FULL DISCUSSION - Star Trek TNG S1E25 - Conspiracy
Added 2023-12-27 17:11:10 +0000 UTC
Comments
Appreciate the love for season 1. It’s my third least favorite season (behind 2 & 6) but it deserves nowhere the hate it gets.
fassbinderfanny
2025-01-03 03:08:05 +0000 UTCRight. The message was a homing beacon to summon more of the creatures from elsewhere in the galaxy to Earth. It didn't mean that there were more creatures still on Earth.
Anthony Bernacchi
2024-01-04 05:25:50 +0000 UTCRemik was the only one, there was nothing to indicate there where more
Derek Orr
2024-01-02 21:26:39 +0000 UTCIt could have been a strategy decision by Picard when he only informed senior officers of what is going on and then worf opted to respond personally and took laforge as backup rather than sending regular security officers
Derek Orr
2024-01-02 21:23:07 +0000 UTCBits and pieces of the same general evidence that Data found about odd behaviour and orders by starfleet
Derek Orr
2024-01-02 21:17:53 +0000 UTCWow! Why?
Derek Orr
2024-01-02 21:16:06 +0000 UTCAnd not even just the resolution, but the typical screen sizes where less than half they are now.
Derek Orr
2024-01-02 21:15:25 +0000 UTCThe ending wasn’t saying there are more on earth. It was the message that remik was sending before they killed him. They explained none of them could survive without the mother creature inside remik
Derek Orr
2024-01-02 21:09:42 +0000 UTCTo me the worst part of the fight is how thin the plywood wall Geordi goes through looks.
Jef Etters
2024-01-01 18:05:57 +0000 UTCThis is literally the only stupid part in an awesome episode. Head of Security and the pilot show up - zero yellow shirts.
Jef Etters
2024-01-01 18:03:16 +0000 UTCYeah. You can clearly see Stewart step up to a tape mark on the carpet of the bridge in this one but the tape is so tiny it wouldn’t have shown up.
Jef Etters
2024-01-01 18:00:43 +0000 UTCI worked on an independent movie as an extra with him 20 some years ago. I had completely forgotten until just watching this that it technically puts me “2 Kevin Bacons” away from Patrick Stewart in Seven Degrees of Kevin Bacon. If you count extras!
Jef Etters
2024-01-01 17:58:39 +0000 UTCExcuse me?
Steven Johnson
2023-12-31 02:03:12 +0000 UTCShhhhhh................
Rhett Coates
2023-12-31 01:54:35 +0000 UTCI think The Sopranos was the first serialized show that really took off for the masses. Twin Peaks did it before The Sopranos though. The X-Files and Deep Space Nine also had elements of serialization where there was an underlying main story going on, but there were often standalone episodes thrown in as well. I'm sure there's other early examples as well.
Ca$hWednesday
2023-12-29 18:17:33 +0000 UTCI met Michael Berryman at Monsterfest a few years ago in LA. Absolute gem of a fellow. We had a drink with him. He has a condition where he’s hairless and doesn’t sweat- you shake his hand and it feels like sandpaper. Just a nice guy, hitting the fest circuit and living an interesting life.
Stuart Arbury
2023-12-28 23:27:46 +0000 UTCNO SPOILERS!!! . . . Oh wait 🤪
Rich Cirivilleri
2023-12-28 15:35:23 +0000 UTCThat edit is funny, it just cuts from them shooting to Picard giving his end of episode Captain's log
Justin DiBari
2023-12-28 14:16:18 +0000 UTCI don't know if this episode was positioned second to last for the season because it was considered too intense to end the first season with (like 'City On The Edge Of Forever'). I can't address the next episode yet (or certain episodes in season 2). This does lead to a bit of confusion as to what exactly TNG was building up to at that point in time. Which idea was the one that the writers intended to be the main continuing story, or did they just change their minds rapidly.
Numinous2019
2023-12-28 13:36:50 +0000 UTCI liked it also back then. I saw it on reruns about that time. but now I think it is so horrible. I am not commenting on your daughter or her taste. Just being sure you know. :)
Carl Peterson
2023-12-28 10:43:35 +0000 UTCI enjoyed this one. If i had to make a guess I'd say this was inspired by the movie Invaders From Mars, down to the neck, . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmRY-htbjIk . Thomas Paine was a founding father. This one is in my top 2 or 3 of the season. Regarding serialized tv, wasn't it The Sopranos that changed everything?
Ken R
2023-12-28 07:36:10 +0000 UTCThe fight scene is the worst part of this episode. Being able to see the stunt doubles so well is another side effect of a show that was meant to be seen on a grainy 32" CRT TV being converted to HD. It does make it a lot more fun though! Glad you guys enjoyed this one. It's one of my favourite early episodes as well.
Ca$hWednesday
2023-12-28 06:03:32 +0000 UTCAlex thinks they will follow up with these aliens. Josh thinks they won’t. One of you is right.
Joe Concepts
2023-12-28 05:38:12 +0000 UTCIt’s hard to fight the urge based on what they say in their discussions, but probably shouldn’t.
