Star Trek Retro Review: "Where Silence Has Lease" (TNG) | Bottle Episodes

[@SpeedTiberius]

This episode really stuck with me as a child, it's like baby's first cosmic horror.

[@artrobinson9310]

Nailed it

[@mhyzon1]

I still don’t like watching this episode

[@TheMumbaGames]

I agree. As a child watching this on TV it was errie and mysterious when Riker and Worf are on the Yamato. As an adult it still is a good one to watch

[@gkarenko9593]

Teletubbies! Baby Sun?

[@MaximumDraculaX]

You forgot the best part! When Lieutenant Transporter Chief saves Riker and Worf off the ersatz Yamato, Riker gives him a cool 'finger gun' salute.

[@bradcsuka5054]

Yes!

[@--Animal--]

Nagilum looking like some kind of disembodied infants face I always thought was the creepiest part of the character, it gave me "child playing with ants and a magnifying glass" feeling.

[@Cre80s]

2:54 When seeing Colm Meaney in a convention back in the good ol’ (before they fucked it all up) early 90’s, he told everyone a story about how early on he was just glad to be called back to play this "unnamed transporter chief" on several more occasions. Then when being called to film another episode, and studying the script, he confusingly ranted at the director in front of the other actors 😡"who in the hell is this O'Brian character?? Why am I being written out of the transporter room??" They responded 😊"oh, didn't anyone tell you? That's you. We thought you needed an actual name." He was like 🤓"oh... okay... thanks." 😝

[@WaxPenguins]

This was the first episode of Star Trek I’d ever watched and is what hooked me on the franchise. The eerie, clinical, slow-paced structure of this episode really makes it stand on its own whilst still giving off a very fun TOS vibe. And its commentary on humanity, death, and curiosity have stuck with me for a very long time. As a season 1 detractor, I still posit this is the FIRST ever good episode of TNG and a decent way to introduce people to the series.

[@patrickdodds7162]

Picard's nuanced answer about life after death with not-Troi and not-Data is one I always found interesting. It's also an interesting counterpoint/counterbalance to his hard edged condemnation of organized religion in "Who Watches the Watchers". I think these two POVs can complement each other and basically shows that Picard is "quasi-spiritual, but not religious."

[@thing_under_the_stairs]

I always read it as Picard being something of a curious agnostic. Then again, depending on semantics, that might not be far from "quasi-spiritual, but not religious", right?

[@patrickdodds7162]

For those who didn't know (or don't care), Nagilum was played by the guy who played Dr. Silberman from Terminators 1, 2, and 3.

[@Jifuryu]

It always amuses me how convenient the sister ship thing is. Somebody really didn't want to build another starship model. "What we got laying around?" "This new Romulan ship is really cool. Let's use that." "What else?" "Ummm... let's just use the Enterprise model, but say it's another ship." "Works for me. I just want to go home."

[@Black-Swan-007]

Well I mean, Sister Ships are/were a thing IRL. I think Titanic/Olympic are the most notable pair. They were nearly identical, with Titanic being just a few feet longer. The two ships were so close in fact that no pictures of Titanic's grand staircase exist. Only pictures of Olympic's grand staircase. They were identical on both ships so they only needed to take photos of the one.

[@thing_under_the_stairs]

@@Black-Swan-007 Totally! And we can't forget the third sister, Brittanic, which was built with improvements based on what they'd learned from how her big sister, Titanic, sank. Too bad she was torpedoed when serving as a hospital ship in WWI, and those improvements weren't quite enough to save her.

[@allanolley4874]

Hope everything works out with that tenant Sia Lents. This episode is clearly a bit disjointed because I would have trouble remembering that the Worf and Riker fight Skeletor thing happens in this episode or that the Yamato bit was in it. Things that stick with me the conversation about death and Riker's confirming Picard turning off the autodestruct "Yes I do indeed whole heartedly concur!" which was probably a bit much given the time crunch...

