Star Trek The Next Generation Ruminations S2E21: Peak Performance

[@jerryharris876]

20:30. When he said thanks for the game he was saying it sarcastically.

[@badmaninc.536]

Theory: regarding the codes working on the Ferengi ship, perhaps we’re looking at this all wrong. We’ve already seen that Starfleet can alter their shield configuration and sensor profile to disguise themselves as something else on sensors. To the Ferengi’s perspective, the Hathaway had just been destroyed. They weren’t expecting anyone to be there. Plus I’m guessing that the torpedo detonations were set on low yield and helped to temporarily blind their sensors. Now all of a sudden, they pick up the Hathaway on sensors, and by this point it’s turned about and is proceeding towards the site of the skirmish under full impulse power. But playing some sensor obscuring games to appear as oh say an Excelsior class or Ambassador class Starship. Given what we’ve seen of the Ferengi to this point, that would most likely freak them out and they’d weigh the potential risk of finishing off an opponent who just destroyed one of its own ships, therefore they may or may not be as damaged as they think and they have backup on the way. Not the best odds, certainly not a gamble I’d make. Sure they could probably take out the weakened enterprise, but if she could put up a fight, could they do it before the reinforcements arrive? So they run. As to Mr. Burke looking confused when this happened, I don’t recall him being present at the conference where the plan was discussed. And since they were under time constraints, he likely wasn’t briefed on the plan. As the acting tactical officer, he probably should have been, but he was keeping an eye on the marauder and trying to restore some of the Enterprise’s tactical systems. Just my thought on it.

[@ecurps1]

@22min the key there of having Wesley contribute to the solution and not just solve it all on his own. and that's great! him being able to help in a crisis like that, building up that precedent, giving him a much needed "Win" to help reinforce his self-confidence and gaining the experience with working in a team.

[@calaerial6153]

Am i the only one that thinks that Worf's trick is a bigger cheat than Wesley's? The purpose of this test was to establish what the crew could do in a combat situation against an aggressor, with what they happen to have to hand. The likelihood of being found with your pants down and without ANY warp capability is significantly more likely than being found in the same situation but you happen to have the security override codes for your opponent. In fact if you did have those overrides then you could do a damn sight better than some holographic ships. Maybe like dropping their shields? Dont get me wrong, great episode and as for you LR its among my regular re-watches, but the Worf trick (excellently executed though it was) is a far bigger cheat and significantly outside of the scope of the intended purpose of the test. Its damn near the levels of Kirk's cheat on the Kobayashi Maru!

[@paulscott2037]

That's true perhaps from the Hathaway's perspective but they're still massively out gunned and we do see other tricks that are similar but performed in a different manner over the years (the holographic talaxian ships against the kazon in Voyager spring to mind.) But this is still a test for the Enterprise too. Kolrami is there to assess both sides. And as we know this is all about the Borg who beamed over and scanned their ship database in Q Who and presumably may have had the capability to trick their sensors if they wanted to. It was a cheat... But from Kolrami's perspective it was just another challenge that Enterprise should have expected and got over. Crew members can get captured and interrogated or turn out to be defectors.

[@Edax_Royeaux]

It's still in instance of lateral thinking. The crew of the Enterprise might not have been well trained to deal with their codes being compromised. With Worf going over to the Hathaway, the new tactical officer should have known to change the codes. Given things like Wrath of Khan and Conspiracy, the enemy knowing your codes is something that is a real danger.

[@corssecurity]

I'm bigger and stronger than most folks that challenge me, but I've learned a few tricks as well. I'm too old to fight fair.

[@WhiteScarsEmo]

Growing up, I had always thought the Ferengi may’ve used a sub-par/inferior sensor system, making it more susceptible to hacking or spoofing. My question is how do they transport Antimatter using the transporter? Converting matter to energy and back, okay. Converting antimatter to…. And back… whah?! Temporary warp drive on the Hathaway… a chance to pull a Picard Maneuver? Or a surprise strategic retreat? Really wish they went into the possible strategies they could've used for this. Ever notice that the Zakdorn are never brought up again in canon? Their innate strategic minds are never brought up, even in passing dialogue, when it came to the Borg incursions or the Dominion War.

[@francoislacombe9071]

Kolrami was a master at Stratagema. He should have quickly recognized that Data was playing for stalemate and either adjusted his own strategy to compensate, or simply stopped the game and confronted Data about his unorthodox choice of strategy.

[@Kinepho]

Warp maneuvers were used in TOS as the 1701 was a lumbering slab of duranium at impulse speeds. Watch the VOY episode of Lineage...? The Klingon cruiser (TOS era) and Voyager fight at warp.

[@TheRealityJack]

I haven't seen the episode in a couple years, in hindsight I remember him as being arrogant. But now that you mention it, it could be because of the crews reactions towards him. I pretty much only remember his "ragequit" which stuck with me. I should rewatch this episode some time, I remember being fairly entertained by it!

[@maisiesummers42]

Regarding Warp as a combat tactic... in Voyager, Tom Paris points out that with Warp you can pretty much only travel in a straight line. That trying to change direction is exceptionally dangerous. Since they have the tech to detect a ship travelling at Warp, then all you'd have to do is change your position at impulse, and whatever warp trick they're trying would fail.

[@adamr3602]

There's an interesting thing that happens more often than you would expect in fiction, where something is written correctly completely by accident. I think this is a case of that, where the crew sees Kolrami as arrogant because he's coming into their 'territory' and condescending to them, whether he's right or wrong. This is a natural way for people to react to being challenged in their own environment, but I honestly don't think the writers were intending to be that subtle, because usually when Star Trek (or most fiction) does something like that, they'll point it out explicitly.

[@ecurps1]

there's also the treat of getting to watch a pro at work with front row seats.

[@peterkottke2570]

Picard: I understand the need for this tactical training but why the Braslota system? That's rather remote. What if something goes wrong with the Hathaway? Starfleet Admiral: Do you have any idea what happened the last time a war game became public knowledge? We had anti-war protests on a dozen planets including Earth. A riot on Risan! The Romulans went on high alert and the Klingons sent a diplomatic mission to determine why we going to war and didn't invite them! Chaos! By Starfleet order all war games are to remain classified! - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Your questions on the reason why they did the war games the way they did seem easy to me. First, why didn't they use the holodeck. Well, it seems like this was a training exercise for the entire ship. Over 1000 crew members. Sick bay running casualty drills. Engineering running damage control drills. All crew members manning their stations in combat readiness. Even the children evacuated to the safe areas of the ship. That far exceeds the capacity of the holodecks. Second, why didn't they do this next to a starbase. Well obviously because they didn't want it to be public knowledge that they were doing war games. Starfleet not being a military organization is one part delusion and one part illusion. Starfleet uses its peacenik reputation to keep its neighbors calm ( important because Federation expansion is out of control ) and its citizens pacified. ( which is important since Starfleet seems to not really have much in the way of democratic oversight )

[@TheRetrostorian]

If people in the future are so deluded they honestly think Starfleet isnt a military institution we have achieved maximum idiocracy, Wall-e level dumb assery. Picard uses the company line but...come on. And we have embassies and positions in other countries because we are all friends and want to sing around the campfire hand in hand with other countries. Right.

