REACTION! STAR TREK: TNG, 5x4, Gallifrey Gals Get Warped! S5 Ep4, Silicon Avatar

[@GMontag]

Speaking as someone who watched them as they aired as a kid, the crystalline entity was definitely a memorable baddie even at the point that this episode aired. You two are just watching each episode once and moving on, but watching it as they aired meant often watching them several times in reruns or other syndication. Datalore was often in best-of or fan-favorite compilations that stations would sometimes air during the summer when no new episodes were coming out. So it's not surprising that the writers would expect at least a significant portion of their audience to know what the crystalline entity was just from seeing it.

[@DovahFett]

BBC America used to constantly air those early season episodes together in marathons about 7-8 years back. That's how I first got into Trek. I was too young to have watched any of it as it aired for the first time. Consequently the Crystalline Entity is a very memorable villain to me, even though it doesn't actually appear that often.

[@Raja1938]

Yep, those of us who watched these episodes when they originally aired would often watch both the original broadcast as well as the re-broadcast on the weekends. The fandom was huge, and with only TOS and its 4 movies (at that point), we were starved for new Trek.

[@AubreySciFi]

Agreed! I knew the Crystalline Entity right away when I saw this first run.

[@fakecubed]

Oh yeah, as soon as we saw it we remembered it as a world-destroyer, remembered the Data connection, and it was absolutely terrifying that our crew was there in its path without the protection of the Enterprise.

[@bencebotye3904]

"He piled upon the whale's white hump the sum of all the general rage and hate felt by his whole race from Adam down; and then, as if his chest had been a mortar, he burst his hot heart's shell upon it." if you know, you know.

[@weray7605]

for the win

[@bcn1gh7h4wk]

Actually, I've never read it.

[@AubreySciFi]

I worked with Ellen Geer once, years ago. I was acting in a college Shakespeare play and she advised us on scansion. (as she's the director of The "Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum" an outdoor theater in the woods of Topanga Canyon where they perform at least one or two Shakespeare plays per season.) She's a nice lady and a great actress.

[@cleekmaker00]

Daughter of beloved character actor Will Geer, Grandpa Walton from The Waltons and "Bear Claw" Chris Lapp from the movie Jeremiah Johnson. She was also in the Harrison Ford films Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger as Rose, Jack Ryan's CIA colleague.

[@Yggdrasil42]

The crystalline entity was pretty scary to me as a kid. It wasn't malevolent but still an unstoppable lethal force.

[@nedzed3663]

Having lost my mother in 2020, compounded with losing my house, belongings and most of mom's personal effects I had in the house because of a hurricane, I understand the doctor's need to hold on to something of their deceased loved one. All I had left of mom was her voicemail when I would call her phone, and this one video clip I happened to have of her in my phone. I remember this one day while evacuated at the temporary place I was living, it's raining outside and I played that short clip over and over. I remember seeing this episode years ago and even I was like "whoa, she killed it", it's so crazy it was making contact, this entire thing could have been one big intergalactic misunderstanding, they'll never know. They don't encounter any others of it's kind (at least not in the TV shows) it may well have been the last of it's race, again they'll never know, that's insane to think about

[@weray7605]

I think we all have at least a couple episodes we don't easily remember. 'Datalore' for me, though, really hit home. I was young and learning child psychology in order to become a teacher after college, and the children's drawings of the crystalline entity dramatically reinforced a lesson from class about how children cope and express trauma. And for this one, my mom had just been killed by a drunk diver (not the same as parent losing child but still) and so I deeply understood the rage she has in the show. I remember wondering how I would react if I ever met a family member of the guy that killed my mom. But yeah, those two episodes are among those that really touch me.

[@77zenon]

Awsome & Funny Video.. I am a huge fan of Galifrey Gals from Norway 🇸🇯.. I am also a huge fan of Star Trek & Doctor Who since the 80s... My first Doctor i was introduce to is "Tom Baker" & my first companion is Elisabeth Sladen... I hav Star Trek & Doctor Who On Vhs DVD & Blu-ray...

[@4thofEleven]

Data having the memories of the colonists was originally meant to be a big part of his character, but basically got dropped when his backstory was changed and only got mentioned once or twice in season one before being forgotten. So I thought it was a really good decision here to bring that detail back and make proper use of it.

[@marcziegenhain8420]

The dialogues between Picard and Dr. Marr are a great example for the fact that the Enterprise-D was first of all a science vessel.

