FULL DISCUSSION - Star Trek TNG S2E2 - Where Silence Has Lease

One of my favorites of season 2 (not a great season). Mystery and horror perfectly executed with a lackluster conclusion of an auto-destruction sequence to sour the previous events.

If Pulaski had been as rude to Troi as she was to Data, my mother would have loved Pulaski even more than she did! Also, this was indeed Winrich Kolbe's directorial debut on TNG. [SPOILERS REDACTED]

Superior alien testing humans. I think this is supposed to be something of an ethical dilemma about when is it ok, and to what extent, to use other living creatures for "research" After all, to Nagillum, we are probably on the plain of lab rats.

I don't think anytime in any series, that a Captain orders Auto-destruct, that it is a bluff. That's why they have auto-destruct. to prevent either ship/ tech of falling into alien/ enemy hands, or avoid suffering of brutal death which seems to lack other resolution. If Kirk had not been willing to destruct, then Genesis could have fallen into Klingon hands as a weapon

Not Q More like the vians

Q tests humanity in a different way than things like Nagillum. Q already knows everything about us so he doesn't have to experiment on us for knowledge. Q's "experiments" are more about testing our potential as a species, pushing us for growth, and messing around with us for fun. Nagillum has absolutely no interest in our potential or growth, or even messing with us. He just gets curious about random species, runs experiments on them to see how they'll react, then forms a conclusion based on his findings about whether or not he thinks that species is on his level or is worth his time. So Nagillum is more of an aloof elitist, while Q is more of a trickster/guide.

Why does Nagillum's face make me think of the turtle from Finding Nemo?

The two of them on that ship was one of the best sequences I've seen on the show and reminded me of one of the best episodes of Mrs Peel's Avengers Season 4 "The House That Jack Built". You can se how dropping Tasha Yar has created a little breathing room to show characters in more than just a passing hello. This doctor is ok, I prefer this actress but the character is needlessly confrontational.

Not one of my favorite episode, although the next one is.

They did indeed use the makeup for Skelator from the Masters Of The Universe movie for the holodeck creature.

Nagilum's voice actor, Earl Boen, was the Police Psychologist in Terminator 1, 2, & 3. The only actor besides Arnie to be in the first three movies. He passed just a few days ago.

Black holes have been featured in science fiction since at least the 1950s. And of course, in 1979, Disney released its most expensive movie ever until that point: “The Black Hole.” Featuring puppet robots with the voices of Roddy McDowell and Slim Pickens.

Unlucky that Naggy could block communications and transporters and shut all the bridge functions down, but couldn't turn off the auto destruct.

It is sort of like a Halloween episode crossed with a budget-saving 'bottle-show' episode. Apart from Nagellum I don't think there is any new/expensive element. It doesn't really add up to much (at least new), but it has some nice moments.

RSVP Haskell..💀

First episode when Growing The Beard change in quality was noticed. BTW, I'm watching on Apple TV and there are definitely big spoilers in the show descriptions coming up. Avoid them!

Winrich Kolbe was a good director for the Berman-era of Star Trek shows. I think he was an associate producer on the original Battlestar Galactica series. Although reviewing this episode many years later I don't like it quite as much as the first time I saw it, imo it is still decent. One thing I am noticing and remembering about season 2 is how much more comfortable the actors seem to be in their new roles. Picard, Riker, in fact the whole cast are not as stiff and stilted as they were in most of season 1. They all seem more relaxed and comfortable in their own skin (uniforms) and with each other.

I fully agree with Alex about being defensive of Data for the fact that despite Data being able to crush someone with his bare hands, and the fact he has absolutely no ego and thus cannot get offended, he is a pure soul and never tries to hurt anyone. We want to protect innocence like that. I don't think that it's that Data isn't clever enough to fight back against jabs but that he simply doesn't have the impulse to. Spock had an ego and thus could only take so much abuse from Bones before fighting back, Data is like a puppy who doesn't understand why you kick it.

Josh, we're going to make you write "DEE-anna" on the board a few hundred times if you're not careful. ;)

How does a learned man Picard not know what the reference of a rat in a cage means? And that Nagilum at the end with his speech to Picard basically just rehashes things Q says about humanity

Never like the crew just giving up and submitting to death it’s so anti trek and anti all their characters

I really dug this episode. It's certainly not a top-tier episode of the season. I am very excited for the next one. It's one of my favorites this season.

0:15 LOL! I don't get why people think that face is ugly. Skeletor was far uglier.

More Pulaski bigotry against Data! I call for a Pulaski boycott!

The Doctor was absolutely bizarrely mean to Data. She knows he is in Starfleet and the 2nd officer on the Enterprise, she is acting like someone from 1989 meeting an android...not like a starfleet officer. Nagelium is different than Q...not all powerful, just controls his domain/dimension....and possibly just a singular entity, unlike the Q And oh boy I can not wait to see you guys react to the Season 2 finale :)

I do like to think that Nagilum looks the way he does to further invoke the laboratory setting idea, this being what a human might look like to someone trapped in a beaker in a lab or something. As for the Wesley/Haskell thing, an in universe explanation: the ships run on a duty schedule, where certain members have certain times to work at their stations if not on an away mission. Wesley, still being a minor and only an acting ensign, has shorter shift times due to also need to do any school stuff. Haskell just had the unfortunate timing of being Wesley's relief. Kind of like when I worked Publix before, and those under 18 could only work a certain amount of hours, with those between 14 and 16 even less hours. Only with Karens instead of interdimensional scientists with no morals.