I just realised that Melanie Griffith is not Melanie Sykes.  They are different people.

"Man of the People" writing process:

I assumed this was kind of a joke: that the least plausible element of all the stories - who even *looked* like a B-movie monster - was actually the one thing that was actually real - or at least corroborated by more than one person.

I always found the ambassador guy in "Teliko" distractingly awful.  He's pretty much just monotone and emotionless, when he's being grudgingly civil, when he's been rumbled for covering stuff up, when he's relating a traumatic childhood experience… always the same tone and voice.

Quagmire is obviously kermazing.  But it would have been so much better without that final shot.

In "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose", Clyde's suicide note says "Would you like a dog?" - in reference to his dead neighbour's dog, who is implied to have eaten bits of her corpse.  It's addressed to Scully, so…

I'm always amazed that anyone likes The Unnatural at all.  Then again, I didn't like that DS9 about Vulcans playing baseball either, so maybe you have to be American or something.

I'm always amazed that anyone likes The Unnatural at all.  Then again, I didn't like that DS9 about Vulcans playing baseball either, so maybe you have to be American or something.

I know the kids and Samantha's story is supposed to be the big emotional wrench in Sein Und Zeit, but I felt the stuff about Mulder's mother is particularly effective - it's horrible, of course, but in a way that makes sense and feels right.  Of course, when Mulder outright demands that the universe make her death…

I know the kids and Samantha's story is supposed to be the big emotional wrench in Sein Und Zeit, but I felt the stuff about Mulder's mother is particularly effective - it's horrible, of course, but in a way that makes sense and feels right.  Of course, when Mulder outright demands that the universe make her death…

I think the drop in quality is almost necessary.  You need a few goofy, crappy or by-the-numbers episodes to lead up to something that takes one of the show's most central concepts and basically curb-stomps it.

I think the drop in quality is almost necessary.  You need a few goofy, crappy or by-the-numbers episodes to lead up to something that takes one of the show's most central concepts and basically curb-stomps it.

The nice thing about Theef, I thought, was that it gave Peattie a motive that the audience could understand and relate to, without ever making him seem like a tragic figure.  He's bitter, angry and selfish in a plausible way.  People feel very strongly about whether it's right or wrong to end a life to ease suffering,…

Je Souhaite = rad

It's an enjoyably Dataish moment; where you are 90% sure he doesn't understand non-android psychology and behaviour, but it's just kinda possible that he's fully aware and just being a bit sassy.

It's weird because normally Objectivism seems like a childishly simple philosophy that excuses anyone who wants to exploit others, but then when I talk to someone about it it turns out that it's actually not about that and is actually about something completely different.  And then I forget everything they said…

The father/son thing is… I've often wondered if those stories are actually more aimed at (and written by) fathers than sons.  So it's less about how important it is for sons to follow in their father's footsteps, and perhaps more about explaining fathers how daunting that idea is to their sons, and perhaps reminding…

Wow, I can't believe you gave Cost Of Living a C.  Even Shades of Grey didn't put us through that "Laughing Hour" bullshit.  There aren't that many episodes of this show that I remember being absolutely awful, but this was one of them.

Maybe I'm a lamezoid, but Data's Day is one of the few… comic is too strong a word, but light-hearted episodes of Trek that I actually like.  To me it's the polar opposite of that heinous Joe Piscopo episode, because it lets Data be funny, without having him crack jokes.  There's something enjoyable about seeing an…

Pretty much everyone in Western Europe learns at least a smattering of French.  So I'm surprised Madsy didn't pick up on it either.