WEDNESDAY 6pm eastern we will be going LIVE for the Season 1 finale of our Audience Cut movie reactions! Our Patrons voted for The Hunt for Red October to end the season! It will be LIVE publicly on RUclips! Full movie reaction as well as Q&A, some channel announcements, and more! Hope to see you there!
What makes that final scene even more heartbreaking is that John Anderson had lost his wife of 40+ years not a year before filming, so that raw emotion during Kevin's confession probably wasn't even acting. Hands down one of Trek's best 'mystery' episodes and one of the most powerful endings, the thunderous reveal of the scope of Kevin's crimes and Picard's closing words are truly haunting.
@@tinkinc85 I suspect I may know what it is as well... krys1888 needs to remind us when it happens b/c, let's face it, Worf does have a ton of great lines.
@@TheStarTrekApologist I want to say even in the first season there may have been something, although that could be from the point of view of someone knowing their relationship throughout the entire series and movies and not really a thing back then. Off the top of my head I can't think of a specific one, I just commented having read the novel a while back and knew they were "connected".
Picard: "Alright, let us slowly back away from the emotionally distraught godlike being that can wipe out entire starfaring civilizations with a thought."
John Anderson's performance, most specifically when he tells the story of what really happened - every time it gives me serious goosebumps. "No, no, no, no, no, you-you don't understand the scope of my crime. I didn't kill just one Husnock, or a hundred, or a thousand. I killed them all. All Husnock, everywhere. - Are 11,000 people worth... 50 billion? Is the love of a woman worth the destruction of an entire species?" Just, wow...Easily one of my favorite moments in all of Star Trek in terms of it's implications. Fwiw, John Anderson's wife had recently died when he worked on this episode. He later described his role in this episode as one of the hardest he ever had to play.
My favorite role of his was as Harry on MacGyver. It was quite a change of pace for him considering he played a LOT of absolute scumbags in mainly westerns back in the day.
I liked him in "Eight Men Out" as Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis (first commissioner of baseball). No makeup required since he was a dead ringer for the guy anyway.
I don't know why, but my wife and I always loved Worf's "Good tea. Nice house." line. I forgot almost everything else about this episode but that until I rewatched it. Michael Dorn's deadpan delivery with funny lines like this is one of my favorite parts of the show.
The enormous upgrade in the writing, conception and acting of Worf, Troi, and Wesley is one of my favorite things about season three. Your team is only as good as your bench, and the supporting characters really gain depth in these shows.
John Anderson, who played the survivor, Kevin, was in a million Westerns in the 60's, usually multiple times, including 12 episodes of Gunsmoke, 11 episodes of The Rifleman and 3 episodes of Bonanza. He was also in 4 Twilight Zone episodes. Surprisingly, he was never in the original Star Trek. It's awesome that he got to do a ST:TNG!
ikr! Virtually every working actor from the '60s made a stop on TOS as they made their way around the Westerns. Hard to believe he missed it. Hell the regulars on TOS had done the same thing. Anderson was extremely versatile, able to play a pacifist or a villain believably.
@jsharp3165 It's like the fact Scott Hall never entered any Royal Rumbles either as Razor Ramon or as a member of the n.W.o during his entire wrestling career while Mil Mascarus has once.
It’s so nice to see the little “side station” seating areas on the bridge being used! At the beginning of the episode, Dr. Beverly is seated to Troi’s left… even though Dr. Crusher outranks Troi (Commander vs Lieutenant Commander) and would deserve the third chair.
I clearly remember another of my favorite series from my childhood. John Anderson had a recurring role in the original MacGyver series as Harry Jackson, MacGyver's grandfather.
I absolutely adore this episode. The mystery, and especially the ending. This is one that always stands out to me as being on that leading edge of what tng becomes. The fact that there is no good answer, that everything is already over and done, and that there's no way to undo what was done is just absolute perfection. I'm the end, he just has to live with what he's done
John Anderson played a similar role in an episode of Little House on the Prairie, as grieving widower who couldn't accept the reality of his wife's death, and kept playing her music box all through the episode. That episode is called "Haunted House" and it's worth a watch just to see the similarities with this TNG episode.
I absolutely LOVE this episode. It’s profoundly sad. John Anderson’s performance of a broken man, wallowing in memories, was heartbreaking. The dancing music box was the perfect prop, in that it represents long-gone romance and it repeats over and over.
This one is head scratcher until the end when it goes very heavy. It reminds me of a TOS episode in all the best ways, which is probably why it gives off TWILIGHT ZONE vibes. I think I rate this higher because the final moments with the Kevin character are powerful to me. The actor grants the character so much gravitas in my opinion. Picard is initially acting as a protector of Federation citizens but he senses a mystery to be solved, unaware of how above his pay grade it all is. Overall, super duper solid with a really haunting ending.
I love this episode! I've thought of it so often over the years. It does a great of leaving a trail of bread crumbs that lead to the solution, but the clues are introduced so subtly and Picard works out the answer so quietly that the reveal at the end is just magnificent.
The one thing I kinda wished would have happened was that when Picard confronts the wife and tells her that she isn't real... that it would be the husband to disappear and she was the real Douwd. Not to insult Picard, but to add to the twist. And while The Federation does have laws against murder and genocide, there would be no law specifically to one individual committing genocide of an entire species with his mind. Until that moment it had been unthinkable to even consider (just as it would in today's society). Hence Picard's line.