[@RichRoberts1]

In order to fool the Ferengi sensors; maybe Lieutenant Worf altered the transponder code for the USS Hathaway to appear like a newer class Starfleet vessel.

[@Lightweaver123]

I always liked to think the setup for this exercise is so haphazard because at that point in time Starfleet just isn't in the habit of doing military drills. After years and years of relative peace, they're now jolted awake by the encounter with the Borg and people are all over the place. Someone goes, "Hey, there's a bunch of decommissioned ships sitting in parking orbits all over the place. We could use those and save ourselves a bunch of time."

[@mr51406]

Very enjoyable and interesting episode. Especially by the guest star. Nice original character. Like is facial expressions, really giving his all. I agree: eccentric, not arrogant. And love the slap on the back and lean back for the cute ginger at tactical at the end. Naughty old Zakdorn! 😜 Only apparence by the Ferengi Squiggy.

[@danielyeshe]

I never understood why they didn’t tell the Ferengi the truth. When the Ferengi are convinced the Hathaway has value why not just say: ‘We are conducting war games.’

[@calaerial6153]

This was a sticking point for me also, it makes no sense. The Hathaway would have been outfitted with outdated technology that would have had little value to the Ferengi, even if they let them take it what would have been the loss when compared to losing the personnel on board?

[@frankharzer6224]

But why should the Ferengie believe that. To be fair, that would be the first thing they would say if the Hathaway indeed would have value.

[@wcoleman99]

as the 190th rule of acquisition says Hear all, trust nothing.

[@wcoleman99]

well i'm sure starfleet has some futuristic rule of don't let any technology be able to fall into enemy hands.

[@DrownedInExile]

Even if the Ferengi believed Picard, captured Federation crew might be of some value to them. Slave markets and such (ugh).

[@Mr1flapjack1]

I think this episode, along with those "first contact but it goes wrong" episodes, are the perfect example of Trek's most frustrating failure: We never get to see things go right. I would love to see a successful peaceful first contact mission. I think a "routine" war game could be plenty interesting enough without having to introduce a threat. But we rarely get to see that kind of thing, because a threat of the week is imposed on the episode. I think it's a massive shame. And ironically, it dampens the positive view of the future that the Roddenberry box ostensibly existed to protect.

[@blacklightrain3856]

I wanted to comment on the idea of Worf having the Ferengi codes... Now I admit it has been a while since I watched this episode I will admit to having seen it numerous times, that said I never got that impression. I always took it as the Hathaway warped away (and appeared destroyed to the Ferengi) and then the new ship they "detected" was in fact the Hathaway. Their sensors recorded the destruction of the Hathaway and then several moments later a Federation Starship enters sensor range and (as often in a real time crisis mistakes that seem basic are made) with it happening so fast they didn't put it together that it was the same ship. The tactical officer on the bridge of the Enterprise didn't make the same mistake due to the fact he was in on the plan (meaning he knew the Hathaway warped successfully and was unharmed), and perhaps their sensors were better. Long story short, I think there was no manipulation of the Ferengi systems but perhaps a play at them not being the best tacticians.

[@athrunzala6919]

One of my favourite episodes too I'm about your age, I remember we had to rent the VCR when we rented a movie so we could watch it, so yeah, I know what you're talking about :) So happy when we finally got one in 92' I thought the bit with Wes's experiment was silly, just another way for him to save the day. And "Peacekeeping and Humanitarian armada" or not (Love that Bruce Greenwood description) I refuse to believe that these practical battle simulations are as rare as they say in Starfleet, that is too naive a mindset for an organization responsible for the security and protection of hundreds of Billions of sentient lifeforms to have! I did like the game Data played and how he ultimately defeated him at the end The Ferengi weren't bad in this episode, they were pretty much in character in goals and actions in this attempt to make them villains. They worked for the first time, but I won't deny that they are just annoying in general. It took Quark and Rom to make them lovable.

[@DrownedInExile]

I think this episode could have worked without the Ferengi threat-of-the-week. Just keep going with the wargame exercise, that was cool and interesting. Perhaps the Halfaway does their warp trick and does heavy simulated damage to the Enterprise... but it's still not enough. The Enterprise backs away, is able to make sim-repairs. Despite best efforts, Riker still loses. But the learning experience was valuable for all involved. Starfleet Command even gives everyone a shout-out for a very fine performance.

[@DefSquadFan]

Kolrami would not have suggested that option if he had been observing from Rikers ship.

[@Kinepho]

Kolrami was full of himself, borderline arrogant but deservedly so given the way he's described as a master strategist and his race is noted for being fantastic at strategy. And yes. I've watched this recently.

[@timf7413]

I don't think the simulation as depicted would have worked on the holodeck (unless two were linked together or something) as the point was to test the two crews together.

[@RemyMenari]

With Kolrami and being arrogant, the thing is that the line between confidence and arrogance is blurry in the first place, and while he is not being the worst kind of arrogant (like, say, Kosinsky is in "Where Noone Has Gone Before", who is INCREDIBLY arrogant and insufferable for it), he does carry himself with the confidence of being absolutely right in what he does, and deems himself somewhat superior to those around him. Just because he is only a little bit smug and polite (you might say patronizing) after beating Riker and Data at the strategy game (in both cases his entire demeanor never suggests that he expects any other outcome than to win, which already suggests an arrogant level of confidence) doesn't mean he isn't arrogant - on the other hand, ragequitting and running off as a sore loser when he forfeits against Data at the end of the episode rather underlines the fact that he was rather arrogant; he cannot concede to the idea of being bested. If he had just been very confident, he might have forfeited and (even begrudgingly) politely admitted to Data to maybe not having been bested at *his* game, but at least outsmarted a little. There is this false notion sometimes that arrogance means that you are a mean-spirited person who rubs it in everyone's face how much better you are, but arrogance can be polite or subtle. One of my favorite moments and lines towards that comes in Deep Space Nine in the episode where Bashir and Dax are stranded on the planet afflicted by the Dominion plague and things go very badly, and Bashir admits to Dax that he was "so arrogant to think that he could just come here and cure this plague in a week", and that "there is no cure", to which Dax responds that maybe it was arrogant to think that, but it is even more arrogant to think that just because he, Bashir, couldnt find one that there is no cure. And at no point has Bashir acted like a mean person there, but it's nevertheless true that both of these assumptions were arrogance on his part.

