Target Audience / PATRON TIER LIST

Lol dude he at the very least made out with a holographic version of a real person then got all pissy and bitchy when the real person wasn't like the hologram. He also knew it was weird from the Barkley thing.

Greg Quinn

2024-10-17 04:13:29 +0000 UTC

I've heard that Geordi's actor Lavarr Burton hated this episode anecdotally, and while I enjoy them returning to this plot, I can see why. The B Plot "ship is in danger" excuse is entirely forgettable, but it's pretty fascinating to finally address the creepy factor of having real people simulated in the holodeck within a romantic context. Regrettably its a detriment to Geordi's character despite the stellar acting.

cricketlenny

2024-10-16 20:22:43 +0000 UTC

Struggles to barely make it up to a C-tier for me. Not much of consequence here.

Jim J

2024-10-14 22:09:23 +0000 UTC

I really like this episode, but I couldn’t give it higher than a B.. so it’s a guilty pleasure kind of episode for me.

TalynStarburst

2024-10-14 14:59:32 +0000 UTC

OK fine, but Geordi never asked for a version that would kiss him, the computer did that on its own.

Artribution

2024-10-14 02:10:50 +0000 UTC

Remember the kiss?

Tony B

2024-10-14 00:49:44 +0000 UTC

I actually think it was mature of the writers to make Leah at fault for the way she reacted, and have her realize it later. Geordi was right: nothing unprofessional actually happened on the holodeck.

Artribution

2024-10-13 01:24:25 +0000 UTC

I don't know where you're buying your blow-up dolls that can walk and talk and behave like a human. If you make an exact duplicate of someone with the transporter and then keep them like a slave, that's a violation, but so is keeping the original person like a slave. The computer version behaves in a way you dictate, and if you want to change the way they behave, you just tell the computer to change it. It's like a celebrity deepfake nowadays, that is without doubt, a violation. Sure Geordi doesn't use it in that way, but I'd definitely feel that he did something wrong, and the major problem I have with this episode is that it's treated like he did nothing wrong, and Brahams is in the wrong for being angry.

John

2024-10-12 17:26:01 +0000 UTC

A simulation of someone is still not the same as someone. Using the transporter to duplicate someone exactly is a far worse "violation." To me, it's like being offended by a blow-up doll. A blow-up doll is hardly less real than a holodeck simulation.

Jovet

2024-10-12 17:05:59 +0000 UTC

Can't assume people in the 24th century wear wedding bands, or really jewelry of any type.

Jovet

2024-10-12 17:04:14 +0000 UTC

@Raphael Gaytan I think "Code of Honor" is fine. I think a lot of S7 is fine. But the most obnoxious, silly, "Looney Tunes" plots were in S7 too.

Jovet

2024-10-12 17:03:12 +0000 UTC

Season seven was good. Still better than TOS’s final season. If there was anything hampering Next Gen in its final season, it was the diverting of behind the camera talent and resources to DS9. TNG had already made its mark in the annals of television history. So the focus had to switch to the fledgling series.

Raphael Gaytan

2024-10-12 17:00:46 +0000 UTC

I can’t believe that the director of this episode thought to himself, I should have Jodi block the exits and trap Leah in the Hollow deck and intimidate Leah, I imagine it was more like well. The set walls are only set up in so many positions And the camera can only sit in so many places and here’s an image. Do I think that the director was spending time thinking about making Geordie a predator, no. Mostly questionable choices and presentation and week writing

Thicketdweller

2024-10-12 11:11:49 +0000 UTC

And the computer was nice enough to provide a hollow image that did not include a wedding ring from any of her previous hollow imagery, And the computer was nice enough, not to include a wedding ring from any of her hollow imagery previously recorded

Thicketdweller

2024-10-12 10:58:22 +0000 UTC

Oh, about midway through season seven uggh

Thicketdweller

2024-10-12 10:52:51 +0000 UTC

While there's things to like about this episode, it really is kind of cringe. Even back then, it came across as borderline creepy behavior by Geordi and really skirts the line of some serious ethical issues regarding creating holodeck versions of real people to interact with. It also continues the "Geordi can't get a date/love life" plot thread, which to me always seemed a bit forced. Like, they had to give Geordi a character trait and just randomly picked "awkward with women/has no love life" because honestly, there's nothing else in his character that suggests such a trait. Seems kind of forced to me. A decent Geordi episode hampered by technobabble and character cringe. Enjoyable moments, but mid.

Paul O'Neal

2024-10-12 08:55:52 +0000 UTC

the confrontation between Geordi and Leah is cringe, it like if you found out co-worker has pervy pics of you but your at fault because he was offering friendship to you

Dark Kronis

2024-10-11 22:19:49 +0000 UTC

That’s a generous take. And actually, probably not far from accurate 😂 Yes. Let’s go with that. Poor Geordi.

StealthMomo

2024-10-11 21:40:48 +0000 UTC

There may be slightly worse episodes…but the Looney Tunes plot and the Geordi/Leah “relationship” just made this unwatchable for me. If it tells you anything…I enjoyed “Code of Honor” more than this.

Raphael Gaytan

2024-10-11 20:54:09 +0000 UTC

Well, seems legit to me! Thanks for the pointer, I love to learn something about production that's passed me by all these years!

Alexander McKechnie

2024-10-11 20:14:15 +0000 UTC

Damn, projecting much? I highly doubt this episode was written with anything less than the best of intentions. By today’s standards it’s cringey, but it’s written from a point of ignorance, not an agenda to excuse creepy behavior.

