Check out our 2nd channel for hundreds of hours of Creator Commentary tracks from all your favourite shows including South Park, & Community! :) ruclips.net/user/CommentaryCentral
Borg : *_" Humans of the Year 2024. We will assimilate You. We will remove your Pronouns and Wokeness so You can be the perfect Addition to ourselves again. Will You resist wildly and fiercely to the Death as always ? "_* Humans : *_" NO !!! In fact, PLEASE assimilate us !!!_*_ "_ Borg : *_" ... ... well daymn. "_*
If you've seen the episode you know it would'nt have made a difference. Picard is an explorer, this was a great opportunity to explore uncharted territory, he did the same thing in the episode where that alien engineer upgraded the warp drive and they ended up in a whole other galaxy, it would be crazy not to explore, thats the whole purpose of the Enterprise.
Q was actually helping them in his own way, because the Borg were already in the Neutral Zone at that point. He wanted them to realize the big problem that was waiting for them.
@@AloneInWonder2683 Retcons don't count, and "Enterprise" of all shows is a lameass TV show that didn't deserve the coveted network, UPN, but should have been on a second-rate shit network like The WB, which was nothing like the studio whose name it carried (and very loosely, cause I don't understand why there had to be a "The" before "WB"; I mean "WB" isn't good enough?). I appreciate hilarious retcons like "Voyager" but "Enterprise" was wack. The neutral zone was experiencing incursions from the Borg, that's where the Borg thing started. I'm reviving UPN and creating WB, a real Warner Bros. network.
"They're called the Borg. Protect yourself, Captain, or they'll destroy you." Best line Guinan ever spoke in Star Trek, uttered in such a deadpan, foreboding manner.
I loved the original concept of the Borg before the Queen. A large collective thinking together. Even the cube has no bridge, etc. A frightening concept when compared to the other known races.
That first reveal of the Borg cube is great. It's so different to the standard ships they encounter, it's completely alien, really adds to the far from home feel, and immediately starts to make you think they really are out of their depth. Musical cues are also great and really capture the tension.
To this day they are still very good at representing something soulless and completely alien. Like what makes us think an alien ship needs to be aesthetically pleasing, like how klingon ships are shaped like birds? All it needs to be is a straight up box
One of the scariest concepts in all of Sci fi. Some computer program roaming the galaxy for thousands of years. Like malware. The creators are probably long gone
I didn’t know DeLancie was a stage actor before reading this comment, but that honestly explains why he seems to slip into the persona of Q with such incredible ease.
I like how, in this episode and again in First Contact, the Borg head straight for engineering. To begin with, they don't give a hoot about the command elements of the ship, because they want to interact directly with the parts that make the Enterprise work. It's the same when Picard removed that implant from Ensign Lynch; it was attached near his spinal column. The borg's first priority is gaining control - picking through the information comes later.
Also, as pointed by someone else in this comment section, the Borg were probably wondering how they got that far into their territory when their warp drives would take them 3 years to get to the other side at max speed.
Well sure. If you have control of the ship, you have all the time in the world to strip the data. Kill the engines and the ship is dead in the water. Control by the crew is meaningless theen.
It reminds me of the Cylons in the rebooted Battlestar Galactica, whose standard boarding procedure was to head for little technical rooms buried in the ship that would let them lock out controls, turn the ship's guns on their allies, and vent the crew into space.
It's always interesting seeing how Q worked. It always feels random and yet, by revealing the Borg, he changed the future in which it is possible the Federation would of been wiped away by the Borg as they would of grown complacent in there technology. It is what I felt was so good with TNG and so often miss with the more modern Star Trek was that idea of meeting new species and often surviving encounters by the skin of your teeth by using wits and pure luck. The new star trek just lacks that soul or energy....or even humility it seems...
3:23 Guinan actually had a perfectly good view of the situation from the ship windows, and then Picard told her to go to look at the small viewscreen for the exact same thing.
I really think they missed an opportunity there to have Guinan see it for the first time and instantly react by telling them to raise shields. Instead, it is a very clunky passage where it's a "threat", but one that she is willing to observe impassively, if not asked to interject.
I suspect there was a miscommunication between the VisualFX Department and the Writers Screenplay for this episode. So my headcanon tells me that Picard just wanted Guinan in a small room for security purposes so that others would not be 'listening' to their conversation about the unknown threat.
People need to recognize the big significance that the Borg had on the future of sci-fi. It led to the creation of a new type of enemy in sci-fi games, where they focus on using other life forms to become stronger such as the Reapers of the Mass Effect series and the Flood in the Halo Franchise.
@@jonnybirchyboy1560 ehhh the hive mind is a pretty old concept and exists in everything from pre NASA science fiction as an easy foil. This is a collective, which is the opposite. Some have even suggested that a Queen is a parasite that inserts itself and uses the collective for a more personal reason. In exchange for direction and individual leadership, the Borg lose their individual agency to the Queen. If the Queen dies, it may shock the Collective, but it doesn’t end the Borg there and then. They also operate much differently with and without a Queen. Without one, they are efficient and indifferent. They cut to the chase and then get down to business. When they have a Queen they operate less logically, and can take on aspects of the Queen such as cruelty or playfulness. Depending on the Borg, they can appear as an efficient industrial commune, a cruel capitalist domination machine, or as the amoral utilitarian version of the Federation.
I cannot overstate this - TNG Season 2 absolutely nailed tone. So many episodes perfectly created an unnerving sense of wonder never captured in science fiction ever again.
It is always a joy to read any reply that defends season 2, for the season is maligned solely because of one or two throwback stories thanks to the writer's strike clobbering the year.
The motion picture had great music and sound! That captured something massive and alien, it made space feel huge. I feel Berman Trek lost that as it went on
I love how the borg cube is not some dramatic reveal but slow, and unassuming, and more just unnerving bc small details like no bridge no quarters no engineering etc make you wonder what even is this thing? Then the best thing is when you find out this whole thing was Q letting them know the borg ARE coming and the distance traveled is basically their clock to prepare
It's weird, but I always remember something my dad once said about Q as a character. "He always did the right thing for the wrong reasons" I loved Q for that.
@@logicplague In hindsight yes, but as the series progressed it seemed like the right consequences were being fulfilled after each Q encounter, but the individual encounters themselves MOSTLY felt like Q screwing with the Captain and the crew. It wasn't until the series had drawn to a close and people had rewatched the show a dozen times that notions of "Q saving them from the borg" came to be.
Q always did the right thing for the right reasons. He may never have told them what or why but he was always helping just enough to see if Picard and humanity could grow and push beyond our perceived limitations. He knew something about Humanity and the Federation that Picard did not. He told them at the very beginning and the end of TNG. "The trial never ends!"
This showed Q's real disposition towards the Federation. He threw them in harm's way but never left them, he stayed *very* close and likely knew how the encounter would go. He watched them fumble and guided them a little until eventually his test turned into a hard-learned lesson, after which he returned them to safety. He is a teacher, he tested if they were worth his efforts in the first episode and then grew fond of them because even though they were space dust next to him, in terms of character, they were admirable in his eyes. He always knew Picard was on his own level in terms of resolve. And the lesson he taught them in this episode would set into motions events that would leave the federation bloodied, but intact. If the Borg had come without warning, the damage might have been much greater. Picard and Q's story even ends with Q testing him a final time and finally subtly confessing his trust in humanity on the grand scale.
Q’s son on the other hand………he’s no teacher. He almost got Janeway killed for his amusement. Q then intervened and told his son, “if the continuum has told you once, they have told you a thousand times. DON’T PROVOKE THE BORG!”
"Con permiso, Capitan The hall is rented, the orchestra engaged, it's now time to see if you can dance" I love Q. The music in this episode is just awesome. Gives that sense of mystery and danger. Such an awesome episode. "Only if I were you, I'd start back now"
@@cytherians Me neither! I don't think it would be quite the same. I think whoever they would get would probably put forth a good effort but I just don't know if they could replicate John de Lancie's interpretation of the character.
I like the detail that Geordi is the first to "see" the Borg here; they are physically menacing, but he's the only person on board who would be able to immediately identify that they are devoid of any internal organics, and even he isn't sure how to describe what he's seeing other than simply "an intruder".
The borg are absolutely NOT devoid of "internal organics"!!! Every member of the collective is an organic lifeform augmented with varying amounts of tech implants. The birth are not robots or androids.
They are not devoid of internal organs. They are as much biological as they are mechanical. How do you think both Picard and 7 of 9 survived the removal of their Borg parts? If the Borg had removed their internal organs, they wouldn't have been able to be turned back into humans.
No kidding, at that point it was a different game from battling against some Romulans or Klingons, even if they were strong at least they were known enemies, you could try to counter attack them by using previous battle experience, the Borg was something completely new that was way ahead of them technologically. Q did good by showing such a thing to them.
@@SammEater the Cardassians were more powerful than the major 3. But they weren't created until a year and a few months after the Borg's debut so it makes the Cardassian backstory somewhat rushed
@@robjackson5245 No they weren't. The Cardassians themselves state their ships are not a match for frontline Starfleet vessels. The Borg are without a doubt the real threat.
