…and yeah, Lofton was pretty decent in "Far Beyond the Stars." Slightly cliche character, but he made it his own. And he made the only use of the "N" word in Star Trek. Which was effective, and of course realistic, but a bit shocking—probably more so now than in the nineties.

Yeah, I'll give you "Valiant." Nog gets a lot to do, dramatically. But I'd go further than JammerJim and say that Starfleet Nog is essentially an entirely different character than Juvenile Delinquent Nog. I mean, people grow up, sure, but it was pretty jarring. And damn it, I still just don't like Eisenberg's acting.…

Riker
Shouldn't we all wonder what "actually" happened in the memory that Jev exploits? I mean, he was drawing on SOMETHING, right? And doesn't it seem like Riker is getting a bit…forceful, himself? I remember it giving me a weird feeling.

That seems about right. The "Inner Light" scenario is presented as an almost religious experience, and we DO see it affect Picard profoundly, I'd argue. But your point about the stylistic differences between the shows, while generally true, is almost backward in this case. There ARE callbacks to "The Inner Light," but…

…who is equally irritating, in his own distinct way. So it's an honest mistake.

But "Hard Time" had the same problem—it depicts an astonishingly horrific trauma, that would be totally life-altering. And it was, for the length of the episode. It's a pretty affecting look at PTSD, or whatever. But O'Brien doesn't kill himself, after all, and next week he's pretty much fine.

Yeah, that scene in Undiscovered Country leaves a bad aftertaste to a mostly pretty fun film. Doesn't ruin it, but it was an ugly mis-step. Completely out of character.

Of course you didn't anticipate that in 1999 we'd mostly just be worried about our digital toasters crashing, or whatever. And that didn't happen, either.

Man, if I had a nickel for every time somebody brought up Pirandello, here…

Even Alexander's return is handled in a pretty perfunctory way. It doesn't even really call back to or address the events of "Firstborn," when it seemed like the two of them had finally reached some kind of mutual understanding. They just have to do it all over again, for the sake of Good Drama, I guess.

Oh, I totally agree that "consistency" about something like freaking time travel is totally irrelevant. It's essentially just magic, anyway. Any attempt at really making it work logically is doomed to failure; it's a storytelling device. And a fun one, when it's done right.

Oh, they'll get over it. Throughout history, people like that always do. There are always ways to explain your way out of it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wik…
…but yeah, it would be interesting to observe firsthand.

Rumplestiltskin, yeah. That was "If Wishes Were Horses." That episode's got a lot to answer for. Back then, I was a TNG fan, and didn't start watching DS9 right away. When I finally did tune in, THIS was the episode I caught. And I thought "wtf is THIS shit?" And honestly, I never really gave that show another chance.…

We'll all get one, when "Cost of Living" rolls around. And we'll wear those fuckers out.

True enough, Vader. I'll nominate "Move Along Home" and "If Wishes Were Horses." But you're right; they're just nowhere near "Angel One" bad.

Oh, hell yes. I beat both student loans and lung cancer! I'm staying home tomorrow and smoking some cigarettes. Maybe watch some DS9. Because I CREATED IT! AND IT'S REAL!!!!!

Heh. Indeed. Creepy writers…

This is a point that's been hammered into the ground, but it seems clear that Trek in general never "established" a damned thing regarding time travel. It works however that weeks writer wants it to work. Fair enough.

Yeah, what's up with May 21? There's a billboard here, too. (You're not in Ohio, are you?)

GreenspanDan — I don't know what is wrong with you. But I support your efforts.