Really highlights how TOS and TNG have very different strengths. Planets got wiped all the time in TOS, but it was just to prove a threat. In fact, it's kind of morbid how quickly the TOS peeps get over death. In TNG the loss is the focus. The franchise gradually leans harder into this.
That's funny. I was thinking that it reminded me of the movie "Forbidden Planet." But both "Forbidden Planet" and "Requiem for Methuselah" were inspired by Shakespeare's play "The Tempest," so there's a connection.
Reposted from Patreon: “What’s wrong, Ani?” “I-I killed them. I killed them all. They’re dead. Every single one of them. And not just the men, but the women and the children too. They’re like animals, and I slaughtered them like animals! I hate them!” Working title: “The Veiled Planet.” The final title is reminiscent of that of the TAS episode “The Survivor.” Both titles are ironic: that of the TAS episode refers to Carter Winston, who initially survived a spacecraft accident but has died by the time of the episode, in which a shape-shifting Vendorian impersonates him, while in the TNG episode there is only one survivor, not two. The first two episodes of TNG Season 3, although good, reflect the show’s struggle to settle in with a fresh writing staff at the beginning of the season. With “The Survivors,” we finally reach the fabled era which people have been telling you about since the beginning of TOS, in which TNG achieves a consistency of quality comparable to that of TOS Seasons 1 and 2. This is not to say that every remaining TNG episode is a masterpiece, or even that you will like all of them (although I like “The Survivors” very much). Not everyone agrees that TNG’s middle seasons are its best. For example, the media critic L. I. Underhill, whose essays about Star Trek are available on the Eruditorum Press website, considers TNG Seasons 2, 3 and 4 to be inferior to Seasons 1, 6 and 7. In other words, whereas other fans think that TNG’s quality followed a positive bell curve over its seven seasons, Underhill thinks the bell curve was negative. (They agree with fandom at large, however, that TNG Season 5 is good, although Underhill considers it not as good as Season 1.) The fan consensus, however, is that we have reached the “broad, sunlit uplands” of excellence in the Star Trek franchise, across which we will be traveling for the next few years. (Yes, TNG Season 7 is uneven, but it is concurrent with DS9 Season 2, which is quite good, I understand.) As I have mentioned before, my late mother could not stand Deanna Troi because she regarded her empathic powers as an intolerable violation of the privacy of everyone around her. It is both embarrassing and heartwarming to remember how Mom loved this episode’s scenes of the sound of the music box tormenting Troi, and the gleeful schadenfreude she felt at Kevin Uxbridge turning Troi’s powers against her. Of course, Mom would have had more sympathy for Troi if she had been a real person rather than a fictional character. According to Ex Astris Scientia, a Star Trek fan website, the Uxbridges’ music box is commercially available but does not play the same melody as in the episode. (I presume Dennis McCarthy composed the melody, although the Revised Final Draft script states, “Any convenient waltz music will do for the music.”) John Anderson (Kevin Uxbridge) appeared in four episodes of the original "Twilight Zone," the same number as Jack Klugman or Burgess Meredith (although in smaller roles): “A Passage for Trumpet” (starring Klugman), “The Odyssey of Flight 33,” “Of Late I Think of Cliffordville” and “The Old Man in the Cave.” Anne Haney (Rishon Uxbridge) appeared in the 1986 "Twilight Zone" episode “The Toys of Caliban” as well as in "Liar Liar." Three observations about this episode that occurred to me only on this rewatch: Rishon’s telling Data that her family heirloom is a music box may imply that they are no longer common in the 24th century; the real-world reason Troi insists on staying in her quarters was probably to save money by not lighting the Sickbay set that week; and an early hint to the final reveal about Kevin’s nature is Rishon’s description of him when they first met: “a starving student in a threadbare suit and mismatched shoes.” There is no reason such a person should exist in the Federation’s post-scarcity economy, least of all on Earth.
It's interesting about your mother not liking Troi because she violates privacy. It's interesting because I never viewed it as Troi looking into our minds, but rather that we are broadcasting our minds and Troi simply picks up on that. She's a passive observer, no more able to not "feel" us than we are to not hear or smell something.
One thing about this one you should know is the actor playing KEVIN had played Jonathan Frank‘s father in multiple Television and TV movie projects so he and Frank go back quite away and matter of fact, Jonathan Franks has said that a lot of advice for his acting career and in life to give to his children have come from the actor who played KEVIN he is an old friend of GENERotenberry De Forest, Kelly, Shatner, and Nimoy, but he was never invited to be in the original series, but he was in this 50th episode of the next generation, but he knew all those guys and went and partied with them for like 20 years
John Anderson and Jonathan Frakes had worked together before, in the first episode of the miniseries North and South, in which they played father and son. I don't know whether that was the only other time they worked together, but I do remember Anderson as the car dealer in Psycho.
This ep is definitely one of my favorites of this season. Really of the entire 7 seasons. it was in a word I would say kind of haunting! Picard's closing lines in particular still sticks in my mind after all these decades!
I think the name 'Dowd' is a nod to the name of Jimmy Stewart's character 'Elwood P. Dowd' in the 1950 film 'Harvey', in which Elwood can see a 6 foot tall invisible rabbit, but no one else can. It is strongly hinted in the film that Elwood used to be very smart and cunning, probably a ruthless businessman, but at some point in his life it became too much, and he became a totally harmless and deceptively simple man that everyone thought went 'simple' and began imagining an amusing imaginary friend. I won't spoil the film, but it is far, far more lighthearted and comedic than this episode, however it does seem to very quietly and unapparent themes. I strongly suggest you check out 'Harvey', it's not science fiction but it is a bit of fantasy. I think you'd like it.