[@kylejones7711]

Here is my theory regarding the ferengi and the starbase. In season 1 we find out that marauders have what is essentially an emp. What if this marauder had an even more powerful version of this device that disables the defences of a starbase (this tech would be classified as experimental and only this maruader would have this version installed). The ferengi would establish a jamming field around themselves to prevent the thousands of starfleet personnel from beaming to their ship. The Enterprise would be attacked like it was in the actual episode, and any other starships docked at the base would also be rendered inert as they were in the line of fire as well. And about those ferengi sensor codes... In the same season 1 episode (which i still cant remember the name of but it drained the power from both ships) we see the ferengi expose their critical systems to the Enterprise as a form of surrender, and i think that the sensor pallete was scanned to the point where that design could later be hacked, so no codes would even need to be searched for.

[@dornravlin]

Watched this today pretty sick ass episode. I think Sirna Kolrami is kind of smug but knows whats good when he sees it.

[@DefSquadFan]

He's acts like an old gay queen. He was really funny.

[@Spartanj42]

I always assumed the second ship incoming at the end was the Hathaway and they just didn't recognize it as the same ship they destroyed, which makes sense given how stupid Ferengi are portrayed in TNG.

[@fredrikcarlstedt393]

Not sure Benjamin Sisko agrees with military operations being a minor province of Starfleets domain .

[@thecloudtherapist]

14m30s: I don't understand your dislike of Ryker explaining himself here. It's often good to offer another explanation of the same thing or to expand on it or deliver it in a different way. Ryker is just making it clear, especially when using expressions/sayings. Not everyone may get it so best to be clear.

[@robertharald4622]

Possible threat of the week: The exercise is done in holodeck, but the program used turns out to be Ferengi, dun dun duuuun...

[@revenvrake7412]

If I recall the 2nd match with Data had gone on for a 'very' long time, and the sheer stress of keeping the match going was wearing the 'grand master' down. He was having to compete in an endurance match against a machine! And he realized it when he conceded. I don't find his character arrogant, merely quite prideful in his accomplishments. He 'earned' that grand master rank dang it! I just think the Enterprise's crew are not used to being seen by one individual as...what's the proper term...sub-standard?

[@nickokona6849]

I liked Roy Brocksmith in this episode as well. My eyesight is quite bad (especially with faces) so I appreciate recognizable voices. I liked him in Total Recall, Babylon 5, and other things. I liked the conversation of Data and Worf discussing the Zakdorn. I don't find it quite as weird that Data has to explain that strategy is more important than individual prowess. Especially up to this point, Star Trek has never really focused on military or combat strategy in any real way. It's almost entirely portrayed as "ok this is the next thing we're going to do. Now here's the next thing". It's all very immediate, focusing on reactions to strategy rather than strategy. Furthermore, to this point, the major part of Klingon culture is established around personal martial skills rather than tactical supremacy. With both of those factors, it didn't seem as odd to me given how Star Trek is portrayed on screen. It's one of the reasons I liked Battlestar Galactica (Ronald D Moore version) so much. Re: Starfleet is or isn't a military organization. What comes to mind is an inverview I heard a long time ago about why they changed the uniforms from TOS/TMP to WoK. Firstly, the TMP uniforms were awful. The actors hated wearing them, and they allegedly threatened to not do another film if they didn't change them. But also, they didn't like how the TOS uniforms didn't project a sense of any authority. The argument is that Starfleet must have at least a level of authority equal to a coast guard, and they wear more authoritative uniforms. Thus, we have my favourite fleet uniforms in all of Sci Fi, or perhaps ever. So I kind of liken Starfleet to kind of like a coast guard, in terms of their authority. I think Kolrami is excentric and confident. Perhaps cocky, but not necessarily arrogant. It might present as arrogant to the right character type. I don't mind the idea that they think he is. He does come across a little insufferable. I dislike the way sci fi does things like games that aren't established real world games. Strategema, that Ktarian game from "The game", Velocity in Voyager. They just feel like they're just shouting "It's FUTURE GAME! GET IT?!?". I didn't mind Ambo-Jyutsu because it wasn't so outlandish or unfamiliar. I found the same thing with music instruments.

[@steakman1989]

Maybe the Ferengi Marauder had no security codes because they are too expensive and would cut into the overall profits of the company contracted by the Ferengi Alliance to build these ships for their military.

[@paulscott2037]

Starfleet is a peace keeping organisation which I consider to be very separate to a military one when you have technology and weapons as powerful as Starfleet's.

[@paulscott2037]

Oh sure. But just because you have a system in place that has the benefits of that military structure (ie. A clear chain of command and disciplined training and conduct which would be very necessary aboard a starship) it doesn't mean you are a military organisation. Now I will admit that Starfleet has the ability to shift what it is. It was definitely more militaristic during the 23rd century and later in the Dominion war. But it's actual intent is much more akin to a scientific body mixed with a police force.

[@alexyoon-sungcucina7895]

XO who complains about tactical exercises later nearly looses flagship to two aging Klingon Birds-of-Prey staffed with a crew of incompetents.

[@George_M_]

In every show, even the bad ones, Starfleet is a military organization. They're like the US military after WW2, taking over explorative enterprises as well.

[@Calculon1712]

Its not first time Brent Spiner and Roy Brocksmith worked together they were in a film together called Rent Control which is on KZbin and Roys character beats the crap out of Brents character lol

[@rexremedy1733]

There is one thing that bugs me with this episode. Riker only succeeds because Worf and Wesley use advantages they only had from being on the enterprise with insider knowledge beforehand. There is a difference between cunning creativity in a difficult tactical situation, and plain cheating. I consider what they did cheating. Just imagine the same situation without them being on the enterprise beforehand. Test failed.

[@williamozier918]

Technically speaking they beat the Borg by cheating in the same way by hacking their intimate knowledge of Picard.

[@maxh_music]

I expected there to be a scene where Wes and Picard discuss what Wes did to win, I think that would have been interesting. Obviously Riker approves because that's the Kirk in him, but would Picard?

[@DefSquadFan]

Picard would not approve. Good point.

[@williamozier918]

around time code 33:00. I think warp speeds would not be used much as a tactic because the level of precision is too stringent. You do warp micro jump and you hold the (metaphorical) button 1.7 seconds too long and you are 316,000 miles off from your target position which would be out of phaser range. The engines probably can't even really engage and disengage fast enough to make the micro jump effectve. All of this is why after 300 years of warp technology it was mind boggingly revolutionary that Picard was able to pull off a warp manuver, and why said manuver was considered unbeatable. Keep in mind the ONLY reason the Picard Manuver was beaten was because the target knew with precision exactly when and where the Picard Manuver was going to be used.

