“Contagion”

This was fun, not as much as with "The Measure of a Man", but still. I liked the last third the most, and it's actually the only part I remember off-hand.

I can cut them some slack when it comes to computer technicalities, since the mainstream PC market was fairly recent back then and I don't think the idea of a backup was so "natural" for the audience. Of course, I'm guessing from stuff I've read and what I can make out of that period, since I was just a few years old back then.

Even in the late 90s (When I got into Pcs) backups weren't that common because big hard drives were a luxury.

Anyway, one last thing regarding "Contagion". On my comment of S1's finale I said the Romulans wouldn't appear until S3, but I seem to have forgotten this particular episode. Even then, they weren't central to the plot here, so maybe that's why I didn't recall them to begin with.

I second Jammer's opinion on this one, a solid 3 star show. Very entertaining. As always some plot holes. The shuttles on both sides didn't incur damage, right (they didn't download anything)? So send them out and when the opposing shields of the enemy shields drop, fire! Simple.

I always like seeing other Federations ships, it makes the universe seem more real. It's a real stretch to say that Captain Picard knows EVERYONE in Starfleet though (Kirk had the same trait).

The Iconian gate was also a rather cool technology, too bad it had to be destroyed. It would be fantastic tech for civilians ("Hey going to visit Aunt Mary, will go through Iconian gate to Betazed."). It seems a bit odd though how the neutral zone border would be established between the Federation and Romulans without at least one side completely exploring the intervening worlds, what if you blocked off a world full of resources?

Anyways, I never skip this episode when watching TNG so I think that says something.

Jammer's description of this episode as "solid" is just right.

I think it's a good Picard show -- part of the way season two is expanding the character to show different modes. The first use of "Tea, earl grey, hot," the first reference to a love of archaeology, the first time Picard truly leads an away team (rather than being forced into beaming into a tough situation for negotiations); he gets a speech to Wesley about the nature of how to contend with death within a command structure, a chance to geek out over the discovery of the truth behind a myth, and to be the badass self-sacrificing hero at the end, destroying what could be used by the Romulans at great risk to himself and winding up on the Romulan bridge. It is not a *great* Picard episode -- the personal stakes are too low, despite the potential of loss of life. We do get to see Picard making a dangerous choice -- to go further into the Neutral Zone! -- and perhaps a more difficult choice, of destroying everything that remains of an extinct, conquered people people to prevent it falling into enemy hands, but it's a bit a shame we didn't get more chance to spend on those choices, especially the latter.

As the first encounter with the Romulans, I like how this plays out the dynamic we will often see in TNG -- both sides are equally wary of conflict but nearly equally ready to go toe-to-toe; Picard may be the cooler head (usually) but Varley doesn't seem to be as conscientious as he could be. Taris, as played by Carolyn "Toreth from 'Face of the Enemy'" Seymour, straddles the line well enough that we don't know where she stands for most of the episode, until we realize that the Romulans are as out of luck as the Enterprise is. Of course, the Enterprise crew are the ones awesome enough to solve the problem, not the Romulan warbird's crew; it's not truly a show where both sides are meant to be equally virtuous/talented, and we are meant to see our heroes as better in most ways. I still think that for a minor role Taris comes across well. It's easy to mock TNG's kind-spiritedness, but I find the fact that the last shot of the episode communicated that the Romulan warbird was probably making it out all right (powering back on and moving away) -- the generosity of spirit to make clear that the 'enemies' through most of the episode are probably okay is something that I do appreciate about this show.

In addition to the plot problem with the computer that Jammer mentioned, I balk at Picard's logic that they should stick around in the Neutral Zone until Geordi fixes a possible design flaw in the Enterprise to save them from the same fate as the Yamato. Um, no -- if it's a design flaw there is no reason that the two ships would destruct within days of each other, and the Romulans are a bigger threat. Perhaps Picard (on some level) knew that he wouldn't be able to leave the prospect of finding Iconia alone and was reaching.

The episode also gives good material to Riker in command, Geordi a big chance to save the day, some humour and pathos, some real mystery within the Iconian control room. The plot holes don't bother me all that much. What holds the episode back is some kind of deeper meaning or higher stakes -- the tech stuff is more interesting than it could be, but is not really novel enough to be thrilling, and while there are lots of nice bits of characterization and some good musings from Picard, it doesn't quite cohere. 3 stars.

*first REAL encounter with the Romulans on this show -- "The Neutral Zone" and the illusion in "Where Silence Has Lease" hardly count.