There's several clips from this episode in a very good Star Trek/Star Wars video on RUclips. It has the Enterpirse-D encounter the Empire, basically laugh at the power of the TIE Fighters, fight evenly with a Destroyer, then the Emperor calls for intimidation reasons before charging up the Death Star and firing it at a quickly retreating Enterprise-D. There's some inconsistency because it was spliced from several things and was made over 13 years ago, but still a good watch that respects both franchises.
This is one of my favorite "hidden episodes" ---- not a blockbuster like Measure of a Man going backwards or so many yet to come going forwards, but powerful story with amazing guest actors, well directed and thought out. I'm looking forward to watching this reaction and it got an instant like even though I can't watch till later!
Good episode. The people/person/couple who just wants our visitors to leave theme has been done several times (Forbidden Planet, TOS The Man Trap, TOS Requiem for Methuselah, ...), but this was well done. But to contradict Picard, they do have a law to fit Kevin's crime. They just can't enforce it.
Such a Great Episode very cool great story great acting from everyone (Troi,Picard and Kevin in particular) and overall some damn fine clasic Star Trek in so many ways !
These are the kind of episodes when Riker is probably kicking himself for giving up the power of the Q. Michael Wagner’s one episode that he couldn’t convince Roddenberry to produce because, as Roddenberry tended to say “That’s not Star Trek!”
It is not as if the helmsman is steering by looking out the window. On the other hand, having the HS age kid do combat maneuvers may not be the optimal choice.
The husband's wife recently died before the taping of this episode....so his emotions were quite real during this episode. I actually loved the ending of this. It was such a wow moment. Like....killed them Everywhere. Everywhere.
get yourself a husnock warship if you ever play "star trek online" . the actor who plays the immortal dowd is really good in several episodes of the twilight zone. love picard's line "we are not qualified to be your judges, we have no punishment to fit your crime". i feel this episode is underrated, and should be regarded as above average at a minimum.
This episode highlights an aspect of our common nature - that, in the heat of anger, jealousy, or spitefulness, we have all thought some horrendous thoughts. What devastation would we have unleashed on this world if our worst impulses were made manifest?
I like that they came up with a unique ship design for the Husnock, helped them feel a bit more 'real' to say they were (unfortunately) only introduced to be killed off in this episode. This does feel more TOS-like when you could just make up races to feature them for one episode and then forget about them, and act as though each time they meet a superbeing it's the first time. In later Star Trek people do generally bring up Q as a suspect even if it turns out to be something else.
It actually makes sense that a super powerful being would lack social acumen. They don’t need to be able to read people. They can usually just get by relying on their powers.
Les Landau had been an assistant director, I think, during the first two seasons. I think Michael Wagner co-wrote "Evolution" and was a producer on the first few episodes of season 3 before being replaced by Michael Piller. I really like this episode, and the revelation of the husband's wiping out an entire has stuck with me since I first saw this one.
I like this episode, in part because of the implication of why this species (Douwd) might have a moral code that disallows violence, given the scale of instantly killing 50 billion individuals with a thought. It's actually an interesting counterpoint to Q, who seems to use his powers regardless of the consequences. The feelings the viewer has toward Kevin are complex; most of us would lash out in grief in that circumstance and it's only because of our lack of power that the repercussions of such are generally limited. From Memory Alpha: (no spoilers) "According to the novel Fortune of War, the Husnock were a non-humanoid race with dark blue blood, beaked mouths, multiple hearts and seven tentacles, four of which were used for locomotion. Their government was called the Husnock Star Kingdom. The extinction of the Husnock was described as beginning with an agonizing pain and ending with the victims bursting into flames and burning to ash. The last words every Husnock heard were "For Rishon", and the last thing they saw was a vision of the attack on the Federation colony, the death of Rishon, and the Douwd's visage."
I just found you guys and spent the weekend binging your reactions. Great stuff! I’m a little sad that I have caught up now- can’t wait to see you guys experience the rest of the show. No spoilers, but there have been so many times I have chuckled at some of your comments and “we wish they would…” and thought to myself- just wait. :)
That was all of us for all of season 2. Every time they commented about how they wished Dr Crusher would come back there was a collective chuckle in the audience and a dearth of comments on the matter.
"Nice away party. Stacked." in the Sega game, you were always keen on taking Geordi, Worf, Data and Crusher: Data and Geordi could see in the dark, Worf had extra damage, and Crusher had a medkit. that dynamic then carried over to Star Trek Away Team, where you would pick your team based on their gear and abilities.... I beat the infiltration mission on headquarters with ONE NURSE, by means of knocking everyone unconscious.
Guys, how we forget so easily. Les Landau directed the most "racist" Star Trek episode, Code of Honor, way back in Season 1. Well, to be fair, he is uncredited for that one, as he replaced the original director, Russ Mayberry, meaning that the majority of the episode was already filmed when he took over. However, Landau also directed The Arsenal of Freedom, also Season 1, The Schizoid Man and Samaritan Snare, both from Season 2. You will see his name more often in Star Trek.
1:50 Have you noticed how the secondary characters are still wearing the season 2 uniforms? 7:58 This is the point where Picard has figured it out, but still keeps the audience guessing.