Column Meanie

2024-10-11 18:41:16 +0000 UTC

Sorry, but it's pretty hard to divorce this episode from the RL implications, that guys who do these sort of scummy things get away with it and feel totally justified. I really wouldn't take this episode as seriously if the episode's writers weren't trying SO HARD to convince me, the viewer, that Geordi was right and Leah was being a bitch for not liking him. Seriously, this was author grandstanding. Yeah yeah, this episode isn't as "bad" as a handful of later episodes particularly because the space baby plot is pretty decent, but because the writers specifically are trying to push this scummy agenda on the viewer, I find it more actually-reprehensible than, say, Sub Rosa, or other episodes that are bad and not that enjoyable, yet are still somewhat harmless. Galaxy's Child feels like it was written by a serial sexual harasser who decided to put into the plot "hey, look, I deserve it and I was justified, she was just a bitch for not responding the way I wanted." I doubt that was really the case, but I'm not sure I'd put it past the writer of Frozen Assets, which Siskel and Ebert declared the worse movie ever made (yes, ever). Because of that, THAT part of the plot puts it way below almost any other episode of the series. It's only partly redeemed because the child part of the plot is excellent, and Geordi's and Leah's interactions through the first 2/3 of the episode were well written. It crashes and burns MIGHTILY towards the end.

Ian Westcott

2024-10-11 17:44:36 +0000 UTC

There's a picture on the page of Dan Curry of the SFX team holding the mold for Junior, for what that's worth.

KatWithAttitude

2024-10-11 16:25:17 +0000 UTC

How so?

Jovet

2024-10-11 15:53:36 +0000 UTC

Yeah

Jeffrey

2024-10-11 15:53:13 +0000 UTC

There is no implication that Geordi did anything he wouldn't tell his mother about.

Jovet

2024-10-11 15:51:37 +0000 UTC

That's an interesting take. i don't really agree with it—I see nothing immoral or inappropriate about what happened in "Booby Trap." Exploring the consequences of a piece of that episode is interesting. Neither La Forge or Brahms are perfect people, and neither has the moral high-ground. She was quite correct in how weird he was being towards her, and he was quite correct that she had the wrong impression of him and the whole situation. They figured it out, laughed about it, and moved on.

Jovet

2024-10-11 15:50:28 +0000 UTC

I actually like that Picard isn't perfect. It counter's his brother's belief, for one.

Jovet

2024-10-11 15:44:57 +0000 UTC

He's not a creep. His only mistake was buying into the computer version of Brahms as reflecting the real one. A second mistake may have been to not delete the program from before.

Jovet

2024-10-11 15:44:06 +0000 UTC

@Kiel Copeland LOL!! What was he supposed to learn? What fungilli tastes like? Or how to wipe-out a yeast infection without asking Doctor Crusher?

Jovet

2024-10-11 15:42:30 +0000 UTC

It's embarrassing for Geordi, but not cringey.

Jovet

2024-10-11 15:39:11 +0000 UTC

I didn't realize that saving the ship was "intimate" behavior.

Jovet

2024-10-11 15:37:44 +0000 UTC

Some of you are taking this episode far, far too seriously. Relax!!

Jovet

2024-10-11 15:36:25 +0000 UTC

Humanity is certainly doomed if it's using any sort or form of Windows in 300 years...

Jovet

2024-10-11 15:35:44 +0000 UTC

Nah

Jovet

2024-10-11 15:34:24 +0000 UTC

Definite A from me

jon bolton

2024-10-11 14:33:15 +0000 UTC

Clearly a B. Could be A-Tier if it was a little more focused and nuanced, but it could also be C if it just blatantly took sides. Also, has anyone made a Target Audience doppelganger AI yet?

Tim b

2024-10-11 09:44:41 +0000 UTC

I’ve been waiting for you guys to see this episode for a year Love the look on Leah’s face when geordi walks into the holo deck Not to mention the look on Jordy‘s face. Great scenes with Guinean in this episode

Thicketdweller

2024-10-11 05:14:31 +0000 UTC

I like the idea of Geordi having to show up to weekly meetings with Barclay.

#MaxwellDidNothingWrong

2024-10-11 04:34:10 +0000 UTC

Geordi's progress was ruined by a single writer, writing his only ST episode. This one needed the 'wall of writers' It's not Geordi's fault

#MaxwellDidNothingWrong

2024-10-11 04:30:15 +0000 UTC

Let's be real, Geordi learned nothing from this. He definitely went straight to the holodeck after she left to modify the program so he could taste her fungilli

#MaxwellDidNothingWrong

2024-10-11 04:27:33 +0000 UTC

Shouldn't Barclay be in the corner laughing at the hubris of this all? Not one season ago Geordi was lecturing him, lol

#MaxwellDidNothingWrong

2024-10-11 03:59:47 +0000 UTC

We do get Ensign Sariel Rager, a fine post-Weasel navigator. Not enough to bring this out of D territory for me.

rear adm. crackbiscuit

2024-10-11 01:43:36 +0000 UTC

It was cringe then. It's even more cringe now

Jeffrey

2024-10-11 00:32:47 +0000 UTC

This is a hard one to call. Its an awesome call back, but also awkwardly hilarious, but may trigger the guys' aversion to technobabble which often tanks their enjoyment. I think it is a solid A tier episode, but the guys might go C or B. I hope they prove me wrong.

James W.

