Star Trek: The Next Generation
"The Game"
Air date: 10/28/1991
Teleplay by Brannon Braga
Story by Susan Sackett & Fred Bronson and Brannon Braga
Directed by Corey Allen
Review by Jamahl Epsicokhan
Here's a competent but sometimes hokey little adventure yarn, in which the 24th-century equivalent of an uber-popular and hopelessly trivial cell phone game (an Internet video parody that substituted Angry Birds footage for the Disc-in-Cone game was on to something) becomes the avenue through which the Enterprise (and apparently all of Starfleet) nearly becomes the victim of an alien takeover plot. If only visiting Starfleet Academy cadet Wesley Crusher and his plucky love interest Ensign Robin Lefler (Ashley Judd) hadn't stood in their way!
The game at the center of "The Game" is something Riker brings back from Risa. It's really easy to win ("It practically plays itself," one brainwashed player says), and when you do, you are given a heroin-like high of a reward, leading you to become addicted and wanting more more more, I tell ya. Eventually, the game is playing you, because you are turned into a puppet of the Nameless Aliens' plot, and will do whatever they tell you to.
The problem I have with "The Game" is the same problem I have with many Wesley-oriented stories, and I'll phrase it in the form of a question: Why is it that everyone else aboard the Enterprise is so easily taken in by this ploy while Wesley friggin' Crusher is the only one to ask even a handful of simple questions and spend the three lousy minutes to hook the game up to the computer and run some simple tests to see if it's, y'know, potentially harmful? When the rest of the crew has to look incompetent in order to give Wesley a reason to save the day, I am forced to release a lengthy sigh. I also wasn't sure exactly what level of awareness the brainwashed crew members had while under the influence of Disc-in-Cone. They sure seem normal (except, of course, when they don't).
It's too bad, because if you grant the episode it's implausible premise, the story execution mostly works. Wesley and Robin work well together as clue-chasers and problems-solvers in the vintage TNG tradition, the story is nicely paced, and I enjoyed the way the walls slowly closed in on Wesley at the end (until ultimately, crew members are holding him down, prying open his eyelids, and forcing the game upon him). Wesley is saved by what I'd be tempted to call a "Data ex machina" if not for the fact that it's clearly established beforehand — by the ever-clever Wesley himself, of course.
Previous episode: Disaster
Next episode: Unification
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135 comments on this post
Fri, Apr 1, 2011, 11:51am (UTC -5)
Fri, Apr 1, 2011, 4:13pm (UTC -5)
The very one.
Tue, Apr 5, 2011, 12:06am (UTC -5)
Wed, Apr 6, 2011, 10:34am (UTC -5)
Thu, Apr 7, 2011, 3:18pm (UTC -5)
I find this description, funny, as it's almost like how some people eventually become, seeking out achievements in video games nowadays, continuously playing till they get that Bleep-Bloop. Jammer, I think you've uncovered Microsoft's secret plan! =P
Sat, Apr 23, 2011, 8:46am (UTC -5)
Sat, May 14, 2011, 8:03pm (UTC -5)
I remember being in geek love when I first saw this episode a long time ago.
Tue, Jul 5, 2011, 10:04am (UTC -5)
I do agree that Ashley Judd is super cute, which helps.
Wed, Aug 3, 2011, 10:56am (UTC -5)
Thu, Aug 4, 2011, 1:45pm (UTC -5)
And how likely is it that when confronted by what appears to be a simple game, a kid is going to take it apart to see how it works before even trying to play it first?
And is it my imagination or is Wesley equally adept in physics, engineering, and now apparently, advanced robotics too?!
Thu, Sep 8, 2011, 8:10pm (UTC -5)
This episode would have more credence with me if it WAS something like Heroin. Perhaps the episode is a veiled metaphor for the way druglords can control people with drugs, or perhaps not; but I'd have believed the episode a bit more if the plot device were anything that might plausibly affect Starfleet officers. To peolpe who play 3D chess because regular chess became to boring, I can't imagine anyone seeing the "rush" that people have while playing this game and not find it so odd as to hesitate in trying it for themselves.
I just can't get over the fact that everyone is acting so goofy and stupid and yet someone non-affected people are still convinced to try this game? If it's THAT addictive, why hasn't this race attempted to take over anything else with it? or was it just recently invented and the Enterprise was the first target?
Sun, Sep 25, 2011, 10:25pm (UTC -5)
Also...good catch from Vlad up above...how could Geordi play this game?
Tue, Sep 27, 2011, 4:32am (UTC -5)
Sun, Jan 22, 2012, 5:56pm (UTC -5)
Sat, Apr 28, 2012, 8:51pm (UTC -5)
However I agree that the Wesley-messiah factor is way too high in this episode, although Crusher does a fine job with it.
Sun, May 6, 2012, 6:53pm (UTC -5)
Speaking of, maybe Wesley resisted the game so long because he took to heart that lecture about drugs from "Symbiosis."
Thu, Jul 12, 2012, 1:36am (UTC -5)
Sun, Aug 19, 2012, 9:20pm (UTC -5)
Sun, Oct 28, 2012, 10:23pm (UTC -5)
Sun, Dec 16, 2012, 7:01pm (UTC -5)
The first officer goes to the galaxy's red light district and hooks up with some strange woman (although this appears to be normal behavior, from everything we've seen about Risa), and comes back a junkie. Wonder how he's still on everyone's short list for captain after that.
Sat, Jul 6, 2013, 7:52pm (UTC -5)
Wed, Jul 17, 2013, 7:05pm (UTC -5)
All this contrasts with Wesley and Robin's willingness to do and be enthusiastic about hard work, and their engagement in building an actual relationship with actual other people rather than with strangers on Risa or chocolate sundaes. How wholesome are these two? They are so wholesome that Robin turns down Wesley's suggestion that they go get *coffee* and suggests dinner instead -- okay, so that one is a stretch, but you see where I'm going with this. This would be sickening, except that Ashley Judd is the cutest person alive, and Wesley is still recognizably Wesley but just a bit more relaxed with himself. We also learn that the Leflers basically abandoned Robin to herself as a child, which reinforces my feeling that Lefler's 2nd law (and the theme of the episode) really should be "don't trust anyone over 30." Despite her veneer of cynicism, Robin shares with Wesley a playfulness and work ethic and even idealism that makes them a good match (and a surprisingly effective love story, considering that the last time they tried a Wesley romance was "The Dauphin"); the two represent the best of youth in this story, and while kids are usually the ones associated with getting hooked on video games, it makes (a tiny bit of) sense that it's the young who can look with fresh eyes when adults starts taking their cues from each other and lazily accept their own failures. And I keep coming back to that last scene, Wesley being held down and forced into a world he doesn't want, like this is some version of that Fleischer brothers cartoon "Bimbo's Initiation" where being an adult means passing through into a seedy, kind of disgusting conspiracy of an adult world where there are no rules anymore. If you think this is too far to take this episode -- and I'm not convinced it isn't -- try for a second to imagine Wesley in Riker's place on Risa in the first scene, and maybe you'll see what I mean. Because he got Data reactivated, Wesley mostly manages to get through this episode with his innocence in tact and restores the adults to their thinking selves; his real loss-of-innocence, dealt with in tragedy rather than this episode's dreamy horror-comedy, is later in this season.
