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Star Trek TNG: 123-124 (Patreon)

Published:
2025-08-20 12:00:06
Edited:
2026-01-08 02:35:56
Imported:
2026-06
Tags:

Content

Episodes: Skin of Evil, We'll Always Have Paris

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Files

Comments

gfixler

Yay! Star Trek Day! 🛸👽🧞‍♂️

Korpse

Baytown outlaws 🙌

Cory Garron

Two big eps this week, IIRC.

Ricky Patton

YAY! You guys should do the quick blooper video at the end of each season as your "post credits" scene. Some of the memes you have seen out there have actually come from these. Were you guys planning on going all the way through to modern trek as well? I feel like George would love Strange New Worlds!

Brandon

Their expressions in the thumbnail say it all. 🤣

Adam Barry

The look on Simone's face as she realised which episode 1x23 was! :D

Data Cable

"Symbiosis" was filmed after "Skin of Evil," though scheduled to air in the reverse order, obviously. Denise could be seen waving goodbye in the background as Picard and Beverly left the cargo bay, as that was her actual last scene.

Candy Found on a Barbershop Floor

Denise Crosby wasn't happy with the direction Tasha Yar's character was going, and asked to be written out. Skin of Evil is the result.

JakeyShakeyBakeyBoy

As others will probs explain better than I, Denise Crosby asked to be released from her role as Tasha since she was dissatisfied with how the character developed. Gene Roddenberry directly gave his blessing for her departure, and it’s worth remembering that season 1 wasn’t a guaranteed success. We have the benefit of hindsight of its legacy and knowing what it became, so it’s hard to get in that headspace of how it was engaged with at the time. Personally had the same “taken-abackness” at her demise because I had no awareness Tasha wasn’t in later seasons - I was introduced to TNG without that precursory knowledge of her fate too. Defs still remember how jarring it was. Anyway it leads to the growth for some other characters and I will shut my Aussie mouth now to not divulge anymore haha

Richard

I love skin of evil for one good reason.

Cory Garron

Oops, just one I guess. From what I remember, Denise Crosby didn't think the show was going to amount to anything and asked to be written off the show. Unfortunately for her, she didn't have any bigger role and will always be known as Lt. Tasha Yar, even in 2025.

gfixler

George's idea of the transporter being too convenient, and them having to break it all the time for the sake of the story reminds me of when cell phones came out. After about the tenth movie with all the people checking their phones and saying "I don't have any bars", I sighed, and realized this was the new world, and every movie would have to go through this, unless it was a period film. Someone later made a supercut: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIZVcRccCx0

Jonathan

Up until Denise decided to leave the writers were seriously considering killing off Troi.

WayneC

Star Trek Enterprise does have the transporter. But it is very unreliable. There is at least one episode where it comes to the rescue.

gfixler

Re: the transporter being used as a weapon, I always thought it would be a great demoralizing weapon to beam all the crap out of everyone's intestines and onto, say, the bridge of an attacking Klingon vessel. Probably too gross for 80s TV, though.

gfixler

Yes, George. I was a kid watching these episodes as they aired, and Tasha's death was a real shock. All the way up to the credits, I was waiting for the reveal, the rug pull, the switcheroo.

Patrick - Excelsior

Relative Bearing: When setting a course, they base there bearing on the ship's current orientation. For example, "Helm, set course one two zero mark twenty five" means turning 120 degrees right (starboard) and raising the nose 25 degrees. Any time the course is set over 180 the turn is to the left (port) and the degrees are 360 - the number. ie. "Helm set course two eight zero" would mean go port 80 degrees. It is the same with the mark number with anything over 180 meaning nose down 360 - number. Galactic Coordinate System: Star Trek depicts the Milky Way galaxy as divided into four quadrants: Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Delta. It uses a coordinate system, with a meridian running through the galactic center and Earth's Solar System with references mention a standard galactic X, Y, and Z position Earth's Sol system is designated as Sector 0, 0, 1, serving as an arbitrary reference point for mapping other sectors.

funky weapon

I really like how perfunctory and pedestrian Tasha's death is. it's something that could happen to anyone on any starship at any time. It adds stakes to future encounters, even routine ones. It also shows how dangerous deep space exploration actually is. Also it's true to life. Sometimes shit happens and people die. They're here one moment and gone the next. I thought doing Tasha the way they did was actually pretty bold for those reasons.

Nabikon

If yall liked the crazy timey wimey stuff you'd definitely enjoy the 3 seasons of Future Man

PG Modehouse

To clarify, I don't think the time distortions that emanated externally from Vandor would have been as dramatic as seen on the enterprise or in the lab, as they were closer to the epicenter. When the Enterprise was farther away, during fencing practice, the distortion was just a delay, or as Riker said " a hiccup". I imagine the distortion's magnitude would decrease the further away it hit.

iFixSAN

“What was that?” “Death.” “What kind?” “Instant.”