2024-10-10 22:17:51 +0000 UTC

I like the actress who plays Leah a lot (in fact she almost got the part of Captain Janeway in Voyager), but the story hasn't aged well. In fairness to Geordi, in "Booby Trap" he didn't ask the holodeck to make Dr. Brahms so romantic. He just wanted someone he could talk his ideas though with. But the holodeck interpreted that as backrubs and "Wait 'til you try my fungilli". So Geordi wasn't trying to do what Leah is accusing him of in this episode; the problem is that when Hologram Leah started in with the flirty talk Geordi went along with it instead of telling the holodeck to dial it back and keep Hologram Leah strictly professional.

Charlie's Illiteracy

2024-10-10 21:52:52 +0000 UTC

I really like the idea of this episode but the way the pieces come together just doesn't work well enough to elevate it to an A.

Cirk Bejnar

2024-10-10 21:18:32 +0000 UTC

Seriously, for an engineer, Geordi needs to work on his computer skills, move your "programs" to system32 or something. At least Leah didn't accidently stumbled upon Barclay's program #9.

snthd

2024-10-10 20:44:28 +0000 UTC

A fantastic first 35 minutes followed by 10 minutes of AWFUL, this was truly one of TNG's worst moments. I don't like Geordi's creepiness, but as long as it's treated well, I can enjoy an unlikable character. Instead, the episode AGREES with Geordi's predatory behavior, and Brahms ends up apologizing for not liking him. UUGGH. It's a very, VERY ugly trope of "guy gets angry and tells off a woman because he thinks he DESERVES her and she's not into it." Happens IRL as well, and it's some of the ugliest behavior.

Ian Westcott

2024-10-10 20:32:02 +0000 UTC

This episode is straight ASS. I know Geordi is blind, but even a blind man should have been able to read Leah and realize she wasn't into him and just stop. Then the crew were total morons and put themselves into the situation where they had to kill the alien mother. The biggest "Idiot Plot" episode since Samaritan Snare.

JGoss

2024-10-10 20:19:20 +0000 UTC

I cannot wait to see what you guys say when we get the 'real' engineer onboard. the fallout from making living people in the hollow deck is awesome. its a fun episode B for sure. could have done without the space baby stuff in this episode... for me this is all about Geordi for sure.

Lt Dan I scream

2024-10-10 20:06:35 +0000 UTC

They really couldnt figure out what to do with Geordi for character development for a while. It's a good lesson that not all character growth has to involve a love interest.

Pokeysaurus

2024-10-10 19:53:17 +0000 UTC

@Alexander McKechnie The program replayed from the beginning. Geordi even points out in his defense about how it happened, even though it must have been like listening to just one half of a phone call.

Jovet

2024-10-10 19:52:19 +0000 UTC

He never asked. (the computer)

Jovet

2024-10-10 19:49:35 +0000 UTC

There are far worse episodes than this coming. If I was a Star Trek cultist, a few episodes in S7 would have made me suicidal.

Jovet

2024-10-10 19:48:52 +0000 UTC

This is a complete over-reaction. You talk like they porked or something.

Jovet

2024-10-10 19:47:04 +0000 UTC

The rare situation where the threat of the week space pierogi B plot is great and poignant and the personal character moments fall flat. Geordie deserved better from the unfortunate writing. Oh, I also only got the double meaning of the title in my 20s.

Tony B

2024-10-10 19:30:35 +0000 UTC

I predict you guys will like this episode because it was what you asked for in your discussion of Booby Trap.

Nick Sauer

2024-10-10 19:13:00 +0000 UTC

Rookie mistake Geordi. Everyone knows you gotta delete your holodeck search history every week or 2.

Timothy Nikiforovs

2024-10-10 18:53:42 +0000 UTC

Geordi asked the computer to create her personality off of speaking appearances and recorded logs. In essence, he asked for her on-screen persona and not her true day-to-day self. In her logs she's probably professional and very fact based, in her speaking appearances she likely was trying to build rapport with the audience, trying to be engaging. Geordie basically fell for the character, not the actress. Total parasocial relationship.

Nolan

2024-10-10 18:45:24 +0000 UTC

So much of Star Trek I tend to think about in the context of the writers and producers behind the episodes and just what they were possibly thinking. The B-plot of this episode is really fantastic and worth the watch. Everything they do to Geordie, however, is atrocious, and it really feels like they did Levar Burton dirty on multiple occasions in general. This instance is perhaps the hardest to sit through, which is why I personally give it such a lower grade.

Shortskirtsandexplosions

2024-10-10 18:40:45 +0000 UTC

Umm. You completely derailed by putting "seduce and possibly sleep with" anywhere near Geordi LaForge. You have watched the show, right? If Geordi showed up at my house and said he wanted my daughter over to his house to spend the night, I'd ask him if he wants a puzzle or board game to take with him too. Worf or Riker? That's a different story.

THE Fans

2024-10-10 18:33:06 +0000 UTC

So guys, now that you know it's on the table, what episode do you want to see them follow up on?

Jeffrey P

2024-10-10 18:09:38 +0000 UTC

Really good episode over all but Geordi does come off like a creepy "nice guy" and Leah seems to shift to "oh well you having a program of me that seems intimate isn't a big deal" oddly easily. Still good episode.

Greg Quinn

2024-10-10 17:54:25 +0000 UTC

I like this one a lot. Geordi has to deal with his feelings about Leah while learning she’s married and kind of a bitch to start off. I like that Leah finds the program and that Geordi defends the use of the program. After all, the computer filled in the gaps on her personality, he didn’t do that. A tier for me

marty63026

2024-10-10 17:42:38 +0000 UTC

I don't really have an issue with the holodeck aspect, I think that's private. I have an issue with Geordi blowing up at her, saying "I offered you friendship" when, and let's be honest here, he was trying to seduce and possibly sleep with her and using information he gained by other means (her favorite dish), to accomplish it. Feels like gaslighting and a little manipulative to me to respond like that when you were just caught with a horny holographic version of this girl you claim you just want to be friends with. I love Geordi. I even made a pumpkin homebrew I named after him a few years ago (Gourdi La-forage), but the writers didn't do him any favors here. I still rated it as a B because I think the story is good overall.