Oooh yes this! I don't think it's an incredibly brilliant episode or anything, but very fun, well-put-together, with some nice mystery, characterization, especially regarding Picard's archeology hobby and level-headed but attentive approach to problems, and thought-provoking plot elements. Also, I remember when I saw this when I was little, I found the scene of Data having an android-stroke from the probe's attack to be very convincingly androidish, effective and worry-inducing, so nice job of keeping my little self engaged!

My favourite part is when the Iconian portal cycles through the various "alien" worlds, you can see one of the stops is Toronto's City Hall! Too bad Picard didn't end up there. Would love to see how Starfleet would deal with a weird alien race like us Canadians!

Two things of note:

1) The Romulan Warbird appears twice in the 2nd season: as a mirage from Nagilum in Where Silence Has Lease and as the potential adversaries here. In neither case are they an actual threat nor the point of the episode. After simply saying they're back at the end of season 1, it is almost a pity that this is all we get. But only almost. I suppose it might have been upsetting if watching these episodes once a week; where's the payoff? Are the Romulans just as much of a overhyped pathetic villain as the Ferengi? Fortunately, looking back on it now, we know the payoff in season 3 and 4. So seeing the Enterprise crew react as if the threat were real, immediate, and dangerous each of the three times (including the Neutral Zone) just makes the final payoff when they are the focus of the episode that much better.

2) The Enterprise finds itself facing a dangerous adversary while orbiting a planet from a long-lost civilization, before finding itself unable to defend itself. Fortunately, the enemy ship also faces the same problems. An away team beams to the surface to try to solve the problem before time runs out on the ship. Fortunately, they do, and save not only themselves but also the enemy ship. Now, was I just describing Contagion or The Last Outpost from the first season?

Normally I'd complain about rehashing a plot so quickly, but not this time. The Last Outpost was not a good episode, this one is. More importantly, while its similar on the surface, the details are quite different. Last Outpost focused on the Ferengi and mostly ignored the ancient civilization, this one is opposite.

On the whole, this was a very good episode. Plenty of great moments, both dramatic and humorous. Each character's moment in the sun was pretty good, except perhaps Geordi's turbolift adventure and Wesley bugging Picard. But Pulaski's short frustrated sickbay scene, Riker on the bridge dealing with the Romulans and the malfunctions, Data's malfunction and death, and even Troi were interesting. Good pacing too, despite lots of different things going on (Yamato's destruction, Enterprise malfunctioning, Romulan threat, and learning of Iconia). I was thoroughly engaged the entire time. Really, I just have to echo what everyone else said. It's a solid, fun episode.

I also won't fault the episode for having the simple "reboot" solution. This was the 80s, not everyone had a PC and no one knew much about computer viruses.

The Romulan commander is the same actress who plays the commander on Face of the Enemy, although with a different fictional name...

Ah, sorry, I see William B had already mentioned that.

Another thing though, it's one of the few times we hear Romulan spoken (the countdown on their ship).

I do love how Seymour does Romulans though...

Seymour showed up on Voyager in Janeway's excruciating "gothic" holonovel, and before that was Mirasta Yale in "First Contact" (probably her most memorable Trek appearance aside from "Face of the Enemy"). It's too bad she never had a recurring role, as she played an arrogant Romulan commander as well as a starry-eyed space scientist or an unhinged 19th century governess.

What a coincidence that the gateway just happened to have a door to the Enterprise and one to the Romulan ship. Was there any logical reason for this or are we just supposed to suspend our disbelief? Because that's a little too much disbelief for me. Very solid episode otherwise though.

I'd say it's more bizarre that one of the destinations is Nathan Phillips Square - I suppose the Iconians were thinking ahead and wanted to get a photo with Rob Ford?

As for the doors to each of the only two ships in orbit of the planet... I'd say the reasons are pretty self-explanatory.

Permit me to explain anyway, Josh, because an idea just occurred that almost makes up for the primitive take on cybersecurity.

The destination options are the equivalent of a predictive search, with the gateway cycling through the most likely requests, given the limited input for context. We see this every day with autocomplete, but it was virtually unthinkable 25 years ago.

This may explain the other oddity. Picard didn't tell the gateway where he wanted to go, but we can imagine he began typing "To return to Enterprise" and his autocomplete answers were "To Romulan vessel" and "Toronto." :)

Where would the dust come from if there's nobody to shed skin on stuff?

"Tea. Earl Gery. Hot." I'm pretty sure this is the first episode with this line.

