PATRON TAKES - TNG S7E4

I’m not sure in the general consensus with this two parter but I like it, somewhere between a B and A for me. The pirate captain has no charisma though, which brings it down a bit

This episode is a guilty pleasure of mine. I love vibe shift. B for Banger!

I enjoy this one, it's entertaining. Much better than the previous 2-parter. Ugh. This is a solid "B" for me.

I’ve always chosen to look at the seventh season of TNG as, “This is our last season! We’ve secured our legacy in the Star Trek pantheon! So let’s take crazy risks and go out having fun!!” Swashbuckling space pirates?? Hell yeah! It’s senior year of high school, folks! 🖖 B-Tier for me!

It's hard for me to judge episodes like this. What I mean is that this is an episode where a member of the show gets assigned a task they have no right to be doing. They seem to do it about once or twice a season. Put Picard on a merc ship, put Troi on a Romulan ship, have Riker infiltrate an alien world, etc. I enjoy them for what they are, but at the same time it's always hard for me to move past the simple concept that Starfleet has far better people than the bridge crew of the Enterprise for these tasks. There's simply no way Starfleet would risk the captain of the flagship of the Federation on this.

Do you wish there was more of the mourning for Picard or did the episode balance the emotion and action well?

32 years since I first saw it and I still have a soft spot in my heart for this 2-parter. Not top-tier by any stretch, but fun. Space pirates sure are dumb!

Has a pretty good hook for an intro, episode just doesn’t land well for me It’s not unwatchable it’s just boring

Words alone cannot describe how pointless and absolutely stupid I think this episode is. F tier

Not a favorite of mine.

I don’t care what anyone says, Picard was holding all them slaps for Riker for years ! 🤣🤣🤣🤣💪🏽

I hate the charade. It just comes off like bad vaudeville.

It's.... an episode. I remember it, but not overly fondly.

This two-parter (taken as a whole) is on my top ten most underrated Trek episodes list. I get an original crew vibe from more than just Robin Curtis.

So Picard takes the name Galen. Which was also the name of his archaeologist mentor who died last season. I'm guessing they captured him, he had to come up with a name fast and that's what came out. But it's funny in the context that Professor Galen was the most renowned Federation archaeologist of the 24th century. Now these Space Pirates aren't academics but seeing as they smuggle artifacts of archaeological significance they would probably know the name of the most famous archaeologist who just died last year while on the ship of that famous bald enterprise captain who was assimilated by the Borg a few years ago. Of course Picard could have just been like "ahhhh yes I have the same name as him, it's weird isn't it? I guess it's kinda like how Elvis is a really weird name but both Elvis Costello and Elvis Presley were singers....oh you don't know who they are? Well they were Earth Singers around 400 years ago who...."

Riker has gone from "beat the borg, saved mankind" to "easily being captured by space pirates minutes after his XO warned him to stay on the ship." Notice how this time Picard was lost the Admiral didn't facetime to promote him to Captain.

I enjoyed this one, although it seems to be any odd time in the season for a two parter. I think this would have been a better season six cliffhanger than Time's Arrow.

This one is fun, not great, it was great seeing Robin Curtis back in a Trek role.

I’ve never really cared for this two parter, but you guys have consistently given new life to episodes I’ve overlooked for decades. So come at me bros!

Jean Luc Solo

I can't believe they killed Picard! Off screen! in a teaser opening!

Robin Curtis is back as Tallera. In general guys how do you like seeing “Star trek alumni” returning as guest characters? Yay or nay? I guess it depends on the…….. execution

Okay, we all know they aren't gonna kill off Picard off-screen 4 episodes into the final season.... I don't care, this is just a super fun adventure, and it's nice they let it breathe over 2 episodes.

I love this episode It's goes from very straightforward to slightly wacky

I love this two parter. Should have been a real movie with more budged though

Picard as "Galen the outlaw" gives me life. Is it just me, or does he pull it off way better than Riker, too?

Welcome to the first 2 parter of this season.

I have always gotten the sense this one is not well loved, but I like it, especially as a season 7 episode. It does a good job with an engaging mystery in the first half and as soon as it answers that mystery, it starts to give us others to keep us engaged.

Time's Arrow, Chain of Command, Birthright, Descent, the DS9 3 parter, and now this. We getting mighty serialized at this point.

This one went against Roddenberry’s rule of no space pirates. A fun romp. Great to see Robin Curtis. Always felt this was a bit of a redemption for her after being ditched by the TOS films. B for “bring on part 2!”

Data in command is the fun part for me. The pirate ship is too brightly lit. Give me some shadows and mood! They're criminals for Prophets' sake!

This season's Time's Arrow. Great fun if you're in the mood for some space-pirate action-adventure, not great if you expect Chain of Command.

After seeing Captain’s Holiday, do you think this is a better use of the Picard Indiana Jones idea that they were going for? Personally I love the mystery and the reveal of Picard, but the other characters seem a little gullible.

Admiral Chekote returns from “The Circle” and manages to be slightly less dumb. Good for him.

C. Bordering D. Completely forgettable

I have always found it funny just how good anyone in Starfleet seems to be when they're undercover. Sure, Picard knows a lot about acting, but in the real world this kind of thing usually needs specialized training. One could argue they DO get that training, especially since secret first contact missions are part of their jobs.

So here we have another in-season 2-parter. As 2-parters go, I think this is better than some (Time's Arrow anyone?) but not as good as others (BOBW, Chain of Command), so it falls somewhere in the middle. It has some overtones of Chain of Command and The Chase. The episode itself, as a whole, is decent - another mystery (we know Picard is likely not dead, but what is going on), and then we have type-casting Richard Lynch to play another nasty bad guy (remember Wolfe in Battlestar Galactica - Gun on Ice Planet Zero?). Overall, I give this one a B.

Not really sure what the consensus opinion on this one is, but I love it. Really fun to see Riker and Picard on the pirate ship as well as Data in command of the Enterprise. Also a good character scene between Riker and Troi when they think Picard is dead.

Captain Data, that's all I got to say

Yo ho it’s a pirates life for me! A part 1? So soon! But It’s a fun one, Data and Worf in command what’s not to like there? You’d think Picard would steer clear of bar fights…