@@raideurng2508 Besides the Cardassians are based on the Spanish and this notion that somehow they're not advanced smells like the notion that either (1) Nazis were Nordicist, which was bullshit, (2) Spaniards are Hispanic with Latin English accents and Nuyoricans and Italians are white with Penelope Cruz type English accents. Both of which are wrong I wonder why no one says this nonsense about the Pakleds.
3:24 Guinan is sitting in 10 Forward, and out the window we can see the Borg cube. Picard tells her to go to her office and turn on the view screen, so she can see what they're dealing with....so she goes, turns on her view screen, and there's the Borg ship, just like out the 10F viewport.
Saying that, how often did we see Picard actually set foot in 10 Forward? As far as I can recall it was something like 2 or 3 times, including the meeting with Soran in Generations.
Picard did not say look at the ship. Monitor what's going on up here. On the bridge. Monitor us and them and offer advise. Not out in the open. I know in the future there's no secrets but confidential and bridge officer means something. Not for civilian eyes and ears. Yes any crew cabin in the forward section can look out the window, not everyone on board is Star Fleet. Or even a Federation citizen. Tactical reports on the ships capability, ie the flagship of the fleet doesn't need to broadcast to the entire galaxy
Well, she’s wearing purple and she goes into a room full of purple. We get it. She was in the color purple and is now wearing it everywhere! Geek shi t
I really like how Enterprise tied into TNG with the Borg. The Borg that survived First Contact and cause the NX-01 crew so much trouble were able to send out a signal before they were destroyed letting the rest of the collective of that time know where earth was. The Borg here were on their way to earth in the neutral zone in seasons 1 & 2, scooping up Romulan and Federation colonies and outposts, because of that.
@@YD-uq5fi Indeed. I believe time line changes were what was going on that spooked the Borg from hightailing straight to Earth. Something like the message was analyzed and interpreted as be on alert, keep them in check, but don't yet assimilate their world as there are temporal factors here.
I like the part where they're 2 years and 7 months away from the nearest star base was an indication of a count down timer of when the Borgs will arrive.
Chronologically it too the Borg 13 months to get to Federation space; Q Who aired in May 1989; the Best Of Both Worlds when the Borg reach Federation space aired in June 1990; obviously the Borg have much faster travel speed than the Federation.
Borg can go at a greater maximum speed than the Enterprise D, so it took only 13 months for this cube to reach Wolf 359. And that is even without a transwarp hub nearby. So the Borg not only have a higher maximum speed, but can sustain that permanently. If a Borg Cube can go 7000 light years in 13 months, than it could get from the Caretaker array to Earth in just 130 months, or 11 years, even WITHOUT transwarp. The Dominion has no idea how easy of a pigeon they are if the Borg decided to harvest them now.
I think the way the Federation operated during this time they were a lot more passive. I think this is due to this kind of being a golden age for the Federation. They hadn’t been in a major conflict in almost 80 years.
@@nick0875 it's a sign of hostility that could be saw as a premptive ction before an attack, wich make sense they were too .... optimistic? back at that era and the risk to get hit out of nowhere wasn't rly considered
The reason why the Borg are even in the alpha quadrant is because of Archer and the Enterprise Team failing to stop that signal. Q simply told them the Borg were coming. He didn't introduce the Federation to the Borg. These events were planned before Kirk's era. He simply warned them
Got to disagree here. The Borg are in the Alpha Quadrant only because of Q. Q sending Enterprise to meet the Borg caused the Borg to know of the Federation. The Borg eventually got around to attacking Earth in First Contact and went back in time. Message sent during Archer's era cause Borg to dispatch a cube to investigate how this part of the galaxy contained Borg. Borg are tearing up colonies investigating and eventually assimilates 7 of 9's parents. Q sends Enterprise to meet Borg. It's all one big circle that all comes down to Q sending Enterprise to meet that first cube. So yes the Borg were coming but it was Q that lit that match. If Q never sends Enterprise to meet the Borg nothing that follows in Star Trek lore regarding the Borg happens.
@@zombieshoot4318 You obviously don't understand the Paradox. you can Disagree, But my opinion makes more sense then your A log rant. :3 And no it's all on that Signal that Archer failed to stop. 2 borg cubes went on a direct course to earth and it's area the alpha sector is just as big as the other 3 parts of the galaxy both cubes went close or near earth. both destroyed. Both to where the signal came from. that and V'ger. so yeah No your wrong. have a nice day..
No… its on Picard and crew more so than archer or anything else. in first contact had they been more thorough as to remove any trace of the their being there short of memory wiping… they could’ve easily sent teams down to vaporize or collect all the debris and bodies from the sphere after it’s destruction. But they were eager to get home. Fast forward/ backwards to the discovery of said bodies and debris in the Archer timeline and if you’ve seen first contact would know is a direct cause of the enterprise crew not being thorough in the removal of any trace of their interference through history. Archer not stopping the signal in time was just like any other mistake except unknowingly to them was one of the biggest mistakes someone could’ve made. First contact is the catalyst to this all. Remove the bodies and debris and no signal. It’s literally that simple. Theres no paradox involved. There’s no indication at all the borg were already aware of the federation until the TNG episode “The Neutral Zone” and then in “Q who” there still really isn’t one either. We’re just left to connect the dots in what we hope to be accurate. They weren’t concerned with anything to do with the federation they just wanted to see how the hell the Enterprise even got there with their limited tech. Then right as the borg have them they vanish. So it’s very reasonable to assume the only reason the borg were interested in the federation was because of the seemingly “impossible” technological feat this species with an inferior tech to that of the borg was able to achieve instantaneously. As far as V’ger… none of that is canon nor should it be.
I loved this episode! Q had grown tired of Picard's arrogance and optimism and decided to show him what life in the real world (galaxy) was like. What it was like to encounter something that could _not_ be reasoned with, where combat was literally the only option..
No, Picard was very arrogantly optimistic. He was convinced that humans had advanced so much that they could handle any situation diplomatically. Q tended to disagree, and decided to test him on it. With the Borg. And Picard failed miserably..
Exactly. Picard was pedantic and overly idealistic and humanistic, coming of age during peacetime. ruthless species like The borg and the dominion are the real test. Sisko shows the real challenge to one's values that they present, in Pale Moonlight. They have NO interest in diplomacy or negotiation, picard's specialty. They're killers. Picard arrogantly thought that humanity was done getting its hands dirty after signing treaties with the romulans and the klingons
An understated part of the terror here is that by my reckoning, Q flung them a fraction of the distance that Voyager was sent. Two years of warp back home instead of however many it originally took Janeway before time travel antics. Meaning the Borg were most of the way here already, as we saw from the missing colonies in the Neutral Zone, possibly investigating that signal sent back in Regeneration. So while Q sped things up, it wasn't really by much, as others suggested it was even in a form helpful.
I watched TNG long after VOY, but just as this scene I'll never forget their first encounter with the Borg. How Janeway goes from relaxed to "Red alert. All stop, shields to maximum, stand-by all weapons!" in one heart-beat when the darkened cube appears on screen. And young me didn't even know anything about the Borg at the time, but damn, I was immidiately on the edge of my seat. The Borg easily are Scifi's most scary enemy with an incredibly effective introduction.
It's even the same area of space. The Borg control half the Delta Quadrant, and the Enterprise was just yoinked to the close end, while Voyager was at the far end.
Back when Star Trek was Star Trek. Creative, thrilling, engaging, terrifying. I can still remember watching this episode when it aired. "Life" so alien that even Data couldn't identify it. Then they sent the now famous message "We are the Borg. Existence as you know it is over. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Resistance is futile." In that one line, you know that you are now facing an enemy that will not hear your pleas of mercy. There can be no diplomacy, nothing you do will stop them. You will either be added to their collective or you will be discarded. And their technology is leagues ahead of yours. Scary.
Freedom is irrelevant. Self determination is irrelevant. DEATH is irrelevant. That's the most chilling Line. They don't even need you to be alive, to assimilate your body
Absolutely! I remember watching this for the first time as a kid - over 30 years later still love it! Compared to modern Trek it is leagues ahead in terms of story, writing, intrigue, suspense .. I could go on..
Doctor Who made the Cybermen. Men turned into machines and bound to a singular will to assimilate everything into their design. Star Trek perfected that with the Borg, both in terror and in presence. The Borg aren't just in some Power Rangers armor, they're mismatched, some parts flesh and some metal. Their ships and tools are terrifyingly simple, and their adaptability has always been a factor that has pushed the Federation heroes to the brink time and time again.
Apparently when Patrick Stewert readthrough the script for the Borg's first appearance, he explained to Gene Roddenbery of their similarity to one of Dr Who's most famous villain's. To be fair most Cybermen stories apart from the odd jewels like Tomb and Earthshock have been very poor.
Although, by the time Doctor Who had ended its original run, the Cybermen had been reduced to mere space pirates, roving the universe for whatever weapons or power they could get their hands on. Which also happened to the Borg once Hugh was sent back, and infected a whole bunch with individuality. They were cut off from the Unimatrix, and left to rot by the collective, and were reduced to being Lore's minions.
They built a "Guinan's office" set that we never see again, construction which a producer would find hard to justify unless it was cheaper than having the rest of the cast come in the same day she did those four shots by herself.
