Lwaxana Troi, Mr. Homn, naked Betazoid weddings, and the running gag of data being too precise. “In the Cradle of Vexilon” loses something without it too.
    • “Where No One Has Gone Before” is crucial in introducing the Traveler, and that plot continues into “Remember Me” and “Journey’s End” and beyond.
    • “The Last Outpost” has first contact with the Ferengi, though you could argue that future Ferengi episodes make more sense without it? Though it’s important to the game Star Trek: Resurgence.
    • “Justice” doesn’t seem important, but if you skip it you won’t know what Remmick’s talking about in “Conspiracy”.
    • “The Battle” isn’t referenced often, but “Bloodlines” depends on it. Remmick mentions this one too.
    • “Hide and Q” introduces concepts like the Q Continuum, and the events of it lead to Q’s status in “Q Who”, which introduces the Borg.
    • “The Big Goodbye” introduces Dixon Hill and explains holodeck matter. The Jarada are mentioned again later too.
    • “Datalore” introduces Lore and the Crystalline Entity and explains Data’s past, somewhat.
    • “11001001” is important to understanding “Future Imperfect”… though that episode isn’t really referenced again other than that it introduces a fictionalized version of Nurse Ogawa. So is it still important if you skip both of them?
    • “Coming of Age” introduces a lot of the characters and concepts that will be in “Conspiracy”. Fun fact: This is the first episode to name Murf’s species from Prodigy.
    • “Heart of Glory” introduces Khitomer and gives Worf’s backstory and sort-of sets up “The Neutral Zone”.
    • “The Arsenal of Freedom” is the first mention of Crusher’s grandmother from “Sub Rosa”, but arguably more important for relationship-building between Crusher and Picard.
    • “Symbiosis” becomes very relevant in Lower Decks in the episode “Trusted Sources”.
    • “Skin of Evil” features the death of Tasha Yar. Armus also returns in Lower Decks.
    • Even though the cliffhanger isn’t followed up on, “Conspiracy” becomes important again in “The Drumhead”.
    • “The Neutral Zone” pays off the hints that the Romulans were gone, though if you skipped “Heart of Glory” you didn’t catch this in the first place, and “Angel One” arguably contradicted it. But this is the first hint of the Borg, as confirmed in “Q Who” and “The Best of Both Worlds”.

    I could add other subtler things, but those are some of the bigger ones just from that highly-episodic season.

  • rogermccoy@startrek.websitetoStar Trek Social Club@startrek.website•"Starfleet Academy" early review round-upEnglish
    3·
    13 days ago

    I’ve been editing the above comment to include more as I’ve been finding them.

    There are several YouTube reviews too (in addition to the TrekCulture video above and the Jessie Gender one linked elsewhere), mostly from people who at a glance don’t seem like they’ve seen it or who have been pre-hating it for months (Dave Cullen, Critical Drinker, and downhill from there.)

    Just to not exclude them entirely, here’s one from a guy I’m not familiar with who didn’t like it much but at least doesn’t seem to broadly hate modern Star Trek:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jssKA2oz3Lk (Nater Tot)

    But for most of the channels that are just screaming blind outrage in their thumbnails, I’ve been blocking them as I spot them, so I’ll leave that as an exercise to someone else should they care to round them up for some reason.

  • rogermccoy@startrek.websitetoStar Trek Social Club@startrek.website•Shut up and take my money: A working Bluetooth TNG CombadgeEnglish
    16·
    2 months ago

    I have one. I want to say ThinkGeek used to sell them, but I definitely recognize that backing as being from the same device I have.

    It’s cool and fun to wear, but not amazing as a Bluetooth device. Microphone didn’t pick up super-well, which isn’t too surprising when it’s clipped on your shirt. Magnet would sometimes slip off if the shirt bunched up or something too. (I haven’t used it in a few years, so I’m a little hazy on some of this.)

    A Bluetooth version of the TMP communicators might have better success, albeit at the cost of having to hold your arm up for the whole conversation.