So! This episode is probably terrible, and I groaned through many of the scenes. As with most Wesley-saves-the-day episodes, the crew has to be put down to push Wesley up; Geordi's playing a game when he should be working on bringing Data out of a permanent-coma is probably the most ridiculous individual bit of characterization, but generally the idea that no one on the whole ship was capable of asking the simple questions Wesley and Robin come up with means that the whole crew was basically put out of character. And if it's possible to take over the flagship's Federation with this device, why are these people not basically running the galaxy? And yet, there is something primally effective about the idea that the whole world has gone crazy and that only the youngest ones are able to see it. Were it not for Lefler, this would be nothing but a Mary Sue story, but as it is it's a Mary Sue story that also has something like resonance. The dialogue is sharp and the chase at the episode's end is really thrilling. It really only barely seems to be in the show's actual universe, anyway, with Riker, Troi, etc. playing mostly as distorted, id-driven versions of themselves even before they get hooked on the game. But if (a big if) you can accept all that, view it as a weird horror allegory in which only Wesley and Robin (and I suppose Data) are "real," it's actually kind of good. I don't quite, but I agree with Jammer's 2.5 star rating (though probably for different reasons).
Sat, Aug 17, 2013, 10:31am (UTC -5)
What baffles me is not that Wesley is so smart, we already knew that, it's that he automatically says, "Let's analyze the game!" Rather than just try one out. An all too convenient leap of logic.
Speaking of convenient, it was the captain of the alien ship that seduced Riker? I guess they saved money on making a costume for a different alien.
Coming right after the episode where Jordi gets reprogrammed the theme seems a little redundant.
Reminds me of the old story about monkeys with a device implanted in the pleasure center of their brain. They have two buttons, one gives them food the other gives them an orgasm. The monkeys starve to death. I hear this story over and over but I wonder if it is just a myth.
Mon, Oct 28, 2013, 9:37pm (UTC -5)
Wed, Nov 13, 2013, 1:45pm (UTC -5)
Mon, Jan 13, 2014, 3:15am (UTC -5)
On my scale of grading, which is A+ (The Best) to G-(The Worst), I gave "The Game" a "B." I thought it was very good, a highly underrated episode in my opinion.
On Jammers grading system I would give this episode a strong three stars out of four.
Fri, May 30, 2014, 5:38pm (UTC -5)
1) Clarke's theorem that any sufficiently advanced technology would seem like magic doesn't apply here. I don't care how sufficient it is, that game was magic. The Romulans spent a week with Geordi strapped to a chair, could only perform their brainwashing on him, and still needed a jolt of doodad rays every now and then to keep him in line. And even then, he only mostly acted normal when brainwashed. Yet, this game? One zap and you are perfectly brainwashed. You don't need to be told what to do, you don't need to be programmed. It works on any species instantaneously. And you act perfectly normal the entire time you are brainwashed. Very, very convenient. As others have said, how have they already not taken over the universe with this technology? And it can all be wiped away with a strobe light?
2) Even if you accept that (and admittedly, a few episodes later we get Conundrum, which I think does ok with such magical tech), the crew succumbing to the game so easily is rather contrived. OK, so Riker giving it to Troi made sense, as did Troi giving it to Bev. But then we see Bev creepily trying to push the game on her son in a scene that clearly show how wrong the game is. And we see Riker inappropriately pushing the game on LaForge after Data crashed. It's no wonder we don't see any attempt to get Picard or Worf into the game. Can you seriously imagine Worf getting addicted? The guy who's first instinct is to blow everything up? The guy who's reaction to going to a bar with his brother is to tell everyone to stop having fun? Yeah, I doubt a warrior would play Candy Crush. And Picard? The guy who refuses to go on vacation? The no-nonsense captain? Only Bev or Riker would have enough familiarity with him to suggest it, but does anyone really think the guy who loves Shakespeare and archaeology would play a simple game?
Given that, the episode (which is ok, as far as that goes) was hard to swallow.
Besides, there was another option that might have been fun to explore. It would admittedly eliminate any moral of the story regarding videogames or pleasures or whatever, but given how the story turned out it was basically a space whale aesop anyway. But anyways, why not replace the silly game concept with the silly bugs from Conspiracy? They are already established and set up for a sequel, why not do them instead? How about having Wesley come aboard while the bugs are halfway to taking over the ship? Wesley could come aboard, could hear from Robin that something is wrong, and then try to figure out what's going on and who hasn't been converted yet. Might have been a better story than what we have.
Besides, then the innuendo of Riker bringing back something from Risa would be even more funny with a parasite!
Wed, Jul 16, 2014, 3:21am (UTC -5)
I wouldn't even mind so much if that didn't turn all the other officers into brainless incompetents. Fine, let Wesley be awesome. But not at the expense of the other characters.
Come on, it wasn't even a common, innocuous looking game, it was a fishy device that evidently fiddled with your brain, through your eyes (?!). And also it came from an unknown alien. It's not only weird because we're talking about the crew of a starship - scratch that, the starship. They're f*cking human beings with brains, excuse the expression.
That's pretty much the basics of Mary Sueing. Then there are the people at the academy aparently liking Wesley, in spite of, if not actually because of, having served on the Enterprise per recommandation. And then the nth attempt of getting him a hot gf.
I don't like bashing on characters, I swear. But this episode really threw me off because of it, probably because it was enjoyable otherwise. A good storyline, as opposed to some of the rest of the season. It's also surprisingly, maybe increasingly, actual; I'm talking about the addiction to the game obviously. If only...