Joe Concepts
2023-12-28 05:19:03 +0000 UTCThis is one of my favorite episodes of TNG and the first episode in a string of them that venture into the horror/mystery genre which fits Star Trek and TNG extremely well. I would have liked for there to have been more episodes with a horror flavor to them. It also continues and plays off of the last episode we saw these two in as well with their "something is wrong" motif.
LMPGames
2023-12-28 04:48:41 +0000 UTCOoh...to be fair, I understand why you guys liked this episode so much. But unfortunately I can't fully get behind it, if only because its weak plot driven by a misguided concept. The music score, direction, acting, makeup, sets, and effects (both composited and practical in this case) are all above average for television of this era in general, and a good sign of things to come for this show in particular, but the creepy, almost cartoonish nature of the threat strays too far into camp horror territory, and comes off like a rejected Outer Limits script 🤷♂️ Interestingly, the original concept for this story involved a more down-to-earth a military coup by renegade Starfleet officers acting of their own free will, which despite possibly making for a more interesting story, I don't think would fit the Trek format any better, as Roddenberry at the time and many others since can attest to. On the plus side, the follow-up on characters and storyline from "Coming of Age" is a welcome development...will the continuity links continue? Only time will tell 🖖
Patrick47
2023-12-28 03:39:42 +0000 UTCWe know. We're just excited for S2
Neill Shaughness
2023-12-28 03:33:39 +0000 UTC"kayfabe is dead" lmao
Captain Proton
2023-12-28 02:28:58 +0000 UTCJosh's dumb look of shock is burned into my mind forever. :-)
Jovet
2023-12-28 01:59:54 +0000 UTCYes! The Creep Strings are STRONG in this one!!
Jovet
2023-12-28 01:59:11 +0000 UTC8:36 They're not necessarily dead. Quinn survived and he had been "infected" and was subdued by phaser. The creature's infestation made the victims very resistant to phaser fire (somehow) so that high phaser settings had the same effect as stun on a normal person.
Jovet
2023-12-28 01:40:49 +0000 UTCThey still have one episode to go....
Monty Crawford
2023-12-28 01:31:12 +0000 UTCIIRC this episode was originally banned in the UK due to the head exploding/alien chest scene. I believe it was even banned in syndicated reruns and was only finally available to the Brits when Star Trek became available to stream on Netflix. *Edit* - So it wasn't this episode that was banned in the UK but a later one. The UK however did cut some of the graphic elements from this episode before airing it.
Tristan Rose
2023-12-28 01:21:05 +0000 UTCThat and the second episode to this day I dislike it
Scarpad’s Domain
2023-12-28 01:21:04 +0000 UTC3:45 The characters we saw before were not "infected" in their prior appearance. That happened between then and now.
Jovet
2023-12-28 01:02:25 +0000 UTCTwo Words.: "The Child"
Sam Langanke
2023-12-28 00:43:39 +0000 UTCI think the first qtr of s2 is weaker due to the strike and reusing old phase 2 scripts.
Scarpad’s Domain
2023-12-28 00:24:25 +0000 UTCTNG was filmed with the intention of airing on standard definition analog TV, we are now watching these episodes remastered in high definition. They didn’t care if camera could see the stunt double’s face because in low standard definition it was a lot less obvious it wasn’t the original actor.
Rich Loga
2023-12-28 00:13:45 +0000 UTCOthers could have been infected first and made Quinn suspicious. Just because Remmick had the Mother Creature in the end didn't mean he was the first or only one to host it.
KatWithAttitude
2023-12-27 22:42:12 +0000 UTCI agree for the most part, but it's close. I think the biggest problem most people have w the second season revolves around a certain character
Neill Shaughness
2023-12-27 21:53:56 +0000 UTCHenry Darrow, who played the Vulcan admiral, guest starred on almost every TV show in the 1960s and 1970s. Look him up.
Aramis Calcutt
2023-12-27 21:36:16 +0000 UTCSame
Collin Freeman
2023-12-27 21:20:15 +0000 UTCBut if Remmick was not infected with the Mother Creature in CoA, then what was Admiral Quinn so worried about within Starfleet?
Collin Freeman
2023-12-27 21:19:44 +0000 UTCI think season 2 is actually better than season 1. It has its own share of hiccups and missteps, but overall I felt the actors and writers had gotten a better handle on the characters. And the episode you are referring to is also 1 in my top 3 favorites. I think it is the best written and acted episode of the series.
Collin Freeman
2023-12-27 21:16:46 +0000 UTCThere is a documentary where Tracy Torme' states he wrote this script to piss off Roddenberry, who notoriously was against dark cynicism for his humanist future. However, Gene was at the time pissed off at the studio censors for coming down hard on his sex-episodes and the half nudity therein during the first half of the season. So, much to Torme's surprise, Gene greenlit this episode, exploding skull and all.
StonyD
2023-12-27 20:48:26 +0000 UTCI have to say this one of the worst of season 1. I try to forget it exists and for good reason. The writers sure did
David Marcoot
2023-12-27 20:34:45 +0000 UTC37 years ago when I was 18 years old this was a fave of mine too. In the intervening years since Ive come to realize that Trek is much more well thought-out than this ep. It definitely is well-done in pacing and tone but plotting and logic are out the door. ;)
Michael Nemo
2023-12-27 20:29:03 +0000 UTCThis was amazing. I remember my parents and I talking about it. THIS was the episode where we thought we might not have just fun Trek-lite, but something special.