"we are not qualified to be your judges. we have no law to fit your crime." the international laws against genocide have been around since 1948 thanks to the UN. as a federation citizen living on a federation colony, kevin uxbridge is 100% within federation jurisdiction. as the moral compass of the show, picard is 100% qualified to judge. i'm very disappointed that the writers gave picard a factually wrong and frankly cowardly escape from his responsibilities, even if ultimately he could do nothing to enforce them if kevin chose not to comply. kevin could still be convicted "in absentia" for the official record.
A very thoughtful episode. The alien had his own version of a Prime Directive, which he violated. Also, this kind of mass extermination is similar to something that Anakin does in the Star Wars prequels.
_Ooh, baby (ooh, baby)_ _It's making me crazy (it's making me crazy)_ _Every time I look around (look around)_ _Every time I look around (every time I look around)_ _Every time I look around_ _It's in my face_
I’ve always liked this ep just for the scope of the reveal but also cos you are an alien on a level far beyond our federation protagonists who has his own version of the prime directive to avoid interference with their level of society and he holds onto it up until he lost everything and even sorta regrets breaking it even then thru just an errant thought.
Again, another great season 3 episode. Sexy Troi outfit and the freaking end reveal of Kevin's actions. Plus Worf's "Good tea. Nice house." Good PIcard Manuveer there. I liked the mystery and resolution. Thought there would be a more "holy shit" moment for Kevin wiping out an entire alien race.
Perhaps we would’ve been a bit more shocked if it was a species we had seen or at least heard of before and not one first spoke of in the same monologue. Still a neat thought-provoking moment though.
@@targetaudience It would have been great if the alien race he wiped out was the Sheliak from the previous episode. The Captain of the ship who was suppose to evacuate these colonists didn't find the same loophole Picard did.
Great reaction! The last few days i've re-watched all of Season 3, for me these first 3 episodes are all good but mid ranking for the Season. There aren't any S3 episodes i don't like, but obviously I like some a lot more than others.
With the federation it's not about numbers. I thought you'd learned that by now. Even in the original series Kirkwood sacrifice his entire crew to save one man. Picard is willing to risk his entire crew to protect these last two survivors. Plus there's a mystery here to solve and unlike Captain Kirk Picard loves a mystery.
Yes I am sure there are more Doud like there are more Q or more Organians. It is these god like beings generally don't bother us lesser beings (Klingons, Humans, Vulcans, even the Borg, etc.) except for a few renegade individuals.
WEDNESDAY 6pm eastern we will be going LIVE for the Season 1 finale of our Audience Cut movie reactions! Our Patrons voted for The Hunt for Red October to end the season! It will be LIVE publicly on RUclips! Full movie reaction as well as Q&A, some channel announcements, and more! Hope to see you there!
What makes that final scene even more heartbreaking is that John Anderson had lost his wife of 40+ years not a year before filming, so that raw emotion during Kevin's confession probably wasn't even acting. Hands down one of Trek's best 'mystery' episodes and one of the most powerful endings, the thunderous reveal of the scope of Kevin's crimes and Picard's closing words are truly haunting.
This episode is overrated
"Good tea, nice house", until very recently (no spoilers!), was my favourite ever Worf quote!
I know which line superseded it 😅
@@tinkinc85 I suspect I may know what it is as well... krys1888 needs to remind us when it happens b/c, let's face it, Worf does have a ton of great lines.
Would the initials of the quote happen to be: IANAMM?@@tinkinc85
I agree with Vulcanerd, a reminder when it happens will be very much appreciated.
My favorite has always been, "Less talk. More synthehol."
"I killed them all."
Still the most chilling words ever spoken in Star Trek history.
Annakin Skywalker’s hero..
This is the first of two times I am aware of that Riker knew something was wrong with Troi before she said anything.
They have a bond deeper than just knowing each other, the novel Imzadi covers a lot of why they can sense each other more.
@@rhaedas9085 Yah I know, it is just an intersting detail. Without spoilers do you kow the othe episode.
@@TheStarTrekApologist I want to say even in the first season there may have been something, although that could be from the point of view of someone knowing their relationship throughout the entire series and movies and not really a thing back then. Off the top of my head I can't think of a specific one, I just commented having read the novel a while back and knew they were "connected".
Picard: "Alright, let us slowly back away from the emotionally distraught godlike being that can wipe out entire starfaring civilizations with a thought."
the point there was if left alone he would not bother anyone so he was no threat to starfleet
Picard channeling his inner private investigator hobbie to solve the mystery is so cool.
Inner Dixion Hill*
John Anderson's performance, most specifically when he tells the story of what really happened - every time it gives me serious goosebumps. "No, no, no, no, no, you-you don't understand the scope of my crime. I didn't kill just one Husnock, or a hundred, or a thousand. I killed them all. All Husnock, everywhere. - Are 11,000 people worth... 50 billion? Is the love of a woman worth the destruction of an entire species?"
Just, wow...Easily one of my favorite moments in all of Star Trek in terms of it's implications. Fwiw, John Anderson's wife had recently died when he worked on this episode. He later described his role in this episode as one of the hardest he ever had to play.
The music box makes perfect sense and I think it tied in perfectly
Yep you're right.
The late great John Anderson was in SEVERAL classic Twilight Zones.
Fitting for such a Twilight Zone TNG episode. I love that the guys compared this episode to TZ, they are very savvy.
I should have looked him up, he definitely is typecasting but in a great way.
Don't forget MacGyver!
@@dupersuper1938He also played a General in MASH.