THE LORE!!!

2024-10-10 17:40:08 +0000 UTC

That's actually a consideration I never thought about... I like it honestly

Max Yoder

2024-10-10 17:37:46 +0000 UTC

That wasn't GEORDI'S original intention.

David Brown

2024-10-10 17:37:14 +0000 UTC

Torn between a c and a d. I went with D. It was cringy and the plot did nothing for me. Funny season 4 started amazing but that is followed by a spattering of “meh” episodes. This is low level “meh”

Crankygrandma

2024-10-10 17:27:20 +0000 UTC

This is a solid C for me because it has probably the widest range of moments - from A to E along the way. Some Geordi stuff is cringe but needs to be. I do think there is a generational difference in fans that watched this when it came out and the mores of younger fans today. I understand that standards change, but Kirk's womanizing as well as the Riker superfan from last episode and Geordi/Leah here are emblematic of real human relationships, which usually are messy. I wish Trek had a character like Captain Jack from Dr. Who - a future human who will have sex with just about anything. Riker comes closest.

C

2024-10-10 17:27:14 +0000 UTC

Well well well Geordi, next time put your holodeck programs into a hidden folder in the LCARS. Starfleet HR is watching

Gregory

2024-10-10 17:24:40 +0000 UTC

A STRONG A+++. I know you will FLIP over this, I predict you'll go S or A. I remember cringing for poor Jordie, but he could have handled it much better. Meanwhile, maybe there should be restrictions from creating an existing person in the holodeck. I can't imagine anything more invasive or exploitative. So I guess what happens in the holodeck doesn't always stay in the holodeck... so be careful! 🤣🤣🥰

Michael Metrick

2024-10-10 17:06:32 +0000 UTC

I like this episode overall just because I get where Geordi is coming from, but it’s also a little cringey at the same time. I’m glad they ultimately worked well together when it was necessary, but I can’t imagine she would want to be friends with him after what she found.

Brian Moore

2024-10-10 17:02:54 +0000 UTC

Hard to rank this episode. Ratings-wise, it has moments that put it generally all over the place. Nice continuity with Leah Brahms, but oh man, does Geordi get stung big-time. How could the computer have been so wrong in "Booby Trap" as to create a Leah Brahms that appears to have missed some key elements? The space baby part has some nice special effects but is pretty much routine Star Trek.

Collin Freeman

2024-10-10 16:48:45 +0000 UTC

And he has to go around to all of the crew and family members on the Enterprise and let them know as such.

Collin Freeman

2024-10-10 16:42:56 +0000 UTC

I agree with Levar on this one.

Collin Freeman

2024-10-10 16:42:15 +0000 UTC

You could be right -- I felt that it was implied in "Booby Trap." Otherwise, I'm not sure why it was quite so difficult for him to walk away at the end. Regardless, "Every time you touch these engines, you're touching me" might have been his chance to tell the computer to tone it down a bit, but he left it as-is. She was rightfully angry about it.

Jesse Manning

2024-10-10 16:34:55 +0000 UTC

Yep, cause the holo version was based on her public speaking persona, where she has to interact with and is actively courting the audience's attention in that venue.

Nolan

2024-10-10 16:30:50 +0000 UTC

A thing to note about why holo-Brahms and real Brahms seem so different: in Booby Trap, Geordi asked the computer to approximate her personality based off if public speeches and logs... the problem being that the persona one adopts for public speaking and professional logs is not going to be their true day-to-day persona. It's going to be a more idealized, restrained version of the person. To fall for thst personality and thinking you know a person based off of that, that is parasocial behaviour.

Nolan

2024-10-10 16:22:46 +0000 UTC

I’ll be interested in how the guys react. It brings a character back from another episode, which they seem to love. I agree with the comment about Picard endangering the ship more than necessary. Worf was right. I recall this episode as one I don’t mind rewatching.

JP RFL

2024-10-10 16:20:24 +0000 UTC

Not that it would have salvaged the whole episode, but it feels like a missed opportunity to not have Barclay show up. He and Geordi could have had a heart-to-heart about fantasy versus reality.

KevinH

2024-10-10 16:18:51 +0000 UTC

I stand corrected! Don't know how I forgot the Crystiline Entity. And I never knew about a Fibreglass space baby. Memory Alpha has been known to make mistakes, it sure looks all CGI to me, but I could well be wrong!

Alexander McKechnie

2024-10-10 16:13:22 +0000 UTC

I think this episode and Geordi's behaviour in it backwashed onto "Booby Trap," affecting viewers opinion of that earlier episode. Though for a long time as a young teen, I didn't see the problem, it was just awkward guy being awkward around women. Now though, after there was public discourse I can see it: Geordi, blocking the only exit, shouting over Brahms, ingnoring her totally justified creeped out feelings, him trying to manipulate a situation without being up front about it at all, it's just not great looking in hindsight. I don't think the writers or director even realized at the time, so it's not like it was intentional. However, this episode DID end up being a great look at parasocial relationships. It just kinda threw Geordi under the bus.

