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Season 3, Episode 16: "Offspring"

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So, having delved this far into the series, I've come to understand that TNG can have episodes with the most insane, unintentionally comedic, decidedly inappropriate stuff in them, yet leave you with watery eyes and a lump in your throat by the end. "Offspring" is definitely one of those episodes, so strap in and ENGAGE! We begin with Troi, Wesley, and Geordi being summoned by Data to a lab on the Enterprise where apparently he's been holed up for weeks ever since returning from a Federation robotics & technology conference. When they arrive, Data proudly announces that he is now the "Father" of a creepy genderless android-thing named “Lal" with a positronic brain just like his. Geordi, Wes, and Troi politely mask their terror at the sight of this godless abomination and ask him how the hell this was possible since no one has been able to successfully replicate Data's creator's work on positronic brains and advanced cybernetics. Data waves t

Season 3, Episode 15: "Yesterday's Enterprise"

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Daaaaamn. I can’t do recaps for all of these, but I just watched “Yesterday’s Enterprise” and I have to say, that was some movie-quality writing and presentation. Great stuff. I do however, wonder if it leaves a big plot hole. If Tasha goes back in time with the Enterprise C, does that mean she never served aboard the D and never died, thus leaving the crew with no memory of her existence? Oh, and Shooter McGavin!

Season 3, Episode 13: "Deja Q"

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Hoo-boy, this is one of the most batshit TNG episodes I've come across yet, so strap in and get ready for "Deja Q!" We begin with the Enterprise trying to help out an alien planet whose moon has somehow shifted out of orbit and is about to crash into it, Flash Gordon style. But Sam J. Jones is not around to "save every one of them," so it's up to our intrepid Starfleet crew to figure something out. After a couple of Geordi and Data's ideas have minimal effect on moving the moon, a fully nekkid Q suddenly appears on the bridge, suspended vertically in air, with only a flash of light covering his private bits! This caused me to chuckle heartily, but I was soon laughing like a lunatic at Picard's reactions to Q's bullshit: Capt. Picard: Return that moon to its orbit. Q: I have no powers! Q the ordinary. Capt. Picard: Q the liar! Q the misanthrope! Q: Q the miserable, Q the desperate! What must I do to convince you people? Worf: Die. Q: Oh, very cl

Corbin Bernsen???

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I find it hilarious that Corbin Bernsen and John de Lancie are part of a Continuum of beings that exist solely to troll the universe. Gotta do a write up on this insane Q episode soon.

Season 3, Episode 11: "The Hunted"

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In a strange bit of serendipity for Memorial Day, I landed on this episode, which serves as a powerful commentary on how poorly the U.S. has treated its soldiers and veterans over the years. A society knows as the Angosians —led by the great James Cromwell — has applied for membership into the Federation, and though they seem technologically advanced, peaceful, and philosophically committed to progressive and intellectual ideology, the Enterprise crew (led by Troi) discover they harbor a dark secret - their treatment of soldiers. It seems the Angosians performed experiments on their military, enhancing their minds and bodies; turning them into killing machines. Then, when they had served their purpose in a great war, rather then deal with their PTSD and the responsibility of reintegrating the soldiers back into society, they voted to ship them all off to what Captain Picard referred to as a “floating Gulag.” “Disposable heroes,” indeed. As I previously stated, this episode hit hard, e