UNCUT - New Ground (TNG S5E10) | Star Trek Journey 217

This is actually one of the better kid-focused episodes this season. It’s downhill from here…

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Around this time, I feel a lot of TNG episodes start getting phoned in. Part of it may have to do with the budget going to Deep Space Nine. But when the B plot of the episode is something like, "There's a rock in space we're researching; We're about to hit the rock in space; Board room meeting discussing science; Disaster averted after hitting it with a torpedo" then it's pretty much bottom of the barrel.

Alexander "You don't care about me. All you care about is your honor!" Worf "Alexan...........I mean, when you're right, you're right."

Sex scoreboard short update. Clearly no scores but a comment from the reproduction counter. We almost want to give Worf a -1 score. The reason is he has now infected us with Dorf. If we could go back in time and stop Worf from Klinging-on a little to long or at least using some non Bat'leth protection and producing Dorf we all would be happier. But alas, the scoreboard does not judge the results of the shag just counts the shaggin'

Wait. So I have to rely on someone else to push me into Warp. I also rely on someone to stop me when I get to my destination. I can't change speed or direction without exiting the wave or else I'm stranded. If someone disrupts the wave I'm either stranded or destroyed. I can't go anywhere that no one's ever been to. I also can't travel to any civilization that doesn't already have its own soliton wave facility. Also the wave I'm riding might destroy the planet I'm visiting if something goes wrong. It might not be a great way to travel, but it makes for a fantastic superweapon. This is a clear example of why judging a show can be complicated. TNG is overall a fantastic series, but once in a while it introduces concepts that kind of break things. The existence of the soliton wave should have serious consequences, but instead it's just forgotten and ignored lol.

For once I'm going to agree with Ken R's description. This episode is very much decaf trek. I don't hate it and it has some nice moments between Worf and Alexander, but it just feels bland. I also never really bought into the idea of the soliton wave. I guess I can see a use for it as a cargo transfer device, but clearly it's a less versatile option than warp drives, and of course it ended up being another in a long line of federation experiments that turned into doomsday weapons. With the number of times they've accidentally destroyed planets or even solar systems(or come close to doing so), you'd figure nobody would risk pissing off starfleet.

This was a decent character episode. The Next one however its one a really loathe to watch again, and while the child performer here was good, the next one is sunk by that chile actor, in fact the next few are rough

Josh "it would be interesting if we could see the progression of technology in real time in the show" Well about that, there's this little show called SG-1

Starfleet once again with the tried and true "hey, nice new technology ... it sure would be a shame if it became a planet-destroying weapon"

The shows audio echoing in your mics makes it slightly unpleasant to watch along to. Hate to be negative, but I don't see anyone else mentioning it.

season 5 is a bit like season 2 with its wild swings of ups and downs. though i think the ups in this season are higher. i believe there's a top 3 highest rated TNG episode ever this season... i wont say which one.

THIS is how you write Troi. A for that part for sure. Also, the ending Worf / Alexander dialogue.

Would you believe me if I told you that this episode was supposed to be a backdoor pilot for a Worf and Alexander sitcom?

Yup, B-ish episode, great Worf character growth, and a great scene with Troi. But the sci-fi stuff is very generic and has no tension, and that's coming from someone who loves sci-fi plots in of themselves.

One thing I love about Star Trek is they always think two dimensionally. "Why can't we go around the wave?" How about OVER the wave, or UNDER the wave?

The best part of the warp drive plot is Geordi being excited about it. I like the opening scene with him getting frustrated that Data and Worf don't share his enthusiasm. I'm an engineer myself, so I really related to him there.

Ah Worf never going to win father of the year… it’s got some decent character development but year C tier for me. Just bland

I’m glad you mentioned the weird atmosphere in the briefing room, I too noticed how close Data is sitting behind Geordi. Watching it again my take is that Spiner is goofing around and trying to make LeVar forget his lines, he looks like he’s suppressing a smirk the whole time. Apparently he was notorious for winding people up

I am so glad you mentioned make-up!. THE Michael Westmore one of my heroes.. This guy did a lot of Star Trek make-up from TNG to DS9 and VOY and some of the movies..but he has been doing make-up since 1963, and the Westmores are famous famous make-up people in Hollywood. He won the Oscar for the movie Mask and Oscar nominated for Star Trek:First Contact I recently read his biography, and it had some of the best behind the scenes old time Hollywood stores I have ever read...make-up people know all the gossip..

Worf: Galaxy's #1701 dad. Good scenes in a "The Return of Dorf," but not enough to elevate it past a C.

53:08 This episode is the first allegory against fossil fuels in the series.

3:40 Worf's name is Worf. That's not his first name or his last time. That's just his name. If clarification is needed, he is Worf, son of Mogh.

This episode is better than I remembered it, especially the bits with Troi. For sure, Dorf is here to stay. While not all the episodes with him are fantastic, they're not TOO bad. It's just that the writers kinda made a bad take on Worf among multiple hands. Have faith, though. The storyline eventually reaches a very good conclusion. I don't think I'm alone in thinking that.

Your notes on the technology improving during the show — Stargate does really well with this.

"Dad, who is this kid named Jeremy I've heard about it?" "We referred to him as 'Damien'. He shall not be spoken of again."

A couple of things... one item a downer. 1) The actress who played Worf's mother died a few months after this episode was filmed. I only recently found out when I was curious about who she was. (Edit: As I continue to watch your reaction, I see that you mention this. I'll leave it here, anyway, for anyone that might miss it from the reaction.) 2) Do you remember the TV show Family Ties, with Michael J. Fox. The boy who played Alexander was a regular in that series. His name is Brian Bonsall. I don't know if Patreon will permit this link, though I doubt it will even be turned into a link. But check out what Alexander REALLY looks like: https://www.remindmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/brian-bonsall-family-ties-474x720.jpg Yes, that's him. But it wasn't the same child actor as the first episode that had Alexander in it.

I agree with Alex, i give it a low B too. I also agree with Josh the Deanna and Worf scene was great. I'm glad we are thinking similar again lol.

I never understood stealing in the future there....why does the teacher not want the kids to take the models? Surely she isn't holding on to those things for another year for the kids later, when she can spend 3 seconds and replicate all new ones. She going to sit there and clean those old ones and store them? And in a society when anyone can get anything they want for free, why woludnt Alexander just tell them computer in his room he wants a model like the one in the school and just have it make one for him instantly and for free. The whole concept of most private property would be gone except for things that have some sort of intrinsic value like a grandmother's ring, a father's weapon, etc

This was a bad episode. I think I saw a very similar plot on "Good Times". This kid shit has become a running problem, and it doesn't really have a place in ST in my opinion, but TNG has been pushing it since way back in season one when Data had the child pen pal that was just oh so precious. I just don't get it. In the last few episodes since I've returned to TA, there was this, the child traumatized by his dead parents he thought he killed, and an elevator full of kids. Its too much.

Was that a tear I saw in Josh's eye during the Worf + Troi scene? Your eyes looked mighty glassy 👍

The makeup artist Michael Westmore was given a lot of freedom to come up with his own designs and prosthetics unless the script or producers were looking for something specific. Sometimes he had more time and money, and you'd get more elaborate prosthetics and sometimes there wasn't.

Yeah, I think Season 5 is the best for the fans, (especially the last half) but the best season for you guys will either be season 4 or possibly season 6. Those seasons have a lot more episodes that fans tend to gloss over, but are actually more your style. Like Night Terrors for instance.

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