[@vesuvanprincess]

In my life I've noticed that people tend to confuse self confidence with arrogance... Let me explain what I mean by that. In our culture we are expected to be somewhat self affaceing. Bragging is considered extremely rude. When opining on something I happen to be quite skilled at, magic the gathering for instance, I've found I need to be very careful to down play my own accomplishments. I used to often get called arrogant when from my point of view I was simply stating the situation as I saw it matter of factly. Once I began saying things like "oh good thing I got lucky and top decked x..." Or "you almost had me if only..." This irritates me because often I'm simply blowing smoke but now people don't call me arrogant. Oddly enough, people are more likely to take me seriously now rather than get irritated and dismiss me. Humans are weird. (When can I move to Vulcan? 😜) I always liked the strategist in this episode. Most of the time I think he was simply speaking from authority and with well earned confidence. He did have a few blind spots, it's easy to underestimate people when you haven't seen them in action before. The one place where I personally had a problem with him was when he gets angry at Data at the end for his play to a draw strategy. In that case Data had 100% legite won. He knew he couldn't beat him normally it a draw strategy vs a biological person means that eventually a slip up will occur and data will win. Might take several hours but the man has to rest eventually. I feel like his anger there was because he knew this was the eventuality and was mad that his own limitations prevented him, the better player from winning. But I digress, point is, I really like the strategist and I think the crew are simply responding based on human morays. I'd love to see him meet somebody like Tu'vok or Spock and see how they feel about him... As a matter of fact, the crews response reminds me a great deal of McCoy's reactions to Spock.

[@tuttt99]

Why is there hum in the TNG ruminations?

[@tubeviewerX20]

If bringing the Hathaway up to combat conditions were not part of the challenge, Wesley would not have had to use trickery to get his experiment off the Enterprise, right?

[@ivorybooker8957]

During this time in Federation history, Starfleet was rather 'lax'. They weren't stupid, but pre-Borg, other powers were considered. The Ferengi wasn't thought of at all. Even though you did mention it, holodecks are very limited in what can be done. Realism trumps all. What can be done on them is can't replace the genuine tension of actual maneuvers. Sure a Starbase could've been useful, but a planet provides obstacles that a safe space such as one gives. Plus, it would've got in the way.

[@TheChatterbox1991]

i am definitely looking forward to Shades of Gray as well! :) is it possible to not be a Rumination or a Lamentation? A Nobodiation?

[@hughsmith7504]

So to me, the idea of conducting this war game in a far away, unhiabited system makes quite alot of sense. If you imagine that news of the borg has been classified to avoid panic, and as they say in the episode Starfleet has not conducted wargames in some time, then you can imagine that the sight of the flagship engagined in combat with another federation ship could be increadly disruptive to the average citizen to view. Also I am not totally convinced section 31 wasen't involved somehow, hense adding yet another layer of misdirection. as others have stated, the Hathoway should be of limited value to the farrengi, barring used ship sales, and they should have been able to tell that the ships were engaged in an exercise... unless someone either told them to take it, or that there really was something of value on it. Again, This relativly outclassed ship is fighting the Federation flagship and holding it's own...what story are you more likly to belive A: the peacfull federation is suddenly holding wargames? or B: There is something very powerfull on that ship and the Enterprise is attempting ( and so far failing) to capture it on the edge of federation space?

[@calaerial6153]

Hate to do a double comment but while driving some lore theorising/head cannon came to me which id say perfectly explain why the exercises are conducted the way they are. Its probably fair to say that its a criticism of the episode that they dont explictly mention it but it does actually make sense. I'd be interested in your perspective on this LR: We know that this is post Q Who but pre Wolf 359. We know that Starfleet has now been briefed on the events of Q Who and that Picard (and presumably his superiors) have been given Guinans warning that the Borg will be coming, hence the work going on to prepare and the impetus for these wargames in the first place. What however isnt made out in any of the dialogue here is that it is almost certain that the populous would not have been informed. Such information would likely lead to widespread panic and its almost certain that it would be kept need to know. Which isnt to say it is necessarily a secret in Starfleet circles but your average UFP civilian would likely have little to no knowledge. Viewed in this context the decision not to have it in range of a starbase starts to make sense, while this exercise would likely not be "Top Secret" it would be something that the brass would almost certainly prefer to keep on the downlow because it raises questions, what are we preparing for that requires such deviations from standard military preparedness? These questions are best not raised because either you disclose your information on the Borg and panic people, or you dont in which case people assume this is a prelude to action against another alpha quadrant species. Which would of course become a story for agents of those species to feed back to their handlers, particularly the Romulans. This also somewhat relies on the assumption that standard federation practice is to rely upon standard training to keep up tactical prowess. Not necessarily a wise move, but one that explains the distinction here and fits the complacency of Starfleet upto this point. That the Borg are (rightly) considered a different scale of threat than the Alpha quadrant powers and as such deviation from standard practice is deemed necessary. This explains keeping it away from support infrastructure. Starbases have a lot of civilians on board, as do most federation ships in fact at this point in history. The fewer ships involved in this the fewer people know and its likely this would have been limited to high end crews such as the Enterprise who could be reasonably expected to form the vanguard of any defense. They almost certainly did not anticipate that Riker would perform his trick (Had they anticipated this the codes would have been changed) and that the Enterprise would therefore fail to react to an incoming threat. They would likely have concluded that the flagship would be capable of addressing any interruptions to the game itself, which is actually a fair assumption if Riker had followed the rules. The trouble with this from a criticism/praise perspective of course is that it actually raises a further criticism. If we accept that all of this is the case, the reticence of the Enterprise crew to engage with this is particularly baffling. They are almost uniquely equipped to see the necessity of this, so soon after their encounter at J-25. They encountered an invulnerable enemy which they were warned by a previous victim would now be coming for them. That they fail to see the necessity is the real curiosity of the writing.

[@dirtywashedupsparkle]