The look on captains face @2:27 This is clearly something weird. Something unsavory and ungodly. Something that does not fit into any human cultural or religious system of values.
"Engineering to Bridge, LaForge here. Good news and bad news. The good news is, we're almost done cleaning up everyone's lunch. The bad news is, we have an intruder on board that somehow beamed over while our shields were up."
"The hall is rented, the orchestra engaged. Now it’s time to see if you can dance". This moment changed ALL of the Star Trek franchise, ALL of science fiction, and frankly a major portion of pop culture, forever. Remember, at this juncture, this show was not even a certainty to survive to Season 3, and the entire franchise could have wound up with ST VI as a silverscreen farewell to the franchise if TNG had been discontinued after two mediocre seasons.
I remember when I first saw this scene. At this point, I knew who the borg were and heard of them but this was also my first time sitting down and watching the entire series of TNG. This was completely terrifying.
To me, the cube holds up to this day as a very, very spooky ship to see for the first time. It's a timeless design. And if you have just a bit of a sense of the Borg, I have to imagine that wall of greebles must meet the expectation. The drones on the other hand are maybe a bit weaker just because the makeup was a little cheaper in these scenes - but the music, implacability, and helplessness of the crew to do anything to them I would hope still sells it.
4:00 I do enjoy how Captain Picard makes Riker order Worf to raise the shields when he just as easily (and more quickly) could have asked Worf himself.
Heh, true. But I guess this has two reasons: first, to show that the chain of command is observed, second, to show how aligned is the captain with his first officer (a nod was all it took for Riker to know what to do). The second point was a recurring theme in TNG. There was a whole episode based on the idea.
Q is more of antagonist to Enterprise D crew than a villain. Antagonist doesn't need to be a villain. He more pushing people outside their comfort zone then trying to hinder. And Borg aren't villain in TNG either, but more of a force of nature of extreme evolution using technology and resources to its fullest potential.
You know what the best part about this first encounter with the Borg is? Beyond the setup with q throwing them into a deep unexplored part of space, this just feels like a normal encounter with an unknown alien race. In the original series and in certain episodes of The next generation the Enterprise has always encountered different alien species that have posed in immediate threat but never really made an appearance until either much later or not at all. This appearance could have just been another advanced alien race that was an immediate threat but then could have just been forgotten until much later or completely forgotten like other encounters. The ominous way in which Picard mentions that they will be coming sets up the return of the Borg later on in what would be some of the best episodes of next generation.
The mind boggling power of Q. He literally snaps his fingers and he moves the enterprise with its entire crew 7000 light-years into another area of space in a couple of seconds! Even if they decided to flee from what may be ahead of them it would take over 2 years at maximum warp. Q'S power is unlike any being Piccard has ever encountered.
This is one of the best Star Trek episodes of all time. From the start to finish, it’s engaging, mysterious, funny, dramatic, and action-packed. From production values to acting to music, it’s the perfect episode.
Picard: “Guinan, activate your view screen” Guinan: “Ok…let me move away first from my port window where I see a ginormous cube spaceship belonging to the Borg”.
I like that 7000 light years is unexplored and takes 2+ years to get back to earth. The milky way is 100,000 light years across, so there's a lot left to explore
What always irked me about this episode, was that the Enterprise is an exploration vessel, Picard was supposed to seek out new life forms, go boldly to where no man has gone before, and he snubbed Q as a guide. I can only imagine the knowledge he could have gotten from having Q as a guide. I'm guessing the Federation had gotten too complacent and thought they were all that.
Q tells Picard that just because the Federation has met the Klingons and Romulans it doesn't give them the right to be smug. "The arrogance!" he says. 😐
Well to be fair it was already some 300 years since First Contact and the Federation's biggest threat was only the Romulan Star Empire and the Klingons earlier, who were basically on the same level in terms of technology. The Federation had no idea that a 10,000 year old Dominion was operating in the Gamma Quadrant and perhaps a just as old Borg Collective operating in the Delta & Beta Quadrants, not to mention the Voth (Dinosaur Species from Earth) or Species 8472.
@@SolarnovaFederation did encounter the Ogrians who are one million years old from ot Star Trek series who were omnipotent enough to rendered both Federation and Klingon entire military forces inoperable, forcing both side into a peace treaty. The planet destroyer weapon, the aliens from another galaxy capable of turing entire crew into cubes, Preservors. Federation keep forgetting that they not the only big fish in the water and there are bigger ones too.
Q in true chaotic good fashion does humanity a solid by showing them the enemy at the gate but does it in such a way that he can claim to anyone who asks that he was just being a dick.
It’s trippy how young they all are. Pretty lame of Guinan to keep this info from the Federation until now considering she knows how dangerous the Borg are…
My bet her people did tell Star Fleet but they kept it quiet to prevent panicking. The Hansens were already researching them. I bet there may have been other groups. It's just the Enterprise was the first Star Fleet group that survived.
She's a listener, meaning that it's not a natural trait for her to speak about her feelings and experiences. She only wants to hear about others and then reply with bs on what they should do.
@Leah's Reptile Club they did have Archer's report about those strange frozen bodies found in the Arctic. The ones that came back, and started turning people... and sent that same signal... but the signal was going so far away, and the Xindi and Romulans were a more immediate threat...
You'd think that Guinan would have thought to mention the Borg when she said they should start heading back immediately. Then having her go to the view screen when she could see it clearly from her window instead of saying 'I'm looking at it right now'. Didn't notice or much think of the incongruity in original viewing. Oh well, it's still a classic among ALL Star Trek episodes, despite Whoopi.
The Crystalline Entity was basically the biggest threat before the Borg, but on such a smaller scale. The Borg had vast swaths of the Delta and Beta Quadrants under their direct control, the Crystalline Entity did not take over territory or create an empire, but was just as dangerous really.
@@Retro-Future-Land I don’t think so. The Borg hav always been able to beam through shields. Sure, that could have been a mistake that the writers decided to keep.
0:40 Apparently at maximum warp they travel about 2800 light years every year. On Voyager which is set in the same time, they claim it would take them 75 years to travel the 70,000 light years to home. It should take them 25 years by this count. Maybe they had significantly worse warp drives on the Voyager ship.
This is a reasonable idea but I dont think there is any lore surrounding this issue. Its just that Voyager was created 10 years after this, and they didnt consider this single episode from season 2 tng, but a cool idea nonetheless.
My take is that Data's calculation involved maximum warp to a Starbase to which point the Enterprise's warp drive would be completely worn out and essentially destroyed. At that point, the crew would just hop onboard other ships to make it back to Earth or wherever in the Federation. Similar to redlining an engine beyond its specs to the point where massive internal damage occurs. Voyager didn't have the same luxury of throttling to a Starbase and getting the repairs, thus had to operate its warp drive at a much lower spec - they simply could not afford the risk of being dead in the water. The Enterprise was also a much, much, bigger ship, so conceivably there are tons of energy reserves with extra fusion generators all over the place, biomatter reclamation, etc, allowing the ship to full throttle for long distances without stopping. Voyager could not do that and so had to continually stop for provisions. Makes a huge difference in time. If you've ever done long road trips in a vehicle that had a massive gas tank you'll know how advantageous it is over a small car with a tiny one that requires refueling more frequent. Kind of like the same thing here, just much grander scale.
@@oldtwinsna8347 Good explanation! I noticed also from re-listening that Data doesn't give them the time back to their original location, he gives them the time to the nearest Starbase. Which implies that they may be closer than 7,000 light years so they may actually be even slower than I estimated. Unless their original location was even FARTHER away from a starbase, which makes no sense since they're supposed to have been moved to an extremely remote location.
God, this scene is just so well-done. The dread is palpable. I never noticed Guinan's "Q!" before. She knew what was coming. Picard et al. should've taken her advice and started that two-year return journey immediately.
A good point. Maybe they are trying to save energy. We learned that we should try to reduce our energy consumption and maybe it carried on to the 24th century.
Thing is the borg were on earth a few hundered years before the events of this episode as shown in a season 2.episode of enterprise. They arent named as borg but youd think the events of that episode wouod be on record
Honestly crazy to me how later on Riker Data and Worf all board the cube and just wander around, data even starts touching the components without a care in the world.
You forget, Q is omnipotent as well as all knowing. He fully knew Picard and his puny ship was no match for the Borg. Q wanted Picard to see that also and to HUMBLE him. Remember Q's remark when he asked: "Where is your smug arrogance now Picard? Do you still profess to be prepared for what awaits you?" Q was driving his point home. He wanted Picard to come face to face with his utter inadequacy of their vaunted federation technology to confront and overpower someone like the Borg. Q's point was: There are things and beings out here A LOT BIGGER THAN YOU!!
This was probably the best early episode of Star Trek TNG (although Measure of a Man was also excellent.) The feeling of hopelessness, of inevitability with the Borg, the fact that Q was their only hope to stay alive, the fact Captain Picard was forced to admit that this was more than even his ship and crew could handle....the music scores...and the just sinister silence of the Borg. Great intro of a major villain.
