Star Trek The Next Generation Ruminations S2E17: Samaritan Snare

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[@wratched]

I want to know if the Pakleds were deliberately designed to resemble people with Downs syndrome.

[@mapleicecream4819]

I watch videos. I watch for things that make me think. Then I will be strong.

[@mapleicecream4819]

I look for things that get my comments liked. I like my own comments. I am liked.

[@hotblackdesiato3022]

@@mapleicecream4819 You made me laugh.

[@reyjusuf]

The Pakleds are who we thought they were! And we let them off the hook!

[@technosworld2]

I agree there's lots of problems with this episode and I found several that are different than you mentioned! I do think it's funny that Worf was actually correct (for once) in his hesitation to send Geordi. Issues I have - The Pakleds are seemingly both dumb, then smart, then dumb again...so at one point, you actually believe they are just playing dumb, but then they try to explain they're actually dumb. - At one point the Pakleds are all standing over Geordi and telling Riker to respond "Now!" so what does the crew do? Let's convene for a meeting for a few hours. - Riker says a lot of things out of character, random emotional moments about Geordi, but then hearing from Worf that Picard is about to die...no one seems to care. They're joking with Geordi when he comes back on the ship...not saying "hey, we have to go because our captain may be dying". It's like they just glossed over it. So Worf's line should have been different. The tease about Pulaski falls flat anyway, as mentioned it sounds like a Beverly episode. - The episode definitely seemed extremely disjointed, and seemed to lack a lot of script polish or proper editing. Many places where what Riker and Data said just didn't fit their character. Ironically the Wesley and Picard seemed to be written by someone completely different.

[@harpercole5321]

Nice opening facepalm! ;) I found the Pakleds being idiots funny for the first minute or so, but the rest of that plot is pretty awful, apart from Riker's epic "STOP IT!!" line. Acutally, I can understand Picard not wanting Pulaski to operate on him, as he might perceive her as having some sort of psychological edge on him having saved his life (the two still don't really get on). Fantastic moments with Picard and Wesley, reflective of Stewart and Wheaton in real life, maybe? Wheaton often talks about seeing their scenes together as an opportunity to learn.

[@WhiteScarsEmo]

Pakleds remind of a few of my elderly relatives whenever they call me for free tech support. "The computer. It is broken, can you make it go?" I watched the game-movie of Klingon. Loved how the female Klingon berated the Pakleds about how they treat their ships and ask, "How can they do this?" She turns to Gowron, who looks around before saying, as if the answer was so obvious, "They are Pakled." ROFL

[@Tuvok_Shakur]

I have to admit, this episode is a guilty pleasure for me. It's a dumb episode, but I thought it was a fun one to pick apart and laugh at.

[@meamishere1166]

Quark makes fun of these guys on DS9. The writers were probably venting.

[@randym5824]

My daughter and I mocked this for weeks after. "We look for things. To make us go. "

[@EnvisionerWill]

I at least did find this episode "So bad it's good" on occasion; Geordi feigning terror of the Enterprise's "crimson field" stood out to me even back when I was first seeing this as a kid. The Pakleds are deliberately terrible, and they fulfill their intended purpose effectively.

[@810PRODUCTIONS]

11:46 thru 11:54 - Do you have any idea how funny this statement was? I was crying of laughter.

[@RachelLouren28]

I'm watching all your TNG videos. Loving them so far.

[@Ashin-Jast]

Always fun when we are introducted to a race that is quite literally to stupid to survive. Those just make GREAT episodes.

[@peterkottke2570]