I rather enjoyed this episode just for the idea alone - let's have wargames to prepare for the Borg, then it all goes wrong as an actual threat appears. It pits Picard against Riker, then ends up being a matter of cooperation between the two starship leaders. Kolrami is delightfully sharp-eyed and snitty and loved him as a character you just want to see take a fall for all his arrogance. It even got Pulaski good reason to take sides with Data for once and shows she sees his good side as an android. I've seen this episode recently - I agree Kolrami is not above giving compliments, but I think he is nonetheless is a person whose confidence in his strategic abilities borders on arrogance. It alarmed me that they decided to go with these starship games without leaving some safety precautions should a real threat show up, which they only realised once it happened. I mean, why could they not simply have a safety mode switch for lasers and torpedoes? It's good to see Data flummoxed at a loss, and having to learn that you can do all the right things and still be ultimately wrong at the outcome. And that Pulaski tries to shake him out of it in a rare show of sympathy shows her character has grown to like Data despite her scepticism at Data. Poor Worf and his shipbuilding. It was pretty funny seeing him trying so hard and the part snaps, along with his patience, almost like the Hulk trying flower arranging to make the sun go down. Did Wesley cheat? It does seem like a Kirk tactic to change the rules when it seems unwinnable - same question I ask for both: when does the 'game' begin? If the games have started from the moment of Riker choosing the crew, then it's not cheating. Same if it was never discussed when things officially start. But to me it was technically cheating because it was covertly brought on. What if Wesley managed to steal all the dilithium before the 'games' started, hidden in his homework? Would that be simply genius, or is that cheating? OTOH, your enemy will always have surprises one knows nothing about. The whole idea of games is imperfect for the reason that both starships know each other in terms of staff. A better scenario would be the main bridge and head crew in the Hathaway vs others in the Enterprise maybe? Yeah, why not a holodeck simulation? I thought Kolrami finding Riker lacking is arrogant no matter how you say it. Picard regards his record as exemplary, so why such a divergent opinion? Give good reasons and the arrogance goes. It was a slight error that Kolrami says the Zakdorn word for _ is challenge. Normally I would say '*[Zakdornian word]* - it means challenge.' Kolrami makes that cold numbers calculation - and it reminds me of Dr Strangelove and the quote where a lesser loss of lives, only millions, is a wonderful success. Ah well. Sure. He's in character to say that at least. Arrogant as Kolrami was, I felt it was almost cruel to rub it in with Data defeating Kolrami at the end, after Kolrami being impressed with Picard and Riker overcoming the real enemy in this episode. If I were Kolrami I would have reconsidered a favourable report after losing to Data. A great episode to watch, with only a few moments where problems were conveniently placed that didn't affect things a lot for me. Certainly good questions about dealing with seemingly unwinnable situations and some good quotes.

[@jasoncrowell8863]

It was a Kobayashi Maru scenario.

[@Netherfly]

I find that the best way to deal with people who insist Starfleet is not a military is simply to direct them to a dictionary.

[@frankharzer6224]

Well, the thing is that Starfleet itself insists that it isn't a military and it is indeed very diffrent from todays militaries.

[@harpercole5321]

I think the perception of Kolrami as arrogant comes less from what he says and more from the tone of how he says it. I found him that way, but enjoyed him as a guest star. The Ferengi seem a bit out of character. They aren't usually the sort to go jumping into a firefight if they can avoid it. If not for the Enterprise's weapons situation I don't think it would have ended well for them! I agree that this is a strong episode. The characters are colourfully drawn, and all of them have something to do. And I'm a fan of futuristic games - Stratagema looks like a lot of fun. Data's win is a favourite scene of mine. "Shades of Gray" - I'm going to guess no lamentation. It's an episode with really only one thing wrong with it (clip show). Given that starting point, they do a decent job ...

[@AlucardNoir]

I haven't seen the episode in a few years but I do remember him being arrogant at times. Sometimes he is very mater of fact - elf-like - "I am better then you", and sometimes he is just extremely competent. I dunno if he seems arrogant because of the elf "I'm better then you" effect or if he was really arrogant since, again, I haven't watched the episode in a few years. EDIT. I'm sorry, for a moment there it sounded like yo were defending the ending of Mass Effect 3... you weren't... were you?

[@tylisirn]

I don't think Shades of Grey is going to be a lamentation. It is a boring, listless episode (so perfectly named), but it is not actively offensive. I predict a 15 minute rumination talking about nothing much. (Also, Illuminati confirmed!)

[@yountdj]

Long time lurker, first time commenting, per your request regarding Kolrami's "arrogance".Shortly after Second World War began for the Americans in Pearl Harbor, Admiral Ernest King was appointed Chief of Naval Operations for the United States Navy. Selecting him for a role in which cooperation with the British would prove vital was an interesting one, as he was a convinced Anglophobe, hating everything English. His bias proved unfortunate for the US Navy when Royal Navy officials offered freely to their allies information, technical expertise (especially regarding radar), operational intelligence, and the benefit of their two years' of hard-won war experience. King denied the American Navy of this opportunity and the USN would have to learn the hard way how to fight - at the cost of both warships in the Pacific and merchantmen bound for the UK. Admiral King (and probably a significant portion of US naval officers) would no doubt have seen them as arrogant - just as the crew of Enterprise saw Kolrami as arrogant. After all, the British come in, 'telling' the Americans how to use radar, what systems work and what will not work, what tactics to employ, et cetera. In short, they'd be stepping on the Americans' shoes.So, is Kolrami arrogant? In approach, yes. I can see how off-putting he is. But is his arrogance justified? Well, I do believe Worf answered that question in the episode. We (nor Starfleet) have not seen it put to the test.

[@DarthDJJD]

This is the episode that got me back into TNG. It's hard to break away from the mighty original Star Trek (Kirk, Spock, McCoy); especially when most of the bad episodes of Seasons 1 and 2 helped justify not watching TNG. My mother and I disliked Riker (his character and why he was needed); Picard, Data, and Worf were the top three. Plus (being in a family of the Navy) the idea of Wheaton's character on the bridge was unthinkable; like Shanter said: "I would not allow a kid to be on the bridge.". There is a little cringe I had with Picard in this episode, saying that doing war maneuvers was not good because of the Enterprise is for exploration. BS. You are the flagship of Star Fleet. You explore using military strength but without flaunting it. If you want a true explorer ship, refer to Babylon 5 where a ship is only made for exploration. You are either a military ship or you are not. The same applies to Riker's statement as well about leadership; this is where the Hippie Roddenberry mentality is so impractical. This is not the Yellow Submarine. This is the flagship of a military unit of a state, whether that state is malevolent or not. Besides that rant, this episode is great (except for the whole Ferengi threat of the week). There was the type of moral teachings done in a way that was not preachy (unlike our current problems with SJWs): 1) Never overestimate your opponent. 2) Move forward even though you have failed; you can due to everything right and still fail. 3) When all odds are against you, don't give up and improvise 4) An arrogant person will eventually be humbled (Biblical teaching) This is what TNG and good Sci-Fi does - not everything has to be "ACTION, ACTION, and BOOM, BOOM" as what the current awful Kelvin timeline of Star Trek exhibits. Plus, this episode made me like Riker as a character. He has something more than just being a horny fifth wheel in the cast. Lorerunner: You asked why this was not done on the holodeck? It gives that submarine tactical feeling, like the TOS "Balance of Terror", "The Wrath of Kahn", "Das Boot" and all of the other U-Boat WW2 and Cold War movies. Having it on the holodeck would make it too clinical. As for the Ferengi scene, I don't know. Maybe have done it by a semi-race that StarFleet overlooks (overestimating the race) not knowing that this is a war testing and flips out. Thinking that they can stop this race, they are given an initial black eye on the Enterprise (no deaths but a kick in the pants) and Riker saves the day using the warp trick to get out of a situation. So all parties (including StarFleet and Picard) get to eat humble pie. And then end with the game between Data and the other guy.