Also guest star in my favourite Hawaii Five O episode
One of my favorite episodes. John Anderson was a legendary character actor
My favorite role of his was as Harry on MacGyver. It was quite a change of pace for him considering he played a LOT of absolute scumbags in mainly westerns back in the day.
I liked him in "Eight Men Out" as Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis (first commissioner of baseball). No makeup required since he was a dead ringer for the guy anyway.
Over 200 roles and almost all of them individually different characters. Very impressive! I loved him as each one I saw.
He was even in the movie Psycho
I don't know why, but my wife and I always loved Worf's "Good tea. Nice house." line. I forgot almost everything else about this episode but that until I rewatched it. Michael Dorn's deadpan delivery with funny lines like this is one of my favorite parts of the show.
The enormous upgrade in the writing, conception and acting of Worf, Troi, and Wesley is one of my favorite things about season three. Your team is only as good as your bench, and the supporting characters really gain depth in these shows.
John Anderson, who played the survivor, Kevin, was in a million Westerns in the 60's, usually multiple times, including 12 episodes of Gunsmoke, 11 episodes of The Rifleman and 3 episodes of Bonanza. He was also in 4 Twilight Zone episodes. Surprisingly, he was never in the original Star Trek. It's awesome that he got to do a ST:TNG!
ikr! Virtually every working actor from the '60s made a stop on TOS as they made their way around the Westerns. Hard to believe he missed it. Hell the regulars on TOS had done the same thing. Anderson was extremely versatile, able to play a pacifist or a villain believably.
Wasn't he also in MacGyver?
Yes. According to IMBd and Wikipedia, he appeared on MacGyver 5 times as MacGyver's grandfather.
@jsharp3165 It's like the fact Scott Hall never entered any Royal Rumbles either as Razor Ramon or as a member of the n.W.o during his entire wrestling career while Mil Mascarus has once.
Picard's monolog at the end sounds like something Rod Serling would say.
Good episode. Nice reaction.
I see what you did there.
Good one!
It’s so nice to see the little “side station” seating areas on the bridge being used! At the beginning of the episode, Dr. Beverly is seated to Troi’s left… even though Dr. Crusher outranks Troi (Commander vs Lieutenant Commander) and would deserve the third chair.
I clearly remember another of my favorite series from my childhood. John Anderson had a recurring role in the original MacGyver series as Harry Jackson, MacGyver's grandfather.
This episode by itself was a sign that this wasn’t the same show that it was during season 1 and 2. Such a good episode.
Love this episode. Totally mind-blowing ending.
I absolutely adore this episode. The mystery, and especially the ending. This is one that always stands out to me as being on that leading edge of what tng becomes. The fact that there is no good answer, that everything is already over and done, and that there's no way to undo what was done is just absolute perfection. I'm the end, he just has to live with what he's done
It's not often an episode leaves you guys speechless for a while. The end of the show really grabbed your attention.
A great episode with a slow burn, till the climax. A brilliant story, with a chilling ending, one of the best episodes of this season. IMO
I love Riker's speech, while upside-down... LOL. 🤣
John Anderson played a similar role in an episode of Little House on the Prairie, as grieving widower who couldn't accept the reality of his wife's death, and kept playing her music box all through the episode. That episode is called "Haunted House" and it's worth a watch just to see the similarities with this TNG episode.
Worf: "Good tea. Nice house." LOVE IT!
I absolutely LOVE this episode. It’s profoundly sad. John Anderson’s performance of a broken man, wallowing in memories, was heartbreaking. The dancing music box was the perfect prop, in that it represents long-gone romance and it repeats over and over.
That shot of the Enterprise leaving orbit from the POV of the viewscreen was cool
I love this episode, the sad poignancy of the reveal and ending is so impactful and touching.
The Ballad of TNG Season 3 is stuck in my head, it won't stop, its real
This one is head scratcher until the end when it goes very heavy. It reminds me of a TOS episode in all the best ways, which is probably why it gives off TWILIGHT ZONE vibes. I think I rate this higher because the final moments with the Kevin character are powerful to me. The actor grants the character so much gravitas in my opinion. Picard is initially acting as a protector of Federation citizens but he senses a mystery to be solved, unaware of how above his pay grade it all is.
Overall, super duper solid with a really haunting ending.
This is my favorite TNG episode. When I first saw it I had a genuine Holy feck moment when Kevin revealed that he un-alived an entire race of beings.
I love this episode! I've thought of it so often over the years. It does a great of leaving a trail of bread crumbs that lead to the solution, but the clues are introduced so subtly and Picard works out the answer so quietly that the reveal at the end is just magnificent.
This episode stuck with me. Definitely one of my favs.
The one thing I kinda wished would have happened was that when Picard confronts the wife and tells her that she isn't real... that it would be the husband to disappear and she was the real Douwd. Not to insult Picard, but to add to the twist.
And while The Federation does have laws against murder and genocide, there would be no law specifically to one individual committing genocide of an entire species with his mind. Until that moment it had been unthinkable to even consider (just as it would in today's society). Hence Picard's line.
Really highlights how TOS and TNG have very different strengths.
Planets got wiped all the time in TOS, but it was just to prove a threat. In fact, it's kind of morbid how quickly the TOS peeps get over death.
In TNG the loss is the focus. The franchise gradually leans harder into this.
Worf got everything wrong but "good tea, nice house"
This is going to be one of the episodes that you remember from time to time, and makes you think..
Overrated
This episode gave me an irrational fear of ice cream truck music as a child...
