Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 6 (Blu-ray) Available For Preorder (1 Viewer)

[The Obsolete Man]

As our sets are trickling in, or already in hand, time to start talking about the season.

I don't know if it's because this is on 35 mm, but TNG remastered looks better than Enterprise, and Enterprise is the newer show shot specifically in HD.

The picture is clear enough that you can pretty fairly make out that they didn't retcon the original Enterprise's dedication plaque in Relics, and it still reads "Starship Class". Although, for some reason, when the Enterprise was trapped in the Dyson Sphere, there was still a star field behind the sun, even though they were in an enclosed sphere. I'm going to guess that was a screw-up in the original version, too. I tried to check the official SD version of the episode online to compare the scenes, but after being forced to sit through approximately 15 commercials I decided it wasn't worth it. And that's why streaming will never beat a DVD, IMO.

As for episodes...

there are many very crude descriptions I could come up with for Man of the People, but I'll save those for somewhere else.

One question I had about the episode... was Counselor Troi's libido heightened by the connection with the Ambassador and being the receptacle for his "Evil" thoughts, or was it the Betazoid menopause we saw with Lwaxana in season 2 coming on early, since she was aging?

Also, poor Ensign Ken Doll... no one will ever believe him. Ever.

 

[smithbrad]

I don't know if it's because this is on 35 mm, but TNG remastered looks better than Enterprise, and Enterprise is the newer show shot specifically in HD.

I don't believe the Enterprise SFX's were originally generated in 1080p (720p or lower upconverted). which should explain some differences in the video quality in comparison to the process TNG has been going through.

 

[The Obsolete Man]

I don't believe the Enterprise SFX's were originally generated in 1080p (720p or lower upconverted). which should explain some differences in the video quality in comparison to the process TNG has been going through.

Enterprise's effects didn't bother me other than the occasional space scene looking like a video game. It was the actual filmed material on Enterprise. It looks... grainier, for lack of a better term... to me than TNG, or even TOS on Blu.

TNG and TOS are crystal clear. Enterprise, though... not quite as much, to my eye.

 

[Carabimero]

The Okudas sure know how to do a commentary right. And listening to Ron Moore is always a treat, as well. I truly enjoyed the commentary to RELICS, almost as much as I enjoyed the commentary to YESTERDAY'S ENTERPRISE. Good commentaries, that stimulate me intellectually as well as emotionally, and have a touch of humor, are rare, but seem in good supply when the Okudas turn their vast knowledge and grace to the task.

 

[Kevin EK]

The Okudas are nice people with a long history of working on these shows.
But they're not infallible. The commentary on "Unification" had some really unfortunate moments in it - particularly when Jeri Taylor was being asked about an episode that she not only didn't write but that had been made a year before she came to the series.
I was also a bit disappointed in the "Chain of Command" materials here. For all the talk about how tough Jellico is, nobody brings up that Picard was just as craggy when the series began. Riker's introduction to him was quite chilly at the time.
And there's no discussion about how the music has really slid into wallpaper in the 6th season. I almost wish they could have had a new score done for "Chain of Command" just so it would have some personality...

 

[Carabimero]

I probably wouldn't make a good critic, as I tend to look for the positives and not the negatives.

 

[Kevin EK]

I don't mean to sound negative. I try to see both ends of it.

For example, the positive of the S6 Blu-ray set is that the episodes really do look quite good, and the good episodes still hold up nicely.
I'm very appreciative that they chose to put the commentaries on the three eps they did. I would have loved to see a commentary on "Ship in a Bottle" as well, but we can't have everything.

Frankly, in looking at their commentary selections over Seasons 5 and 6, I really can't complain. They gave us discussions on "Redemption", "Unification", "Cause and Effect" (even if that one didn't have much meat to it), "The First Duty", "The Inner Light", "Chain of Command", "Relics", "Tapestry" and "Frame of Mind". That's a great harvest.

 

[The Obsolete Man]

Ship in a Bottle (or even Elementary, Dear Data) would have been a commentary to drag Baker Street Irregular Nicholas Meyer in for.

 

[Carabimero]

Kevin, I appreciate that you keep it professional when we disagree. Would be pretty vanilla if we all thought the same way. I enjoy hearing different points of view, especially when they're not motivated by insecurity or pettiness.

I agree Ship In A Bottle could have used a commentary, but I'll take one good quality commentary (or three in this case) over a dozen filled with dead air or actors saying, "I haven't seen this in 30 years...."