Definitely a solid episode, and combined with The Measure of a Man and Matter of Honor, Season 2 at this point is starting to turn a corner with original, solid storytelling... I like bringing the Romulans into this plot, and the pace was just right. Yeah, the "reboot" solution was a bit simplistic, but whatever. 3.5 stars for me.

A decent enough episode, but not one containing many standout moments - that the first "Tea. Earl Grey. Hot." is a highlight reflects that.

However, it's a well paced and well constructed story, it's always good to see the Romulans back, and Geordi's turbolift adventure gives us a physical performance that's highly unusual for the series. We do barely get enough time to mourn Data's 'death' before he is resurrected, but he does still get the best line - "that is not a manual override". 2.5 stars.

I find this one a yawn. Just not enough good about it. But what I find almost laughable is the blatant use of the pylons from Land of the Lost. The Iconian control room is just like the inside of a pylon, even to the colorful control table and the changing views of places to go from there.

Now I'll just go away singing, "Picard, Worf, and Data, on a routine expedition. . . "

Boring. Great cold open with the sister ship exploding, but what follows this intriguing setup feels over-plotted and uneventful to me. All of the computer tech here feels very much like a reflection of the late 1980s, with the solution to the computer virus being something a current-day IT department would laugh at. ("Well, sir, we understand you're frustrated, but did you try to reboot it yet?") Anyway, nothing in the excessive tech descriptions or the legendary planet itself (a cheap one-room set with glowing orb that looks like a downgrade from a similar room in "Spock's Brain" decades earlier) is particularly engaging, and the mind wanders easily during most of this story. This one, like many of TNG's computer-related stories in the pre-internet era, hasn't dated well at all. I give it 2 out of 4 stars.

Saw this one recently,

@Trek fan

While the solution is simple, the show makes it out to be something so simple you'd never even think to try it. The show also makes a point that the ship is very sophisticated, and that "a simple reboot" isn't something you can do without majorly crippling the ship (which at the time was engaged with a Romulan threat).

Otherwise, very enjoyable episode. It as all the classic moments like Picard leading an away team and La Forge finding the solution to the ship's current space wedgie. I also think the gateways are an awesome concept, which was later used in DS9's "To The Death".

3 stars seems fair, though I might nudge this to 3.5 because this episode qualifies as "must-see" TNG.

I had occasion to speak with Packard Bell tech support a few times in the early-mid 90's, and their solution to everything was "format and reinstall." They'd have knocked this one out of the park! Hope you kept all those recovery disks, Geordi.

Recently re-watched and I'd have to nudge it to 3.5 also. This is a very efficient episode with no fat on the bone at all. It goes quickly yet crams a whole lot of great things in.
Jammers complaint about the Yamato - that they should have been able to figure out the same solution forgets that unlike either the Enterprise or the Romulan ship it was fully scanned by the actual probe and had a much smaller window to fix things. Not to mention no Data to spur the solution.

Infecting another civilisation's systems with a computer virus.
This was clearly such a great idea that it emerged in Independence Day a few years later.
To our mobile phone, laptop,tablet savvy eyes the computer stuff in this episode seems risible but we can forgive that.
Unfortunately there is nothing original in this fifty minutes-a bit of the great Krell machine from Forbidden Planet here, yetb another civilisation that had been virtually erased there ( also Forbidden Planet) and a daft premise that relies on a maverick Captain acting entirely on his own mission breaching starfleet directives because he knows he is right-actually two Captains doing just that.

1.5 stars

"Contagion" is a solid episode - good pacing, enough tension and until the "reboot", it wasn't clear how the Enterprise would solve the problem. The interaction with the Romulans was effective and they seem, so far, as credible adversaries. Picard beaming aboard the Romulan ship was an unexpected twist at the end. The episode also started out with a bang - compelling from the start.
I would agree with those who say that the "reboot" solution should have been obvious and that this episode has gotten dated given when it was made and how computer viruses are dealt with etc. But that's not a flaw on this episode - it's a function of what year it is that we're watching it.
Plenty of good scenes - I liked the one with Pulaski talking about the splint, as well as Riker going toe-to-toe with the Romulan captain as both their ships go on the fritz.
Some good background development for Picard who is a very interesting character.
Enjoyed this one - a good, solid episode, however nothing groundbreaking or extraordinary to go beyond 3 stars out of 4.

I'm in the middle of watching Contagion--the scene with Pulaski losing her cool followed by her laughable I know you've never heard of it but here's a three second description, now shut up and put a splint on him pronto. That followed up by the Data/Geordi scene--thanks for that timely insight Data! I can't stop laughing!!!