"Good tea. Nice house." I love the early Worf who definitely has problems with stuff like human small talk. :) Michael Dorn did a great job with that.
This episode reminds me of a cross of 2 TOS episodes Requiem of Methuselah and Who Mourns for Adonis
That's funny. I was thinking that it reminded me of the movie "Forbidden Planet." But both "Forbidden Planet" and "Requiem for Methuselah" were inspired by Shakespeare's play "The Tempest," so there's a connection.
Reposted from Patreon:
“What’s wrong, Ani?”
“I-I killed them. I killed them all. They’re dead. Every single one of them. And not just the men, but the women and the children too. They’re like animals, and I slaughtered them like animals! I hate them!”
Working title: “The Veiled Planet.” The final title is reminiscent of that of the TAS episode “The Survivor.” Both titles are ironic: that of the TAS episode refers to Carter Winston, who initially survived a spacecraft accident but has died by the time of the episode, in which a shape-shifting Vendorian impersonates him, while in the TNG episode there is only one survivor, not two.
The first two episodes of TNG Season 3, although good, reflect the show’s struggle to settle in with a fresh writing staff at the beginning of the season. With “The Survivors,” we finally reach the fabled era which people have been telling you about since the beginning of TOS, in which TNG achieves a consistency of quality comparable to that of TOS Seasons 1 and 2.
This is not to say that every remaining TNG episode is a masterpiece, or even that you will like all of them (although I like “The Survivors” very much). Not everyone agrees that TNG’s middle seasons are its best. For example, the media critic L. I. Underhill, whose essays about Star Trek are available on the Eruditorum Press website, considers TNG Seasons 2, 3 and 4 to be inferior to Seasons 1, 6 and 7. In other words, whereas other fans think that TNG’s quality followed a positive bell curve over its seven seasons, Underhill thinks the bell curve was negative. (They agree with fandom at large, however, that TNG Season 5 is good, although Underhill considers it not as good as Season 1.) The fan consensus, however, is that we have reached the “broad, sunlit uplands” of excellence in the Star Trek franchise, across which we will be traveling for the next few years. (Yes, TNG Season 7 is uneven, but it is concurrent with DS9 Season 2, which is quite good, I understand.)
As I have mentioned before, my late mother could not stand Deanna Troi because she regarded her empathic powers as an intolerable violation of the privacy of everyone around her. It is both embarrassing and heartwarming to remember how Mom loved this episode’s scenes of the sound of the music box tormenting Troi, and the gleeful schadenfreude she felt at Kevin Uxbridge turning Troi’s powers against her. Of course, Mom would have had more sympathy for Troi if she had been a real person rather than a fictional character. According to Ex Astris Scientia, a Star Trek fan website, the Uxbridges’ music box is commercially available but does not play the same melody as in the episode. (I presume Dennis McCarthy composed the melody, although the Revised Final Draft script states, “Any convenient waltz music will do for the music.”)
John Anderson (Kevin Uxbridge) appeared in four episodes of the original "Twilight Zone," the same number as Jack Klugman or Burgess Meredith (although in smaller roles): “A Passage for Trumpet” (starring Klugman), “The Odyssey of Flight 33,” “Of Late I Think of Cliffordville” and “The Old Man in the Cave.” Anne Haney (Rishon Uxbridge) appeared in the 1986 "Twilight Zone" episode “The Toys of Caliban” as well as in "Liar Liar."
Three observations about this episode that occurred to me only on this rewatch: Rishon’s telling Data that her family heirloom is a music box may imply that they are no longer common in the 24th century; the real-world reason Troi insists on staying in her quarters was probably to save money by not lighting the Sickbay set that week; and an early hint to the final reveal about Kevin’s nature is Rishon’s description of him when they first met: “a starving student in a threadbare suit and mismatched shoes.” There is no reason such a person should exist in the Federation’s post-scarcity economy, least of all on Earth.
It's interesting about your mother not liking Troi because she violates privacy.
It's interesting because I never viewed it as Troi looking into our minds, but rather that we are broadcasting our minds and Troi simply picks up on that.
She's a passive observer, no more able to not "feel" us than we are to not hear or smell something.
I also remembered this episode when Anikin wipes out the entire tribe that caught and tortured his mother.
One thing about this one you should know is the actor playing KEVIN had played Jonathan Frank‘s father in multiple Television and TV movie projects so he and Frank go back quite away and matter of fact, Jonathan Franks has said that a lot of advice for his acting career and in life to give to his children have come from the actor who played KEVIN he is an old friend of GENERotenberry De Forest, Kelly, Shatner, and Nimoy, but he was never invited to be in the original series, but he was in this 50th episode of the next generation, but he knew all those guys and went and partied with them for like 20 years
John Anderson and Jonathan Frakes had worked together before, in the first episode of the miniseries North and South, in which they played father and son. I don't know whether that was the only other time they worked together, but I do remember Anderson as the car dealer in Psycho.
I F'ing love this episode, especially the writing and guest star performances.
A great study of power and situational ethics.
This ep is definitely one of my favorites of this season. Really of the entire 7 seasons. it was in a word I would say kind of haunting! Picard's closing lines in particular still sticks in my mind after all these decades!
