UNCUT REACTION - Star Trek TNG S3E25 - Transfigurations
The reaction everyone has been waiting for.
Comments (93)
Just watched this eight months late. I fell hopelessly behind you guys for personal reasons too boring to go into. I'll keep trying to catch up.
I was hoping the being's exit through the bridge's sun roof at the end would've gotten more of a pop, as we rarely see the bridge ceiling. Still, cool to see the emergence of a new Q or Trelane-style species.
About the science stuff and Josh and Alex not liking it or not getting it. Respectfully…rather than just playing the “self deprecating “im stupid” lines…maybe use stuff like that as a way to learn more about the underlying science or in some cases the history references etc….thats one of the amazing things about star trek and many of us learned lots about things we didn’t know when watching the first time. TNG is full of all sorts of neat little tidbits of real world historical references and Shakespeare and of course lots of general science/physics info. It inspired many people to become scientists, astronauts, engineers, doctors etc.
A great example is the vocabulary that J&A are being exposed to on the show. Alex remarked about Data's use of the word "clandestinely" in Barclay's episode, and that's just the latest one (a real word, versus technobabble).
I was kind of hoping when the turbolift next opened Geordi would be making out with Riker.
That would've raised the ranking of this episode for sure
Im surprised people are so bothered by the special effects. Like it wasn’t that bad at all and certainly did not take me out of the story.
I feel like they must have hit a lot different in the early 90's on a 420p TV set. But they have a funny charm of old special effect.
I think you are right it is basically a bog standard Star Trek Episode down to a planet, meet alien, is alien good or bad etc? Not bad but not exceptional
I never really understood the hate for this episode. It is pretty forgettable and it's not making any top 10 lists, but it's fine as filler. While obviously shows like The Boys can do a much more realistic looking job of it today, for 1990, the makeup of "John Doe's" missing arm and his missing cheek and piece of his skull showing his teeth and brain was pretty impressive. Obviously there's no CGI(aside from I assume a green sleeve over his arm to edit it out) and the facial prosthetic has to go over his real face so the proportions look off, but for the time it was good(and gruesome). It's nice to see Geordi having a little rizz for a change, though I laughed pretty good at the idea of John just taking his confidence back from him🤣. At least he doesn't have to listen to Wesley roasting him for finding his dates on the holodeck. They kind of did him dirty when Worf died in that fall though. They cut to his face and he just gave no fucks at all. It's like he's thinking "aww, bummer....he was giving me some good dating advice. Oh wait, I still got Riker, s'all good". I always kind of laugh at the Zalkonian suffocation weapon, because it's basically the "we blew through our entire VFX budget" weapon. But seriously if I'm at the helm and I start suffocating right after this guy on the view screen gave a command to one of his crew, and everyone else on the bridge is unable to breathe, I'm getting us out of there captain's orders or no. I mean sure they'll give chase, but it buys some time. Surprised Worf didn't unload on them while he was still standing. And credit to Patrick and Gates at the end there, because they're having to act like they're talking to a guy who basically just ascended into one of the myriad god like entities in Trek, when in reality they're talking to a guy in a green body sock. I do think the scene might have worked better if they had just given him a glow but we could still see his face before he turned into the energy ball. At least they should have ADR'd his lines so it wasn't muffled talking through said green screen suit, but oh well. Not as good as the penultimate eps of the last 2 seasons, but it's ok. I don't mind the technobabble, especially in cases like this where it mostly makes sense, but that's because I'm a fuckin nerd. The ten forward scene was the only one where it really felt excessive, but they were trying to make Geordi and Data sound like workaholics.
Filler? These are core star trek episodes. Engaging intellectual discussion, some interesting technical solutions, and discovering new species and helping them from persecution. Seriously episodes like this ARE star trek. No endless pew pew battles or silly Ferengi or evil scientist or bad admiral stuff.