Jean Luc Picard did not read Captain Archer’s warning logs. The federation did nothing to prepare from Archer time to Picard. It is only after this slap from Q they begun to take it seriously
I mean most Star Trek characters take things seriously after being slapped by Q. Though it usually takes a few hours to get past the annoyance at his games.
Starfleet encountered tons of hostile species between Archer and Picard. Far more damage was going on with Klingon, Romulan, and other known species to focus military resources on fighting them. The Borg events prior to TNG were only minor events when compared.
@@robjackson5245 The first “official” encounter was when the Hansens started investigating the Borg Cube a few years before the events of TNG, and the first actual encounter was when the Borg travelled back in time to stop First Contact, as seen in Star Trek First Contact, and I don’t know about you, but I don’t think all the Borg were destroyed in that movie, so it’s quite possible that some of them, maybe one or two, could have been hiding on Earth.
I dont know why but I just love the dark and moody lighting of Season 1 and 2, makes the series feel so much more otherworldly and mysterious. On top of that, Season 2 is very, very overlooked.
Only thing this episode got wrong was Guinan's reaction to seeing the Borg ship again. She should have been absolutely terrified, but instead describes it casually like no big deal
She mentioned she was not there to see the attack, thus did not experience it, and only read about it in the news. Not the same level of trauma involved.
Like how Guinan says "if I were you I'd head back now" uhhh aren't you on board this ship too? And then she was already looking at the Borg through the window.....why the hell she have to go to the view screen for to see the same damn thing lol
This version I agree was the most dangerous. Trek kind of over-exposed them especially in Voyager and constantly had them being thwarted by a single ship. The version took the most advanced ship in the federation and treated them like a toy
On the scale of things: (does not include many major powers encountered in the Delta Quadrant) 1. Species 8472 - the most powerful race encountered by any Starfleet vessel. 2. The Voth - They haven't been conquered by Species 8472 and have not been assimilated by the Borg, and they have transwarp capability. 3. The Borg Collective (until the events of Voyager: Endgame 2378 where they are shattered, they hold territory in all four quadrants.) 4. The Dominion (Their territory in the Gamma Quadrant is larger than the entirety of Fed/Rom/Kling/Card explored space in the Alpha & Beta quadrants). 5. The United Federation of Planets (8000 light years across, over 150 member worlds, earth is the capital) 6. The Romulan Star Empire (until the destruction of Romulus and Remus in 2387, then the Empire collapses) 7. The Klingon Empire 8. The Cardassian Union (until Cardassia Prime is wiped out by the Dominion, over 700 million people dead) 9. The Breen Confederacy (until their alliance with the Dominion is ended in 2375) 10. Armus from Skin of Evil TNG Season 1, he is the greatest individual threat ever faced, even moreso than a single Borg drone. 11. The Ferengi Alliance
"It's now time to see if you can dance." This moment changed the Star Trek franchise, and ALL of science fiction, forever, and was arguably one of the most pivotal moments in all of television.
Check out our 2nd channel for hundreds of hours of Creator Commentary tracks from all your favourite shows including South Park, & Community! :) ruclips.net/user/CommentaryCentral
One of the best episode in star trek history!!!
Borg : *_" Humans of the Year 2024. We will assimilate You. We will remove your Pronouns and Wokeness so You can be the perfect Addition to ourselves again. Will You resist wildly and fiercely to the Death as always ? "_*
Humans : *_" NO !!! In fact, PLEASE assimilate us !!!_*_ "_
Borg : *_" ... ... well daymn. "_*
‘The hall is rented, the orchestra engaged. Now it’s time to see if you can dance’
Man Q was a fantastic character.
I love Q so much.
Love that line so much. Especially knowing what's coming it sends chills through me. I love Q and the new Picard series with Q is going very well.
A fantabulous prick! One of Satan's
Love to hate him/ it
One of my favorite lines of Q also.
Guinan: "If I were you, id start back now.."
Picard: "Despite Guinans warning, I decided to put the lives of everyone at risk for my own curiosity."
Dat intrepid personality is what keeps Q amused and interested! 😁
Well maybe if Guinan wasn’t vague as hell and told them what was coming Picard would’ve listened to her
@@mrcritical6751 Yeah exactly, I was cringing at the script for that part, really could have done with some work on that.
Q would have made sure the Borg caught up to them.
If you've seen the episode you know it would'nt have made a difference. Picard is an explorer, this was a great opportunity to explore uncharted territory, he did the same thing in the episode where that alien engineer upgraded the warp drive and they ended up in a whole other galaxy, it would be crazy not to explore, thats the whole purpose of the Enterprise.
Q was actually helping them in his own way, because the Borg were already in the Neutral Zone at that point. He wanted them to realize the big problem that was waiting for them.
Yup, with the Borg having already harvested one of their colonies they needed a heads up ASAP.
Q didn't introduce the Borg to the Federation. It was That signal Archer failed to stop. Its Paradox.
He also helped Picard by letting him exist in three places at once. Or at least giving him the tools.
BULLSHIT!!!
@@AloneInWonder2683 Retcons don't count, and "Enterprise" of all shows is a lameass TV show that didn't deserve the coveted network, UPN, but should have been on a second-rate shit network like The WB, which was nothing like the studio whose name it carried (and very loosely, cause I don't understand why there had to be a "The" before "WB"; I mean "WB" isn't good enough?). I appreciate hilarious retcons like "Voyager" but "Enterprise" was wack. The neutral zone was experiencing incursions from the Borg, that's where the Borg thing started. I'm reviving UPN and creating WB, a real Warner Bros. network.
"They're called the Borg. Protect yourself, Captain, or they'll destroy you." Best line Guinan ever spoke in Star Trek, uttered in such a deadpan, foreboding manner.
cool
You hit the nail on the HEAD. Like it was up to him and him alone to stop this.
And they still ignored her. Lol
Shes surpringly calm in the face of a genocidal threat she barely survived.
@@Distress. Fatalism. I believe she thought that they were all likely going to die, but didn't want to tell him that.
I loved the original concept of the Borg before the Queen. A large collective thinking together. Even the cube has no bridge, etc. A frightening concept when compared to the other known races.
The addition of a "Borg queen" made the Borg lose something... 😥
@@PerfectAlibi1 it's main concept, such a dumb thing for people lackings ideas
The Queen and Data's emotions were awful.
They're the best (or worst) antagonist they ever came up with.
The Borg are supposed to be like a swarm of technological zombies.
That first reveal of the Borg cube is great. It's so different to the standard ships they encounter, it's completely alien, really adds to the far from home feel, and immediately starts to make you think they really are out of their depth. Musical cues are also great and really capture the tension.
Yeah the music really became dull as TNG went on. Wish they would stuck with having more diverse music like in the first few seasons
To this day they are still very good at representing something soulless and completely alien. Like what makes us think an alien ship needs to be aesthetically pleasing, like how klingon ships are shaped like birds? All it needs to be is a straight up box
Musical Q's surely? :-)
One of the scariest concepts in all of Sci fi. Some computer program roaming the galaxy for thousands of years. Like malware. The creators are probably long gone
This was when the borg were scary, no queen, leader etc ,scary and impersonal.
Picard and Q always had such great chemistry. I think both being stage actors really helps with their delivery
Yeah
I didn’t know DeLancie was a stage actor before reading this comment, but that honestly explains why he seems to slip into the persona of Q with such incredible ease.
Even in the face of a near omnipotent being, Jean luc Picard maintains such charisma, and indefatigability that he seems equal to Q
it's truly crazy that they never fucked on the show
Have they acted on stage together?
I like how, in this episode and again in First Contact, the Borg head straight for engineering. To begin with, they don't give a hoot about the command elements of the ship, because they want to interact directly with the parts that make the Enterprise work. It's the same when Picard removed that implant from Ensign Lynch; it was attached near his spinal column. The borg's first priority is gaining control - picking through the information comes later.
Also, as pointed by someone else in this comment section, the Borg were probably wondering how they got that far into their territory when their warp drives would take them 3 years to get to the other side at max speed.
Man, imagine being 100% conscious of what's happening, but having 0% control over what your body does under the control of the Borg implant.
Well sure. If you have control of the ship, you have all the time in the world to strip the data.
Kill the engines and the ship is dead in the water. Control by the crew is meaningless theen.
It reminds me of the Cylons in the rebooted Battlestar Galactica, whose standard boarding procedure was to head for little technical rooms buried in the ship that would let them lock out controls, turn the ship's guns on their allies, and vent the crew into space.
It's always interesting seeing how Q worked. It always feels random and yet, by revealing the Borg, he changed the future in which it is possible the Federation would of been wiped away by the Borg as they would of grown complacent in there technology.
It is what I felt was so good with TNG and so often miss with the more modern Star Trek was that idea of meeting new species and often surviving encounters by the skin of your teeth by using wits and pure luck.
The new star trek just lacks that soul or energy....or even humility it seems...
And so the greatest antagonist in all the Universe of Star Trek made its entrance ...
3:23 Guinan actually had a perfectly good view of the situation from the ship windows, and then Picard told her to go to look at the small viewscreen for the exact same thing.
I really think they missed an opportunity there to have Guinan see it for the first time and instantly react by telling them to raise shields. Instead, it is a very clunky passage where it's a "threat", but one that she is willing to observe impassively, if not asked to interject.