Ronald Moore mentioned he'd watched RELICS the night before to prepare for his commentary; that makes so much difference in the quality of thought and is greatly appreciated by this fan.

 

[Jason_V]

The Okudas are nice people with a long history of working on these shows.
But they're not infallible. The commentary on "Unification" had some really unfortunate moments in it - particularly when Jeri Taylor was being asked about an episode that she not only didn't write but that had been made a year before she came to the series.
I was also a bit disappointed in the "Chain of Command" materials here. For all the talk about how tough Jellico is, nobody brings up that Picard was just as craggy when the series began. Riker's introduction to him was quite chilly at the time.
And there's no discussion about how the music has really slid into wallpaper in the 6th season. I almost wish they could have had a new score done for "Chain of Command" just so it would have some personality...

IIRC, wasn't it just Denise who insisted that in the Unification commentary? I remember listening to it and saying to myself...oh boy, this won't end well. (The other thing "wrong" with the track to me is that Jeri Taylor just seemed to peter out in Part II and everyone was struggling to find something to talk about.)

And I'd agree Picard was chilly to Riker at the beginning of Encounter at Farpoint. But here's the difference: we know Picard recruited Riker to be his first officer (mentioned in Best of Both Worlds II). Jellico was "stuck" with this crew. Also, Picard's "chill" wasn't him being hard edged to me; he wanted to see how Riker would react and perform in a situation he didn't expect (the reconnection with the saucer). After that moment, they seemed to be okay for the rest of the episode and season.

 

[The Obsolete Man]

IIRC, wasn't it just Denise who insisted that in the Unification commentary? I remember listening to it and saying to myself...oh boy, this won't end well. (The other thing "wrong" with the track to me is that Jeri Taylor just seemed to peter out in Part II and everyone was struggling to find something to talk about.)

And I'd agree Picard was chilly to Riker at the beginning of Encounter at Farpoint. But here's the difference: we know Picard recruited Riker to be his first officer (mentioned in Best of Both Worlds II). Jellico was "stuck" with this crew. Also, Picard's "chill" wasn't him being hard edged to me; he wanted to see how Riker would react and perform in a situation he didn't expect (the reconnection with the saucer). After that moment, they seemed to be okay for the rest of the episode and season.

Oh, Jellico was a dick. (just watched the episodes, BTW). But, Jellico wasn't there to make friends, and he was running under some serious time constraints. He basically had two days to make the Enterprise ready to blow some Cardassian ships up if things went south, which would have been the beginning of a war, and he didn't have time to get to know the crew or ingratiate himself to them or let them get accustomed to his style of command gradually.

However, at times, he just came off like a dick for no good reason, like when Captain Picard was preparing to leave the ship. It must just be his personality. There were subtle, and not so subtle things pointing to the fact that he was a more "military" Captain who stood on protocol and probably wouldn't allow the type of debate or disagreement or laxness Picard did.

For example... every time Jellico appeared on the Bridge, Data announced his presence. And, of course, Jellico was the one who finally told Troi to stop dressing like a Risan tart on duty. And, who did Jellico lean on most? Data, the one person on the ship who would generally take orders without question or debate.

His style of command was definitely not Picard's. And if Picard hadn't returned and Jellico stayed in command, he probably would have lost most of the crew within six months.

 

[Jason_V]

I don't disagree with a word you said, Robert. My only contention is that Picard hand picked his senior staff (presumably) while Jellico didn't have any choice with who he had. Sure, he could have requested new officers, but that would have taken time...time he didn't have.

Plus, i wonder what Picard would have done in that situation. It was a potential war hanging in the balance with a ship and crew he didn't have a chance to "test."

I'm also very happy he did tell Troi to put her...assets...where they belonged and to conform to Starfleet uniforms. The fact she was always dressed as a, like you said, Risan tart always bugged me. Especially the blue dress from Season 3. She looks good in it...but dang, one stray phaser blast and the brige crew is getting a show.

 

[The Obsolete Man]

I don't disagree with a word you said, Robert. My only contention is that Picard hand picked his senior staff (presumably) while Jellico didn't have any choice with who he had. Sure, he could have requested new officers, but that would have taken time...time he didn't have.

Plus, i wonder what Picard would have done in that situation. It was a potential war hanging in the balance with a ship and crew he didn't have a chance to "test."

I'm also very happy he did tell Troi to put her...assets...where they belonged and to conform to Starfleet uniforms. The fact she was always dressed as a, like you said, Risan tart always bugged me. Especially the blue dress from Season 3. She looks good in it...but dang, one stray phaser blast and the brige crew is getting a show.