[@fizzplease6742]

Oh man yes Riker’s reply stuck with me too, ever since I first saw it when it actually aired. Sometimes I quote it but no one has ever recognized it lol.

[@JonBerry555]

Sometimes I wonder who TNG's mysterious all-powerful alien episodes would go, if Picard blamed Q every single time. I imagine, Q would pop in say 'It's not me, Jean-Luc' and leaves not to appear again in the episode and Picard is sure their situation is somehow the fault of Q. Honestly, that actually would make a good premise for a one off episode.

[@MrRattlebones640]

I had a similar idea for the Q episode of DS9, rather than have Q in it play to the name "Q-Less". One of Vash's schemes involves her faking Q being on the ship so she can steal some macguffin, playing off how O'Brien knew she was with him. Maybe she could use advanced holograms so De Lancie could still appear, then at the end the way they figure it out is O'Brien realising that whats happening on the station is not Q's style and could easily be replicated with advanced technology.

[@barbaros99]

I could swear I remember that it's actually "a third" of the crew just because Nagilum says the line in a way that's both super-creepy and disinterested and that made it stick with me. Maybe it's the Mandela Effect. Also, I think Haskil's (sp?) death was the scariest way a young me had ever seen someone die in media up to that point. Very violent, and nothing you could do to stop it.

[@sasquatch2]

Pretty sure the line was "one third to half, maybe more". There was no guarantee when Nagilum would stop, making it even more unsettling.

[@VeraTheTabbynx]

his original estimate is in fact a third of the crew, but then corrects himself to say it could be up to 50% if 33% doesn't satisfy his curiosity

[@jeffreyjeziorski1480]

The most Star Trek thing about that death is he is wearing a RED shirt and he is a black guy. The tropes must be honored!!

[@Wimpoman]

Before the new Jem'Hadar Alliance content for Star Trek Online was released, I had made a Starfleet Vorta character, and the back story I had made for why members of the Dominion were now joining Starfleet is that the Dominion had come in contact with so many god-like beings (post DS9) who were able to do far more god-like things that the Founders had never even come close to doing (the wormhole aliens, who made an entire fleet disappear (et cetera), which the Founders could never do, and a Q had f'd with them in ways the Changelings could only dream of) OR species who lumped the Founders in with the "solids" in the same way the Founders did for all the solids (the Undine (Species 8472), who wanted to rid the galaxy of all life not caring whether "solid" or not, and the Borg, who wanted to assimilate everyone not caring whether "solid" or not), that the Founders lost their 'gods' status to the members of the Dominion subservient to them. This back story included a disastrous first contact between the Dominion and Nagilum, who left many ships adrift, filled only with corpses, while the Founders were utterly powerless to stop it. #noone-asked

[@poozizzle]

Love this episode. Nagilum is so strange he really feels alien. And oh so Star Trek!

[@TypingHazard]

Can I just tell on myself and say that seeing a TNG episode in a "Retro Review" makes me feel old and acutely mortal

[@tjzambonischwartz]

SAME

[@thing_under_the_stairs]

You aren't alone there.

[@dataportdoll]

2:21 "Inexplicably, this void surrounds them, and goes on forever." Let it not be said Steve isn't a fair guy because we were all thinking of Voyager at that line.

[@jordanrhea1504]

Looking forward to Picard season 4 where they finally escape Nagilum for real this time.

[@BlownMacTruck]

2:37 I wish bloodthirsty Geordi stuck around. Season 1 and 2 were so wacky.

[@thing_under_the_stairs]

Yeah, that grin was great.

[@AzaleaJane]

I've said this before and I'll say it again: I simply adore your Trek dialogue paraphrasing, Steve. I never get tired of it. I'm lucky I didn't spit out my coffee.

[@laronk.jenkins9078]

one of my favorite TNG episodes overall, loved the mystery of the alien bad guy

[@KoRntech]

I was disappointed they never met again, that would've been an interesting turn of events when the Federation was having their asses handed to them and purple space cloud shows up and envelopes the evil Borg or something.