Bis....I noticed how Whoopi's window magnified automatically. LOL
Gonna take a wild guess that originally in the script the Cube was not supposed to be on the window but the effects guys added it anyway.
I suspect there was a miscommunication between the VisualFX Department and the Writers Screenplay for this episode. So my headcanon tells me that Picard just wanted Guinan in a small room for security purposes so that others would not be 'listening' to their conversation about the unknown threat.
And did you notice she didn't actually touch the com panel on the desk?
People need to recognize the big significance that the Borg had on the future of sci-fi. It led to the creation of a new type of enemy in sci-fi games, where they focus on using other life forms to become stronger such as the Reapers of the Mass Effect series and the Flood in the Halo Franchise.
Actually the Cybermen were first of such type of enemy
The Hivemind
They're, grey goo
They represent an apocalyptic tidal wave of life 🧬
@@jonnybirchyboy1560 ehhh the hive mind is a pretty old concept and exists in everything from pre NASA science fiction as an easy foil.
This is a collective, which is the opposite. Some have even suggested that a Queen is a parasite that inserts itself and uses the collective for a more personal reason. In exchange for direction and individual leadership, the Borg lose their individual agency to the Queen.
If the Queen dies, it may shock the Collective, but it doesn’t end the Borg there and then. They also operate much differently with and without a Queen.
Without one, they are efficient and indifferent. They cut to the chase and then get down to business.
When they have a Queen they operate less logically, and can take on aspects of the Queen such as cruelty or playfulness.
Depending on the Borg, they can appear as an efficient industrial commune, a cruel capitalist domination machine, or as the amoral utilitarian version of the Federation.
@@aedwardsss hive mind and collective are the same thing
I cannot overstate this - TNG Season 2 absolutely nailed tone. So many episodes perfectly created an unnerving sense of wonder never captured in science fiction ever again.
It is always a joy to read any reply that defends season 2, for the season is maligned solely because of one or two throwback stories thanks to the writer's strike clobbering the year.
Where Silence Has Lease is one of the greatest.
Possibly my favorite season. As a kid, the jump in quality from season1 to 2 seemed immense.
I know EXACTLY what you mean.
The motion picture had great music and sound! That captured something massive and alien, it made space feel huge. I feel Berman Trek lost that as it went on
Still as terrifying as today.
Why are you terrified of today?
@@j-r-m7775 Ominous replies to RUclips comments.
@@j-r-m7775 You beat me to it. Damn...
@@IndySidhu88 - Nicely done, sir
This is some of the best Sci fi of all time
I love how the borg cube is not some dramatic reveal but slow, and unassuming, and more just unnerving bc small details like no bridge no quarters no engineering etc make you wonder what even is this thing? Then the best thing is when you find out this whole thing was Q letting them know the borg ARE coming and the distance traveled is basically their clock to prepare
Yes
It's weird, but I always remember something my dad once said about Q as a character.
"He always did the right thing for the wrong reasons"
I loved Q for that.
His reasons were good, even if Q himself said otherwise.
@@logicplague In hindsight yes, but as the series progressed it seemed like the right consequences were being fulfilled after each Q encounter, but the individual encounters themselves MOSTLY felt like Q screwing with the Captain and the crew. It wasn't until the series had drawn to a close and people had rewatched the show a dozen times that notions of "Q saving them from the borg" came to be.
betee gud then hesus chrust wharexwß gud jesis hmchrust in tgis varel
I think it's the opposite. He always did the wrong thing for the right reasons.
Q always did the right thing for the right reasons. He may never have told them what or why but he was always helping just enough to see if Picard and humanity could grow and push beyond our perceived limitations. He knew something about Humanity and the Federation that Picard did not. He told them at the very beginning and the end of TNG. "The trial never ends!"
And so begins one of the most important eras in Star Trek history.
This showed Q's real disposition towards the Federation. He threw them in harm's way but never left them, he stayed *very* close and likely knew how the encounter would go.
He watched them fumble and guided them a little until eventually his test turned into a hard-learned lesson, after which he returned them to safety.
He is a teacher, he tested if they were worth his efforts in the first episode and then grew fond of them because even though they were space dust next to him, in terms of character, they were admirable in his eyes. He always knew Picard was on his own level in terms of resolve.
And the lesson he taught them in this episode would set into motions events that would leave the federation bloodied, but intact. If the Borg had come without warning, the damage might have been much greater. Picard and Q's story even ends with Q testing him a final time and finally subtly confessing his trust in humanity on the grand scale.
He knew, at the end of the series he even stated so
Yup. We are his pet
However, as Q puts it, the trial NEVER ends. He has faith in Picard and his crew. Humanity however, he is still very wary about.
@@stevencoardvenice and just like pets, we love him.
Q’s son on the other hand………he’s no teacher. He almost got Janeway killed for his amusement. Q then intervened and told his son, “if the continuum has told you once, they have told you a thousand times. DON’T PROVOKE THE BORG!”
"Con permiso, Capitan The hall is rented, the orchestra engaged, it's now time to see if you can dance" I love Q. The music in this episode is just awesome. Gives that sense of mystery and danger. Such an awesome episode. "Only if I were you, I'd start back now"
Yes the music is awesome. I can’t believe they got rid of the composer. Music in later seasons is so boring.
Yes the music is awesome. I can’t believe they got rid of the composer. Music in later seasons is so boring.
I really can't see anyone else doing Q quite like John de Lancie.
@@cytherians Me neither! I don't think it would be quite the same. I think whoever they would get would probably put forth a good effort but I just don't know if they could replicate John de Lancie's interpretation of the character.
He's a bit of a dandy, but he's scary af.
Yeah, this one landed hard when it first aired. People could not stop talking about it. Incredible episode.
we'll just have to see how ready you are snaps fingers
I was one of them.
I like the detail that Geordi is the first to "see" the Borg here; they are physically menacing, but he's the only person on board who would be able to immediately identify that they are devoid of any internal organics, and even he isn't sure how to describe what he's seeing other than simply "an intruder".
The borg are absolutely NOT devoid of "internal organics"!!! Every member of the collective is an organic lifeform augmented with varying amounts of tech implants. The birth are not robots or androids.
They're also an extreme development of what Geordi is, to such an extent they lose what Geordi still is.
"ey are devoid of any internal organics," Not true. They have implants which are added on to their human bodies.
@@Dark_Jaguar Nice catch!
They are not devoid of internal organs. They are as much biological as they are mechanical. How do you think both Picard and 7 of 9 survived the removal of their Borg parts? If the Borg had removed their internal organs, they wouldn't have been able to be turned back into humans.
"The hall is rented, the orchestra engaged. It's now time to see if you can dance."
I love Q so so much.
1980 firbiden diryy dabcubg earth
Geordi and the engineering crew.
ruclips.net/video/CkOgfhlWhO4/видео.htmlsi=o3zXDNr6u2fcGiPD
The very first "oh shit" moment of TNG.
No kidding, at that point it was a different game from battling against some Romulans or Klingons, even if they were strong at least they were known enemies, you could try to counter attack them by using previous battle experience, the Borg was something completely new that was way ahead of them technologically. Q did good by showing such a thing to them.
@@SammEater the Cardassians were more powerful than the major 3. But they weren't created until a year and a few months after the Borg's debut so it makes the Cardassian backstory somewhat rushed
@@robjackson5245 No they weren't. The Cardassians themselves state their ships are not a match for frontline Starfleet vessels. The Borg are without a doubt the real threat.
@@raideurng2508 Not once do Cardassians say they are powerless.
@@raideurng2508 Besides the Cardassians are based on the Spanish and this notion that somehow they're not advanced smells like the notion that either (1) Nazis were Nordicist, which was bullshit, (2) Spaniards are Hispanic with Latin English accents and Nuyoricans and Italians are white with Penelope Cruz type English accents. Both of which are wrong
I wonder why no one says this nonsense about the Pakleds.
The moral of the story is this: always trust your bartender.
Underrated commit lol
Amen lol
😅😂🤣
Curb your curiosity when extreme danger is involved.
And someone name is just one letter, Q.
This is one of the best episodes, an amazing introduction to The Borg, the most terrifying villains ever.
M˘s|ims scare me fr
Roddenberry created the borg
The Borg is the inevitability of globalization.. THE BORG IS US
3:24 Guinan is sitting in 10 Forward, and out the window we can see the Borg cube. Picard tells her to go to her office and turn on the view screen, so she can see what they're dealing with....so she goes, turns on her view screen, and there's the Borg ship, just like out the 10F viewport.
Saying that, how often did we see Picard actually set foot in 10 Forward? As far as I can recall it was something like 2 or 3 times, including the meeting with Soran in Generations.
Picard did not say look at the ship. Monitor what's going on up here. On the bridge. Monitor us and them and offer advise.
Not out in the open.
I know in the future there's no secrets but confidential and bridge officer means something. Not for civilian eyes and ears.
Yes any crew cabin in the forward section can look out the window, not everyone on board is Star Fleet. Or even a Federation citizen. Tactical reports on the ships capability, ie the flagship of the fleet doesn't need to broadcast to the entire galaxy
Well, she’s wearing purple and she goes into a room full of purple. We get it. She was in the color purple and is now wearing it everywhere! Geek shi t
"Keep the shields down, we don't want to appeal provocative."