Picard was always more inspiring a leader, and able to get himself and his crew out of things, even if he didn't handpick them.

I'm skipping ahead a bit, but it's in Tapestry that we learn that third in command Lt Commander Picard took control of the Stargazer when the captain was killed and first officer injured, and he got that crew that wasn't his out of some serious mess, and got promoted to captain for his troubles. So icard probably would have done alright. He has a history of it.

As for Jellico's crew... I was wondering why not just a full scale transfer between the Cairo and Enterprise's bridge crews for the duration of the mission, if Jellico having people he could trust around him was such an issue. But, that would have caused its own problems, and since it's the flagship, the Enterprise crew is probably the best in the fleet.

 

[Jason_V]

The Stargazer crew wasn't "his" per se, but he had to be serving with those people for some period of time, even as a lieutenant commander. (I know I'm assuming quite a bit here.) He would know their abilities and they would know his. So there would have been some history there.

As for the Cairo crew, it might have been a bit odd for the Cardassians to "know" the Enterprise crew from The Wounded but then not see a single one of them on the ship. They knew what was going on already, but that would have been a dead give away something was wrong.

 

[Kevin EK]

It was Denise Okuda who walked into the open pitfall during the commentary by asking Jeri Taylor about an episode she had never paid much attention to, and certainly didn't write. Denise also asked her questions like what specific episodes Taylor screened before starting work on TNG's fourth year - which was another cringe-worthy exchange.

Taylor didn't have that much to talk about, but she did provide a few good nuggets - the best one being her discussion about how producing a television series is like running down a hill with a rapidly growing boulder constantly on your heels. The main thing I got from her comments was that she was happy to have worked on Trek for a few years, and equally happy to be retired today.

 

[Carabimero]

Another great commentary from the Okudas and Ronald D. Moore for TAPESTRY. Moore really does his homework before stepping in front of the microphone and it pays off every time. I particularly appreciated Mr. Okuda's questions about other directions the writing staff might have or wanted to take, particularly with the crew romantic relationships. And Ms. Okuda's information on movie backdrops was a nice touch. Truly refreshing to listen to commentaries that are worth my time.

 

[Carabimero]

Time's Arrow has always amused me. It's a good time travel story but as with every time travel story I can think of, I have unanswered questions. When Picard is updating the street lamps to make it safer for earthquakes, wouldn't that fundamentally change the future if people who died before now survived? Or has Picard ALWAYS done this, every time, so the future is no different? His line suggests that he hasn't, that he is implying future knowledge of earthquakes and trying to save lives. Like Scotty and McCoy giving away the formula for transparent aluminum in ST IV--that could have had far worse consequences to earth's history than the extinction of the whales--a lot sooner than the 23rd century. But back to Time's Arrow, it always cracks me up how Twain leaps through the portal--like a man of 30. I confess I do love that every time I see it.

 

[The Obsolete Man]

The answer to the earthquake question is simple, IMO... He didn't do a thing to them. That was just a cover story he used to pacify the person questioning him.What he was really doing was installing the sensor to detect the aliens that we saw a few scenes later.

 

[Carabimero]

You're probably right...it would be impractical to think he could update enough lamps to make any difference, and why would he bother? But Picard and his crew have always given me the impression that the goal of the 24th century adult was...continuing education, learning and bettering themselves and by extension making the universe better, so I guess that's what led me to believe he was updating the lamps.

 

[The Obsolete Man]

You're probably right...it would be impractical to think he could update enough lamps to make any difference, and why would he bother? But Picard and his crew have always given me the impression that the goal of the 24th century adult was...continuing education, learning and bettering themselves and by extension making the universe better, so I guess that's what led me to believe he was updating the lamps.

The way I always interpreted the earthquake reference was that Picard knows his general Earth history, but not necessarily the specific dates of things like the big San Francisco earthquake. He just knew the general timeframe, and that they were within the ballpark of when it would happen. So, that was the first excuse he could pull out of thin air when questioned about why he was screwing around with the lamps.

Of course, being about a decade early for the big one, the person questioning him thought he was crazy. So, blame it on the bureaucracy. And it worked.

And yes, while the goal of the 24th century adult is bettering themselves, he would also be following the temporal prime directive pretty closely and probably try to minimize his impact on the past as much as possible. So, no earthquake proofing the lamps... even if that would make a difference.