[@CAP198462]

Oh great, now I have the mental image of Worf in the He-Man pose, shouting “by the power of gre’thor, I have the power.” 🗡️

[@jamesgasik3424]

The way Space Face reacts to Pulaski made me wonder if she had some deep secret. Alas.

[@Mars2i0]

This episode was a favorite of my dad. But in the days before you could look up episode titles online we always got it confused with other bottle episodes, like the Nth Degree, or Clues.

[@logiciananimal]

Mine too - he loved the ending with Picard explaining to Nagilum that they have something in common and it agreeing.

[@KoRntech]

13:05 That was always frustrating its like hey we need to replace some of our meatbags we just lost an hour ago, counselor Troi should be busy AF, announcememt of memorials to be held to the crew you know stuff you'd expect on a vessel. I guess at least with Voyager at the end of every episode you knew they were heading back to the Alpha Quadrant so they had that going for them.

[@elim_inator]

Ever since I first realized that Wesley is inexplicably gone for one scene just so the floating space face can kill a guy, I can't help but find that hilarious. It's like the writers realized they wanted to add that scene, but they had already written dialogue for Wesley before and after that point, so they just had him take a very extended toilet break and never mention it.

[@tallavi6556]

I'm pretty sure that he didn't mean to kill half the crew, but just said it to measure their reaction. The Skype call at the end still creeps me out. Are they really out? Or is the rest of the series an illusion?

[@johnchedsey1306]

I do find it interesting that on a ship with hundreds of civilians and children, Picard is keen on self destruction. I certainly wouldn't want my family there.

[@VeraTheTabbynx]

To be entirely fair to Picard, his choice was "we die in at least 350 different unpredictably horrible ways to a sadistic morbidly curious being, possibly leaving nobody capable of operating the ship and the rest starving, suffocating, or freezing in deep space or we try to bluff it into letting us go and if that doesn't work, we at least die an instant and painless death"

[@lisaboban]

"Yeah it's a damn ugly nothin'." My favorite Geordi line.

[@sasquatch2]

They wanted actor Richard Mulligan to play Nagilum, but ended up with Earl Boen (he played Dr Silberman in the Terminator movies). Nagilum is Mulligan's last name, but backwards (and they dropped an L).

[@bugradio]

I'm glad you like this one, it's always one of my faves. Some of it is nostalgia, sure, but a lot of it is vibe. I like the Trek episodes that are isolated enough and strange enough that you feel like you're really out there in space, and farther from home than you've ever been. It reminds me a lot of TOS, too - episodic, a superior being "tests" the humans, all is back to normal at the end with a chuckle (even tho a redshirt died). Old school.

[@VerdeeMusic]

Hey Steve! I'd actually really like to see you do an O'Brien deep dive (have you done something like that before?) like why does his rank constantly change throughout his tenure? And how does that benefit the narrative? Or is it an oversight? What does it mean to be a non-commissioned officer in Starfleet?

[@bradcsuka5054]

An O'Brien series would be really fun. A couple of episodes in TNG to cover (Data's Day, The Wounded) and an obvious treasure trove of DS9 episodes to choose from.

[@f.m.7698]

This is an episode that, when it comes on, I think, “ugh. This is a boring episode.” Somehow, though, I can’t turn it off- I’m entertained. Every. Time.

[@logiciananimal]

Like "Remember Me" this is one of my "I enjoy it even though I think I overrate it." episodes. (And I was surprised to hear that's the next up - I started writing this comments as the "next up" started!) Part of that, in this case, is the title - I have always had a soft spot for "poetic titles" - like "For the World Is Hollow and I have Touched the Sky".

[@Chris-tf7gi]

Makes my 'best of' list for season 2 for sure! A glimpse into future potential and great in its own right.

[@HoserEh82]

Riker saying "I get it, I &*^% holograms too" had me laughing out loud

[@thing_under_the_stairs]

We get it, Riker will f^&* pretty much anything!