Somewhere in the Borg collective "Good, we neither. Resistance is futile anyway :) "
Appear.
yes ut us
Q actually, without telling them, was getting them ready.
I really like how Enterprise tied into TNG with the Borg. The Borg that survived First Contact and cause the NX-01 crew so much trouble were able to send out a signal before they were destroyed letting the rest of the collective of that time know where earth was. The Borg here were on their way to earth in the neutral zone in seasons 1 & 2, scooping up Romulan and Federation colonies and outposts, because of that.
The collective could have reached Earth much sooner than 2365 if the 2063 signal were for real. They had much faster transportation technology.
@@YD-uq5fi Indeed. I believe time line changes were what was going on that spooked the Borg from hightailing straight to Earth. Something like the message was analyzed and interpreted as be on alert, keep them in check, but don't yet assimilate their world as there are temporal factors here.
I like how first contact with the Borg is portrayed similarly to humans encountering a Lovecraftian entity.
Which of course in some sense they are.
I like the part where they're 2 years and 7 months away from the nearest star base was an indication of a count down timer of when the Borgs will arrive.
Chronologically it too the Borg 13 months to get to Federation space; Q Who aired in May 1989; the Best Of Both Worlds when the Borg reach Federation space aired in June 1990; obviously the Borg have much faster travel speed than the Federation.
@@ottohenninger8954 Yes, the Borg could catch the Enterprise D at max warp. Harrowing!
Borg can go at a greater maximum speed than the Enterprise D, so it took only 13 months for this cube to reach Wolf 359. And that is even without a transwarp hub nearby. So the Borg not only have a higher maximum speed, but can sustain that permanently.
If a Borg Cube can go 7000 light years in 13 months, than it could get from the Caretaker array to Earth in just 130 months, or 11 years, even WITHOUT transwarp.
The Dominion has no idea how easy of a pigeon they are if the Borg decided to harvest them now.
Riker: “Keep the shields down.”
Yeah…… they never made that mistake again! 😂
I think the way the Federation operated during this time they were a lot more passive. I think this is due to this kind of being a golden age for the Federation. They hadn’t been in a major conflict in almost 80 years.
@@gabegu5102 true
I honestly don't understand why the shields aren't always up for any vessel in the Star Trek universe.
@@nick0875 or at the very least they would have a normal running shields and then military grade shield for defense.
@@nick0875 it's a sign of hostility that could be saw as a premptive ction before an attack, wich make sense
they were too .... optimistic? back at that era and the risk to get hit out of nowhere wasn't rly considered
The reason why the Borg are even in the alpha quadrant is because of Archer and the Enterprise Team failing to stop that signal. Q simply told them the Borg were coming. He didn't introduce the Federation to the Borg. These events were planned before Kirk's era. He simply warned them
Got to disagree here. The Borg are in the Alpha Quadrant only because of Q. Q sending Enterprise to meet the Borg caused the Borg to know of the Federation. The Borg eventually got around to attacking Earth in First Contact and went back in time. Message sent during Archer's era cause Borg to dispatch a cube to investigate how this part of the galaxy contained Borg. Borg are tearing up colonies investigating and eventually assimilates 7 of 9's parents. Q sends Enterprise to meet Borg. It's all one big circle that all comes down to Q sending Enterprise to meet that first cube. So yes the Borg were coming but it was Q that lit that match. If Q never sends Enterprise to meet the Borg nothing that follows in Star Trek lore regarding the Borg happens.
@@zombieshoot4318 You obviously don't understand the Paradox. you can Disagree, But my opinion makes more sense then your A log rant. :3
And no it's all on that Signal that Archer failed to stop. 2 borg cubes went on a direct course to earth and it's area the alpha sector is just as big as the other 3 parts of the galaxy both cubes went close or near earth. both destroyed. Both to where the signal came from. that and V'ger. so yeah No your wrong. have a nice day..
@@AloneInWonder2683 Retcon crap like Alien Covenant.
No… its on Picard and crew more so than archer or anything else. in first contact had they been more thorough as to remove any trace of the their being there short of memory wiping… they could’ve easily sent teams down to vaporize or collect all the debris and bodies from the sphere after it’s destruction. But they were eager to get home. Fast forward/ backwards to the discovery of said bodies and debris in the Archer timeline and if you’ve seen first contact would know is a direct cause of the enterprise crew not being thorough in the removal of any trace of their interference through history. Archer not stopping the signal in time was just like any other mistake except unknowingly to them was one of the biggest mistakes someone could’ve made. First contact is the catalyst to this all. Remove the bodies and debris and no signal. It’s literally that simple. Theres no paradox involved. There’s no indication at all the borg were already aware of the federation until the TNG episode “The Neutral Zone” and then in “Q who” there still really isn’t one either. We’re just left to connect the dots in what we hope to be accurate. They weren’t concerned with anything to do with the federation they just wanted to see how the hell the Enterprise even got there with their limited tech. Then right as the borg have them they vanish. So it’s very reasonable to assume the only reason the borg were interested in the federation was because of the seemingly “impossible” technological feat this species with an inferior tech to that of the borg was able to achieve instantaneously. As far as V’ger… none of that is canon nor should it be.
St ent didn't exists at this time
I loved this episode! Q had grown tired of Picard's arrogance and optimism and decided to show him what life in the real world (galaxy) was like. What it was like to encounter something that could _not_ be reasoned with, where combat was literally the only option..
Exactly.
the arrogance and optimism was in Q's mind only. Picard did not trust Q, did not want his 'help', who would?
No, Picard was very arrogantly optimistic. He was convinced that humans had advanced so much that they could handle any situation diplomatically.
Q tended to disagree, and decided to test him on it. With the Borg. And Picard failed miserably..
Exactly. Picard was pedantic and overly idealistic and humanistic, coming of age during peacetime. ruthless species like The borg and the dominion are the real test. Sisko shows the real challenge to one's values that they present, in Pale Moonlight. They have NO interest in diplomacy or negotiation, picard's specialty. They're killers.
Picard arrogantly thought that humanity was done getting its hands dirty after signing treaties with the romulans and the klingons
"I'm going to put you in a situation where combat is the only option.
Also, combat will not be an option."
An understated part of the terror here is that by my reckoning, Q flung them a fraction of the distance that Voyager was sent. Two years of warp back home instead of however many it originally took Janeway before time travel antics. Meaning the Borg were most of the way here already, as we saw from the missing colonies in the Neutral Zone, possibly investigating that signal sent back in Regeneration. So while Q sped things up, it wasn't really by much, as others suggested it was even in a form helpful.
brings me back to when I used to finish my school day and get home to watch TNG.. loved it , happy days .. peace from Ireland
Sky One?
@@THEMathHacker-121 spot on 👍
@@tonybuckley6413 me too. Enniscorthy, Co Wexford. And again at 10pm 😂
@@THEMathHacker-121 2 counties over in Cork city 😉, 5pm one for me. Me Ma would have kicked me to bed for 10pm.. good Irish mammy 😀
I watched TNG long after VOY, but just as this scene I'll never forget their first encounter with the Borg. How Janeway goes from relaxed to "Red alert. All stop, shields to maximum, stand-by all weapons!" in one heart-beat when the darkened cube appears on screen. And young me didn't even know anything about the Borg at the time, but damn, I was immidiately on the edge of my seat. The Borg easily are Scifi's most scary enemy with an incredibly effective introduction.
It's even the same area of space. The Borg control half the Delta Quadrant, and the Enterprise was just yoinked to the close end, while Voyager was at the far end.
@@JoshSweetvalethe big debate is who wins between peak borg and peak dominion
@@stevencoardvenice Borg
@@JoshSweetvale
The founders are way smarter though
@@JoshSweetvale why are u so sure
Back when Star Trek was Star Trek. Creative, thrilling, engaging, terrifying. I can still remember watching this episode when it aired. "Life" so alien that even Data couldn't identify it. Then they sent the now famous message "We are the Borg. Existence as you know it is over. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Resistance is futile." In that one line, you know that you are now facing an enemy that will not hear your pleas of mercy. There can be no diplomacy, nothing you do will stop them. You will either be added to their collective or you will be discarded. And their technology is leagues ahead of yours. Scary.
Freedom is irrelevant.
Self determination is irrelevant.
DEATH is irrelevant.
That's the most chilling Line. They don't even need you to be alive, to assimilate your body
Absolutely! I remember watching this for the first time as a kid - over 30 years later still love it! Compared to modern Trek it is leagues ahead in terms of story, writing, intrigue, suspense .. I could go on..
Guinan's warning make the hairs on my neck stand up, even today.
If guinan is talking you damm well listen
her calness made no sense. if a speciies destroyed your civilization and you instantly recognize them and know their name dont you lose your shit?
@@cranbers
She is calm outside. As the ship’s real counselor and advisor to Picard she can’t fall apart.
BORGs are fun drinks today
yes birg drinks tiady
Doctor Who made the Cybermen. Men turned into machines and bound to a singular will to assimilate everything into their design.
