UNCUT REACTION - Star Trek TNG S3E6 - Booby Trap

The ST well will never dry up for you guys.

Picard's fire for history, Geordi's character moments, the rad music creating the atmosphere as they boarded the ancient ship, I found this episode very fun. But yeah, it's definitely for nerds, and I know you guys aren't quite into that. For me, they ground the technobabble with just enough real science that their problems and solutions make sense in my mind even though, of course, it's mostly nonsense.

⛔️Spoiler⛔️is something of an anomaly because in ⛔️spoiler⛔️ it seems like ⛔️Spoiler⛔️ just ⛔️Spoiled⛔️ them but here they ⛔️spoiled⛔️⛔️spoiler⛔️

That’s one of the best things about Star Trek, it has episodes that cater to everyone. It has episodes for dad, mom, brother and sister, so to speak. There is geeky sci-fi, drama and even sometimes horror and comedy elements.

I'm still hitting the "Like" button, like I'm on YouTube.

"We've been asking for a Geordi episode" 🤣🤣🤣

Not a huge character development episode outside of stereotyping Geordi as a loner nerd with a *little* bit of a stalker streak. To be fair he didn't even intentionally create the hologram and his goal WAS to solve the problem at hand. He just got a little, distracted. If she had been some engineer from 100 years ago, or some original character he created and just imbued with the technical knowledge of the Galaxy class engineers and a personality he could work with, it wouldn't be so bad. But given the stardates, he's calling up the image of this woman from just 3 years prior. It's one thing to have a program like Minuet that's just a simulation unrelated to any real person, but basing it on a real person gets into a lot of the issues with AI and deepfakes and such today. Now to Geordi's credit, he basically just said "take the recordings of her and give her a little personality based on that", it's not like he went out of his way to make a holographic date, and the result ended up coming on to him. The problem is more if he goes back later and transfers her to his beach program. Even though it didn't go that far here, it does raise questions about what the rules are or should be regarding the use of a real person's image on the holodeck and what restrictions should exist. Also nice to see Picard's interest in archaeology and history explored, and just to see him have some fun for a change. I get why they destroyed the ship, as it was the "cheese" in the trap. Still seems they could have warned off any other would be victims until the threat was dealt with. Someone else said and I agree, that kinetic weapons would be the best solution. Just smash the aceton assimilators. It bothered me that they so readily used the phasers knowing these things eat energy. Would make more sense to use the tractor beams to hurl asteroids into each other. Outside the Geordi stuff, it's a very competent and fun adventure of the week type episode. Good stuff, but not top 10 material or anything.

Note Picard’s uniform has changed slightly. The tunic has a different bottom (likely elastic).