Nolan

2024-10-10 16:13:05 +0000 UTC

I disagree that more happened in the holodeck with Holo-Leah. She activated the program right we're it left off in the first episode. I don't think Geordi ever turned it on again after that first appearance, which is why it makes it all the harder for him to convince her it was innocent. It's not his fault the computer's default assumption is to make holograms a little horny....

Alexander McKechnie

2024-10-10 16:09:49 +0000 UTC

Geordi is the stereotypical trek fan as it pertains to matters of love apparently. This would all have been avoided if people just donated to space Wikipedia and he could have seen that Leah is married. C for me

Phil Ken Sebben

2024-10-10 16:07:09 +0000 UTC

Geordie proved that your expectations for someone you know about but haven't met yet. Will go crashing down when you do meet them. Geordie having a crush on Brahms made this even worse.

Keith S

2024-10-10 16:02:32 +0000 UTC

It’s hard to say this about my favorite television series ever…but I hate this episode. Like, really hate it. If every good episode had a skin of evil like Armus that it scraped off to form a giant pool of shit, that pool would be “Galaxy’s Child”! Live short and die in agony, episode. 🖖

Raphael Gaytan

2024-10-10 16:02:15 +0000 UTC

Voted E. I really don't like this episode, Geordi acted like a creep from the start. He felt entitled to Brahms friendship (and obviously hoped for more) and acted offended when she wasn't interested seemingly not understanding that she doesn't owe him anything. "I offered you my friendship!" ... so what? You offered, she rejected. Grow up, Geordi

Phillip Grischa

2024-10-10 15:51:45 +0000 UTC

With all his research into Leah Brahms, how is it that Geordi neglected her marital status?

Linda Stricker

2024-10-10 15:48:39 +0000 UTC

The greatest amusement from the episode (second place to your obvious double entendre there) is that there was no such thing as fungilli, it was completely made up. And a recipe for it has since been devised. I haven't made it, though.

Jovet

2024-10-10 15:46:34 +0000 UTC

My problem with this episode is not that Geordi comes off as a creep for the way he created a holo-simulation of Brahams, and assumed that she would behave the way her holo-simulation, it's that he didn't come off as being in the wrong for creating a simulation of a real person. He violated her in one of the worst way you can, and we're supposed to be sympathetic with him about it, and everything's fine by the end of the episode. But Patrick Stewart's performance is the best part of this episode, and his rising above the material is what pushes this up into the D-tier for me. If it had just been Geordi and Brahams, it probably would have been E-tier, but Picard saves it from the garbage heap of the season.

John

2024-10-10 15:46:27 +0000 UTC

This whole “ Geordi is cringe” thing always got to me ! He seems like a guy I always want to have a beer with , but he’s the “ nerd that can’t talk to girls “ trope to the max! Treat my boy right ! Last time he actually was smooth is when Worf coached him ! And If that’s not enough, they make him a creep?! Also, fuck the B plot HARD!

Sixto

2024-10-10 15:45:42 +0000 UTC

From the episodes page on Memory Alpha: The spaceborne species seen in this episode was represented by a fiberglass model built by Tony Meininger and a CG model created by Rhythm & Hues. So practical and CGI both.

KatWithAttitude

2024-10-10 15:41:55 +0000 UTC

I don't love this one, but I don't hate it. I do believe that too few people really stop to consider all of these happenings from Geordi's perspective. Poor guy.

Jovet

2024-10-10 15:39:35 +0000 UTC

It was good to see the continuation of the Geordi/Brahms story, and this did so in an interesting way. It was a bit uncomfortable, but it brought up some of the ethical considerations of usages of the holodeck. The B story was Eh, but not horrible

Max Yoder

2024-10-10 15:38:56 +0000 UTC

The greatest disappointment of the episode is that we never got to see her fungilli.

Column Meanie

2024-10-10 15:32:12 +0000 UTC

I, for one, still look forward to trying her fungilli.

Jovet

2024-10-10 15:29:30 +0000 UTC

Written by people who had all the ethical prowess of a senior high school social studies class.

Column Meanie

2024-10-10 15:28:49 +0000 UTC

You’d start caring when you met the person whose program it is, and then they started feeling entitled to your friendship or affection and when you rebuke it, they get angry, which is the sort of situation women navigate often in real life (minus the holodeck part). Geordi is a great character and the writers really did him dirty in this episode.

Vina

2024-10-10 15:28:07 +0000 UTC

Technically Crystalline Entity was first. But this was another step for sure!

Column Meanie

2024-10-10 15:27:28 +0000 UTC

I hate how they made Geordi come off as such a creep in this one. She had every reason to be upset and to assume the worst. Then he has the nerve to have a tantrum when she is justifiably upset. Really terrible writing all around. I think the overall episode is watchable. It's just one that you will forget about.

Spencer Loften

2024-10-10 15:26:03 +0000 UTC

The episode where Picard makes one bad decision after another. Aside from his questionable command decisions, he openly and repeatedly ignores Worf’s precautions. I’m sure it was all Worf could do not to leap up and down and scream “I told ya so!”, pack up his bat-leth, hop in a shuttle, and head for a ship where he’s appreciated. Creeper Geordi returns! The much needed followup to “Boobytrap” makes Geordi a victim of cold-hearted Dr Brahms. Eh. Leah really should hire an attorney. Kudos to the special effects crew for making a CGI apple turnover somewhat convincing. But glad these guys still stuck mostly with models.