[@RedTooth552]

Damn, I was hoping with bottle episodes that Steve would get to what for my money is one of the best episodes in all of Star Trek, and one of the most topical "The Drumhead".

[@ingetamna]

This one always freaked me out as a kid

[@nerdocrat]

I think about this episode at least once a week. Thank you for covering it.

[@TheLittleMako]

I remember reading somewhere that they made the scenes onboard the Yamato seem uncanny and unsettling by playing the usual 'enterprise ambient hum' track backwards. I thought that was a nice, subtle touch.

[@skug9bob]

It always sort of bothered me that Nagilum, given as powerful as it is, couldn't disable the self-destruct device or shut down the computer. Perhaps, as a weird extradimensional being, he just doesn't savvy what we call "technology"?

[@peachgo3]

Great review! Please don't laugh at me but this is also one of the top Worfriker shipper episodes, the cold open especially 😂 Not only does it show Riker's curiosity for Klingon culture, like you said, and their joint "calisthenics", it also gives us that amazing "at ease, Lieutenant" callback later on the Yamato where Worf calms himself in the same fashion that Riker used to snap him out of his bloodlust on the holodeck lol (Let's not get into how eight episodes later, Worf explains Klingon courtship to Wesley and it basically turns this entire cold open into a flirting session retrospectively)

[@davidparker7617]

Great work, sir. The only thing I could ask for is more. 👍

[@thegreenmanofnorwich]

I see what you mean. I always loved the "otherness" of the hole in space, and that we (and the characters) acknowledge that there should be stars visible, so it's something, but nothing. I liked the Yamato scenes. The Romulan attack was kind of bonkers, though makes more sense in an "understanding death and killing" way. I always liked Riker's autodestruct cancellation.

[@TheMumbaGames]

Thanks Steve Great vid as always. This is in the go to watch list if I want a TNG fix has been for years. A good one from season 2 for sure.

[@dandennis4602]

This is a top ten favorite episode for me, maybe top five. The tone / atmosphere is just right. So foreboding. You really feel like the galaxy is a big, unexplored space where anything can happen. You don't really get that after season two of TNG.

[@Mallory-Malkovich]

I wish more captains had "then I'll just bloe up the ship soas not to give you the satisfaction of killing us" response to alien threats. Id love to start an episode of _Trek_ with characters saying "did you hear about the USS Yorktown? They got caught in a Samaritan snare and the captian self-destructed the ship!" "Well, that is standard protocol. Good for them!"

[@ZuluRomeo]

In light of the WGA Strike at the time that hampered a lot of the production of the otherwise improved season 2, this episode was a fascinating product. Clearly assembled from parts of varying quality, and in need of one final draft to shave off the rough edges, the final product miraculously holds up as a disturbing cosmic horror tale of isolation, gods that walk the fine line between curiosity and malevolence, and liminal spaces. Whether that was what the writer originally wanted for the episode or not, I still have no idea, but it's what we got, and I'm grateful for it.

[@BCBaron]

I always appreciated how the name of the Enterprise's sister ship was a reference to the classic 1974 grandaddy of anime space opera.

[@radwolf76]

Was anyone else horrified by the thought of Steve as a **shudder** Landlord?

[@jimmcclements5229]

I have a piece of trivia for you. Did you know that they wanted Richard Mulligan to play Nagillum. Mulligan spelled backward is Nagillum.

[@wackyvorlon]

This episode is one of the ones that has a profound message. You must never yield to a capricious god, no matter how powerful.

[@andrewhayes88]

Its one of my favorites in Season 2. Not sure why.. its just one episode that I can watch time and time again. I guess it could just be the curiosity theme of this episode that it makes me re watch it.

[@chintex_]

That opening gag made me groan out loud... well done Steve.