It's so interesting to see a "Q-Type" species form
I mean, god bless Gates McFadden. She's a really solid actress, and she's also super cool in real life, having met her a couple times. She's got a great sense of humor about TNG and loves what she got to do on the show, but if there was a contest for most thankless role on TNG, it's gotta be Beverly. I've always loved her, and so even when she gets a ludicrous episode pinned on her, she commits. :)
What exactly makes this a ludicrous episode?
Not sure if it's intentional, but really appreciate your staging, composition, and coordinated outfits (and the BLU-Rays between you). A good, classic Trek episode. Morality and humanity, and a lot of technobabble. I almost think they were making fun of themselves in this one. Either way, solid episode which makes you feel great at the end.
Beverly is in love with a unic
Did you mean eunuch or is there a joke I'm not getting? 🤦
Am I missing something? What is with these fantasies about killing Josh before each reaction?!?
https://youtu.be/Wys6Nuq4Les?si=vxpqKpkIb_GgoEZz
This confirms it. Even episodes I don't like are way more fun to watch with you guys. I love the Geordi stuff in this episode and the larger exploration of Sickbay (we usually only see one room), but the rest is still meh.
I don't think ANYONE has been waiting for THIS episode. Just a meh episode, even if a Beverly-centered episode.
Umm I was. This is peak star trek
There were just over 400 on Kirk's Enterprise. Picard's Enterprise has over 1000.
Oh and that bridge technobabble was interesting - I first noticed watching today that that the map was encoded in messenger RNA, which was a very new discovery in 1990. The acronym is mRNA, which some may recognise from a few brands of COVID injections.
it was discovered in 1961 but the details of how it functioned were more recent "public" knowledge
Hardly anything makes me laugh out loud but sometimes Alex just blurts something out that tickles me. When he said 'hello, bitch' in Freddie Kruger's voice I was nearly wetting myself laughing. Just the idea of FK and Dr Crusher. It was funny when he said he expected the camel toe dude to suck Geordi's confidence back out of his shoulder too.
I will say that I think I was a little hard on Beverly. She actually avoids any romantic interaction with John Doe. I do find it a little cringey that she talks about her feelings to Wesley of all people. I get it, he’s 18 and this is the future where humanity is perfect, but I wouldn’t be caught dead talking to my mom about the men she’s giddy for. And I’m gay!
I blame Wil Wheaton and Jonathan Del Arco for turning me gay in the first place. Very cringy scene between them though discussing her having the hots for him. Maybe the writers thought by 'spiritual connection' it was that she sensed he was a healer of some sort.
One of the main "values" of Science Fiction over Fantasy for me, is that it is mostly based on our world's physical laws and in the realm of our scientific theories. That's why many of the things you see in science fiction often become a reality in our world because the science is accurate. It isn't necessary to understand it, but if you pay attention you can learn a little bit about the science that they are talking about. There are quite a number of things in our world today that are a direct result of people who watched the show, who figured out how to make those things for real. Too many to list, but you can google it.
yes, I found that too over the years. Yes, the technobabble goes over your head. But considering in High School Physics class, when the teacher asked for an example of Inertia....I brought up Star Trek, and one of the common things said when the ship would come to a stop was "Initializing Inertia Dampers". Teacher was impressed, even though it was a SciFi example, he was impressed that I was able to take a real science concept and link it to something on a fictional TV show that was technically correct.
The obviousness of him being a guy in a bodysuit is less an issue in the original SD broadcast/VHS versions where that sort of detail is mostly lost. I've always liked this episodes. It's sort of like a Jesus metaphor, sort of like an LGBT metaphor, but I think it's mostly its own unique scifi thing.
Besides the stupid onesie and bad FX, I think the biggest error is that despite their species being on the brink of evolving into a higher lifeform, their technology is on par with the Federation.
They were more advanced than the Enterprise. It took John Doe to save them all from death by choking.
Okay, okay, I agree with you guys that this is just a solid, average episode, but I still like it overall. My main criticism is just that I wish the guest character were fleshed out a bit more to get me more emotionally invested in his plight, but that's a common drawback of amnesia plots for me, and the mystery itself is still enough to hold my interest. What bumps this episode up for me is its sincerity and optimism. The Enterprise crew is rewarded for their kindness, assistance, and open-mindedness with enabling the creation of a wholesome new species that literally adds to the positive energy of the universe. Especially in today's TV landscape where sometimes shows can be overly dark or grounded, I really appreciate watching something with no trace of cynicism whatsoever.