[@TheRetrostorian]

This. Exploration with phasers locked. The rest is propaganda.

[@MetroidHatchling]

I saw this episode very recently and no, i didn't see him as being arrogant at all with possibly the exception of when he ragequits against Data. I feel he has perhaps a slight superiority complex when it comes to that game but for the most part he seemed pretty friendly. I liked him a lot more than I had remembered.

[@evalramman7502]

Yes, I, too, always found, from a worldbuilding and practical point of view, the constant refrain that Starfleet wasn't a military organization to be, if not insane, then a symptom of cognitive dissonance.

[@SonnyBubba]

There’s a real life wargame called Star Fleet Battles, invented by Steve Cole. Look it up, and enjoy!

[@roystonsbailey]

A fun episode, but there's nothing smart about it. It's very much an early season episode, but better than usual.

[@Exarathas]

Just watched the episode and I was wondering the same thing. Why did Worf manage to fool the Ferengi when the episode clearly stablished that it works on the Enterprise because Worf knows its systems inside out. I have no explanation why it worked on the Ferengi... "Intel" is not enough for me.

[@mb2000]

So does Starfleet have hundreds of mothballed ships for its starship crews to go and use in these war games? Or does every ship in the fleet have to filter through this system one at a time to use the Hathaway, resetting it after each use? We see in “Unification” (the other episode with a Zakdorn btw) that there are at least a couple of Miranda’s sitting around so I’d hope they’d use them. Although with plenty of Mirandas still in use by the Dominion War, I wonder why those ships were considered surplus at all. I laugh at the Ferengi’s seeming interest in Constellation-class ships. In “The Battle” they had one and gave it back (is Stargazer being used for war games somewhere?) and here they want to steal the Hathaway.

[@DrZaius3141]

I watch all the episodes directly before watching the ruminations - so here's my take on Kohlrabi (which is a type of cabbage, btw): He is condescending and thus arrogant. These traits are rarely ever found in WHAT is said, but how it is said, and I feel that the actor is doing a great job with all the subtleties involved despite wearing a mask. He has all the mannerisms of someone trying to make others feel inferior.

[@pauljackson3491]

I don't think Kolrami lost; it was a stalemate. He decided "forfeiting" was better than playing indefinitely. Just because you leave just means you can't win normally. I always liked the idea of cheating in this episode. What's the difference between that and beaming a small assuming piece of tech from a Borg ship to help you? And for some reason it is fun here. I think Starfleet is both military and science. The best soldier who knows nothing about "STEM" would do horribly, as would the inverse. The people in Starfleet need to know how to shoot phasers, pistils and ship, as well as other things like torpedoes or even mines. Presidents Eisenhower, Grant, and Washington would likely be bad at Starfleet even though their military expertise was extremely well. They also need to know at least a little bit about engineering and medicine and science and stellar cartography, even if not much. The doctors can hit a target with a phaser while my local doctor probably couldn't. Did you VCR have a remote? Was it a wired remote?

[@DarthRagnarok343]

It's been about a year since I watched this episode last and I think Kolrami came off as justifiably arrogant. He is an expert in his field and is confident in his abilities and knowledge, throw in a personality that's a little weird and it is understandable that people see him as more arrogant and smug than he really is. As for the threat of the week. Have the episode take place at a star-base, a planet-side one. That planet has a moon. The moon has a facility to decommission starships in orbit and several ships in the process of and awaiting decommission. The Hathaway is there awaiting its turn, or maybe they already started, but since the Enterprise is nearby Starfleet decides to have the ship be used one last time. Now the Hathaway is a special ship, not just an old regular ship, it has been given a retrofit to become a training/simulation vessel. Its hull and frame have been reinforced, its command and power systems have had redundancies installed. And in select locations like the bridge, med bay, and engineering holo-emitters have been installed to simulate hazards and battle damage in the ship. I see this ship being a half-step between the simulator room seen in Star Trek 2 and the full holodeck. I see a real war game like they do in the episode better at this time in the series because, maybe, the simulators and holodecks are not advanced enough yet. That is to say they don't have a fully adaptive program yet, so there are things you can do in reality that the simulator/holodeck wouldn't know how to handle, like Wesley's plasma experiment. And why are the Ferengi here? Why to buy some stuff (maybe steal) from the decommission facility. On this trip to the facility they see this ship with special upgrades fighting a galaxy class and their reasoning from the episode can remain the same.

[@corssecurity]

Say the president of college chess club plays the Grand Champion. The result is not in doubt but the college student is going to bring his A game to try and be ready and will learn a great deal watching the Grand Master dismantle thier best game. The student learns, and the Grand Master gets to see a novel maneuver or two

[@resurrectedstarships]

I wonder what would happen if you put Kolrami on the Chimera with Grand Admiral Thrawn in a similar scenario :P.

[@Edax_Royeaux]

It is really stupid for Worf to not know or respect "tactics". The Klingons in TOS were introduced and spent the majority of their time engaged in tactics and subterfuge against the Federation.

[@corssecurity]

Picard said Konami was rude and condescending & belittling of Commander Ricker. He demands to know why. Not that Konami is wrong or must stop, thou that's the emotional undertone. Picard said explain yourself. I agree, Starfleet asked for his help. So Picard is seasoned enough to say explain yourself, and otherwise hold his tongue.

[@lnlraven079]

What people so far have said was cheating, there is an old proverb in the Art of War, to know thy enemy is to know thyself. Now many people would think that Worf cheated. Hey, anyone that has played STO knows that some factions try to do that trick. In the 33 Strategies of War, misinformation and misdirection are powerful weapons if used correctly. In this Wesley coming up with something that gave the Hathaway Warp 1 for 1.2 minutes is misinformation, while with knowing the enemy in this case Picard and common tactics that he used would bite him in the ass later on [BOBW] because he refused to adapt to the situation when he was predictable. Riker says it in this episode, and counters it slightly that it is not the normal counter. The only thing is that this isn't a fair fight, then again against the Borg and the Dominion this should have been a standard practice. Why not at a starbase, one starbases are heavily armed with phasers and torpedoes not to mention other ships that they can launch. Two why not near a starbase, well if it was not for the threat of the week trope, then other Captains not knowing that there is a war game in the area would assist the Hathaway with full functioning weapons therefore destroying the Enterprise-D. If they would have went forward with the war game without the threat of the week, it would have shown that the Galaxy Class starship had multiple errors in the design and power systems. When you play STO, the Galaxy class on there has been corrected as much as possible but before and during the Dominion War they were glass cannons, and couldn't protect a fly. When the Ambassador and a Excellisor class as much as it is hated are proven designs and can work in all situations it proves that when designing the Galaxy class that they were not thinking properly it is good at exploration and nothing else. Come on destroyed by an 80 year old bird of prey in Generations. I'd prefer the war game only, or have a second part episode when the Frengi come in and having the Enterprise and Hathaway work as a team for those strategies. This is why the Federation nearly lost the Dominion War was due to this idea that there isn't a bigger badder nation out there.