( Missing scene cut from the episode which would have explained everything ) Troi: They have Geordi we have to rescue him! Data: The Pakleds shields are up. There is nothing we can do. Riker: For now, we're helpless. Troi: What is wrong with you? You're behaving like Pakleds ... You .... Data, I need you to run a self-diagnosic. Is there any outside influence effecting your programming? Data: I do not see the purpose, but very well. Fascinating you are correct. There is a corruption in my code. Isolating and containing. Commander Riker, Counselor Troi is correct. The Pakleds are generating some sort of field that is interfering with our ability to think properly. Riker: Data, the Pakleds are incapable of such feats. We must simply wait til they open communication again. Data: Establishing a protective field around the bridge. Worf: What have we been doing? Geordi is in danger and we have been sitting here doing nothing! I must punish myself with painsticks! Riker: The painsticks can wait Worf! Data we need to get Geordi off the Pakled ship now! Options? Data: Unfortunately the Enterprise computer was also affected and was failing to do proper scans of the Pakled ship. Riker: Data protect the computer like you did us and do the scans. Data: I would recommend against that action. If we do a proper scan of the Pakled ship they may realize that we have broken free of their influence. Riker: You have another idea? Data: Yes, analyzing the Pakled mental retardation field. I believe we can reflect the Pakled field back onto them. Meanwhile once they re-establish communication I can send a signal through Geordi's visor to free him from the effect. Then we simply need to trick the Pakleds into surrendering. Once they are under the effect of their own field they should fall for even the most silly and obvious ruse. Riker: Very well, Data. Do it. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Now that is the only way I could see this Pakled plotline being salvaged. In Star Trek, particularly Voyager, the crew becauses more or less competent based on the level of their enemy. Against the Kazon they are idiots. Against the Vidiians they are highly competent. For this episode the crew of the Enterprise has to dip to unbelievable lows of idiocy. And the only way to explain it is mind control. The whole shuttlecrafts make no sense when used for long term space travel plot device happens so often in Star Trek next generation ( at least a couple times each season ) you've just got to rewrite them in your mind. Shuttles have to be capable of warp. I think the whole Picard backstory was written as part of his "character background file" by a much better writer. Then the writer of this episode took that "character background file" and decided to use this item to provide filler to this episode.

[@tylisirn]

The way the shuttles have been used in the series is just ridiculous indeed. All the shuttle models even *have* visible warp nacelles! Use them! But no, every time we see them tootling about on impulse only.

[@Jose_Hunters_EWF_Remixes]

Brilliant, simply brilliant: A+. I especially liked Worf's self-flogging.

[@StefanTravis]

A Field of Stupid. Brilliant. The Duh-sruptor.

[@Mikanojo]

The best theory about these particular Pakleds that i read was that they were suffering from long-term exposure to radiation from their ship. It explains their slow thought processes, their slurred speech, their simplistic thinking. , make it go, can you make the ship go? This allows for those Pakleds to act as they did but excuses all future Pakleds to act more educated and aware.

[@timf7413]

In fairness, they did (kind of) address the shuttle thing in that Picard was trying to keep his surgery as quiet as possible. It would have been more sensible to take the ship, but then more of the crew would know about the situation. As it was, everyone except the bridge crew and Wesley probably didn't know anything was amiss.

[@CheironOfPelion]

Gowron mocking and terrorizing Pakleds is the only reason I felt bad that Worf killed him on DS9 years later. Also, Star Trek: Klingon is a highlight of my childhood. So happy you brought that up! ^_^

[@PeterSwinkels]

14:21 At 1000 lightyears per year at max warp Voyager reduced the maximum reasonable radius for the Federation to 1000 lightyears meaning a slower vessel would take several years to get from one end to the other. It also happily ignored this fact later on. Sigh. Edit: they could have made the warpdrive on a shuttle break. 😄

[@Gunnberg85]

I want to say that it's a possibility that a reason why they didn't have the Wesley and Picard scenes at the station was because they didn't have the money for the extra sets needed to have those scenes. Meanwhile they had the shuttle set already, and it was only one set. The characters couldn't go anywhere else. Now obviously the scenes at the space station were just redressed Enterprise sets, but you have to remember that even redressing sets costs money. I could be totally off base with this of course, however it always seemed that money was the primary motivator behind decisions on that show...As it probably was for every show.

[@DrownedInExile]

If Stephen Hawking magically found himself on the Enterprise, he'd be like a kid in a candy store!

[@EnvisionerWill]

It seems reasonable to assume that the Pakled ship is such a rat's nest of stolen technologies cobbled together with spit and baling wire, none of which the Pakleds themselves know how to keep in good repair (or clean them up well enough that they'd pass a Federation safety inspection), and thus the Enterprise doesn't dare fire on the ship for fear of accidentally blowing it to bits, thereby killing Geordi before they can get a transporter lock.