It’s refreshing to see optimism and positivity and the federation at its best
Get used to the technobabble. Its used to at least bring some fictional legitimacy to the science aspect. But yeah, as long as the scene is backed up with showing the result of what that means as you said, you kinda just go “ whatever”, and let it go in one ear and out the other.
33:50 Not cement! LOL!
Yeah, metal plating for sure, but given it needs to be sturdy enough to land shuttles on, it might as well be cement as far as Worf's back is concerned😄
Ketchup and Mustard.
23:00 #getsmart
During the main titles I'm hearing some/the slightly-tweaked (newer) theme music. I don't know when that was stuck in.
Interesting I wasnt aware they changed the music at all?
4:44 That's not his brain. It's his skin.
No, he has visible brain. It has to be at skin level because it's makeup, but the intent was missing skull with exposed brain. Part of his cheek is gone too, exposing his teeth. For a quick shot, that was some fantastic makeup.
3:16 Yes it is. Good catch Josh.
I found the technobabble believable in this: the computer part stores memory in RNA form (DNA digital storage is a real thing!), turns out it had info on a course but no beginning coordinates. Then they assume that there must have been corrections to the course in order to account for stars' gravitational pulls. Then I think they ask the computer to see what kind of stars would have to be present in order for someone to have made the course corrections. Turns out this type of course correction could have been made if a pulsar with a specific pulse had been present. Then they ask the computer if there is any such pulsar in the area and what do you know, there is one! I think my problem with it in this case is that it was explained and a very short time and not in an engaging way. There are episodes that do feature sci-fi problem solving that do it much better, but I do appreciate that at least it wasn't complete nonsense in this case.
This episode is one of those rare instances where technobabble is actually simple to follow and believable. Thankfully not at the “tech the tech” stage.
I'm constantly doing double takes during this episode because. without getting too specific, the name John Doe is pretty similar to my real identity. The only other thing I've seen Mark LaMura in is his years of being on the soap All My Children, where he played the illegitimate half-brother of legendary character Erica Kane.
....Don Joe?
"land in middle of the road but not sure which side of the tracks", I like that. Good metaphor!
You know the "mumbo jumbo/techno-babble" you guys have absolutely deemed as a negative factor in the show actually has some people that appreciate AND understand it. Star Trek, unlike many other sci-fi shows, goes to great lengths to at least make the technobabble make sense and stay consistent throughout the series. I understand that you hate it and you immediately disconnect from the scene when you hear it but some nerds enjoy it 🤷🏼 and the ship/technology designs, too. It's just a matter of how left/right brained the viewer is.
Yes, we are aware different people like different things
In all these decades, this episode went from a C- to a C, or C+ at best. Run of the mill episode. Generic. A bit formulaic. Meh.
And very predictable. "Oh? It's called "Transfigurations? Gee, I wonder what that mutation that's happening to John could possibly end up as??"
This episode was actually better than I remember. I think what makes it so "solid" is that I don't really think it has a lot of objective flaws. It just suffers from being not the most interesting concept in the world.
Oh, you know what was "solid." We could all see it...
Worf's spine took that 30' drop like a champ
Aside from the whole shattering and instant death thing :P
Hoo boy, you think this technobabble was bad? You ain't seen nothing yet. At least it makes sense in a broad scientific sense. But it gets SO much worse with a heavy use of fictional science the further into the franchise you get. Really looking forward the magic meeting room in a later series.
Sylvania Man: Origins https://youtu.be/NGdnJu0i67A?si=397W_2yEbfyQPTzb
I do actually like this episode. It's a good outing for Beverley where she gets to really flex her MD a bit.
This episode is nowhere nearly as bad as I remember. I genuinely enjoyed a lot in this one. Worf had some funny lines and Worf getting yeeted and breaking his neck was a good stunt. I think it suffers a bit because it's "the episode before the S3 finale."