I think the name 'Dowd' is a nod to the name of Jimmy Stewart's character 'Elwood P. Dowd' in the 1950 film 'Harvey', in which Elwood can see a 6 foot tall invisible rabbit, but no one else can. It is strongly hinted in the film that Elwood used to be very smart and cunning, probably a ruthless businessman, but at some point in his life it became too much, and he became a totally harmless and deceptively simple man that everyone thought went 'simple' and began imagining an amusing imaginary friend. I won't spoil the film, but it is far, far more lighthearted and comedic than this episode, however it does seem to very quietly and unapparent themes. I strongly suggest you check out 'Harvey', it's not science fiction but it is a bit of fantasy. I think you'd like it.
You guys spent more time talking about Troi than the fact that Kevin wiped out an ENTIRE SPECIES ACROSS THE UNIVERSE, lol. Billions
There's several clips from this episode in a very good Star Trek/Star Wars video on RUclips. It has the Enterpirse-D encounter the Empire, basically laugh at the power of the TIE Fighters, fight evenly with a Destroyer, then the Emperor calls for intimidation reasons before charging up the Death Star and firing it at a quickly retreating Enterprise-D.
There's some inconsistency because it was spliced from several things and was made over 13 years ago, but still a good watch that respects both franchises.
This is one of my favorite "hidden episodes" ---- not a blockbuster like Measure of a Man going backwards or so many yet to come going forwards, but powerful story with amazing guest actors, well directed and thought out. I'm looking forward to watching this reaction and it got an instant like even though I can't watch till later!
Good episode. The people/person/couple who just wants our visitors to leave theme has been done several times (Forbidden Planet, TOS The Man Trap, TOS Requiem for Methuselah, ...), but this was well done. But to contradict Picard, they do have a law to fit Kevin's crime. They just can't enforce it.
Such a Great Episode very cool great story great acting from everyone (Troi,Picard and Kevin in particular) and overall some damn fine clasic Star Trek in so many ways !
I really like this one. It's a nice "Ooooooooh poop!" - twist at the end.
One of the most memorable episodes for me. Great episode. Also as a young man when this aired, Troi's new look was very memorable :)
I think she might have been pregnant at the time.
These are the kind of episodes when Riker is probably kicking himself for giving up the power of the Q.
Michael Wagner’s one episode that he couldn’t convince Roddenberry to produce because, as Roddenberry tended to say “That’s not Star Trek!”
Yeah, Wesley piloting the ship is nuts.
They should put the blind guy back in that seat
With his visor he has the best vision on the ship
@@targetaudiencehe saw that snare before Riker stepped in it, but it didn’t save Will from a good whack into that pole, and total embarrassment
Wait Geordi’s blind?
It is not as if the helmsman is steering by looking out the window.
On the other hand, having the HS age kid do combat maneuvers may not be the optimal choice.
@@targetaudience ...not through the viewscreen.
The husband's wife recently died before the taping of this episode....so his emotions were quite real during this episode.
I actually loved the ending of this. It was such a wow moment. Like....killed them Everywhere. Everywhere.
You are right it is like a Twilight Episode in Space.
Season 3 is nearly all B+ or A- eps. Good consistency. You can have any of them come up and be pleasant at a minimum.
When they beam down Bev's coat is green.
I was a child when I first saw this. I remember it vividly. It terrified me. 10/10
get yourself a husnock warship if you ever play "star trek online" . the actor who plays the immortal dowd is really good in several episodes of the twilight zone. love picard's line "we are not qualified to be your judges, we have no punishment to fit your crime". i feel this episode is underrated, and should be regarded as above average at a minimum.
Fun fact, if you were to watch Star Trek from the very first episode to the last movie, continuously, it would take just over 28 days to finish.
I figured you would like this one for being a unique take on the whole god-like being trope.
Wonderful performances by all involved, especially by Troi and the Dowd.
This episode highlights an aspect of our common nature - that, in the heat of anger, jealousy, or spitefulness, we have all thought some horrendous thoughts. What devastation would we have unleashed on this world if our worst impulses were made manifest?
I’m a sucker for any episodes with god level powered aliens.
I like that they came up with a unique ship design for the Husnock, helped them feel a bit more 'real' to say they were (unfortunately) only introduced to be killed off in this episode. This does feel more TOS-like when you could just make up races to feature them for one episode and then forget about them, and act as though each time they meet a superbeing it's the first time. In later Star Trek people do generally bring up Q as a suspect even if it turns out to be something else.
It actually makes sense that a super powerful being would lack social acumen. They don’t need to be able to read people. They can usually just get by relying on their powers.
Les Landau had been an assistant director, I think, during the first two seasons. I think Michael Wagner co-wrote "Evolution" and was a producer on the first few episodes of season 3 before being replaced by Michael Piller. I really like this episode, and the revelation of the husband's wiping out an entire has stuck with me since I first saw this one.
I like this episode, in part because of the implication of why this species (Douwd) might have a moral code that disallows violence, given the scale of instantly killing 50 billion individuals with a thought. It's actually an interesting counterpoint to Q, who seems to use his powers regardless of the consequences. The feelings the viewer has toward Kevin are complex; most of us would lash out in grief in that circumstance and it's only because of our lack of power that the repercussions of such are generally limited.
From Memory Alpha: (no spoilers)
"According to the novel Fortune of War, the Husnock were a non-humanoid race with dark blue blood, beaked mouths, multiple hearts and seven tentacles, four of which were used for locomotion. Their government was called the Husnock Star Kingdom. The extinction of the Husnock was described as beginning with an agonizing pain and ending with the victims bursting into flames and burning to ash. The last words every Husnock heard were "For Rishon", and the last thing they saw was a vision of the attack on the Federation colony, the death of Rishon, and the Douwd's visage."