Column Meanie

2024-10-10 15:25:25 +0000 UTC

I revised my initial vote to D-tier, since it's not the worst of the worst. The space baby B-plot is generic sci-fi -- not good, not bad, just kind of there. The Geordi-Leah A-plot is just plain bad. It was bad upon release and gets worse as time goes on. This COULD have been great in many ways -- addressing holo-addiction, privacy in an age when holodecks can literally recreate people, appropriate boundaries for holodeck use, even morality in the 24th century. But it was written in a different time and ends up trying to make the audience hate Leah, feel bad for Geordi, and excuse his gaslighting after he -- AT BEST -- allowed the creation of an ASMR avatar of a real person to talk nerdy to him and rub his shoulders while he worked. It's never revealed but heavily implied in "Booby Trap" that there was more that happened with that holodeck creation than a couple of brainstorming sessions and a little shoulder rub. "[Y]ou accused, tried and convicted me without even bothering to hear my side of it. So, I'm guilty, okay? But not of what you think! Of something much worse. I'm guilty of ... reaching out to you. Of hoping we could connect. I'm guilty of a terrible crime, Doctor. I offered you friendship." Yuck.

Jesse Manning

2024-10-10 15:24:53 +0000 UTC

I don't get the morality of it. If someone took my likeness and had all kinds of kinky fun with it in a private holodeck, why would I care? The only way I'd care is if that was somehow made public.

Paul

2024-10-10 15:20:02 +0000 UTC

Georgi is all of us in High School (minus the genius level intellect). I feel for him. If only we all had Riker's swag.

Paul

2024-10-10 15:18:59 +0000 UTC

Wow. Some of you are being really down on Geordi. If you really take the part 1 of this, he simply fell for a holo-character. It didn't go past what we saw... a kiss? Seemed innocent enough. I mean, I have videos of myself posted online as a young man. If I discovered someone was using those for some quick thrill, I would probably be a little embarrassed, a little flattered, and maybe pity the person who felt ok with doing it with something that wasn't real. If I were her, I'd check the history of use and drop it. But back to the people looking down on Geordi, I didn't see anything in this or the previous episode to deserve such criticism. What if a REAL Minuet showed up, and Riker realized that her character on the holodeck was taken from a real person's bio? Would he be judged similarly? Or should he apologize to the real Min?

THE Fans

2024-10-10 15:16:02 +0000 UTC

Yeah that guy that gave Geordi confidence? Must have been short lived. lol Also CLEAR YOUR BROWSER HISTORY GEORDI !!!!!

Eric Wilson

2024-10-10 15:09:27 +0000 UTC

When I first saw this episode many years ago, I was cackling like a kookaburra when Brahms told Geordi she was married.

Evan Guthrie

2024-10-10 15:06:49 +0000 UTC

B tier. TNG once again predicts the future. Geordi learns a hard lesson about not remembering to turn on incognito mode when using the holodeck.

EnigmaticPenguin

2024-10-10 15:04:34 +0000 UTC

Oh my I do not really like this episode at all. The space baby stuff is alright. But hardly a strong plot. But it’s harmless Trek fun. But I really dislike the Geordi and Leah stuff. I kinda like the fact that it’s addressed following Booby Trap but I’ve never really liked Geordi’s attitude in this one. It all just feels a bit cringey and even creepy. Probably my least fave of the season D tier maybe.

Darren Seal

2024-10-10 15:03:57 +0000 UTC

Despite labouring under the typical A-B storyline format, this one gets big points for answering a lot of questions raised from the problematic storyline in BOOBYTRAP (which is impressive in of itself since the early 90s was anything but addressing problematic behaviour of characters in mass media). I think the early 90's flavour appears in the fact that the show can't figure out a way for Geordie to apologize properly and tries to make Leah the bad guy for not taking "the compliment" -- basically the writers feeling that audiences wouldn't stand for Geordie being vilified so they try to not judge him as had as the crew judged Barclay. A cop out, but still impressive for TNG trying to self-correct as it goes along. Social progressive stuff and hard conversations in TREK always gets an A for me so I had to give it that here.

The Sultan

2024-10-10 15:00:16 +0000 UTC

Love Geordie. But great Odin's raven this episode is cringier than a windowless van with free candy written on the side. D for dead from embarrassment.

s0rd3z

2024-10-10 14:53:50 +0000 UTC

I like this episode, both for the plot and what they tried to do on the interpersonal side (call Geordi out for being a creep). They didn't have enough courage to really hold the line (cringe conclusion to that subplot), but it really puts Booby Trap into another light. I DO wish they had been more willing to explore both her backstory and give Geordi more healthy attachments. LeVar Burton was right to be offended that they kept doing his character dirty on the romance side of things.

Kristina Weber

2024-10-10 14:53:13 +0000 UTC

One I usually skip.

Darin Wagner

2024-10-10 14:52:06 +0000 UTC

Geordi’s creepy dating habits come home to roost!

tyranusfan

2024-10-10 14:48:17 +0000 UTC

I am a fan of continuity. I have little else to say

Elway Simpson

2024-10-10 14:46:41 +0000 UTC

This is one of the handful of episodes that I will skip over on any re-watches, boring plot, cringe character writing, nothing worth coming back to imo.

Tristan Rose

2024-10-10 14:41:01 +0000 UTC

SO VERY AWKWARD. After we thought Geordi had some progress with his character, the writers revert back to this embarrassing display. And you get that weird feeling that we're supposed to be on Geordi's side because Brahms isn't nice at first, and then when Geordi gets mad because SHE gets mad over her simulation. Only the story with the space creature saves this one for me.

Joe Concepts

2024-10-10 14:41:00 +0000 UTC

Good follow-up to the prior episode with Leah Brahms and also Hollow Pursuits, with Geordi it’s implied going further than Barclay did. Rated it a B as it’s good but not a personal favourite.