[@jpo5830]

This was the first episode of tng I ever saw as a kid and I was hooked immediately

[@WolfRamAndHart]

I liked Ngulim also. His face is meant to be a bit off, like how a 4th Dimension being probably would not get it right on their first attempt, kind of like the aliens from The Cage not knowing what humans look like. What confused me is what confused you ...."Lease"? is that a phrase from somewhere?

[@RadioJosiah]

The title of the episode is from the last stanza of a 1907 poem, "The Spell of the Yukon" by Robert W. Service. Yet it isn’t the gold that I’m wanting So much as just finding the gold. It’s the great, big, broad land ’way up yonder, It’s the forests where silence has lease; It’s the beauty that thrills me with wonder, It’s the stillness that fills me with peace.

[@WolfRamAndHart]

@@RadioJosiah Thanks! I had no idea before it came from an awesome poem. I guess the writer of the episode was a fan.

[@JonathanEzor]

I didn't really remember watching this episode at all. Thanks for the well-considered analysis.

[@RadioJosiah]

I think you gave a fair appraisal. It isn't going onto any top ten lists for the series, but it's an early standout. It's not hard to spot ways it could have been better, but it has some memorable moments. I think I liked it mainly for the eerie unsettling mood that was created in all the quiet, on the Yamato especially.

[@vinnyscaramuzzino8088]

Your review is excellent. I definitely agree that there is some clunkiness to the episode. With that being said, the atmosphere and unknown horror element has always made this one a guilty pleasure of mine. Ive gotten a lot of negativity for my enjoyment of this episode onlibe over the years, so its nice to find someone else giving it a thoroughly honest look.

[@air1fire]

Love the new thumbnails ❤

[@RadioJosiah]

Hey! I liked Manhunt. I think it's one of the first episodes of TNG that's genuinely funny. I love watching Picard squirm.

[@Jifuryu]

Even as a kid, I found it strange that Nagilum would react as if men were standard or normal and that women were odd or exceptional. It really illustrated the point of view of the writer.

[@keit99]

I assumed that was down to the numbers. (I don't think starfleet would have 50:50 female/male ratio (speaking purely biologically here) ) So maybe this nygilium would have reacted the exact opposite if the Crew was predominantly female.

[@keiththorpe9571]

It wasn't one of my favorites, by any means. However, your points are well taken, and I agree with them. It certainly demonstrated how far the creative elements of the show were coming into their own, still taking cues from TOS, but finding their own feet as well and stepping out from beneath the shadow of OG Star Trek. The writers had their own stories to tell, their own themes to explore, and their own points to make. Also, it was a harrowing predicament to find themselves in: The Enterprise trapped in a seemingly endless void, unable to escape, unable to defend itself, at the mercy of an entity which had no regard for them at all and could just as easily have kept the Enterprise trapped until it blew itself to pieces, killing all aboard. I've often wondered why did Nagelum (spelling?) release them? Presumably, the destruction of the ship didn't threaten it in any way. Obviously, plot armor was protecting everyone (Paramount hadn't cancelled the show, anyway, so there's that), but by the logic of the universe in which the show takes place, it's just another mystery...In a mysterious universe.

[@-Blackberry]

Feels like an episode of the older era of TNG done right, evocative of an TOS episode.

[@Jifuryu]

What if they never really got out? What if the rest of the series, and even the movies and Star Trek Picard are just Nagilum's experiment?

[@kaitlyn__L]

I was going to say nice things about Manhunt, assuming it was the one where that super-soldier had been imprisoned due to being a super-soldier. Since most of the action takes place on the ship. Turns it out's the one with Lwaxana and those fish people. Welp. I definitely agree about the eerie moments getting it right but the rest being perfunctory. I quite like the way they shot the not-Yamato scenes all disorienting-like, though the actual events aren't that interesting. The delivery on "I want to study all kinds of dying" is still pretty chilling. Also, the nitpicking Trek nerd of yore used to point out that TOS had an episode with a "hole in space", so why did Data say they'd never seen anything like it? Yeah, like that's the biggest writing issue with the episode. Given Meyer script-doctored TWOK, and it already felt somewhat episodic, I wonder how perfunctory this guy's version of the script first read like. (Also the final film was a hodgepodge of many others' story submissions, so who knows exactly which aspects he contributed to the end result. Enough to get union credit anyway.)