I have always enjoyed portals a la TOS City on the Edge of Forever and All Our Yesterdays.

The biggest thing that I didn't like about this one--and it was a HUGE flaw for me--was that even though this planet was supposedly way nearer the Romulans' side of the neutral zone they had never come or explored what were obviously ruins from a highly advanced culture. What are the chances that the Federation would discover it first?

2 1/2 stars

When Geordi is shocked by the control panel in engineering, and Data throws him back with enough force for Geordi to crumple to the ground, you see a noticeable "oh crap" expression on Data's face. I have to wonder if that was scripted/directed or if it was actually Brent Spiner reacting to LeVar Burton's "flight."

A couple good lines here ("Fate protects fools, small children, and ships named Enterprise!" and the Doc's lecture on leg splints), and a reasonably tense Romulan encounter.

Whilst the episode's "computer virus" and "reboot" tropes are now familiar, they would have been novel back in the 1980s. I can't think of any other filmed story released prior to this that recommends a reboot to fix a tech problem; Trek may have invented the cliche.

The Iconians feel like something out of TOS; Kirk was always stumbling across powerful, long-dead races. It's a nice vibe. The unintentional comedy of LaForge tossed around in a turbolift unfortunately sours a lot of this episode. And as William mentioned above, Picard should not have lingered in the Romulan Neutral Zone once he learnt of the Enterprise's problems.

Personally I felt this was yet another great episode. A quick personal flashback: years ago the scene with the Yamato exploding was one of the most unsettling things I remember from TNG. It is certainly not the most horrible thing to have appeared on tv but it is still intense. 1000 people dead due to a failure aboard a starship...

And Jammer, while I am by no mean a computer expert, as far as I understand these things a virusscanner can mostly protect against KNOWN threats and the Iconion virus ( was it even intended to be a virus?) was unknown to Starfleet.

Proper maintainance and security can prevent a lot but nothing is completely failsafe.

And yes, sometimes it did feel as though we were dealing with ill prepared morons during a Trek episode. Especially when whatever went wrong felt contrived by the writers just to set the story in motion.

typo: means

"Data that was foolish ." said picard .
He could have said the same thing about himself . His reason for staying in the neutral zone made no sense. The Yamata did not start malfunctioning until it was in the neutral zone. It blew up while stationary in the neutral zone. If the Enterprise was infected with the same problem, leaving the neutral zone and putting distance between them and hostile Romulans would be the logical thing to do. Sitting there would not stop them from blowing up, but it increased the danger of them getting blown up before they could possibly find solution.

Wow William B and I had the same criticsm. My IQ must be increasing !

As someone who actually watched the episode when it first aired, I can tell you that "restore and reboot" was a well known concept at the time, which is why I was annoyed that it's treated like a revolutionary concept.

I

There is a difference, though, between doing that to one computer and doing it to the entire systems of a spaceship all at once, while in a danger zone.

3 stars

TNG was the best at capturing the real sense of the wonder of space exploration. This episode is a good example of that with the ancient Iconian civilization and their unique technology. TNG was also really good at sci fi action adventure too

The episode was also effective with its unfolding mystery of what happened to the Yamato and supplied appropriate scenes such as the intriguing
wesley and Picard scene talking about ancient civilization appearing out of thin air on distant planets
And coping with of the loss of all the Yamato lives

The episode also had some pretty good tension with the Crew sitting on a ticking time bomb with the genuine feel the ship could have a fatal malfunction at any moment with all the lights going on and off, shields not wanting to activate, tirnolofts going crazy etc. a highlight was Geordi’s Race to the bridge to warn of the danger the probe presented if not destroyed

8/10 a solid 8.

I enjoyed this from start to end. Even Troi was given better lines/duties.

In the Trek world they have no data security so bad programs are downloaded all the time. I guess I cannot fault this plot device. I like the mystery of the Iconians and that they have perhaps escaped their planet via the gateway. Indiana Jones meets Star Trek.

Maybe I will leave a longer review later.

I just couldn't "Engage."

Solid? Sure. Solid like a potato. I found it dull and it was hard to pay attention throughout.

There was some good Picard character development, and there were some good moments.

Some advancement of the season long exploration of what's Life, what's Death, what does it mean to be alive - as Computer gets sick and just isn't herself. An infected Data helps Dr Geordi find the answer that works for his cousin, Computer.

Picard gets a bit of a reset himself.

Not bad, but just dull.