[@ghostkage]

This is the best example of the grey areas of life. Where you can see beyond black and white choices.

[@canadious6933]

I feel the same way with not recognizing some episode titles. There are so many in star trek episodes, and I used to watch them back to back so they all blended together. It makes you appreciate how much work the writers, cast and crew did every year to churn out such long seasons 7 times in a row.

[@jean-paulaudette9246]

Yeah, and seeing the thumbnail, I thought it was a different ep altogether. One a bit more personal to Data.

[@bespectacledheroine7292]

The callback to Lal and Juliana’s world of reactions she has in a millisecond during it is such a quietly heartbreaking moment. That not much attention is given to it fills me with such respect for this story in particular.

[@sharkdentures3247]

"He appreciated her intelligence, her sense of humor, her physical attributes." I've never grown out of liking "sexual innuendo" humor. (always gives me, at least, a good chuckle) And nowhere is it done with a "Lighter touch" than Star Trek TNG! Also, Data's brief look of concern is an excellent way to "show, not tell" how far Data has come on understanding Human societal mores. While he can't FEEL awkwardness nor embarrassment, he clearly realizes that what he said might have been seen as socially inappropriate.

[@adambrown3918]

Please consider adding Babylon 5 to your watchlist, gals? You guys will like it very much. 😊👍

[@ghostkage]

DEFINITELY!

[@AlatarMorinehtar]

I strongly second that!

[@StarkRG]

Paula: "Not everything can live in your brain." Me, who could summarize almost every TNG episode by title alone, and the rest with the addition of a screenshot: ... It's also worth noting that the only other being known to have communicated with the Crystalline Entity was Lore, so its outlook on human life was probably extremely skewed. Who knows what it would have been like had it known humans were sentient and capable of empathy. Incidentally, when this first aired I thought it was called the Crystal Identity, possibly related to the show My Secret Identity which had only recently finished its run a few months earlier and was probably still on syndication in the US.

[@Bobsmith-xq2pr]

"Captain Ahab" and her white whale. Great reaction!

[@bencebotye3904]

That line is even more important for long time Star Trek fans, and Patrick Stewart fans as well.

[@Bobsmith-xq2pr]

@@bencebotye3904 :)

[@jasonnesbit5114]

So many good episodes coming up in this season!

[@catwhowalksbyhimself]

This discussion about alien being causing great harm and not being aware of it has reminded me of the backstory of an old videogame, which in these organic space ships creature stared attacking and wiping out all intelligent life. Turns out because they looks like ships, they assumed the space ships used by intelligent life were the life forms and the being inside them were some sort of infection or illness. They were trying to save them from what they saw as an deadly disease. They were extremely remorseful when they finally understand that the "infection" was the actual intelligence and the ships were just mindless machines.

[@MatthewStephensAU]

This whole episode, I thought: She's after revenge. That last scene, I finally realize she just cracked like an egg.

[@Bobsmith-xq2pr]

Probably didn't help that Data did her son's voice right before they found the damn thing

[@MatthewStephensAU]

@@Bobsmith-xq2pr Every now and then, we get a reminder that Data is a machine. Any other character in the series would have seen that was a bad idea.

[@Bobsmith-xq2pr]

@@MatthewStephensAU yeah thats fair.

[@Bobsmith-xq2pr]

@@excessmaterial spoilers for lower decks: In lower decks, they show that there are a whole species of crystal entities. Also, killing is always the last resort in Star Trek, remember Kirk's whole speech?

[@DavidB-2268]

My mom passed away in 2000. A couple of years ago, as my sister and I were packing up her home/clearing out some things from our Dad's place (he died in 2018), we came across a microcasset tape that was labelled as a message for me from my mom. I absolutely broke down and cried at the possibility of hearing her voice again. Scared my niece, as she'd never seen me cry before. I eventually found a place that does digital conversions of legacy media, only to find that the tape consisted of our dad saying, "testing, testing". I guess mom was just too out of it to use the tape.

[@jonathanross149]

I can understand not remembering the Crystalline Entity. It was very much a tiny B-story to the massive A-story of Data's brother being introduced.

[@Pandaemoni]

I like that the episode title makes you think it's about the Crystalline Entity, but it's really about Data being the focus of the the doctor's hatred and then adoration.

[@theevilascotcompany9255]

A dark af episode, one of the best.

[@nmm3520]

Ugh I love Star Trek so much

[@MichaelJShaffer]

Yet again, some of the most human, emotional moments coming from the non-feeling, emotionless Android. Great guest performance by Ellen Geer.