Tue, Sep 2, 2014, 10:13am (UTC -5)
Fri, Sep 26, 2014, 11:32pm (UTC -5)
What's ironic: All the older adults get addicted RIGHT AWAY, but two kids who are barely out of their teens DON'T? Uh huh.
Also also: Sure, Geordi can see, but how are they supposed to hook that game up to his VISOR-connecting implants? Even if he had his VISOR on, how would the game fit his head properly? And I get the impression that the game's "rays" go directly through the pupil to the brain. How is the VISOR supposed to pick up that information the same way? Also, if Geordi was able to "see" the game, would its data necessarily be formatted properly to look like saucers and cones? That's a few too many leaps for me.
I think this episode would have been a little bit better if Geordi had been incapacitated in sickbay from an "accident", only to be ironically revived once no one was keeping him sedated. Then maybe his VISOR is disabled, and he has to tell Wesley what to do, step by step. That would have been more plausible.
The good parts of this episode were: Wesley coming home and getting that surprise party; his conversation with Picard about the Academy and Boothby; and his "smooth" moves on Lefler (or should I say, her smooth moves on HIM, plus their goodbye at the end. Those were actually GOOD Wesley moments - good character development. But him as the Boy Wonder saving the day again - AGAIN? How cliche and dull. Except for his capture at the end - that was nicely done, very "A Clockwork Orange".
Fri, Sep 26, 2014, 11:35pm (UTC -5)
Fri, Oct 3, 2014, 6:33am (UTC -5)
And then Wesley, a total different story. Normal guys his age would like to be in bed with a cute sexy girl like Robin ASAP, but not Wesley. He wants to study some technical details with her.
Mon, Oct 13, 2014, 5:38pm (UTC -5)
Now watching this as 34 year old. . .. It's pretty flawed.
Mon, Jun 29, 2015, 3:00pm (UTC -5)
I know a lot of fans don't like Wesley and also don't like Wesley saves the ship. This episode in particular is robust and doesn't bother me.
Tue, Jun 30, 2015, 1:05pm (UTC -5)
Fri, Jul 31, 2015, 9:20pm (UTC -5)
We've got some work to do now.
Wesley Wesley Crusher, Where are you?
We need some help from you now.
Come on, Wesley Crusher, I see you
pretending you've got a game.
But you're not foolin' me, cause I can see
the way you fake that shiver.
You know we've got a mystery to solve so Wesley Crusher be ready for your act.
Don't hold back!
And Wesley Crusher if you come through you're gonna have yourself a Lefler Snack!
That's a fact!
Wesley Wesley Crusher, here are you.
You're ready and you're willing.
If we can count on you, Wesley Crusher,
I know we'll catch that villain!
---------------------------------------
Seriously folks, this is a "Scooby Doo" episode masquerading as a "Star Trek: The Next Generation" episode. It might as well of ended with an exchange like - "Why, it's Etana! The woman Riker was awkwardly frolicking with on Risa." "That's right! And I would have conquered the Federation if it wasn't for you meddling kids!"
Good grief, did we honestly need yet another "Wesley saves the day" episode? This time it's so bad that they literally have the entire rest of the crew brainwashed and villainous in order to make Wesley look good. Even the love interest character succumbs to the "make-Wesley-AWESOME!-at-everyone's-expense" cliche. I said it my comments on "Final Mission" and I'll say it again - "We get it, Wesley is awesome. But people, it is of paramount importance that as you feverishly fellate this character until he leaves a gland-shaped impression on your tonsils, you occasionally come up for god-damn air!"
I'm just going to skip over the technical problems with how the game works because, quite frankly, I don't care. Instead, I going to focus on something this episode does make me care about - why the hell is Robin Lefler interested in Wesley Freakin' Crusher?! Not only is she played by Ashley Judd (which means on a scale of 1 to 10 in the beauty department she's OVER FUCKING 9000!!!!!) but she's also warm, outgoing, intelligent, compassionate, self-less, etc. This woman is the catch of the millennium! And she's so interested in Wesley (who, by the way, has to be at least five years YOUNGER than her) that she's got friends at the Academy keeping tabs on him?! I just don't get it. I mean, for crying out loud, his idea of a first date is to show up late and then take her to a science lab to perform experiments on a new video game. But, hey, she's into it all, for some reason. I guess there's no accounting for taste. Where the hell can I find a woman like this?!
There are some intriguing moments on display here, but that's all they are - moments. They're moments like when we see Picard put on the game and when Data first emerges from the the turbolift (that is, before he starts with his strobe light nonsense). Okay, good attention grabbing moments, even if they only last for a few seconds. The problem is that what they're surrounded with is rather.... well.... boring. I was shocked when the first act ended and so little had actually happened. The only legitimately enjoyable part is the final chase through the Enterprise sequence. There is an true sense of suspense to it. But, I can honestly say the same thing about most "Scooby Doo" episodes. Other than that and those few, brief moments, "The Game" never really held my interest.
They should have left well-enough alone and kept Wesley off the show. *sigh*
4/10
Sat, Aug 1, 2015, 10:26pm (UTC -5)
Sat, Aug 15, 2015, 5:45pm (UTC -5)
What frustrates me most about this episode is that for once, a Wesley-saves-the-day plotline *could* have played out in a plausible way, based on the premise that if some addictive, brain-washing device/substance/activity were spreading on-board the Enterprise, it would be more noticeable and alarming to an outsider arriving suddenly than to those who had gradually grown accustomed. Furthermore, I felt that the "solution" to the brain-washing was actually well-handled; Wesley knew enough to analyze the problem and to repair Data, and Data handled the saving-the-day from there.
For me the problem was in the details of the addictive, brain-washing device/activity - "the game." Like some other commenters, I really don't understand how Picard was convinced to play, unless Riker, Troi, and Beverly pinned him down (in which case I wish we could have actually seen that scene...). Also, as Jay points out, "being one of the first few [to play] is understandable, but when, say, 50 people are walking around stoned, wouldn't person 51 be suspicious, to say nothing of Person 51?"
In short, if Etana had used a less moronic method of mind-control so that I could reasonably buy the whole crew falling for it, I would totally buy Wesley coming in as an outsider, recognizing a problem, repairing Data, and thus indirectly (!) saving the day.