I think it’s superior then the next one
This is fine, it’s never gonna be the greatest episode ever but there’s a lot to like and I’ve always enjoyed it. Always liked Dennis McCarthy’s score here too!
Ugh. Really? This is one of the top 10
These skits are killing me, holy shit.
Yup, this is the epitome of a C episode. My vote for the "worst" of season 3, and even then, it's fine. Not terrible, not great, will watch it if it's on, but no one will miss it if it gets skipped.
Menage a Trois is solidly worse than this one imo.
I've watched TNG through twice and somehow I don't remember this episode at all. They really turned the Treknobabble up to 11 with this one.
Time again for the Bangin' Board: The sex scoreboard Riker 6 Troi 3 Data 1 Picard 1 Worf 1 with an assist new Jordy 1 + 1 i 1 new Broccoli 2 i Notes - Wacha-cha-cha Jordy. Da Rizz; Jordy scores big time ( and sounds like many times) with Christy finally. No ukulele beach fuffy drink wimpy attempt (or violin maybe whatever) but full blown come with me to the arboretum let me show you the WILD SIDE. Worf gets a hockey assist. I've been tutoring him. I am not sure even a god like mental thing could have sealed the deal, it needed a Worf helper. Dr Bev almost one. I just could not find a time when John could break the friend zone and then he basically dumped Dr. B after the assignment to friend zone which amounts to the post dumped dump face saver. That is this Eps update to the big board.
Appreciate the update!
I think they beamed up 3 because riker and data were staying back and investigating the crash more.
I appreciate this episode more as an adult, John is a really nice guy. Sorry of like a workplace hero that everyone likes. He generates a warmth and the crew really respond which is what makes it work. It's shot in a way which is very sympathetic to John and where the crew seem to be rooting for him.
O'Brien busting his shoulder on the holodeck .... what a novel idea.
Thanks for pointing that out, I didn't even think about it lol
Technobabble Translation: You can tell a star's gravity from the star map by how John swung around it and how fast he was going. From that you can get the rotation rate of a star that swings around like a lighthouse at a very specific interval. BOOM, they'd already seen a flashing pulsar like that on long range sensors. It was all astronomy basically.
Close
I thought this was an OK episode when I first saw it, solid and very sci-fi themed. As a trans person after cracking my egg, I fucking bawl my eyes out at this one. The feels are IMMENSELY familiar.
Oh my god, I used to have that exact same Borg model as a kid. I beat the hell out of it cuz I was a stupid kid but I kind of regret that now. I had the Enterprise, a Klingon Bird of Prey, a Romulan Warbird, and the Vor'cha class Klingon Battlecruiser. It was so great living in the 90's and Star Trek was actually pretty popular. Oh and the reaction was good I guess
If you think the technobabble in this episode is bad, sorry guys .... hold onto your butts.
It's not bad, it's good. It all makes some sense.
You guys are mustard and ketchup today 😉 looking slick
https://youtu.be/5wlOqEp72vg?si=AKp9nFPYnXQ-0Nw_
Argh, i have to wait until I get home. I LOVE this episode. This is one of many that I loved it as a kid when I didn't know anything, and as I grew up each time I watched it, it just got better in my eyes. And it means we're just ONE step away from........ I am going to be checking my email constantly this weekend for the notification. I need to make sure I get snacks. And Whiskey. And a good pillow for the couch. and make sure the cats are taken care of so they don't bug me every 30 seconds.
It's a much better episode than I remembered. A solid B for me.
I'm going to wait and watch this next week during your break 😜🖖🏼
I really don't want to watch this. I'd rather eat mustard by itself.
I love mustard!
Let's goooo
Amazing, a few seconds ago I sat down and wondered if there was anything to watch, then BOOM, a notifaction came thru and here I am, LOVING IT.
O'Brien in 1990 sports gear YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
oh dear yes we all had that late 80s/90s apparel
This just means that Sunday is going to be 🔥🔥🔥🔥