[@BintyMcFrazzles]

I like this episode, and is my list of top episodes of S2. Just an enjoyable sci-fi story.

[@agent_meister477]

Nagilum is Q on a really bad day.

[@eriks2962]

I've always thought of Negilum as god-like space cat.

[@richardryley3660]

I liked the callback to the original pilot of TOS, where the Talosians discovered, with increasing horror, that humans hate captivity so much that they will kill themselves rather than endure it. That always seemed a little egotistical to me, particularly the implication that NO other life form in the universe is that suicidal. On the other hand, it is true that we get bored incredibly easily. We always seem to be driven to explore, to satisfy our curiosity, and frustrating that desire can cause depression. I've heard a theory that there's something in our brains that keeps us from bring able to relax. It's an itch in our brain that keeps us always thinking and never goes away.

[@Googerstein]

Thanks!

[@barkboingfloom]

I've always thought this was one of the WORST alien designs ever on Trek. I can do this this same effect in the bathroom mirror after a shower. Just clear out the condensation around the eyes and mouth and look, I'm Nagilum! 😆

[@saintofselhurst]

I wonder if Steve will do a playlist of Klingon or Romulan episodes across Star Trek. There are some amazing episodes across all of Trek.

[@euansmith3699]

For some reason, Nagilum reminds me of Tarka Dal and Bhindi Bhaji from Red Dwarf.

[@Titamiva]

Throuhout the entire first season Picard was quite trigger happy with the self-destruct.

[@simonmoody8400]

On the downside, Nagilum slots into the ranks of the many 'godlike' powered aliens Trek runs into - Apollo, Trelane, Kevin Uxbridge, Q, Flint and so on that I regard with wearyness. On the other hand, Naglium has always given me the creeps. There is just something about him/it that works. It comes across as exactly what it's intended to, it's not corny or a joke..kind of like Trelane especially falls into. When Nagilum is toying with people, it's not doing it to prove a point, to threaten them or because it's lonely, it's doing it for utterly pityless curiosity, and that is a very hard motivation to push back on, or sympathise with, but we can semi understand where it's coming from. And that, I think, is powerful. The others are lonely, petty, whimsical even. Nagilum is scary and creepy and represents an 'alien' morality much more than the others. (I had thought that Nagilum might be the 'larger' enemy in Picard season 3 after watching the episode where Jack is getting the strange/creepy visions, I knew it was highly unlikely I was right, but that creepy vibe just hit me and reminded me of the same feeling with old Space Face, that is how much this entity has quietly stuck with me all these years).

[@rachel_rexxx]

Some of the lines dropped in this analysis gave me a full on a belly laugh

[@letosgoldenpath1993]

Interesting fact, and only because I cannot see it below in the comments, it was written by Jack B. Sowards. Best known also for writing the screenplay to Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.

[@davidpumpkinsjr.5108]

I think this was the first TNG episode i ever saw, long before i really got into Trek.

[@Borgcow]

Thanks Steve

[@huttone]

excellent as usual...

[@PrecambrianLullaby]

hey steve, which episode i it where the enterprise is taken ove and he crew sneakily get her back? cuz' you should reveiw that one.

[@trash-heap3989]

I find this episode kind of a sister episode to the one with the two scientists who callously experiment on the Enterprise crew, except this one is less satisfying since Nageelum is left alone to kill god knows who else to satisfy his curiosity, no warnings left behind by Picard to warn others, just leaving the way too bored sapient nebula to it's devices.