Mon, Sep 21, 2015, 4:31pm (UTC -5)
The relationship between Wesley and Lefler is nicely played and credible enough, and there is an appropriately Invasion of the Body Snatchers type atmosphere as everyone else falls prey to the game. There is even some tension as the net closes in on Wesley. Data's hero entrance at the end is worthy of any highlights reel.
And if nothing else, the moment where Wesley walks in on his mother, um... pleasuring herself is an eye opener and not the sort of thing you see on TNG every day... 2.5 stars.
Mon, Nov 9, 2015, 8:57pm (UTC -5)
But in some ways, it's also reminiscent of TNG's first season, what with all the adults needing to act like dolts in order for Wesley to be able to save the day (I guess he came back just in time...)
Thu, Jan 28, 2016, 5:34pm (UTC -5)
Fri, Jun 10, 2016, 7:51pm (UTC -5)
Fri, Jun 10, 2016, 8:43pm (UTC -5)
But hey, sex fits with the whole craving and desire motif so if you want to read that way more Freudian power to you.
Wed, Jul 13, 2016, 12:29pm (UTC -5)
Sun, Jul 17, 2016, 2:57pm (UTC -5)
Google Glass too...
Sun, Jul 31, 2016, 8:46pm (UTC -5)
1. The "brainwash" effect the game has on the crew works purely in service of the plot and in an "on demand" fashion. Worf, for example, is never shown playing the game. He acts 100% of the time as though everything is normal, and while trying to capture Wesley its as though he were just another intruder or whatever - Riker is the same during these scenes.
2. The scene where Wesley and Robin hook the game up to the computer is just cringe-worthy due to Wesley's constant leaning over her. Give the lady a bit of space you maniac!
Ashley Judd alone gives this episode a star, another half for a good performance by Wheaton.
Mon, Aug 29, 2016, 12:00pm (UTC -5)
Thu, Sep 22, 2016, 9:07am (UTC -5)
* I hate "Wesley saves the day" scripts, but this wasn't one. Wesley didn't save the day. Wesley made it possible for DATA to save the day. An important difference.
* I thought the final chase sequence played Wesley's intelligence well. He was smart and resourceful enough to evade the Enteprise crew ... for a while. They caught him, but he made them work for it. It showcased his intelligence without making the ENT crew look like boobs.
* I can buy the idea that Wesley looked at the game, but others didn't. As another person remarked, Crusher and Riker -- two very trustworthy folks -- introduced the game to the rest of the crew. So they might take it with a grain of salt. And this wouldn't be the first game in the future that had a little bit of a pleasure effect ... maybe it didn't seem that unusual at first.
* I can buy Wesley deconstructing the game when other's didn't. He was on vacation, he had spare time, and he had no other duties. Besides, he's a nerd.
Thu, Sep 22, 2016, 1:09pm (UTC -5)
Sun, Nov 20, 2016, 1:24pm (UTC -5)
Mon, Dec 26, 2016, 6:53am (UTC -5)
Sat, Dec 31, 2016, 6:26am (UTC -5)
I mention this partly because "The Game" brought the Red Dwarf idea to my mind, but also because I recall an interview Patrick Stewart gave about RD. Now I think Stewart is a legend and not just for his TNG work, but in this interview he slightly moronically describes his first experience of RD, unexpectedly flicking the channel onto an episode and his immediate reaction was to pick up the phone to get onto a lawyer because he thought that RD was ripping off Star Trek. Anybody who has seen Red Dwarf will know how ludicrous that notion is. To be fair to Stewart he did then say that he started laughing and put the phone down when he saw what the show was actually about.
Tue, Feb 14, 2017, 8:58am (UTC -5)
And yeah, bullshit on Picard, let alone Worf ever picking up this doodad.
Sun, Mar 19, 2017, 12:18am (UTC -5)
Im once again struck by how normal and not weird Wesley's romances are in comparison to the other characters'. It's pretty sad that Wesley seems to be the only male character with normal romantic relationships. Looks like he really is the only one who doesn't have to find his women on the holodeck.
A highlight of this episode is Beverly forcing her kid to do drugs. That image alone makes the episode worth it.
They really ned to stop letting Riker vacation on Risa. This time he brought back more than just another case of space-AIDS.
Sun, Mar 19, 2017, 12:44am (UTC -5)
Tue, Mar 28, 2017, 10:18pm (UTC -5)
Fri, Apr 28, 2017, 8:24pm (UTC -5)
The problem with "The Game" is that they should have introduced it much more slowly, just like smartphones, so that by the time people caught on to what was occurring it had already overtaken society's social norms. At that point, it's not only built into the culture but also a 'social status' symbol, because heaven forbid someone catches you NOT looking at your phone and thinks you're unpopular.
Thanks for finally saying it out loud, Outsider65. I think the turbo lift scene basically told us exactly what the game gives people for completing higher levels and giving up control of their own mind. In that sense, it is actually a pretty bizarre scene when Beverly wants her own son to partake of the device.
What I always enjoyed about the episode was Wesley's brilliant play at misdirection, meaning that the entire chase sequence was simply done to give Data enough time to study the device and come up with a cure. I thought this was well written, particularly when it came to Data's entrance onto the bridge when it seemed Wesley was the only normal one left onboard.
Tue, May 16, 2017, 10:11am (UTC -5)
Wed, Jul 5, 2017, 1:26am (UTC -5)
Fri, Jul 28, 2017, 10:38pm (UTC -5)
Tue, Aug 29, 2017, 5:32pm (UTC -5)
It's a bit of a stretch for me to believe such a simplistic game (not talking about the graphics not aging well) could overwhelm an entire starship and I agree with Jammer on why it's only Wesley who has some healthy skepticism about it and he winds up saving the day. We've seen this type of idiocy before where he looks like the hero and the entire Enterprise crew look like dolts. That's not a good recipe for an episode, period.
The romance between Lefler and Wesley was portrayed well and it appeared to be natural as if it could happen for real. So that was believable and it worked that they initially go about trying to figure out what's going on. But overall, it's kind of silly with Data showing up right on time to start flashing some light that instantly cures them.
"The Game" just barely makes it to 2 stars for me. It's bordering on being a lousy episode because of its weak premise/plot. No issue with seeing Wesley again, but we're back to early TNG stuff where he's unexplainably the hero. Good chemistry between Judd/Wheaton saved this episode from condemnation.
Thu, Sep 14, 2017, 10:21am (UTC -5)
I don't hate Wesley as much as Jammer and most others seem to. The plot pairing him with Ensign Leffler worked, I think. Clearly an outdated and clumsy episode, I don't think I have much to add to the comments above. 2 stars for me.