[@devonanderson2902]

I saw Lore's head in his hands after the title sequence and immediately burst out laughing! Tonal whiplash from Q Who indeed!

[@tubeviewerX20]

Unbelievably stupid as the Pakleds are, I always found the scenes amusing nevertheless. And of course the Picard/Wesley scenes are great. Personally, I actually consider this a pretty good episode.

[@anna-elizabeth]

Point well taken that Picard's hesitance for surgery would make more sense with Beverly. As it is, I have never liked Pulaski abd she is insufferably smug here. I agree that the Picard/Wes scenes are excellent, and as Picard tells the story of his encounter with the Nausicaans we see just how charming and interesting the man can be. I do agree that Picard has a very fatherly command style, and honestly he has been a de-facto father for a great many young officers, Tasha Yar and Geordie specifically.

[@zeldaoot23]

I love this episode! Couldn’t disagree more. I wonder if you just need a particular (read: quirky) sense of humor to appreciate it. My wife and I found it hilarious and to this day we refer to it often. My main gripe is the apparent hypocrisy of dictating to another species that “you need to continue to develop”, or however River put it. As you correctly point out, this is inconsistent with the humans’ attitude about themselves vis-a-vis the Borg in the previous episode. But then, no one says humans can’t be hypocrites.

[@nathanschultz5538]

Question. What is the outcome of the Borg encountering a Pakled ship? Assimilation? Retreat? Destruction? They are polar opposites with the same goal as far as I can tell but it tickles me to think of a cube running away from Pakleds because of the effect they would have on the "perfection" of the Collective.

[@bryandeblanc8839]

I am sure that you just ran out of energy, but I think you forgot to mention the wonderful coincidence that the only Doctor Who Could save Picard just happened to be on his ship.

[@athrunzala6919]

To bad they edited out the scene where Picard admits that he's Wesley's father:)

[@ifandbut]

Distance is better measured in the time it takes to move between two points instead of the physical distances.

[@Belzediel]

Pakleds are female Zakdorn. There's profound sexual dimorphism in the species. The Pakleds in Snare are trying to get by after their Zakdorn captain was eaten. Helps to explain why Dokachim is fond of Troi. Head canon, but good luck shifting that mental image. :-)

[@dirtywashedupsparkle]

The A/B plot format again. I found the Pakleds info strange - at first they described them as a benign race, then later they realise they don't know them at all. They don't listen to Troi's danger signals, they ignore Worf's insistence for caution. Sure, they seem dumb, but there were enough reasons not to be so casual about them because of those warnings - and also because, well, they're too dumb to have been able to even get to space. That's suspicious. But that's the premise - it's a trap. Play dumb, get an expert on board, hold them to ransom until they add further firepower to the ship. I can believe the odd ship getting fleeced if it's small, but sooner or later word will spread, and the Pakleds are truly stupid if they think they can get something like the Enterprise, or truly overconfident, and overconfidence would come only if they had prior success on something of a similar level, and I don't believe that for one second. Either the Pakleds are smart and are very good at playing dumb, or they are truly dumb. If it's the former, then they are stupid not to think Jordy would outsmart them. If the latter, then they wouldn't have been smart enough to even know how to get to space in the first place. Okay, another direction would be a smart people with a serious blind spot, though it shouldn't be too obvious. Let's say they are smart enough to dupe everyone into thinking they are stupid, smart enough to use their stolen technology, but maybe they are bad engineers and cannot fathom the fine details of engineering, only good enough to install technology roughly and go for it. I agree the best part of this episode was the interaction of Picard and Wesley. I guess my ignorance of what the different warp speeds equate to meant I didn't find that to be a hole, but they should adhere to a consistent standard because eventually these holes will become obvious to people like me who aren't cognizant of the problem - sooner or later, even neophytes to the series will work it out. They just need a good reason for the shuttle and not the brief warp dropoff. None were given that made sense. As for the B plot/Picard plot, I wish they'd clarified the reasons for Picard's stubbornness in not letting Pulaski operate because it looks like he's a stupidly stubborn man to be worried about something as minor as 'image'. Meaning? A captain cannot have a bad heart or confidence in the captain will just fall flat? That stories of how he got his heart condition will spread around, how stupid he was, and then he would lose face? Okay, fine, but explain it please. It just didn't make sense - just say it, and it'll be far closer to fine. We know Picard has stubborn moments, but he isn't above wisdom to temper that stubbornness. Absolutely spot on with food as a basis for social interaction - this is why our food reality shows and cooking shows continue to grab such a huge number of people. And true, Wesley naturally sees Picard as a father figure of sorts, especially in light of Picard's history with Wesley's mum. I like the character development here, the nuances with the sandwiches and reference to an old wound, and the reference to the stupidity of his mistakes and not letting Wesley get too in awe of Picard for taking on the three aliens. Picard gives wisdom here that we as an audience also take home as well, and that cross into the arena of the profound. Just think - If someone could just take this arc of the episode and intercut it with another good half-episode from elsewhere, what would it look like? A case of a good half episode swirled in with a brief stir of the stupid.