I just found you guys and spent the weekend binging your reactions. Great stuff! I’m a little sad that I have caught up now- can’t wait to see you guys experience the rest of the show. No spoilers, but there have been so many times I have chuckled at some of your comments and “we wish they would…” and thought to myself- just wait. :)
That was all of us for all of season 2. Every time they commented about how they wished Dr Crusher would come back there was a collective chuckle in the audience and a dearth of comments on the matter.
"Nice away party. Stacked."
in the Sega game, you were always keen on taking Geordi, Worf, Data and Crusher: Data and Geordi could see in the dark, Worf had extra damage, and Crusher had a medkit.
that dynamic then carried over to Star Trek Away Team, where you would pick your team based on their gear and abilities.... I beat the infiltration mission on headquarters with ONE NURSE, by means of knocking everyone unconscious.
That's a cool split screen effect.
Another top tier favorite!
It went from megawatts to gigawatts. It went from 40 megawatts to 400,000 megawatts.
You raise a good point that I want to discuss but can not till you reach there on your own.
This is one of my favorite episodes of tng
Guys, how we forget so easily. Les Landau directed the most "racist" Star Trek episode, Code of Honor, way back in Season 1. Well, to be fair, he is uncredited for that one, as he replaced the original director, Russ Mayberry, meaning that the majority of the episode was already filmed when he took over. However, Landau also directed The Arsenal of Freedom, also Season 1, The Schizoid Man and Samaritan Snare, both from Season 2. You will see his name more often in Star Trek.
1:50 Have you noticed how the secondary characters are still wearing the season 2 uniforms?
7:58 This is the point where Picard has figured it out, but still keeps the audience guessing.
HIS cosmic being meeting Q would have been epic
"we are not qualified to be your judges. we have no law to fit your crime."
the international laws against genocide have been around since 1948 thanks to the UN. as a federation citizen living on a federation colony, kevin uxbridge is 100% within federation jurisdiction. as the moral compass of the show, picard is 100% qualified to judge. i'm very disappointed that the writers gave picard a factually wrong and frankly cowardly escape from his responsibilities, even if ultimately he could do nothing to enforce them if kevin chose not to comply. kevin could still be convicted "in absentia" for the official record.
Once again the need for a JAG officer/department on board the Enterprise becomes more obvious.😛
This was one of the first episodes where I realized that TNG had finally gotten *really* good.
A very thoughtful episode. The alien had his own version of a Prime Directive, which he violated. Also, this kind of mass extermination is similar to something that Anakin does in the Star Wars prequels.
_Ooh, baby (ooh, baby)_
_It's making me crazy (it's making me crazy)_
_Every time I look around (look around)_
_Every time I look around (every time I look around)_
_Every time I look around_
_It's in my face_
Reminded me of the molecule man with Q as Beyonder
I’ve always liked this ep just for the scope of the reveal but also cos you are an alien on a level far beyond our federation protagonists who has his own version of the prime directive to avoid interference with their level of society and he holds onto it up until he lost everything and even sorta regrets breaking it even then thru just an errant thought.
Again, another great season 3 episode. Sexy Troi outfit and the freaking end reveal of Kevin's actions. Plus Worf's "Good tea. Nice house." Good PIcard Manuveer there. I liked the mystery and resolution. Thought there would be a more "holy shit" moment for Kevin wiping out an entire alien race.
Perhaps we would’ve been a bit more shocked if it was a species we had seen or at least heard of before and not one first spoke of in the same monologue. Still a neat thought-provoking moment though.
@@targetaudience It would have been great if the alien race he wiped out was the Sheliak from the previous episode. The Captain of the ship who was suppose to evacuate these colonists didn't find the same loophole Picard did.
1:16
Josh:"Bew Outfit?"
Alex:"I Like It"
Yeah, Councilor Troi gets a few new outfits added to her wardrobe in future episodes
Ooh this one is good. The dudes are in for quite a plot twist.
It’s a great episode to illustrate the point - there isn’t always a happy ending or solution.
Bad things happen.
Love the Picard Sneer at the end.
I am a big Lloyd Bridges fan and a big fan of this episode.
It's John Anderson??? I never knew that.
@@biffstrong1079"If you're not Kirk Douglas, then who the HELL are you?"
@@miguelvelez7221 I know I was going for Dash Riprock but more obscure.
Kevin is a real SovCit.
He is outside Federation law because is is omnipotent and supernatural.
Yes, the Federation can only "punish" Kevin with his consent. They have absolutely no ability to control him.
An all-powerful alien named Kevin?
I had a couple of "Trek" friends at work, and we'd always go, "Beware ... the power ... of KEVIN!"
The used car salesman from PSYCHO.
Great reaction! The last few days i've re-watched all of Season 3, for me these first 3 episodes are all good but mid ranking for the Season. There aren't any S3 episodes i don't like, but obviously I like some a lot more than others.
GREAT EPISODE. Always wondered how Kevin would do against Q
With the federation it's not about numbers. I thought you'd learned that by now. Even in the original series Kirkwood sacrifice his entire crew to save one man.
Picard is willing to risk his entire crew to protect these last two survivors.
Plus there's a mystery here to solve and unlike Captain Kirk Picard loves a mystery.
Yes I am sure there are more Doud like there are more Q or more Organians. It is these god like beings generally don't bother us lesser beings (Klingons, Humans, Vulcans, even the Borg, etc.) except for a few renegade individuals.
I remember when I first saw this episode that I thought that it was the wife who was real and the husband was a fake.