Thu, Sep 14, 2017, 11:57am (UTC -5)
That's an interesting point, although it's a bit of a "What about the mouse?" thought if you will. Having Geordi and everyone under pressure from the mission did at least serve two purposes: 1) It made the crew on edge and more receptive to the game and 2) it gave Geordi a chance to boast about Ensign Leffler because he needed a competent science officer to help with demands of the scientists.
Anyway, I just wanted to add that while Jammer calls this one close to being a Deus Ex Machina, it's established early that Data would be a threat to the Ktarian's plan and that Wesley knew Data has been deactivated. If anything, I might call the ending anticlimactic, but I think the fast paced chase leading to the final resolution helped it out. Very much an "Invasion by the Body Snatchers" type of ending.
Thu, Nov 2, 2017, 12:27am (UTC -5)
Mon, Dec 25, 2017, 7:15pm (UTC -5)
Lefler/Judd: 5 stars
Sat, Feb 24, 2018, 6:05pm (UTC -5)
I also think the reason it generates hate is because people are taking it too seriously. To me, it clearly seems modelled on all those 1980s kids adventures, be they sleazy like Brian Depalma's Dressed to Kill, or sanitized like Matthew Broderick's Wargames, in which geeky teenage boys save the day with a cute female sidekick in tow. The episode is a giant kid's fantasy adventure.
Sat, Feb 24, 2018, 9:16pm (UTC -5)
Sun, Feb 25, 2018, 10:08am (UTC -5)
Sun, Feb 25, 2018, 4:51pm (UTC -5)
Sun, May 20, 2018, 3:11am (UTC -5)
He’s on a vacation that’s quite a lengthy trip for him and he would not want to play a silly game which he could do at home. And they didn’t force him until the end because he didn’t really seem like a risk.
Picard probably WAS forced by Riker/Worf etc.
I was more annoyed by the Data ex Machina ending because it seemed dishonest. Wesley is running around being chased in full panic mode with nary a hint they had actually fixed Data.
Fri, Jul 27, 2018, 9:16am (UTC -5)
For no other reason than Ashley Judd/Ensign Robin, this is a noteworthy episode! She was adorable in the role.
Fri, Jul 27, 2018, 1:46pm (UTC -5)
Wed, Aug 1, 2018, 3:55pm (UTC -5)
Having the entire crew brainwashed. subborned or possessed worked well in the old pocket books TOS novels but it was a cliche by the time of TNG.
The crew is too easily ensnared but as noted before TNG often turns into a seventies porn movie pastiche and that happens here as the crew are all getting off all over the place.
The erotic moment of the series goes to Marina Sirtis describing how she gets off with her sundae while Riker looks on barely containing himself.
Yes ,Marina you have to run the chocolate ice cream around the rim.
I think that is an arrestable offence in several states.
Wed, Aug 8, 2018, 9:20pm (UTC -5)
Fri, Aug 31, 2018, 8:10am (UTC -5)
Riker having a romp with a weird alien.
Riker leering at the ensign in Engineering.
Riker grinning at Troi, even though he's probably already had 10 other women that day.
Troi getting intimate with her ice cream--seriously, are you eating a bowl of dessert, or describing an oral sex trick?
Riker: "I just got back from Risa with something."--yeah, an STD or three, Crusher should be the one you're saying that line to.
Tue, Sep 4, 2018, 12:43pm (UTC -5)
Tue, Sep 4, 2018, 1:11pm (UTC -5)
Most actors are weirdos. That's obvious. The childhood rejection that drives them to want to spend the rest of their lives playing dress-up and pretending that they're someone---*anyone*!!---else is what leads them into the career in the first place. But the TNG cast takes the cake.
Tue, Sep 4, 2018, 1:49pm (UTC -5)
Tue, Sep 4, 2018, 2:19pm (UTC -5)
Or racism. ...But definitely *some* ism.
Tue, Sep 4, 2018, 3:07pm (UTC -5)
Tue, Sep 4, 2018, 4:45pm (UTC -5)
Tue, Sep 4, 2018, 10:01pm (UTC -5)
this isn;t the tragic part. you can still do the above without a political affiliation...and without going full radical.
Tue, Sep 4, 2018, 10:28pm (UTC -5)
Sat, Sep 15, 2018, 1:58am (UTC -5)
Sat, Sep 15, 2018, 1:59am (UTC -5)
Sat, Sep 15, 2018, 8:37am (UTC -5)
Sun, Sep 30, 2018, 6:14am (UTC -5)
.although the whole crew being took over by some weird alien force did get overdone along with visiting ambassador s (yawn).
Their is a lot worse in the ng series.
Thu, Nov 22, 2018, 3:15am (UTC -5)
@JerJer, perhaps Riker was being shown as more of a randy male because he'd been exposed to the game, which seemed to trigger sexual responses when you "won" the round...
...Nurse Alyssa Ogawa always looked to me like she was having a mini-orgasm when she was in the turbolift...
Now, as far as bringing a STD home, wouldn't the transporter filter that out? And, since we've seen a transporter go back to a earlier version of folks, would that not be the secret of eternal youth? Put a hair into the machine from when you were 24, and have the transporter "fix" you back to then?...
I digress...
Riker was more than his normal "who-hoo" self because of the game. As far as what Troi was describing... even 27 years ago I knew she'd stopped talking about ice cream...
Regards... RT
Thu, Mar 7, 2019, 4:17am (UTC -5)
To me, that last segment always the best "Game" in the episode.....Wesley having to think quickly on his feet, to outwit and elude a vastly superior opponent for as long as he could. His escape required athleticism, intelligence, strategy, read & react situations. Moves and countermoves.
There are some gaping plot holes in this episode (what exactly was the purpose of Elana's efforts?), and I understand the critiques of Wesley in general, but I always liked Wil Wheaton, and this was one of my favorite Wesley episodes.
++++++
That said.....there is arguably no greater Wesley Crusher move than to go back to work on the Enterprise during your vacation from Starfleet Academy, somehow manage to hook up with a young smoking hot Ashley Judd, and on basically your one and only date with Ashley freaking Judd, you.....take her to your mom's medical lab to conduct experiments on the potentially harmful side effects of a portable gaming device.
+++++
Also.....lol @ Luke's Scooby Doo parody. That was perfect!