[@MarekMoowi]

I remember after watching this episode I was angry at Picard he didn't ask Negellum about Q and Q Continuum. I bet he doesn't like them :D

[@jacebales2951]

Remember when there was a (apparently?) serious fan theory going around online during Picard Season 3 that the 'Skeletor' hologram was going to somehow be the big bad of the season? Anyway, I love this episode in all its goofy/creepy retro glory. I hope everyone else does indeed agree wholeheartedly. It feels like a TOS episode, like most of TNG season 1 and 2.

[@miguelvelez7221]

What? I have to hear what the line of thinking was.

[@mrgreatbigmoose]

Early TNG was bogged down with the need to be syndicated...they had to chug out episodes at soap opera pacing to hit the magic number for syndication to pay for the show. Once they could catch their breath the show vastly improved. This wasn't a bad episode but it wasn't a great one either. But it did tick the box for comments on the human condition, which is really what Trek is all about.

[@Saiyanprince1114]

I don't feel like being selfish and valuing loyalty is a contradiction. We ARE inherently selfish, and being able to put that inherent selfishness aside for the sake of another is a trait worth valuing.

[@nealjroberts4050]

I always wondered if Haskill was another phantom of Nagillum (if we ignore the Doylist interpretation)

[@windgraceproject]

Color me embarrassed. Here I thought 'Bottle" episodes were going to be about all the times a Star Trek character confusedly pondered a bottle of unknown liquor and declared "It's Green!"

[@Oonagh72]

I liked that Negellum didn’t become sympathetic. He was just an asshole. He mirrors a lot of the fuck shit that Starfleet has done.

[@earmixon]

Is "Remember Me" named after one of the Roddenberry written lyrics to the TOS theme?

[@kariannecrysler640]

Steer clear of any holes 🤣

[@jeremy1860]

I've never really been into the deep lore or out-of-TV canon of this franchise, but did these aliens ever make a second appearance? 🤔

[@RezValla]

Nope.

[@weightlifting_socialist]

And we don't know 100% or 1000% that they ever left the void....., that could mean the whole show and movies and even Picard took place in this void! That would be a great explanation for Picard season 2. Some would say the same for season 3 since it was so fan happy on memories and being bland besides the cast getting back together and some good things about it. It was better than season 2 at least.

[@GrannyGamer1]

I've watched daily Star Trek reruns on afternoon TV for about fifty years. This the only episode I hahd never seen and I don't know why...Couple of years ago, a KZbin channel was talking about it so i looked it up. I have no clue....

[@mertalrooth01]

One of the most upsetting episodes of my childhood.>

[@saltythebear]

Never forget everyone, you can move out at the end date on your lease no matter what threats your landlord gives you.

[@DrewLSsix]

When certain fans decided that Picard season 3 assassinated the TNG crews character because they accepted the near certainty of their deaths, I immediately thought of this episode. There's other similar episodes, points where a character or many characters have to face the fact that they are almost certainly doomed. It's almost like these people are making bad faith arguments about a franchise they don't know half as well as they think they do.....

[@redemption2]

What do you think Nagilum is? Granted this is after the fact, but he seems like a separatist Pa Wraith, a scientist learning about linear existence in his own way.

[@JasonWickham-k2z]

Here's an entertaining mindf**k exercise for you: Everything in the entire Star Trek franchise involving the Enterprise D and its crew, after this episode, is actually nothing more than an illusion created by Nagilum. Even though, yes, he thinks they suck, he still thinks they're interesting enough to observe and doesn't want the crew to know that they're being observed. Everything in the Next Gen films? Happened in Nagilum's cloud. Everything in the new Picard series? Happened in Nagilum's cloud. Mu-ha-ha-Ha-HA!!!!!!

[@DonDueed]

I forget... did the destruct timer stop on 007?

[@firefly4f4]

Is it too late to make "Shades of Grey" the 50th episode of this review series? ... I'll go stand in the corner and think about what I've done.

[@StevenJQuinlan]

I always felt there was something feline in the design of Nagilum, which is fair because like cats, Nagilum is an asshole who only stops playing when Picard takes away his toys.