The writers were still being sloppy about who controlled what at this point, as Riker barked at Wesley about raising the shields when such a command is not available on the navigation panel.

Just a quick hello. Got to thinking about this site and my ST watching on indefinite hold as I deal with working from home, and trying to be a kindergarten teacher at the same time -with my little one at home, now - she hasn't been back to school for . . . has it been one trip around the sun yet? :)

I am well and determined to get back to watching ST, on the flip side of this apocalypse.

I take a quick look at the Picard comments when I get a chance. Intriguing!

Live long and prosper.

I feel like this could have been a movie. It went way too fast!

Can't even get through the teaser without bursting into song, because this is the episode where the Enterprise runs into "uchuu senkan Ya---ma---to!!!"

Very briefly.

I had to back this up and listen twice, but Commander Maddox is given a mention here! When Data is "dying" Geordi wishes he could get help from Maddox.

I can't believe I never noticed that before.

So that's three callbacks on TNG (Measure of a Man, Data's Day and here), and the MacGuffin plot with Maddox on ST:Picard. Not bad for what would normally be a one off character in a show that doesn't do a ton of continuity. I'm noticing a lot more nods to continuity snuck in here and there on this rewatch.

Also noted for the first time: when it seems the Romulans were about to destroy the Enterprise (in a truly tense moment), Troi grabs Riker's hand. After they realize they aren't dead, Riker throws her a questioning glance.

For all the "lol they didn't even think to just reboot" stuff, the dialogue seems to indicate that what they did would be more comparable to a system restore or even a factory reset. So that makes it a little more reasonable that it wasn't the first thing they wanted to try.

"For all the "lol they didn't even think to just reboot" stuff, the dialogue seems to indicate that what they did would be more comparable to a system restore or even a factory reset. So that makes it a little more reasonable that it wasn't the first thing they wanted to try."

Given the alternative of *death* I'd expect that they wouldn't be too concerned about losing some data and app settings and would just do the factory reset.

@ Jason R.,

Perhaps the issue was managing risk. In the first place they were in a dangerous area of space, and shutting down the Enterprise entirely might have been considered a dangerous option at best. But also there's the issue of what the actual cause is of the system disruptions. If it *wasn't* a software problem but in fact a hardware problem they hadn't yet identified, shutting down the ship's systems might compound the problem rather than fix it.

I suppose there's a narrative reason why they would resist a factory reset, which is that in a way shutting down altogether would sort of be like admitting the Galaxy Class experiment was flawed in some way. The pride of wanting to fix the problem without the Enterprise computer itself being the problem may have gotten in the way of clear thinking. After all, we did just see a facsimile of the Enterprise blow up, which was essentially the first part of a trilogy of shocking Galaxy-Class disasters: Contagion, Cause and Effect, and finally The Jem'Hadar. Insofar as the visual was meant to be destabilizing, perhaps the notion of shutting down the ship's computer might have felt like almost giving in to the image of the Enterprise moving toward demise.

@Peter G. Anyway bottom line even in the 1980s the factory reset was a pretty darned obvious solution. In fact why would their computer even have a "protected archive" if not for this exact scenario?

But I will add that I understand Picard's reticence. It's a bitch to have to remember all your passwords once auto login data has been wiped.

Have You Tried Turning It Off And On Again?

https://youtu.be/nn2FB1P_Mn8

Rewatching Star Trek the next generation - again lol.

I don't understand why Counselor Troi is so hard to write for. Her telling the captain it would be prudent to withdraw seems like something maybe the first officer would say if it needed to be said...maybe I'm the only one bothered by that...

In a lot of ways, this became the prototype for what TNG would become. I think, for me, this is the first episode that is not merely good, but "Good TNG."

You notice that Troi is looking a lot more normal? I noticed it too. This is more the look we came to know Troi in, and her dialogue here is a bit better than before, even if still not terribly critical. There isn't any Counselor Obvious moment in this one, let's put it that way.

In addition, there are just enough plot threads running through the episode, and its pacing is pitch perfect such that they all get adequate screen time and exploration.

And that's really the key word here, this episode is a dynamic and acutely sharp take on the "Space Exploration + Sciencey Space Stuff" Subgenre of Trek Episodes that we all love so much.

Trek is always at its best, when it is just being Trek. The Cage wasn't "too cerebral," studio heads were "too uncerebral." And the early 70s syndication run of Trek proves it, not to put too fine a point on it.