Tue, Apr 16, 2019, 4:20pm (UTC -5)
A nice romance between Wesley and the Ashley Judd ensign. I liked this one for a light adventure highlighting Wesley as completely non annoying.
Fri, Sep 6, 2019, 7:59pm (UTC -5)
Mon, Jul 27, 2020, 4:28am (UTC -5)
Late-adopters are seen made to feel like Luddites and eventually ensnared..... this is shown in the opening scene in Risa. Personally, even in the context of a wild weekend, I wouldn't welcome a net being twisted around my face, head and neck by a giggling space alien. Nor would I laugh along when my communicator badge gets thrown over the balcony, leaving me basically isolated....After these things "get done to me" would I then allow the perpetrator to sit on top of me and stick a game in my eyes?
A very watchable episode, but seriously, wouldn't Riker have been drummed out of the service for criminal stupidity ? Academy training, Day 1: if a space alien twists a net over your head and then throws away your comm-badge, its probably not a good thing . Even if she is practically naked. What a sap.
Mon, Jul 27, 2020, 5:49am (UTC -5)
This probably wasn't the case in 1991, but at this point in time there is no doubt in my mind that between games and television, games provide the better value, artistically, creatively, educationally and as entertainment. Naturally, both mediums have their best and worst (many non-gamers are unaware of the diversity available beyond Grand Theft Auto or Tomb Raider) but at least games are not passive entertainment like TV, you can get a game published without necessarily having mass-appeal meaning there are some extremely interesting ideas out there, and they provide active, not passive engagement. The more creative young minds are now choosing game development and have no interest in the tv industry.
I'd take reading over both of them in an instant, but if I had to choose to eliminate one forever right now, it would be television. As such, this episode is horribly outdated and bordering on propaganda.
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/4e/be/d3/4ebed383d589bfc3859535c61d43d57e.jpg
Mon, Jul 27, 2020, 6:26am (UTC -5)
These are some strong statements, considering you wrote them on a board for the discussion of TV shows. The whole passive/active argument is fairly simplistic. Very few games have touched me as deeply as many Trek episodes did. In general shows provide far better writing because they are consumed passive or the be more precise because they are not interactive. Same goes for books. I could name 20 shows with great writing easily. For games I have a hard time coming up with 5.
Mon, Jul 27, 2020, 7:09am (UTC -5)
Tue, Jul 28, 2020, 9:20pm (UTC -5)
I appreciate your remarks.
I agree that good television is a rarity, and some games do indeed impress.
My approach to television is to control content with DVDs to keep quality high. In Trek terms, the DVD player functions as my Atavachron. No outside sources admitted.
Mon, Aug 3, 2020, 10:24am (UTC -5)
It works quite well as an allegory on gaming addiction, or addiction in general. Of course it does have a few problems.
Firstly - does the idea of playing a game that literally gives you a hit in the brain's pleasure centre really not trouble anyone with the thought that it might be dangerously addictive? Riker would have left it on Risa. He must be sharp enough to know that it's asking for trouble, even without the mind control aspect and the evil plan.
I liked the scene at the beginning with Riker the giggly alien woman who turns out to be a villain.
It bothers me slightly that the crew who are under its control sometimes seem completely coherent - like Riker, Geordi et al when they're hunting down Wesley. Surely slightly crazed, drugged behaviour would be more appropriate? It just doesn't feel right that Riker and Picard have an apparently completely sober control of their senses while they're acting out a plot against their own interests.
The Morse code flasher that immediately restores victims of the game to full, conscious normality - come on, that's too easy. Lazy writing. Also, I don't mind Wesley and the specialist babe being super-sharp engineers and technologists, but we're asked to believe that they're pretty good at neuroscience, as well. It's a bit of a stretch too far.
Still - I liked it. Better than average for the fifth series, so far.
Thu, Sep 3, 2020, 10:59pm (UTC -5)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghVSZNYPXtw
Fri, Sep 4, 2020, 10:41am (UTC -5)
"Speaking of Ashley Judd in Star Trek:"
She's totally gone off the deep end.
Fri, Sep 4, 2020, 11:15am (UTC -5)
This Ari really has it out for Judd.
More than two years ago he wrote:"Oh yeah!!! Ashley Judd before she went insane. Smokin. Def. would have smashed that."
mhhh that's class right there.
Oh and already the fifth comment about Judd's political views/calling her crazy. You get a free sub with extra smash sauce from Ari!
Uhh and look at the first comment under the vid:" Why do top hollywierd actresses bring up wage when most of them slept their way to the top? You know what that makes them don't you?" More then 300 likes yeah!
And the guy has many other great vids like:
- Lesbian Astronaut Commits First Ever Crime in Outer space
- LIE-berals: What the Left won't tell you
- Sea Level Expert Nils Axel Morner Debunks Man Made Climate Change
- Making America Muslim - In Their Own Words - Long Term Plans of Islamic Academia
These titles show that this is the new channel for real Americans.
Oh and that Judd is crazy. :)
(Man, clicking on these vids will again fuck up my youtube algorythm...)
Fri, Sep 4, 2020, 2:24pm (UTC -5)
HAHA... but I stand by my statment :-)
Fri, Sep 4, 2020, 3:28pm (UTC -5)
Oh I would never suggest anything else. I personally on principle never listen to anything that a male or female actor says. Why you are not asking?! I tell you why.
Mel Gibson (and a few others). There is a certain threshold and if an actor crosses it then you can never watch their movies again because you cannot forget the person behind the act...
You don't want another name?! Oh I give you another name. Will Smith. Since I heard that he had payed people to attend the concerts of his wife I just see a super rich guy who really is into nepotism and don't get me started on the children...
Several are very close: Tom Cruise, Charlie Sheen, Russell Crowe, Angelina Jolie, Jennifer Lawrence.
hmmm i guess I now less about crazy female actors... puzzling.
Thu, Oct 1, 2020, 9:37am (UTC -5)
Tue, Jan 5, 2021, 2:25am (UTC -5)
Otherwise minus 7 stars.
Fri, Jan 8, 2021, 10:36am (UTC -5)
They could've hinted that Wesley or Ashley Judd had repaired Data but that's a small nitpick.
In the Worf/Kilingon Civil War episodes, it's sometimes difficult to tell what's exactly happening to who or what. This was very easy to follow and liked how silly it was.