[@DJonScott]

Communal feeding behaviors aren't fundamentally human, they're far more widespread than that. Lions eat together. Komodo dragons eat together. To call it "fundamentally human" is like calling the Grand Canyon a pothole. It completely misses the breadth and scope of how fundamental to how many different living creatures the behavior really is.

[@maisiesummers42]

Be interesting to see your take on the Pakleds in Lower Decks when you get there.

[@jesuszamora6949]

I have to disagree with the notion that the sickbay scene was written for Crusher. If there's anything we know about Picard, and it'll be shown in future eps, it's that he TRUSTS her. He's willing to show a side of himself that he simply isn't willing to show anyone else. That just doesn't exist with Pulaski. Seriously, could you imagine PULASKI comforting Picard during his meltdown in 'Sarek'?

[@TesseractE]

You mentioned you thought this was written for Beverly and that it was supposed to be his relationship with her that would make him hesitant to have the surgery on board... Personally, I thought the opposite. He had little reason to trust the skill or ability to keep things on the down-low of a CMO he'd known for a handful of months over one he'd known for decades. I think he might have let Bev handle the surgery... Though whether the writers would follow character logic and not just impose their will like they'd done in the rest of the episode is up for debate. ^^;

[@littleredpony6868]

I am of the opinion that the Pakleds are intelligent beings but have underdeveloped vocal communication skills. Perhaps that they have telepathic abilities that are only detectable by other Pakleds or some other physical communication abilities that they use to communicate, or augment their communication, like pheromones or subtle body language that convey meaning that other species cannot or have extreme difficulty in understanding. I hope that this makes sense to anyone who reads this post.

[@TesseractE]

A random roll made it so I could recruit a female Pakled as my chief engineer on STO. It amuses me.

[@awittyusernamepleaselaugh7481]

Does she make your ship go?

[@TesseractE]

@@awittyusernamepleaselaugh7481 She's good at mending broken rubber bands.

[@gallendugall8913]

There is a wonderful chart in the TOS that shows exactly what warp speeds are and how at warp 7 you can cross the galaxy in a month. In TOS they scoot around between Sol and the edge of the galaxy and the core. Big distances but distances they could manage at warp 6 and with time. TNG made the galaxy smaller... and warp speed slower... in order to expand the unexplored frontier... that they then ignore.

[@ryanhau1073]

Any thoughts on the Pakleds on Lower Decks. Like with the tone of Lower Decks, the Pakleds do seem to fit. With the Samaritan Snare, did like the idea of a story about the dangers of underestimating anything that seems harmless at first

[@harrypothead42024]

My question is what are they keep insisting shuttle craft have warp? A shuttle craft is not tall enough or deep enough to house a vertical or horizontal warp core. They cannot go warp not even warp one.

[@djhutchison]

20:45 He probably just doesn't like Pulaski very much.

[@cjc363636]

Lore vs the Pakleds. Can't wait!

[@resurrectedstarships]

FIRST - I almost confused this episode with the one involving the aceton energy drain devices and that old warship, and when you said this was almost a lamentation I was like ...wait WHAT!!!