Star Trek perfected that with the Borg, both in terror and in presence. The Borg aren't just in some Power Rangers armor, they're mismatched, some parts flesh and some metal. Their ships and tools are terrifyingly simple, and their adaptability has always been a factor that has pushed the Federation heroes to the brink time and time again.
what about stargate replicators?
If I remember correctly, there is a crossover comic between Doctor Who and Star Trek TNG where the Cyberman and the Borg appear making an alliance. .
Apparently when Patrick Stewert readthrough the script for the Borg's first appearance, he explained to Gene Roddenbery of their similarity to one of Dr Who's most famous villain's. To be fair most Cybermen stories apart from the odd jewels like Tomb and Earthshock have been very poor.
Although, by the time Doctor Who had ended its original run, the Cybermen had been reduced to mere space pirates, roving the universe for whatever weapons or power they could get their hands on.
Which also happened to the Borg once Hugh was sent back, and infected a whole bunch with individuality. They were cut off from the Unimatrix, and left to rot by the collective, and were reduced to being Lore's minions.
noóe
It just occurred to me that guinan is in a separate room because Whoopi was on set only for a few days for every episode.
They built a "Guinan's office" set that we never see again, construction which a producer would find hard to justify unless it was cheaper than having the rest of the cast come in the same day she did those four shots by herself.
yes she wà
2:06 when everyone’s heart dropped
2:19 One of the most important and chilling moments in the Federation’s history
Sure is. A day they will regret from then on: The day they saw that Cube.
The look on captains face @2:27
This is clearly something weird. Something unsavory and ungodly. Something that does not fit into any human cultural or religious system of values.
Top class writing and acting. Sophisticated, thought-provoking plots. Those were the days.
Well said!
One of the best introductions of any character or species in scifi history.
Written or video.
"Engineering to Bridge, LaForge here. Good news and bad news. The good news is, we're almost done cleaning up everyone's lunch. The bad news is, we have an intruder on board that somehow beamed over while our shields were up."
The Borg's technology is greatly more advanced than the Federation's.
Their shields were not up.
@@sdrawkcabsiemansiht485 4:01 I think Commander Riker and his beard would disagree.
01:35 "Despite Guinan's warning..." There would be plenty of exploring to do on the way back.
3:35 Watch her hand... I don't think Guinan quite activated that view screen.
time code 1:08 - 1:14 very strong aliens soundtrack vibes. Love it.
"The hall is rented, the orchestra engaged. Now it’s time to see if you can dance".
This moment changed ALL of the Star Trek franchise, ALL of science fiction, and frankly a major portion of pop culture, forever.
Remember, at this juncture, this show was not even a certainty to survive to Season 3, and the entire franchise could have wound up with ST VI as a silverscreen farewell to the franchise if TNG had been discontinued after two mediocre seasons.
I remember when I first saw this scene. At this point, I knew who the borg were and heard of them but this was also my first time sitting down and watching the entire series of TNG.
This was completely terrifying.
I was like 4 years old when I first saw this and it was scary to me because they had no defense from the Borg
@@gabegu5102
Truly good TV back then.
To me, the cube holds up to this day as a very, very spooky ship to see for the first time. It's a timeless design. And if you have just a bit of a sense of the Borg, I have to imagine that wall of greebles must meet the expectation. The drones on the other hand are maybe a bit weaker just because the makeup was a little cheaper in these scenes - but the music, implacability, and helplessness of the crew to do anything to them I would hope still sells it.
Love the score in this episode. Gives off that eerie and mysterious vibe.
Man, was I captivated by this episode. With its conclusion my imagination geometrically expanded.
Spinning the ship through space was not necessary, but Q always had style.
"the hall is rented, the orchestra engaged, its now time to see if you can dance" I use that in every day conversations now
4:00 I do enjoy how Captain Picard makes Riker order Worf to raise the shields when he just as easily (and more quickly) could have asked Worf himself.
Heh, true. But I guess this has two reasons: first, to show that the chain of command is observed, second, to show how aligned is the captain with his first officer (a nod was all it took for Riker to know what to do). The second point was a recurring theme in TNG. There was a whole episode based on the idea.
yes chain if c9nabad al sotyies hace cyain if xinand
Q and The Borg were the best villains ever in Next Generation, they made the show so special
Q is more an overpowered chaotic neutral
Q is more of antagonist to Enterprise D crew than a villain. Antagonist doesn't need to be a villain. He more pushing people outside their comfort zone then trying to hinder.
And Borg aren't villain in TNG either, but more of a force of nature of extreme evolution using technology and resources to its fullest potential.
q a gid n9t a vilkan
Riker's Beard is the funniest RUclips name ever
You know what the best part about this first encounter with the Borg is? Beyond the setup with q throwing them into a deep unexplored part of space, this just feels like a normal encounter with an unknown alien race. In the original series and in certain episodes of The next generation the Enterprise has always encountered different alien species that have posed in immediate threat but never really made an appearance until either much later or not at all. This appearance could have just been another advanced alien race that was an immediate threat but then could have just been forgotten until much later or completely forgotten like other encounters. The ominous way in which Picard mentions that they will be coming sets up the return of the Borg later on in what would be some of the best episodes of next generation.
The mind boggling power of Q. He literally snaps his fingers and he moves the enterprise with its entire crew 7000 light-years into another area of space in a couple of seconds!
Even if they decided to flee from what may be ahead of them it would take over 2 years at maximum warp.
Q'S power is unlike any being Piccard has ever encountered.
Warp 9 is just over 1000 LY per year so more like 7 years...
@@darania1 That would be to get them back to where they started, not the closest Star Base which is stated as being 2.7 years away.
1:12 "What do you mean, you people" ? Lt Osiris, Tropic Thunder 🙂
Q: “Don’t provoke the Borg!”
Also Q: 0:54
Q is a legend !
My favoriete character in the series.
3:25 Guinan has a view of the ship. Why then did she go into another room to see and describe it?
This is one of the best Star Trek episodes of all time. From the start to finish, it’s engaging, mysterious, funny, dramatic, and action-packed. From production values to acting to music, it’s the perfect episode.
Protect yourself Captain or they'll destroy you - brilliant line.
It gives me chills every time.
@@rikersbeard7635 me too - one of my all time favourite episodes.
Picard: “Guinan, activate your view screen”
Guinan: “Ok…let me move away first from my port window where I see a ginormous cube spaceship belonging to the Borg”.
I love how Picard isn’t a flawless captain. It was obvious he should have taken Guinan’s advice, yet didnt
To be fair though the borg would have caught up to them really easily!
The fact Picard told Q yes we are scared and rescued them from The Borg. Now imagine what Q was going through when Picard became a Borg.
I like that 7000 light years is unexplored and takes 2+ years to get back to earth. The milky way is 100,000 light years across, so there's a lot left to explore
Voyager fixed that. Perhaps Data was supposed to say 70,000 light years.
What always irked me about this episode, was that the Enterprise is an exploration vessel, Picard was supposed to seek out new life forms, go boldly to where no man has gone before, and he snubbed Q as a guide. I can only imagine the knowledge he could have gotten from having Q as a guide.
I'm guessing the Federation had gotten too complacent and thought they were all that.
Q tells Picard that just because the Federation has met the Klingons and Romulans it doesn't give them the right to be smug.
"The arrogance!" he says. 😐
Well to be fair it was already some 300 years since First Contact and the Federation's biggest threat was only the Romulan Star Empire and the Klingons earlier, who were basically on the same level in terms of technology. The Federation had no idea that a 10,000 year old Dominion was operating in the Gamma Quadrant and perhaps a just as old Borg Collective operating in the Delta & Beta Quadrants, not to mention the Voth (Dinosaur Species from Earth) or Species 8472.
@@SolarnovaFederation did encounter the Ogrians who are one million years old from ot Star Trek series who were omnipotent enough to rendered both Federation and Klingon entire military forces inoperable, forcing both side into a peace treaty.
The planet destroyer weapon, the aliens from another galaxy capable of turing entire crew into cubes, Preservors.
Federation keep forgetting that they not the only big fish in the water and there are bigger ones too.
Q in true chaotic good fashion does humanity a solid by showing them the enemy at the gate but does it in such a way that he can claim to anyone who asks that he was just being a dick.
It’s trippy how young they all are.
Pretty lame of Guinan to keep this info from the Federation until now considering she knows how dangerous the Borg are…
My bet her people did tell Star Fleet but they kept it quiet to prevent panicking. The Hansens were already researching them. I bet there may have been other groups. It's just the Enterprise was the first Star Fleet group that survived.
Or she is not interfering in natural progression, like you don't give a nuclear power core to a caveman, or the knowledge.
@Taramafor Haikido I suppose that's why Q warned Picard about Guinan.
She's a listener, meaning that it's not a natural trait for her to speak about her feelings and experiences. She only wants to hear about others and then reply with bs on what they should do.
@Leah's Reptile Club they did have Archer's report about those strange frozen bodies found in the Arctic. The ones that came back, and started turning people... and sent that same signal... but the signal was going so far away, and the Xindi and Romulans were a more immediate threat...
You'd think that Guinan would have thought to mention the Borg when she said they should start heading back immediately.