Sat, Feb 13, 2021, 4:50am (UTC -5)
Mon, Apr 12, 2021, 2:52pm (UTC -5)
"They could've hinted that Wesley or Ashley Judd had repaired Data but that's a small nitpick."
They did, it was Wesley.
Light, silly and quite entertaining. Min my opinion a merge of (game) addiction problem and body snatchers.
@Ari Paul
I don't see what Asley Judds political ideas has to do with her performance in this episode. In my opinion the youtube clip is quite "low". As I understand she is interpeting a poem written by somebody else and she is acting. I agree that it does not seem to be conservative. But again, what has this to do with her role as Leffler?
It is just silly and unneccesary bashing.
Furthermore I am pussled over that quite many seems to mix the character with (the quality of) the actor. Dr Pulaski, a character which I liked was played by an actress that could do her well.
When they took back Dr . Cruscher they wanted to have a softer character and also use the romantic tension to Picard. I think Gates McFadden does that quite well.
In my opinion Patrick Stewart is an excellent actor who really was carrying much of the TNG. But his acting is sometime very theatrical. King Lear on the Bridge.
But of course , this is enterteinment, acting and theater.
Fri, Jun 11, 2021, 9:59pm (UTC -5)
Sun, Jul 18, 2021, 11:45pm (UTC -5)
Wed, Jul 28, 2021, 4:31pm (UTC -5)
Again disturbing Dr Crusher ogasmic noises - 'why don't you and your girlfirend come & join me in my Risa sex game?'
Wed, Jul 28, 2021, 4:46pm (UTC -5)
Sat, Aug 21, 2021, 9:33pm (UTC -5)
But I do get why people hated the character of Wesley Crusher. The writers sure hated him. How clever they were, punishing a teenage boy because they had to suffer the indignity of writing a character they didn't like. Everyone in Star Trek from 1986-2000something owes Wil Wheaton an apology.
Also, just to prove I'm a total pig, all I wanted out of this episode was to later dream of being in a Wil Wheaton/Ashley Judd sandwich.
Sat, Sep 18, 2021, 3:09am (UTC -5)
Ok. Yes, it’s well paced. Yes, the increasing levels of paranoia are effective. Yes, the denouement with Data is satisfying.
But… a really big problem with it, that requires a suspension of belief I can’t make. The game is addictive, hypnotic even, but there is nothing about it that involves joining in an alien conspiracy involving every other crew member. It works on the individual pleasure centre and the “player” functions as normal when not playing. So where are sinister instructions, eg to disable Data, coming from? And what is the motive of the alien race? Yes, there’s a crude attempt to explain this when Wesley and Robin discover that as well as being psychotropic, it also affects the reasoning centre of the brain. Well, DUH!! I’ve smoked enough dope in my time to know that psychotropic drugs can (though not always) cause severe intellectual deficiency on a temporary basis, and even paranoia, but none of the crew displayed these effects, nor behaved as if there was an alien ‘pulling their strings’. Yet we are supposed to accept that everyone was part of this giant plot? Oh please.
Yes, the episode was predictive of computer game addiction in the 21st Century, and therefore kudos for a certain amount of social commentary. But as a TNG episode it barely deserves 2 stars.
Sat, Sep 18, 2021, 3:13am (UTC -5)
Sat, Sep 18, 2021, 3:28am (UTC -5)
Sun, Sep 19, 2021, 1:43am (UTC -5)
100% agreed! The game on its own - perhaps created by the 24th Century equivalent of a hacker? - would have been enough on its own, spreading paranoia and malevolence.
Fri, Oct 29, 2021, 4:16pm (UTC -5)
Strangely I find this Wil Wheaton's best performance along with the First Duty. He's still awkward and looks like a kid but he pulls off the love interest in Leffler and he seems more comfortable as an actor.
But I completely agree with the ultimate takeover plot as being ridiculous and that no one on the ship could resist it except Wes / Robin because they're so smitten.
Fri, Oct 29, 2021, 5:06pm (UTC -5)
These are supposed to be intelligent people, some of whom unless they had been held down would have said no. So ridiculous. And it all ends with a flashlight.
A zero for me.
Fri, Oct 29, 2021, 5:42pm (UTC -5)
"But I completely agree with the ultimate takeover plot as being ridiculous and that no one on the ship could resist it except Wes / Robin because they're so smitten."
Don't forget that (a) Robin did get hooked, and (b) Wes only avoided it due to being such a dork. Ironically the dorkiest person on the ship was the one too busy to play videogames (probably not that unrealistic if you look at the tech industry). When looking closely at this indirect plot point, I actually like the notion that Wed is immune to the addictive game precisely because he is such an outlier of a person (too socially awkward to go with the flow). That's a nice perk, kind of like how Data sometimes saves the ship due to being the odd android out.
Thu, Jan 6, 2022, 7:25am (UTC -5)
Fri, Jan 7, 2022, 2:40am (UTC -5)
Fri, Jan 7, 2022, 9:43am (UTC -5)
Fri, Jan 7, 2022, 2:48pm (UTC -5)
I always assumed the orgasms merely made the player receptive to whatever other subliminal messages were being transmitted by the game.
Sun, May 8, 2022, 12:10pm (UTC -5)
As far as the main premiss, yes, there are some annoying inconsistencies and plot holes and outright silliness. Yet, the underlying principle is very real and very instructive. It shows just how easy it is to snow, manipulate, stultify, and, in effect, lobotomize people. Just give them mindless entertainment through dopamine hits and you're on easy street, able to do with and to them whatever you want and they won't even see it coming.
Now, gee, what recent inventions and events could that be applied to...? Hmm...
And Robin? Hoooooooooooo, mama!! Too bad she (Ashley Judd) went on to become yet another cookie-cutter privileged Hollyweird Leftist bore.
Wed, Jul 13, 2022, 5:03pm (UTC -5)
1. Re Rikers romp in Risa. Is it really a hard leap to think of a confident man in a position of authority and responsibility to allow his Wang to cause bid problems for himself and others when he goes on what he might consider a discreet visit to Risa. Say like desean Watson if it is ever known who besides prince Andrew went on those plane rides with Epstein, etc
2. The addictive nature of the came as displayed sure seems similar to when I see someone operating a 2 ton pickup down a speeding highway glued to their cellphone oblivious to their environment
3. The depiction of the game just I think is a vehicle to infer that the game is stimulating dopamine receptors. For all I know riker is actually seeing alien women he is scoring and worf is seeing a chamber where he is being stuck with pain sticks. Probably it's a bit more customized to the user I don't know in a similar fashion to our current cell phones. This was 1991. Btw also I think Wesley is not always depicted as a Mary Sue. Not here so much he is resourceful and collaborates w lefler (who wouldn't) to accomplish his goal not some of his earlier more magical depictions of ability. Also he has been shown to be callable like the episode where he inadvertently let the two nanites interact and then they ran amok in the ship. Fortunately for the ship, he fessed up and got help with good consequences. To bad for us peter daszak is no Wesley crusher.