Crankygrandma
2023-12-27 20:27:05 +0000 UTCThis was my favorite episode of the first season and it was just as much a WTF moment in 87 as it is now. Plenty of Dark Trek to come.
Stephen Wright
2023-12-27 20:13:09 +0000 UTCNo spoilers at all.
Stephen Wright
2023-12-27 20:11:22 +0000 UTCI MADE THE CUT!!!!!
Lucas Herr
2023-12-27 20:02:28 +0000 UTCSo now a couple hours after watching this I'm eating leftover pizza. Yummy. I said in the Patron Takes that this wasn't Remmick's fault or any of the others. Once they were infected they had no free will of their own anymore. And I don't believe they were already infected in CoA.
KatWithAttitude
2023-12-27 19:19:36 +0000 UTCOf course not!
Silk
2023-12-27 19:14:21 +0000 UTCRespectfully, you guys are misunderstanding the homing beacon ending. If I'm following your comments in both videos, you seem to think the ending is a hint that there's more of the parasites still on earth or something to that effect? That's not what it's getting at. The point is that before they killed him, Remmick/parasite turned on a beacon that is supposed to lead his species from their far away system back to earth. It's a hint that the parasites will be able to find earth in the future. ominous pause..... roll credits
James Bottas
2023-12-27 19:07:22 +0000 UTCAs much as I should not do this.....but ....well, maybe I should ask the other patreon members if i should reveal the spoiler about this episode...or more like the antispoiler.
Monty Crawford
2023-12-27 19:06:43 +0000 UTCThere are actually several good episodes in season 2. The one you are referring to being one of course.
Monty Crawford
2023-12-27 19:04:00 +0000 UTCMy thought was that the captains that got hit with kill phaser, causing the bug to come out of their mouths are okay, since Beverly used the kill in that guy and he's okay once the mother creature is killed. I believe those 2 were taken over after Coming of age .
Mike Rogers
2023-12-27 18:57:42 +0000 UTCMy daughter likes "And The Children Shall Lead." She saw it when she was about the same age as the children in the episode.
Edweirdo
2023-12-27 18:42:45 +0000 UTCCan’t wait to watch their reaction to the later episode with the clicking! That one still terrifies me.
Paul Rymer
2023-12-27 18:38:49 +0000 UTCTrek from the 90s to 00s was never serialised as such but they had some multi-part episodes and story themes (mostly centred around the main characters) that are revisited as each of them develops. I think it’s the perfect balance because key stories get more time but a new viewer will be able to enjoy the show.
Paul Rymer
2023-12-27 18:33:36 +0000 UTCThe score, yes, can we give the composer, Dennis McCarthy, some love for the terrific score in this episode? Excellent! And Cliff Bole does his (mostly) usual good job directing. Even the final scene with the Enterprise cruising by and the radio signal in the background was great. Applause all around. I have never read that Remmick and Quinn were meant to be hosts of an alien invasion. I think Roddenberry's original idea was more down-to-earth and meant to just be "human" conspirators within Starfleet. Dr. Crusher: "Why bring fists to a phaser fight?" Thanks guys!
Collin Freeman
2023-12-27 18:27:51 +0000 UTCI'll never get over how Riker calls for security help and Worf and Geordi show up unarmed. Then they call for medical assistance and Crusher shows up with a phaser ready to rock. The Enteprise computer is the worst 911 dispatcher ever.
EnigmaticPenguin
2023-12-27 18:09:32 +0000 UTCIt would indeed
Neill Shaughness
2023-12-27 18:00:24 +0000 UTCI have been waiting for your reaction to the head explosion/alien style chest bursting scene and I was not disappointed.
Strife
2023-12-27 17:58:48 +0000 UTCIf you guys like things in 'episodic' episodes coming up relevant in later episodes in a show...let me tell you about Babylon 5 ;)
Mara
2023-12-27 17:42:38 +0000 UTCWithout naming a title or style of the episode, would it be a certain Data based episode or no?
CM Waters
2023-12-27 17:41:28 +0000 UTCNot to spoil anything, but TNG does have some great spooky episodes to come. Some great mind jobs. Wonderful atmosphere. Surrealism. Most of the time it is an optimistic look at the future, but those peppering of the unnerving/surreal/horror/dark mystery are so much the better as a result. There are people out there who downright *hate* Conspiracy. It's the difference between the general pop culture that exists out there and Trek fans. In pop culture "odd movies are bad" for example. but you quickly find among Trek fans that there are fans of everything. Everything. Except And The Children Shall Lead. Nobody likes that episode.
Steven Johnson
2023-12-27 17:24:01 +0000 UTCGlad you guys enjoyed the first season, can't wait to watch you guys get into the real meat of the show. S2 is a lot like s1. Mostly forgettable with occasional gems. In fact my favorite episode is in s2
Neill Shaughness
2023-12-27 17:21:36 +0000 UTC