Jammer said:

"What doesn't hold up is the plot advancement surrounding the computer virus and the Enterprise's solution, which is to essentially wipe the affected hard drives and restore them from backup. In a word: Duh. Shouldn't that have been the first course of action? And doesn't the Enterprise computer have virus-protection software? I also find it doubtful that the Yamato crew wouldn't be able to figure out what was going on when they had just as much information as the Enterprise crew. But I quibble on a basically solid show."

That wasn't what I got from the Staff Meeting scene where Geordi first reports on the Probe.

It wasn't a "virus," I don't think they used that way of describing it. They just call it a "program." From what I am gathering, this "program" is trying to install itself on the Enterprise Computer, as it installed itself on the Yamato Computer. But the two computer systems are absolutely incompatible with each other, was the problem. The Iconians destroyed their own civilization 200,000 years ago, according to Data's sensor sweeps of the planet, but they had technology that was super hot dog submarine sandwich hot air baloon holy crap advanced, compared with 24th Century Federation Tech.

To use an analogy that modern Windows Users would understand, it began trying to rewrite the Enterprise's Protected System Files to be compatible with it, in a futile attempt to install itself.

Basically, this process was never going to work, but it's just a program; programs do not know what they're doing, they are only sets of instructions.

But this is all just a really roundabout way of saying, the Iconian Program was not a virus. It might well have been a video message that explained what happened to them, or a dynamic recompilation protocol that would allow people to communicate with the Iconians, back when they saw visitors. It could be a recipe for hasperat for all we know.

“Have you tried turning it off and back on again?”

LMAO. The references to mainframes and resetting systems was so... 1970s! I did my computer training in 1985 and we used a mini-computer; at the time of transmission of this episode, the Apple 2 sales were already fading, the Mac was a few years old, Windows 3 was imminent, Sun workstations were established, and (if I remember correctly) Oracle client/server database systems were “a thing”. But perhaps I’m being unfair - mainframes were still widely used by big companies, though the TNG producers and writers should surely have realised the digital revolution was already under way, and come up with a computer system for the 24th century that was sophisticated and miniaturised? Oh well...

However, it was an exciting episode despite some obvious flaws:

1. The Enterprise had just witnessed the destruction of the Yamato, yet Picard’s first response was to cross the Neutral Zone and visit the source of the contagion, even though the Enterprise systems had already begun to fail?

2. With the sudden loss of an entire starship and its hundreds of crew members, why didn’t Picard separate the saucer section and have it leave the NZ while the rest of the ship investigated?

Nitpicks out of the way, I did enjoy the episode, especially the concept of gateways to other worlds, and Data’s decipherment of the Iconian language. It was also good to see Wesley express his need for grief over the loss of 00’s of lives, and his (and our) surprise that the bridge crew could “just carry on as normal”. Finally, good to see the Romulans again, featured prominently in an episode, and experiencing the same problems as the Enterprise.

One of the great lines from Riker: “Fate... protects fools, children, and ships named Enterprise”.

I think 3 stars is fair, though for sheer enjoyment, perhaps a shade higher?

@Mal

You beat me to it! That was also my first thought but I always avoid reading other comments until I‘ve written my own.

Revised lines from the Blazing Saddles version of Contagion:

DATA: "...if I step through and investigate, we could determine whether this is truly a gateway."

PICARD: "No Data. You might not be able to get back and I can't risk losing you. Mr. Worf. You step through."

This is a good episode. The Iconian Gate idea is really cool. I like the scene where Pulaski explains the splint. I also chuckled when Data asked if he could help at the end.

This is a tough episode for Geordi. In maybe the episodes most ridiculous scene, he gets tossed around on the turbolift abd gets jettisoned out of the lift and rolls onto the bridge. Not long after he gets electrocuted, than thrown across engineering by Data. That leads to another funny Data one liner "evidence that our actions have random consequences".

I hope that's not a stutter.

Sooo, the way to stop a Romulan auto-destruct sequence is to ... shut it off?

Overall, I liked the episode. My only thought which I don’t think has yet been covered is: you blow up the Iconian facility in the Neutral Zone and leave the Romulan ship to an uncertain fate? Are you trying to start a war? If that ship blows up, the Romulans are going to blame you, Picard!

Better to stay, beam out any crew you can last minute to corroborate your story if they can’t stop the auto destruct in time. And staying to offer assistance gives you an opportunity to initiate positive political discourse with an adversary if all goes well. Picard doesn’t usually make diplomatic errors like that, especially with chuckle saying, “Well, hope they don’t all die and us get blamed! Let’s go home!”