Paul Rymer

2024-10-10 14:39:02 +0000 UTC

I give it an A grade, the space baby angle was interesting. But altogether this was a Geordi episode. The scene when Geordi walks in the holodeck and sees Leah Brahms's reaction was solid gold 😁

Christopher Dorn

2024-10-10 14:37:20 +0000 UTC

😬 Geordi... Not your finest hour, bro.

THE LORE!!!

2024-10-10 14:35:15 +0000 UTC

Pretty sure Geordi is on some kind of holodeck misuse register after this episode.

Alan F

2024-10-10 14:34:43 +0000 UTC

Tough episode for Geordi. Kinda neat bit with the baby space critter.

Forbidden Donut

2024-10-10 14:33:34 +0000 UTC

Ah, the REAL Leah Brahms! I like the space baby (I think the first totally CGI character in Star Trek?) My fan theory is that her marriage is kind of on the rocks and that's why she's so pissy at first, and that by the end she sees Geordi as a harmless weirdo who is actually charming in his own way. I understand Levar Burton hates this episode because of how creepy and off-putting it makes Geordi seem.

Alexander McKechnie

2024-10-10 14:32:33 +0000 UTC

This one was just...kinda there for me. Amazing how I liked the Leah Brahms character in the earlier episode and they turned her into a total unlikeable woman in this episode. Even after everything came out at the end, she was still completely unlikeable. The holodeck scene was hilarious, though. She had more personality as the holodeck version.

wildhunt1973

2024-10-10 14:32:16 +0000 UTC

Blah

Prof Moff

2024-10-10 14:29:48 +0000 UTC

Real Leah Brahms, meet Holodeck Leah Brahms! Uh, oh. Plus a C-Section in space. I would rank it higher if both Leah and Geordi didn't act somewhat questionably, but I do rank it as “Enjoyable”.

KatWithAttitude

2024-10-10 14:28:48 +0000 UTC

Gaslighter Geordi

Dion James Pitman

2024-10-10 14:26:57 +0000 UTC

PATRON TIER LIST - TNG S4E16

Comments

Lol dude he at the very least made out with a holographic version of a real person then got all pissy and bitchy when the real person wasn't like the hologram. He also knew it was weird from the Barkley thing.

Struggles to barely make it up to a C-tier for me. Not much of consequence here.

I really like this episode, but I couldn’t give it higher than a B.. so it’s a guilty pleasure kind of episode for me.

OK fine, but Geordi never asked for a version that would kiss him, the computer did that on its own.

Remember the kiss?

I actually think it was mature of the writers to make Leah at fault for the way she reacted, and have her realize it later. Geordi was right: nothing unprofessional actually happened on the holodeck.

A simulation of someone is still not the same as someone. Using the transporter to duplicate someone exactly is a far worse "violation." To me, it's like being offended by a blow-up doll. A blow-up doll is hardly less real than a holodeck simulation.

Can't assume people in the 24th century wear wedding bands, or really jewelry of any type.

@Raphael Gaytan I think "Code of Honor" is fine. I think a lot of S7 is fine. But the most obnoxious, silly, "Looney Tunes" plots were in S7 too.

And the computer was nice enough to provide a hollow image that did not include a wedding ring from any of her previous hollow imagery, And the computer was nice enough, not to include a wedding ring from any of her hollow imagery previously recorded

Oh, about midway through season seven uggh

the confrontation between Geordi and Leah is cringe, it like if you found out co-worker has pervy pics of you but your at fault because he was offering friendship to you

That’s a generous take. And actually, probably not far from accurate 😂 Yes. Let’s go with that. Poor Geordi.

There may be slightly worse episodes…but the Looney Tunes plot and the Geordi/Leah “relationship” just made this unwatchable for me. If it tells you anything…I enjoyed “Code of Honor” more than this.

Well, seems legit to me! Thanks for the pointer, I love to learn something about production that's passed me by all these years!

Damn, projecting much? I highly doubt this episode was written with anything less than the best of intentions. By today’s standards it’s cringey, but it’s written from a point of ignorance, not an agenda to excuse creepy behavior.

There's a picture on the page of Dan Curry of the SFX team holding the mold for Junior, for what that's worth.

How so?

Yeah

There is no implication that Geordi did anything he wouldn't tell his mother about.

I actually like that Picard isn't perfect. It counter's his brother's belief, for one.

He's not a creep. His only mistake was buying into the computer version of Brahms as reflecting the real one. A second mistake may have been to not delete the program from before.

@Kiel Copeland LOL!! What was he supposed to learn? What fungilli tastes like? Or how to wipe-out a yeast infection without asking Doctor Crusher?

It's embarrassing for Geordi, but not cringey.

I didn't realize that saving the ship was "intimate" behavior.

Some of you are taking this episode far, far too seriously. Relax!!

Humanity is certainly doomed if it's using any sort or form of Windows in 300 years...

Nah

Definite A from me

Clearly a B. Could be A-Tier if it was a little more focused and nuanced, but it could also be C if it just blatantly took sides. Also, has anyone made a Target Audience doppelganger AI yet?

I’ve been waiting for you guys to see this episode for a year Love the look on Leah’s face when geordi walks into the holo deck Not to mention the look on Jordy‘s face. Great scenes with Guinean in this episode

I like the idea of Geordi having to show up to weekly meetings with Barclay.