[@stanislavkostarnov2157]

Starfleet is a federation of single ship city-states... each state has a military among other things such as Medical and Scientific institutes. but Starfleet itself is not a military for thesame reason the UN is not a Military

[@resurrectedstarships]

AHA!!! Why not do this on the holodeck? Because the holodeck is limited by the programming algorithms, and might not be able to simulate certain unpredictable chaotic elements...Wesley would never have stolen antimatter to power the Hathaway, Worf wouldn't have ripped the circuitry from the ceiling, out of the box actions wouldn't have been an option on the holodeck to the same extent.

[@Tuning3434]

But, Worf never played with little bo.....ships

[@thexalon]

I did think of Kolrami as legitimately acting arrogantly. Mostly because he starts off by disrespecting Riker before Riker has done anything to deserve that disrespect. He also shows some disrespect towards Picard and most of the rest of the crew. And when the tricks start coming into play, he's sorta cheering on Riker, but he's also saying in effect "Picard, you idiot, you forgot to change the codes to prevent this remote hacking maneuver!" One unhandled question: Why do the Ferengi just happen to be nearby, and just happen to be monitoring this exercise, and just happen to have gotten there without anybody in Starfleet knowing about it until they are within communications range of the Enterprise? Apparently, they decided to conduct this exercise near the edge of Federation space, which is incredibly stupid.

[@videogenics86]

I have to wonder just how stupid these Ferengi are, they have sensors, they should be able to tell that the weapons being fired by the two ships are basically flashlights, also, don't the Ferengi have any concept of training or war games? They really should have known what was going on right away. Add to that, why does Picard lie to them about what is going on? Furthermore, why is this exercise taking place anywhere near Ferengi space? I understand the need of an unpopulated system, but why near a known hostile species? Surely the Ferengi aren't conducting trade missions in armed cruisers in the middle of Ferengi space? The Federation would be crazy to let them, considering they attacked the Enterprise without cause simply because they beleived the Hathaway was valuable in someway. That was the part of the episode that raised my eyebrows.

[@Pondimus_Maximus]

Skips Shades of Gray, and head right into season 3! 😀🖖

[@ryancraig210]

I don't think the guest actor was being arrogant but no condescending

[@tyrianjomane]

its not a wierd way to do militarty exercises if your trying to keep it quiet starfleet is not a primary military institution alot of questions would be asked as to why its going on if it became common knowledge the civilian population of the fed might get woryed it would also increase the intrest in federation activities from the other powers like the klingons if it became known that starfleet was becomming more military in orientation would seriously wory many of the powers outside of the fed thay know of the massive economic power the fed actualy has thay also know the simple fact that if the fed gears up for total war production then it would be able to overrun any of the regional powers with ease and would be able to take on anyone in the local area with shear weight of numbers thay could build ships faster than you could destroy them

[@enlightedjedi]

I like peak performance, too!

[@corssecurity]

Target Picards state room.

[@Threesixtyci]

Funny that data loses in poker all the time, though. So... the ship is named after janeway? lol.

[@nathanielsibley5710]

I think the episode had enough going on, they could have left the ferangi threat out.

[@KrisDavidson]

I've watched this episode recently and I don't think Kolrami is arrogant. Several of the crew are though. I suspect any prickliness and the way he treats certain characters is the result of him being made unwelcome and personally attacked for this exercise, I mean almost everything he does is directly related to his job or voicing his personal opinions and trying to gain insight into people. Strange how the crew are willing to write off far worse behaviour in the past in the interests of diplomacy. I find it funny the same crew who have been insulting people for being less than perfect or inferior by their standards attack someone for far less than what they have done in the past. I'm kind of reminded of how Barclay was treated, especially in his first appearance.

[@Fortaker]

The Ferengi sensors thing - boy was that a sticking point for me, almost ruining my enjoyment of this otherwise good episode, IMHO. I was thinking, like everyone else, "How can Worf make a Federation Starship appear on the Ferengi sensors?" And at first I actually had thought of the idea about Worf being clued in by Starfleet intelligence about compromised Ferengi codes which he could use to hack into them. But if that was true, all that does is create another problem - after all, if Worf can make Federation starships appear on the Ferengi sensors, why not just do that in the first place? Why risk getting the Hathaway blown up when you can just make the Ferengi think more vessels are incoming? And what frustrates me most about all this is that, with a bit of creative thinking, the episode creators could have been able to kill both these problems with the same stone. Have Worf know SOME Ferengi sensor codes but only enough to make the Ferengi misidentify what they are seeing rather than making something out of thin air - er I guess here it would be "thin space". Then, once you "blow up" the Hathaway, have the Hathaway return under impulse power, with Worf tinkering with the Ferengi sensors to make the ship look like a more imposing, powerful vessel. Boom - both plot problems solved.

[@tee_es_bee]

I watch the Ruminations straight away after I finish with the episode. I thought that the guy was arrogant. His posture and the inflection of his speech are just way too out there.

[@DefSquadFan]

I always thought he acted like an old gay queen and I thought he was very funny.

[@stanislavkostarnov2157]

Kolrami is a little arrogant, and certainly talks down to the officers of the ship... he is not quite arrogant maybe, more like an outsider who does not understand the connection between the people around him

[@firepowerg]

FIRST! Yes, Kolrami is very arrogant and rude! He made up his mind about Riker before he even came onboard and was actively rude to him until Picard pulls him up on it. Then there was his fear of taking on Data (the first time). He IS a blowhard and a coward.

[@gcooper642]

Ah yes, we were too poor for a VCR or a Cd player. Now both are pretty much obselete.

[@oddish4352]

How do you include the Ferengi threat of the week? Easy. You DON'T. What made the episode "Measure of a Man" great was that it put Picard and Riker on opposite sides. Why not simply let the battle play itself out? Is it because they couldn't handle either Picard or Riker lose, so they had to come up with a "work together" resolution? We have GOBS of episodes where Picard and Riker work together. WE DIDN'T NEED ANOTHER ONE!!

[@jani11]

Yep Kolrami is arrogant, but i think most of crew's opinion about him is due to knowing him even before he came to Enterprise - therefore, his previous reputation and some of his behavior combined makes the crew look at him as an arrogant dude. About Shades of Grey's possible lamentation: i don't know but i would love you to nitpick the hell out of this one, just let it out, let it rip lol.