Then having her go to the view screen when she could see it clearly from her window instead of saying 'I'm looking at it right now'. Didn't notice or much think of the incongruity in original viewing.
Oh well, it's still a classic among ALL Star Trek episodes, despite Whoopi.
I remember seeing this episode live in Finnish television during 1989. It was mind-blowing.
The music from :35-1:30 is perfect. A blend of suspenseful and terrifying... Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark vibes
TNG had underrated music all around.
I loved the crystal entity being a recurring theme in this show because TNG had mostly self contained episodes
The Crystalline Entity was basically the biggest threat before the Borg, but on such a smaller scale. The Borg had vast swaths of the Delta and Beta Quadrants under their direct control, the Crystalline Entity did not take over territory or create an empire, but was just as dangerous really.
I am not a huge star trek fan, but I love this episode and the borg
From what I understood from this episode is that I think Q flung the Enterprise to the Outskirts of the Delta Quadrant.
This takes me back to my childhood I feel so peaceful when I’m watching this as an adult thank you
Watching these wanderfull series again. The Borg battles was always the best battles. Getting older sucks. They don't make em like they used to.
How they managed to get on the enterprise still intrigues me
Resistance is futile
@Zauberspruche *slow clap* Thank you sir, now get out!
They beamed aboard prior to the shields going up.
@@Retro-Future-Land I don’t think so. The Borg hav always been able to beam through shields. Sure, that could have been a mistake that the writers decided to keep.
@@rowlandbuck2703 i think after yes, but not at the first encounter.
@@rowlandbuck2703 This. They can beam through shields. That and many other unique ways they bent the rules was scary.
0:40 Apparently at maximum warp they travel about 2800 light years every year. On Voyager which is set in the same time, they claim it would take them 75 years to travel the 70,000 light years to home. It should take them 25 years by this count. Maybe they had significantly worse warp drives on the Voyager ship.
This is a reasonable idea but I dont think there is any lore surrounding this issue. Its just that Voyager was created 10 years after this, and they didnt consider this single episode from season 2 tng, but a cool idea nonetheless.
@@rikersbeard7635 Yes they can't possibly keep all this stuff in mind when writing. Just funny to note the difference.
@@EGarrett01 Yes definitely, your explanation is the best so far :)
My take is that Data's calculation involved maximum warp to a Starbase to which point the Enterprise's warp drive would be completely worn out and essentially destroyed. At that point, the crew would just hop onboard other ships to make it back to Earth or wherever in the Federation. Similar to redlining an engine beyond its specs to the point where massive internal damage occurs. Voyager didn't have the same luxury of throttling to a Starbase and getting the repairs, thus had to operate its warp drive at a much lower spec - they simply could not afford the risk of being dead in the water. The Enterprise was also a much, much, bigger ship, so conceivably there are tons of energy reserves with extra fusion generators all over the place, biomatter reclamation, etc, allowing the ship to full throttle for long distances without stopping. Voyager could not do that and so had to continually stop for provisions. Makes a huge difference in time. If you've ever done long road trips in a vehicle that had a massive gas tank you'll know how advantageous it is over a small car with a tiny one that requires refueling more frequent. Kind of like the same thing here, just much grander scale.
@@oldtwinsna8347 Good explanation! I noticed also from re-listening that Data doesn't give them the time back to their original location, he gives them the time to the nearest Starbase. Which implies that they may be closer than 7,000 light years so they may actually be even slower than I estimated. Unless their original location was even FARTHER away from a starbase, which makes no sense since they're supposed to have been moved to an extremely remote location.
God, this scene is just so well-done. The dread is palpable. I never noticed Guinan's "Q!" before. She knew what was coming. Picard et al. should've taken her advice and started that two-year return journey immediately.
2:16 "On screen".
Why don't they have the screen on all the time? 😮
A good point. Maybe they are trying to save energy. We learned that we should try to reduce our energy consumption and maybe it carried on to the 24th century.
Thing is the borg were on earth a few hundered years before the events of this episode as shown in a season 2.episode of enterprise. They arent named as borg but youd think the events of that episode wouod be on record
After seeing all three Picard seasons, We had NO IDEA how important this episode would be to the life and legacy of Jean Luc Picard
Honestly crazy to me how later on Riker Data and Worf all board the cube and just wander around, data even starts touching the components without a care in the world.
Because the Borg don't perceive them as a threat.
@@leighsaunderson9203 I was more surprised by the fact that they are pressing random instruments with no idea what they are
I wonder if this was more than the lesson Q implies it to be at the end. That he was also testing if humanity could deal with the Borg.
I don't. They were really gonna die. They need Q.
You forget, Q is omnipotent as well as all knowing. He fully knew Picard and his puny ship was no match for the Borg. Q wanted Picard to see that also and to HUMBLE him. Remember Q's remark when he asked: "Where is your smug arrogance now Picard? Do you still profess to be prepared for what awaits you?" Q was driving his point home. He wanted Picard to come face to face with his utter inadequacy of their vaunted federation technology to confront and overpower someone like the Borg.
Q's point was: There are things and beings out here A LOT BIGGER THAN YOU!!
@@calvinjackson8110 I didn't mean in this specific instance, but that humanity would be the species to stop the Borg overall.
This was probably the best early episode of Star Trek TNG (although Measure of a Man was also excellent.) The feeling of hopelessness, of inevitability with the Borg, the fact that Q was their only hope to stay alive, the fact Captain Picard was forced to admit that this was more than even his ship and crew could handle....the music scores...and the just sinister silence of the Borg. Great intro of a major villain.
Picard endangers the whole ship to satisfy his curiosity. Riker should have relieved him.
Jean Luc Picard did not read Captain Archer’s warning logs. The federation did nothing to prepare from Archer time to Picard. It is only after this slap from Q they begun to take it seriously
I mean most Star Trek characters take things seriously after being slapped by Q. Though it usually takes a few hours to get past the annoyance at his games.
Starfleet encountered tons of hostile species between Archer and Picard. Far more damage was going on with Klingon, Romulan, and other known species to focus military resources on fighting them. The Borg events prior to TNG were only minor events when compared.
Stupid retcon. The Borg's first encounter near Federation started in "The Neutral Zone" and this was the first official encounter.
Technically that time line hadnt happened yet
@@robjackson5245 The first “official” encounter was when the Hansens started investigating the Borg Cube a few years before the events of TNG, and the first actual encounter was when the Borg travelled back in time to stop First Contact, as seen in Star Trek First Contact, and I don’t know about you, but I don’t think all the Borg were destroyed in that movie, so it’s quite possible that some of them, maybe one or two, could have been hiding on Earth.
This isn't the lesson they wanted. But it's the lesson they needed.
I’ll fight anyone that doesn’t have this episode in their top 3 list.
I dont know why but I just love the dark and moody lighting of Season 1 and 2, makes the series feel so much more otherworldly and mysterious. On top of that, Season 2 is very, very overlooked.
Thinking that any civilization in space is benevolent towards us is naive. This episode brings home that point.
Only thing this episode got wrong was Guinan's reaction to seeing the Borg ship again. She should have been absolutely terrified, but instead describes it casually like no big deal
She mentioned she was not there to see the attack, thus did not experience it, and only read about it in the news. Not the same level of trauma involved.
Like how Guinan says "if I were you I'd head back now" uhhh aren't you on board this ship too? And then she was already looking at the Borg through the window.....why the hell she have to go to the view screen for to see the same damn thing lol
To me the Borg seemed to be the most difficult enemy they ever had to face.
This version I agree was the most dangerous. Trek kind of over-exposed them especially in Voyager and constantly had them being thwarted by a single ship. The version took the most advanced ship in the federation and treated them like a toy
Well, at least since V'Ger.
Yea but Voyager ruined it. The most difficult, and yet Janeway single handedly fooled and destroyed them easier than a street thug.
@@oldtwinsna8347 Single handedly? Species 8472 would like a word.
On the scale of things: (does not include many major powers encountered in the Delta Quadrant)
1. Species 8472 - the most powerful race encountered by any Starfleet vessel.
2. The Voth - They haven't been conquered by Species 8472 and have not been assimilated by the Borg, and they have transwarp capability.
3. The Borg Collective (until the events of Voyager: Endgame 2378 where they are shattered, they hold territory in all four quadrants.)
4. The Dominion (Their territory in the Gamma Quadrant is larger than the entirety of Fed/Rom/Kling/Card explored space in the Alpha & Beta quadrants).
5. The United Federation of Planets (8000 light years across, over 150 member worlds, earth is the capital)
6. The Romulan Star Empire (until the destruction of Romulus and Remus in 2387, then the Empire collapses)
7. The Klingon Empire
8. The Cardassian Union (until Cardassia Prime is wiped out by the Dominion, over 700 million people dead)
9. The Breen Confederacy (until their alliance with the Dominion is ended in 2375)
10. Armus from Skin of Evil TNG Season 1, he is the greatest individual threat ever faced, even moreso than a single Borg drone.
11. The Ferengi Alliance
"It's now time to see if you can dance."
This moment changed the Star Trek franchise, and ALL of science fiction, forever, and was arguably one of the most pivotal moments in all of television.