4. The whole crew getting addicted. This is very similar to other kind of mass hysteria events. Strange events symptoms etc can occur in normal people especially when the place in which it occurs is hierarchical on nature and the initial symptoms whatever they are nuns possessed, nurses passing out around phantom odors etc. Anyway the whole thing takes hold when the initial symptoms start with those at the top of the hierarchy. So when riker, Beverly troi are all addicted, it seems quite reasonable to the rest and there you go.
5 the initial portrayals of riker Beverly troi and even Geordie are all plausible,and especially riker and troi with their vulnerability to certain pleasures humorous. And really we have to assume at some point some of captains kirks alien conquests might have had an adverse consequence. (There is a wonderful robot chicken episode to this effect.)
6. Piccard. Best they did not show that one but suffice it to say I can imagine a briefing in the ready room called by riker with Piccard Beverly troi and worf once he got addicted to the pain stick or whatever and then they give him the Wesley treatment. Now you have Piccard.
7. The whole premise of the Atari ...katari aliens what a nice touch. Given recent events with folks like Eric swawell, tik tok, ensnaring powerful men with a romp on Risa doesn't seem so far fetched to me.
I think the execution of the episode by the actors and the pacing was good too.
Mon, Aug 1, 2022, 8:06pm (UTC -5)
Fri, Dec 30, 2022, 2:18am (UTC -5)
Data saving Wesley from being gangbanged at the end was epic. Epically bad.
This episode is a nice little allegory on drug addiction but that's about it.
In it's defense, there is more drug addiction going on in the world today than ever before, and it's not an accident or a coincidence either.
Wed, Feb 1, 2023, 6:35pm (UTC -5)
So in "The Game" you have a surface story about tech addiction (games, computers, smartphones etc) and a crew that is blind to their "brainwashing".
Meanwhile, almost every scene is about how we're socialized to not see certain types of biological "addictions". Like Troi and her ice-cream at the start, or Riker having sex on the pleasure planet, Wesley throughout the episode is in a biochemical game of his own. He's as sucked into his little lover's simulation with the Ashley Judd character, and is as oblivious and blind to this as Picard and company are to their Game.
And the episode relentlessly emphasizes how humans "overlook" or are "blind" to this sexual game. The opening line is the sexually charged "don't make me come after you". When Wesley beams onto the ship he immediately starts talking about Miles' baby. Data then mentions the Sadie Hawkins dance, where "females choose men". Then Picard mentions failing "organic chemistry" because of a girl whose name he carved into a tree.
And on and on it goes. The episode ends with the crew escaping the grip of The Game, but Wesley remains unaware that he's locked in his. IMO this all echoes Picard in "A Perfect Mate", where our stoic, enlightened captain naively believes himself existing outside the "romantic simulation" conjured by an alien woman.
Incidentally, the aliens who programmed the game in this episode seem to direct their "captured ships" to the Cleon star system, which seems named after a famous star system in Asimov's Foundation series.
Fri, May 19, 2023, 1:39pm (UTC -5)
Wed, Jun 14, 2023, 12:22pm (UTC -5)
Sat, Jul 1, 2023, 3:52am (UTC -5)
That said, it is a sci fi series so it requires a slightly higher suspension of disbelief than some other genres. I can buy that some alien race out there has developed a game that makes its players behave like drug addicts and cult members.
And it's one of the only Wesley-centered plots where he isn't insufferable. He does have good chemistry with Lefler and I do appreciate that he technically doesn't save the day; that extended chase sequence really only accomplished buying Data more time to come back online and it's ultimately Data who saves the day.
Fri, Sep 22, 2023, 9:28pm (UTC -5)
1st of all, what kind of absolutely stupid 1980s style video game is that, that would interest 24th century people?
2nd, that's not how psychotropic addictions work. They don't make you go around chasing everyone who doesn't also try the drug for absolutely no reason other than "just because"
3rd, I don't get how the addictive aspect of it had anything to do with taking over the ship? Why would the game sending pleasure impulses to your brain make you want to accept any and all instructions from a random alien who wants you to give your ship over to them? Also if everyone was so incapacitated by it, how were they able to chase Wesley around the ship and everything, when other crew members were seen in a lopped over trance at a 10-foward table.
4th, minor plothole, but why would Troi start creepy-smiling like that BEFORE she was exposed to the game? Why did just mentioning the game make her react like that? She wasn't dosed by it yet.
5th, I agree with the comments that Wesley could have been smarter by wearing it constantly so no one would get suspicious. I also agree that it was absurd no one noticed anything and refused to try it, after seeing half the ship incapacitated from it.
6th, If Wesley had access to the security system, why didn't he release anesthetic gas or something.
7th, why was they so determined to get Wesley to try it? What did whether he tried it or not have to do with taking over the ship?
The whole Wesley-Robin thing didn't seem weird, except maybe when she was also creepy-smiling so much when she discovered what the vampire did with the sick bay computer.
8th, Heres probably the biggest plot hole of all. If Wesley had managed to reactivate data, why didn't he immediately go around disabling key systems in the ship, fighting back against the crew, why did Wesley go running around all over the place by himself? Why couldn't data secure the ship similar to how he did in "Brothers". Leaving it entirely up to Wesley made no sense.
Fri, Sep 22, 2023, 9:30pm (UTC -5)
Fri, Sep 22, 2023, 9:45pm (UTC -5)
What is it with the Beverly-Wesley inappropriate relationship hinted at through multiple TNG episodes. Here she wants her 18-20 year old son to have a date with his girlfriend in her quarters, which she says as she's still orgasming from the game, them awkwardly wraps her arms around him (and they full body hug alot like at the end of "remember me") and are just too touchy-feely for normal mom-son relations. The whole troi ice cream sexualization was dumb enough, but the Beverly Crusher and her son weird incesty relationship is genuinely creepy in this series.
Sat, Sep 23, 2023, 2:57am (UTC -5)
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