[@jmiester25]

I do think he’s arrogant and I saw it about a month ago.

[@captmoroni]

A Lamentation-worthy episode has nothing redeemable about it. If the episode has parts of good episodes in it, my bet is no Lamentation next week, but just barely.

[@Untrustedlife]

I saw it like a week ago, and no i don't think hes arrogant. Hes very "confident" in his stratagem, but other then that meh.

[@Pondimus_Maximus]

I actually liked Kolrami. Good writing, and good acting! What I detested, however, was his "alien" makeup. It was so lazy and and so bad, as to be distracting.

[@DefSquadFan]

That makeup added to his fatness.

[@jankostrhun8725]

I really think this is mediocre episode, there are few moments I liked, the "challenge" retort and "it is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose" line, the interaction on the Hathaway was well done but nothing to really write home about. It was't bad but it was kindna tedious to sit through. As far as Korami goes, he might have been full of himself and still look modest and polite next to early TNG crew. He was "invited" there and they treated him like dirt since minute one so. The trick on Ferengi ship still makes no sense, I know how incompetent Ferengi tend look in this shot, but c'mon I have hard time imagining some officer sneaking on Ferengi ships and bases or bribing them with... oh right they have no money and probably no guile to do it correctly. And please remember that most today's office jobs will make you change your PC passwords on a monthly rotation. To make it work around some remote station (preferably with little to no firepower of it's own, some monitoring outpost or the like) well teleporters shouldn't be that much of a problem , maybe some of those duct tape managed to scramble the signal via radiation leak, maybe they actually installed something to that effect to prevent Enterprise to get a weapons lock on them. Or given how little we knew about Ferengi and that they were supposed to be a threat do Federation, maybe their *Marauder* class ships have something to prevent this sort of things (they hardly would be the first or the last with this tech), I know this is kinda tech-tech solution but still seems relatively tame in comparison. Or maybe the outpost doesn't have a teleporter becasue it's glorified telescope with like 5 people and one shuttle as it's compartment.

[@kardy12]

Frankly, these constant rants about how it’s obvious star fleet must be a military organisation got tiring enough that I stopped following both the TNG and DS9 rumination series for a long time.

[@quasimodojdls]

Sorry, but I got to say it.... this episode is kind of crap. It's nowhere near Lamentation level bad, but it's still pretty awful. I'll just address my main problems with it. First, the whole "Starfleet is not a military organization" nonsense. I will gladly rail against this every time it comes up because it is just so damn nonsensical. SFDebris said it so perfectly in his review of this episode - "pretending that Starfleet is not a military is like pretending that Patrick Stewart is not bald; it's there for everybody to see." Let's just take a few examples of how it is so blisteringly obvious that Starfleet is a military (I could laboriously comb through all of TOS and TNG up to this point, but I think only a handful of examples will make my point adequately). 1.) TOS: "Balance of Terror" - when Federation outposts along the Neutral Zone are attacked, who is called in to deal with this military threat? Starfleet. 2.) TOS: "Errand of Mercy" - when open war breaks out between the Federation and the Klingon Empire, who is tasked with doing all of the Federation's military activities? Starfleet. 3.) TOS: "The Enterprise Incident" - when the Federation needs to send in a commando team to retrieve classified Romulan military technology in order to maintain the military balance of power, who has to carry out this military assignment? Starfleet. 4.) "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" - when Earth itself is militarily threatened by V'Ger, who is sent to confront and deal with this threat? Starfleet. 5.) TNG: "The Neutral Zone" - again, when several Federation outposts along the Romulan Neutral Zone are attacked, who is sent to deal with this military threat. Starfleet. 6.) This very episode - when the Federation is faced with the truly existential military threat of the Borg, what do they do? They make sure that Starfleet is ready to meet the military threat head on. Let's be reasonable here. If Puerto Rico was attacked by a foreign power, does anybody honestly think that the U.S. government should send NASA to fight off the invaders? Or if Hawaii was bombed Pearl Harbor style again, would the U.S. government send the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to defend American sovereignty? Yet that is exactly what this "Starfleet is not a military organization" claptrap asks us to believe about the Federation. The fact that the writers had Picard say something so imbecilic literally baffles my mind. Again, SFDebris said it so brilliantly so I'll quote him - "Let's be adults here. You have a ship full of weapons; working with government authority, that has military ranks, military style protocols, which comes to defend systems from military threats. You are personally armed with lethal weapons. Your government has no other organization that is called, or like, a military in any way what-so-ever. And, if you fail to follow through on your 'duty,' you are court-martialed - a word which means 'military court.' Your primary purpose may be the exploration of space, but the Space Shuttle wasn't fitted with a machine gun and Neil Armstrong didn't land on the moon with a holster on his spacesuit." Second, the way the crew reacts to and treats Kolrami. No, he isn't unbelievably arrogant. The episode seems hellbent on trying to make me see him as arrogant, but he's not. I'll only go so far as to say that he's a little pompous, mostly about his skill in Strategema - but that's understandable since he proves himself to be so good at it. Let's look at the good things about Kolrami. He's willing to let Riker play against him just so Riker can have the honor of doing it. Kolrami didn't have to do that. It's condescending in a good way. Even though he doesn't think much of Riker's tactical/strategic abilities, he's willing to publicly give Riker credit for the first "Worf trick". When all is said and done, he's even willing to eat massive amounts of crow in full view of the entire bridge staff after he has been proved wrong. Now let's look how the crew treats him. 1.) Pulaski smugly declares "my, what a charmer" within earshot of Kolrami. 2.) They immediately set out to give him "an attitude adjustment". How that isn't arrogant on their parts I don't know. 3.) Pulaksi even arrogantly presumes that Data will naturally want to join in on their attempted take-down of the man. 4.) Picard takes his willingness to eat crow with the amount of graciousness one would expect from an arrogant ass - i.e. absolutely none. 5.) Finally, Data decides to humiliate Kolrami by playing for a tie at Strategema, or as SFDebris said "because nothing is better than winning by saying 'does this bother you, does this bother you, does this bother you." Third, the Ferengi. You know, it's really sad that the Ferengi are the most enjoyable part of the episode. Thankfully this is the last time they will be presented as legitimate military threats to our heroes, aside from maybe "Rascals". But, hey, at least they aren't anywhere near as over-the-top ludicrous as they were in "The Last Outpost". 3/10

[@1300l]

Idk why but i can't stand this episode. First, Riker and Wesley flatout cheat, second, i hate that it has a threat of the week. And the Ferengi are so lame in this episode! Not to mention that Riker did nothing of extraordinary, it was Worf, Wesley and Georgy About Korami, no, i didn't watch it recently as i hate this episode... but i always find him arrogant. His job was to mediate and judge Riker performance, impartialy. He didn't... UNTILL the war game started.. then he lost the arrogancy for me