“Booby Trap” marks a historic milestone for the Star Trek franchise. The 160th Star Trek episode or movie in release order, it is also the first ever directed by a woman, Gabrielle Beaumont. (The numbering of the Target Audience reaction videos on YouTube is now off by one due to the inclusion of the extended “Measure of a Man.”) For whatever reason, the jobs of TV and movie director (especially the latter), like those of classical conductor and film score composer, are among the last professions in which women have not yet achieved full equality, even now in 2024 when we have all seen films by successful directors like Kathryn Bigelow, Sofia Coppola, Patty Jenkins, and Ava DuVernay. I agree with fan consensus that the portions of this episode involving Picard, the investigation of the Promellian battlecruiser, and the Enterprise’s escape from the asteroid field are all highly effective and enjoyable. No such consensus exists about Geordi’s storyline. There are TNG fans who like it very much. For example, L. I. Underhill’s essay about the episode on the Eruditorum Press website praises the story on the basis that the holographic Leah Brahms is a physical manifestation of the Enterprise herself, come to help Geordi when he most needs her. (Indeed, this is the second time in two seasons that the computer gives Geordi more than he bargained for on the holodeck by obeying his exact words: “Create an adversary capable of defeating Data;” “Well, this is your baby, show me which ones…”) While “Leah” and Geordi’s farewell scene may support this reading, I find myself unable to apply it to the entire story, and I do not like this storyline, not at all. While it is hard to believe in retrospect, the initial idea for the episode was for *Picard* to become involved with the holographic engineer; Michael Piller substituted Geordi, comparing him to “a guy in love with his ’57 Chevy.” The story would have been wildly out of character and inappropriate for Picard, but I find it equally inappropriate for Geordi – indeed, simply inappropriate in general terms. Susan Gibney (Leah Brahms) had auditioned for the role of Deanna Troi in 1987. In earlier drafts of the script, Leah’s name was “Navid Daystrom;” missing the reference, as Alex and Josh understandably did with the “Daystrom Institute” in “The Measure of a Man,” the casting department failed to realize that this implied a need to cast a Black actress in the part. Due to Gibney’s casting, the character was renamed, but the Enterprise computer mentions that she graduated from the Daystrom Institute. Leah’s surname may derive from that of Johannes Brahms, the composer of the piece (Hungarian Dance No. 5) the holographic violinist is playing during Geordi’s unsuccessful holodeck date with Christy Henshaw. Unfortunately, Geordi refers to the violinist using a word which is now considered a racial slur, embarrassingly dating the episode. Earlier drafts also had Geordi and the holographic Leah working in a mockup of the interior of the Enterprise’s warp core, where no human could survive. This would have been a spectacular demonstration of the holodeck’s ability to create any conceivable environment; unfortunately, TNG’s designers did not have the same ability due to budget restrictions, forcing them to substitute the sliding glass panels with schematics of the warp engines seen in the finished episode. However, Geordi still has the line, “You know what I need to do -- I need to get inside there. I need to turn that thing inside out…,” which should have set up the original concept. The computer describes Leah’s workspace which it recreates on the holodeck as “Utopia Planitia, drafting room five, of the Mars Station”. This is the first time the planet Mars has become directly relevant to a Star Trek storyline, although Mira Romaine is stated to be from Mars in “The Lights of Zetar,” creating the classic TOS trivia question, “In which episode does Scotty fall in love with a Martian?” Utopia Planitia is a large plain within Utopia, an impact basin on Mars. Oddly enough, Alex and Josh did not seem to notice the Enterprise herself under construction, visible through a window in the holodeck simulation of Leah’s lab. In 2016, long after the first references in Star Trek to Utopia Planitia as the location of a Starfleet shipbuilding facility, NASA discovered underground ice in the region, representing a volume of water equivalent to that of Lake Superior. In the Revised Final Draft script (available on the Star Trek Minutiae website), Data states while exploring the Promellian ship that “We did not have a fully integrated tactical command until the twenty-third century.” With this line absent from the finished episode, it would not constrain future Star Trek productions. Similarly, the Revised Final Draft has Picard asking Data to “advise the Astral-Five annex of the Smithsonian” about the ship; the finished episode does not establish that the Smithsonian Institution still exists in the 24th century. Among his other roles, Albert Hall (Galek Dar, the Promellian captain) appeared in "Apocalypse Now," "Malcolm X" and "National Treasure: Book of Secrets." As Geordi first begins investigating the problem, he comments, “Matter/anti-matter mixture ratio settings at optimum balance…” I have lost track of whether this is the first time TNG has contradicted the clear and explicit statement in “Coming of Age” that the only possible matter/anti-matter ratio is 1:1. Unfortunately, the finished episode does not fulfill the scripted specification that the audience should see the name “L. Brahms” at the end of multiple lines of the subspace field menu Geordi consults just before asking, “Computer, who is this L. Brahms?” The line therefore comes across as a bit of a non sequitur leading into the problematic storyline that follows. Surprisingly, Rick Berman liked Ron Jones’ love theme for Geordi and “Leah,” which drew inspiration from the contemporary pop sound of 1989. However, Berman vetoed Jones’ experimental and complex original cue for the episode’s climax, bringing back the episode’s main theme as Picard navigates the Enterprise through the asteroid field. The finished version of the sequence reuses cues from Jones’ score for “Where Silence Has Lease.” Unfortunately, although Alex and Josh are likely to disagree with me, I consider this the first episode of the series in which Ron Jones lives down to Rick Berman’s opinion of his work; parts of the score call an unnecessary amount of attention to themselves, and the most effective passages are the stock cues from the previous season. The IMDb page for “Booby Trap” indicates that fans have complained about the destruction of the Promellian ship at the end of the episode, since it should have been possible to surround it with warning buoys and allow Starfleet to figure out how to recover it safely for a museum. Other fans have responded that the true booby trap was not the aceton assimilators, but the Promellian ship itself, which Picard destroyed so it would not serve as an irresistible lure due to its historic value. [The final three paragraphs of this comment have been redacted due to spoiler content. Only one word remains legible in each paragraph: “Both” in the first, “bottle” in the second and “birth” in the third.]