Geordi's progress was ruined by a single writer, writing his only ST episode. This one needed the 'wall of writers' It's not Geordi's fault

Let's be real, Geordi learned nothing from this. He definitely went straight to the holodeck after she left to modify the program so he could taste her fungilli

Shouldn't Barclay be in the corner laughing at the hubris of this all? Not one season ago Geordi was lecturing him, lol

We do get Ensign Sariel Rager, a fine post-Weasel navigator. Not enough to bring this out of D territory for me.

It was cringe then. It's even more cringe now

This is a hard one to call. Its an awesome call back, but also awkwardly hilarious, but may trigger the guys' aversion to technobabble which often tanks their enjoyment. I think it is a solid A tier episode, but the guys might go C or B. I hope they prove me wrong.

I really like the idea of this episode but the way the pieces come together just doesn't work well enough to elevate it to an A.

Seriously, for an engineer, Geordi needs to work on his computer skills, move your "programs" to system32 or something. At least Leah didn't accidently stumbled upon Barclay's program #9.

I cannot wait to see what you guys say when we get the 'real' engineer onboard. the fallout from making living people in the hollow deck is awesome. its a fun episode B for sure. could have done without the space baby stuff in this episode... for me this is all about Geordi for sure.

They really couldnt figure out what to do with Geordi for character development for a while. It's a good lesson that not all character growth has to involve a love interest.

@Alexander McKechnie The program replayed from the beginning. Geordi even points out in his defense about how it happened, even though it must have been like listening to just one half of a phone call.

He never asked. (the computer)

There are far worse episodes than this coming. If I was a Star Trek cultist, a few episodes in S7 would have made me suicidal.

This is a complete over-reaction. You talk like they porked or something.

The rare situation where the threat of the week space pierogi B plot is great and poignant and the personal character moments fall flat. Geordie deserved better from the unfortunate writing. Oh, I also only got the double meaning of the title in my 20s.

I predict you guys will like this episode because it was what you asked for in your discussion of Booby Trap.

Rookie mistake Geordi. Everyone knows you gotta delete your holodeck search history every week or 2.

So guys, now that you know it's on the table, what episode do you want to see them follow up on?

Really good episode over all but Geordi does come off like a creepy "nice guy" and Leah seems to shift to "oh well you having a program of me that seems intimate isn't a big deal" oddly easily. Still good episode.

That's actually a consideration I never thought about... I like it honestly

That wasn't GEORDI'S original intention.

Torn between a c and a d. I went with D. It was cringy and the plot did nothing for me. Funny season 4 started amazing but that is followed by a spattering of “meh” episodes. This is low level “meh”

Well well well Geordi, next time put your holodeck programs into a hidden folder in the LCARS. Starfleet HR is watching

I like this episode overall just because I get where Geordi is coming from, but it’s also a little cringey at the same time. I’m glad they ultimately worked well together when it was necessary, but I can’t imagine she would want to be friends with him after what she found.

And he has to go around to all of the crew and family members on the Enterprise and let them know as such.

I agree with Levar on this one.

Yep, cause the holo version was based on her public speaking persona, where she has to interact with and is actively courting the audience's attention in that venue.

I’ll be interested in how the guys react. It brings a character back from another episode, which they seem to love. I agree with the comment about Picard endangering the ship more than necessary. Worf was right. I recall this episode as one I don’t mind rewatching.

Not that it would have salvaged the whole episode, but it feels like a missed opportunity to not have Barclay show up. He and Geordi could have had a heart-to-heart about fantasy versus reality.

I stand corrected! Don't know how I forgot the Crystiline Entity. And I never knew about a Fibreglass space baby. Memory Alpha has been known to make mistakes, it sure looks all CGI to me, but I could well be wrong!

Geordi is the stereotypical trek fan as it pertains to matters of love apparently. This would all have been avoided if people just donated to space Wikipedia and he could have seen that Leah is married. C for me

Geordie proved that your expectations for someone you know about but haven't met yet. Will go crashing down when you do meet them. Geordie having a crush on Brahms made this even worse.

With all his research into Leah Brahms, how is it that Geordi neglected her marital status?

The greatest amusement from the episode (second place to your obvious double entendre there) is that there was no such thing as fungilli, it was completely made up. And a recipe for it has since been devised. I haven't made it, though.

From the episodes page on Memory Alpha: The spaceborne species seen in this episode was represented by a fiberglass model built by Tony Meininger and a CG model created by Rhythm & Hues. So practical and CGI both.

I don't love this one, but I don't hate it. I do believe that too few people really stop to consider all of these happenings from Geordi's perspective. Poor guy.

It was good to see the continuation of the Geordi/Brahms story, and this did so in an interesting way. It was a bit uncomfortable, but it brought up some of the ethical considerations of usages of the holodeck. The B story was Eh, but not horrible

The greatest disappointment of the episode is that we never got to see her fungilli.

I, for one, still look forward to trying her fungilli.

Written by people who had all the ethical prowess of a senior high school social studies class.

Technically Crystalline Entity was first. But this was another step for sure!

I don't get the morality of it. If someone took my likeness and had all kinds of kinky fun with it in a private holodeck, why would I care? The only way I'd care is if that was somehow made public.

Georgi is all of us in High School (minus the genius level intellect). I feel for him. If only we all had Riker's swag.

Yeah that guy that gave Geordi confidence? Must have been short lived. lol Also CLEAR YOUR BROWSER HISTORY GEORDI !!!!!

When I first saw this episode many years ago, I was cackling like a kookaburra when Brahms told Geordi she was married.

B tier. TNG once again predicts the future. Geordi learns a hard lesson about not remembering to turn on incognito mode when using the holodeck.