[@stanislavkostarnov2157]

in many ways, Star-Trek Lower Decks have done for the Pakled what DS9 did for the did for the Ferengi...

[@ricknbacker5626]

I completely agree with your well delivered analysis. A query, if I may. What do you identify as the 'A' plot? in this episode? RNB

[@Threesixtyci]

U know why.... they don't have the set for a star base.. but do have a van set of a shuttle...

[@zodiace1]

We're not talking Shakespeare here. I though it was funny as hell. Who cares if it isn't airtight.

[@DylanMadd]

Polaski and Picard’s relationship has always been strange. During The Child, it seemed like they had never met. Then there are weird episodes like this one and the one where Polaski ages quickly, where it seems like Picard and she have some deep care for one another.

[@trombaritone86]

Watching this way later, but I thought the Wesley-Picard stuff was great. Truthfully, I think it would have made for a stronger episode if nothing had gone wrong with the transplant. We could have some final scene with the two of them waiting to be picked up, or heading back in the shuttle or whatever, and there can be a "congratulations, I'm so proud of you" type conversation, and we can hit home that Wesley is one of two people that actually knows what it is that Picard went through and how that changes the relationship dynamic between them. Bonus points if Wesley mentions being a little distracted during the examination because of knowing what was happening with his captain, but pulling through because of some earlier comment Picard would have had about his faith in his ability to pass and such. As for the rest of the stuff...yuck. If this were the only episode you had ever seen, you would logically conclude that Riker is a total moron and that senior officers are used to being ignored when they express their entirely valid opinions (Troi, Worf). Sending your chief engineer by himself to an unknown ship with unknown beings in control is an objectively stupid thing to do. Just, why?

[@SebSenseGreen]

I always wondered why Picard was so adamant and stubborn not to be operated on by Dr. Pulaski. I always thought it was weird. Your theory makes a lot of sense though, I like it.

[@devonanderson2902]

By the way, "shortbus for the Pakleds" needs to be commonly used phrase. It's so perfectly describes them!

[@dreamwhisperer2340]

I had a hard time with this episode too. The depiction of intellectual superiority put together with the concept of humility, and having almost nothing to do with one another just pissed me off. Because, even if the packleds did indeed fool the ferderation ( through plot conveniance ) nothing is done to redeem them from their retardedness. And no matter what is said, they made: ugly and stupid = bad, handsome and intelligent = good. It's like the universal exposition back in the twenties exposing the native americans in cages like animals. everything about the whole situation is wrong. The wessley/pickard's scenes were the only parts that prevented me from skipping the episode all together.

[@fredrikcarlstedt393]

Pakleds must be the dumbest aliens in the Star Trek universe .

[@chrislane481]

I can imagine the Borg vs the Pakleds.........."You will be assimila...nevermind"

[@Jose_Hunters_EWF_Remixes]

I can see Qunior deciding to interbreed Pakleds with Kazan... and then realizing that neither species has females.

[@tbk2010]

Can't decide if i hate the Pakleds more than the Skrreea or not. Out-of-universe. In-universe I hope the ones we met are really are a particularly bad example of their respective species. Maybe there is some kind of radiation leaking from this specific Pakled ship that temporarily makes people dummer and takes a while to wear off. Explains why the shuttle scenes are so much better, and why the bridge crew think its a good idea to CLAP when Picard gets back... that scene makes no sense whatsoever.

[@mr51406]

Yes it’s a meh episode. The Pakleds would of course return in full absurdity in Lower Decks (I love that show though!). They are a fascinating concept. As the Pet Shop Boys say: is stupid really stupid or a different kind of smart? As Troi tries to explain, we underestimate them because they correspond to our prejudices because they aren’t loquacious and muscular. 🚩Gowron vs Pakled clip: 🤣

[@mr51406]

I just watched it again and guiltily enjoyed it. So it gets a “time well wasted” rating. Lore’s criticisms are still totally valid. I guess I was in an indulgent mood tonight.