Perfect to go with Sunday dinner..Thanks guys!

Thank you for the blur. It helps.

I forgot to mention the use of the echoing horns or trumpet in the score. No doubt inspired by Jerry Goldsmith's score for Patton. In the scenes where Patton talked about being a solider in a past life those echoing horns represented the echoing fanfare of a past army.

Geordi did nothing wrong he didn’t fuck the hologram or they even imply he did he’s just a dope to his own expectations.

Human problem see DS9

Geordi’s entire character is he can’t get laid

Trek Anticipates “Her”

Levar Burton hated this episode for the creepy things that it did to his character. And that it fell in line with the overused trope of engineers finding it difficult to form human relationships. (i.e. romantic ones.)

Does this episode remind anyone of the Space 1999 episode Space Warp

Geordi is a creeper episode

The idea of an interactive construct (an AI device) that allows one to brainstorm, actually giving valuable input to solve an issue was incredible at this point in time. Remember this is in the era, before the internet and when most personal computers were not very powerful... certainly not capable independent thought or any reasoning ability. But definitely strikes a chord in today's world. Entertaining reaction as always.

0:22 Right!! 🫡

No issues with sync today!

I lose it every time at the moment Leah is given her personality and the tender late 80s love ballad strings come in on the soundtrack

There is a good amount of technobabble in the rest of the series. Like you said Josh, you kinda gloss over it and just follow the plot. However, this is what TNG does better than any sci-fi show. And that is use hard science (at least as far as you can go with fiction) to solve complex problems. It feels like these are real science elements and systems that work. Brings realism to the show.

If you guys ever get to the bloopers/outtakes...there is a great one from this episode.

I always liked Riker's look that he gives the Chief when the Chief "saves" Picard from the "ships in bottles" scene. I'm surprised they kept it in, given how over-the-top Riker's face is, even in profile.

Absolutely love the different perspectives! This was one of my favorite episodes, but I love Star Trek being about space stuff and the crew having to figure things out. It's awesome to see that this series is doing what a TV show should do: It gives some episodes to the tech fans, and it gives some episodes (like the last one) to the character fans, and then it has episodes that are a mix. Love it!

Good summation, Josh: I'm not worried if it's going to be good or not, just how good is it going to be. I think that's how a lot of fans feel about seasons 3-7.

Will there be episodes that meet or exceed your expectations? Yes, Yes and Hell Yes! Sit tight.

Keep in mind that this episode was written and aired YEARS before anybody had ever heard of online dating, e-girls and AI romance. Very ahead of its time.

The butting of heads between Rick Berman and Ron Jones increased with this one. If you notice the music seemed to change when they start their escape, it did. From the Ron Jones soundtrack liner notes: “Human Factor,” heard for the first time on this box set, takes the material in a modern, almost Euro-pop direction with rock percussion and cascading synth trumpets—causing Berman to respond quizzically, “That’s very French.” He rejected the cue, so Jones and music editor Gerry Sackman found replacement music to use from the climax of “Where Silence Has Lease.”

Ohhh, you guys are having an issue with technobabble? Just wait until Brannon Braga and Joe Menosky join the writing team.....

A perfect example of the GEORDI system. Go on a date Engage physically Order coco-nonos Rejection Discover a smart sexy hologram Infatuation

Radiation on TNG is kinda silly. If you get irradiated for 30 minutes, you are dead. But if you're irradiated for only 29 minutes, 59 seconds, you'll be fine.

I LOVE the score in this episode.

I think those hand flashlights were used by the Away Team at the beginning of the season 1 episode Heart of Glory as they encountered the Klingons.

Ah yes, the “Geordi Gets Creepy On The Holodeck” episode.

Being a model builder I've always wanted a kit of that battlecruiser. Guess I'm gonna have to just scratch build one.