[@erikabloodaxe2581]

Katrina, your makeup today is super cool. Also, the Crystalline Entity is a “god like” powerful being. It is literally silicone an metaphorically and avatar as well, just like Data. Most Trek titles have double meanings.

[@chronogamer7901]

I actually vividly remember watching this episode as a kid. The final scene where data tells her that her son would not have liked what she did really impacted me and has stuck with me over the years. It was a gut punch of an ending, for sure. I was not used to a show having such a real and downer of an ending, especially from Star Trek. I guess that means it is some pretty good writing.

[@jean-paulaudette9246]

OH NO! Gotta watch quick, before it gets blocked!

[@ianburns1167]

I think they assumed the Crystalline Entity would be memorable since it's both so tied to Data's backstory and to the episode where they introduce Lore.

[@cypher515]

I love the next two episodes.

[@lemonherb1]

Odd as I started watching your reactions I couldn't remember what the episode was about either. Or more accurately, I was mixing and matching what I thought was going to happen on based on other Data related episodes. All I could recall was that this was somehow a Data centric episode, and it wasn't until she was asking him about her son's memories that I figured out where we were.

[@tomyoung9049]

this is a variation of the Ahab and the whale story. The obsessive need for revenge.

[@mconnaghan]

Another quality crystal cat video!

[@mconnaghan]

This episode absolutely stuck with me. Don't worry, Paula. I'm not judging you, as far as you know.

[@evrbody]

Remember the last time Katrina said she "absolutely LOVED" a character?

[@bninem1397]

I was with the scientist on this, it murdered countless planets.

[@patsk8872]

I know, seriously. What are you going to ask it. "Did those people taste good?"

[@dxrebel]

The bridge crew is shockingly incompetent in this one. From the very first second it is clear the scientist is unstable and unfit. It only gets worse as the episode progresses. At the end she might as well wear a shirt that says "I am about to kill this thing". But even when she directly attacks it, Troi's input is "Captain, something is very wrong." Oh come on, how useless can you be?

[@brianadkins3880]

It is an odd title and an episode I kind of forgot about. It is a good episode though, Highlighting scientific exploration and discovery being harmed due to the human obsession of revenge.

[@BlueBrainMountainStream]

I get Mrs. Voorhees vibes from Dr. Marr

[@Jamienomore]

Omicron!! Isn't that something to do with a Covid-19 Variant. Star Trek TNG ahead of it's time.

[@emperorg9910]

This was a dark episode, the mother was intent on vengeance.

[@sasamichan]

and lots of people come for Data. I forget where we are in the time line of Data's lore.

[@anonymousaccordionist3326]

I see what you did there😏

[@dcsignal5241]

I always get his one mixed up with another episode. No sure it's been watched yet so, no spoilers.

[@Bobsmith-xq2pr]

Yeah lol I thought that the guest star lady was someone else for like the first 5 minutes xD

[@spikedpsycho2383]

Warp 9 for 6 hours.....1 lightyear

[@gluuuuue]

One of my not favorite episodes, which is weird because, as Paula says, it's not a bad story nor one that doesn't have.. important lessons or interesting ethical, philosophical, moral questions that it raises. I think it's the sensation of tragedy you can feel coming, especially when you've watched it before. Trek, and TNG in particular, contains a lot of these sortsa stories that are kinda Watch Once, Learn Some Important Lessons, but ye really don't wanna revisit that often. Things I did learn from this though, and from stories like it: - Don't propagate your shit onto others. - Everyone suffers and endures tragedies eventually. The only ethical choice you get to make is what kind of person you choose to be in response to it. - There're subtle but potentially important differences between who you think your loved ones are and who they really are.

[@anonymousaccordionist3326]

Just saying, the crystalline entity was introduced in the same episode as Lore. I feel like that's a pretty big moment in Star Trek that should be easier to remember than most aliens of the week. Also, 'Silicon Avatar' likely has the double meaning of also applying to the Crystalline Entity itself, probably being a silicon crystal structure.

[@paulpolpiboon9535]

@16:00 you don't remember LORE??? C'mon man, Lore is pret TEE memorable! @4:37 😂 You had good instincts

[@tinalouis2067]

Could you guys react to Star Trek Voyager? It's actually my favorite Star Trek. I liked TNG but I found Voyager more fun.

[@empirejeff]

Does the entity have a brain?

[@24fryguy]

Nope. Piercing..