[@williamozier918]

THIS is the episode that seriously made me began to re-think the career of William Riker. So let's see, Encounter at Farpoint right off the bat he's late for his rendezvous with the Enterprise. In the episode Justice Riker they beam down to the planet of promiscuous white people; upon finding out they have sex openly Riker immediately beams back up to the ship and gives it the complete all clear and starts beamign people down. Not only did Wesley end up with the death sentence, but remember God ordered them to remove the entire colony they had just planted. Nice going Riker. Then in the episode Haven we find out that Troi was in an arranged marriage even when she and Riker where imzadiing, and suddenly Riker got whisked away on a dream mission, perhaps Lwaxana pulled a string or two? In 11001001 the Enterprise gets hijacked because Riker is busy thinking about boning a holodeck character while everyone's off the ship. In Arsenal of Freedom Riker gets caught in a trap, resulting in the Captain having to come down which almost gets the Captain and Chief Medical Officer killed. Skin of Evil, the security chief gets killed under his direct watch. Maybe these were all excusable, but the guy just got outsmarted by Pakleds, a race so dumb it is politically correct in the Federaton to make fun of them!

[@FranciscoMNeto]

15:27 LUDICROUS SPEED xD

[@awittyusernamepleaselaugh7481]

This episode makes me go.

[@PueyMcCleary]

We look for episodes. Episodes that are good. This episode is not smart. This episode is nothing if not persistent.

[@SchneeflockeMonsoon]

I’m so sorry I have to make my friends watch this in order to get the pay off in Tapestry… maybe I should just cut it up to have only the Picard scenes?

[@Jose_Hunters_EWF_Remixes]

What's the point of inflicting a long speech by Picard with sandwich bits in his mouth? Data really thinks this Pakled encounter represents a "conundrum"? Does Data have access to a dictionary?

[@AlucardNoir]

Regarding the warp thing, I always thing of it as an energy thing. What will consume less energy? A shuttle or the Enterprise D/Voyager?

[@obytay]

What i dont get is they say klingon, romulan and a few other peoples tech are all on the Pakled ship. in DS9 there is a point that when chief o'brien goes on holday the cardassian and federation technnogy stops 'talking' to eachohter causeing issues, so im wondering how all this borrored and stolen tech is so compatable on Pakled ship.

[@williamozier918]

I like to think the Pakleds are an ethnic minority of the Menk.

[@Jose_Hunters_EWF_Remixes]

The Menk Anti-Defamation Society (MADS) resents your remark...

[@johnpotts8308]

"We are smart!" I've heard it suggested that the Pakleds are a parody of nerdy fans who obsess about "How things work" and point out how things are inconsistent and by implication, how much cleverer the writers are. It might work better if it wasn't a terribly written episode!

[@Kinepho]

That's the last time I listen to YOUR suggestion Lorerunner....I just lost several dozen brain cells watching that Pakled video...Are my ears bleeding?

[@paulscott2037]

I love the Picard and Wesley stuff but I also like the stuff between picard and Pulaski near the beginning. Otherwise yes the episode is pathetically stupid.

[@leifkhas7425]

Supposedly the Paklads lack verbal intelligence but are otherwise not as stupid as they seem to be. Kind of like an idiot savant as in they are somewhat competent with engineering skills they just are horrible at communicating. This idea makes it less bad, but they definitely could have written it better. Or as you pointed out just make them intelligent but underdeveloped.

[@gingeroverseer9302]

I don't remember this episode beyond it marked the first of TNG I pressed "skip episode" on

[@1300l]

Yea i never liked that episode. I love season 1 and 2... i come back and watch it even more than Season 3 and 4... Also for me, the low point in TNG is half season 5 onward. Those are the ones i can't stand most episodes.. But man! When Season 1 and 2 go bad... IT'S BAD! This is a primary example. I may also add, this is one of the TNG many episodes that show how Riker is just incompetent enough to be a terrible captain. I fear for the Titan

[@TapionXG3]

I disagree. I don't think the Picard and Wesley scenes save this. This is definitely a skip on repeat viewings. Also the phasers here have a sick fling setting we rarely see. This episode is proof the world is flat and poof dinosaurs are fake.

[@tylisirn]

Pakleds clearly had the phaser on too low a setting. Just made Geordi's muscles spasm and made him jump. We can see he was barely even stunned, and definitely not unconscious.