Lintrinsic

To me, Tasha's mundane and trivial death was the point. They killed her off as though she were a random redshirt just like the many others throughout TOS. As for why Crosby left, she began asking where they intended to go with the character as she was beginning to feel like bridge scenery. She has since said the reply she got from Roddenberry was that they planned to be focusing on the big three like TOS, in this case Picard, Riker and Data and weren't going to focus on the other characters. Therefore she asked to be released from her contract. Roddenberry agreed but only if they could kill the character off. It was very much a watershed moment in Trek. Up to that point it had been one of those shows where you could depend on the characters returning next week with no permadeath for regular cast. Tasha removed that security for viewers. As a teenager watching at the time, having grown up playing Star Trek and told I had to be Uhura and sit and do nothing with a stickle brick shoved in my ear because I was a girl, Tasha was vindication although I never really had the time to warm to her as a character. Even though every episode was thoroughly spoiled by the time I saw them. her death was shocking. I've rewatched many times and Data and Picard at the end has never failed to make me shed a few tears.

Thall

"Baron Harkonnen". Dude, please never change. I know people complain about random stuff a lot, but they are all here because you two are the way you are!

Ca$hWednesday

I understand where George is coming from about the death of Tasha. I have the opposite thoughts. I find it perfect, and kind of refreshing how they killed her off in such an unceremonious way, just killed by a random goop monster. It shows how dangerous it can be as a Starfleet officer on the daily.

GAB

It was reported that Denise Crosby (Tasha Yar) left because she was dissatisfied with her role, although I've also heard she wasn't happy with the series generally - like some other cast members - particularly after the episode "Code of Honor". Picard standing up his date without explanation wouldn't have happened if mobile phones, texting, e-mail and instant messaging hadn't somehow inexplicably become un-invented by the 24th century.

gfixler

I feel like needing the fear of Armus to ramp up is just how we do things. I don't think it needs to be how we do things, though. Like I could see a movie with a big murder at the beginning, and the rest is just the person realizing it was wrong, no more action, fear, or drama. I feel like we're locked into needing everything to escalate, the way I'm locked into the kind of music I grew up with. I almost never like new music, but it doesn't mean it's wrong. That said, I don't feel like the story worked all that well. It did feel kind of rushed out somehow, but then it is season 1 still, and Star Trek does have it's hits and misses.

Lintrinsic

I for one have quite enjoyed 2 episodes at a time, because there seems to be more post episode discussion. Of course it could be coincidence that you've found more to talk about with those epissodes, and it's not like I don't love it when you have time for three. But I don't feel robbed when you only do two.

WastedPo

I hope during the post "Skin of Evil" discussion George wasn't Googling why Tasha Yar was written off the show. It's not that I don't want him to know. I just don't want him to accidentally get spoilers for other episodes.

mike

Every time I watch the funeral of Tasha talking to everyone makes me tear up. Great ending ❤️😢❤️

GAB

Armus bears a lot of similarity to Eric Cartman and numerous Internet trolls. If he'd been orange instead of black, that would also have been glorious meme fodder.

Andrew

Simone's face when she realized it was the episode Tasha dies. 😂

Skyruff Creative

In original TOS they do use the transporter to bean things into space a few times. They even killed the human that the entity known as Jack the Ripper was inhabiting by beaming them into space. If I remember correctly they also put the destination as wide dispersal to try and destroy/strand the entity. The Federation is just so against these types of acts that they are forbidden except in extreme instances. Kirk got away with a lot of stuff that gets turned into a joke a few times later in Voyager.

Skyruff Creative

Oddly, Skin of Evil is generally considered a bad episode but the fans argue continuously about what makes it a bad episode. This episode found numerous ways to get under people’s skin.

GAB

Yes, the sound balance needs adjusting or a technique similar to audio ducking needs applying. As long as the subtitles are there and readable, I wouldn't mind.

Mastervodo

TIL what a stickle brick is.

Cinebinge

will replace with new version soon. forgot to apply reduction on this one.

Dioskur (edited)

Comment edits

2026-10-27 21:00 I didn't like the Tasha Yar character. Maybe she didn't have time to grow and thats why, but what happened as is didn't add up to much. And one thing I dislike about older shows is that nothing ever changes. This had a permanent effect and so I appreciate it from a standpoint of "guts to make decissions for the show". On the way it happened: I can't say I hate it. Can't say I love it. Sure, most times shows will milk such a moment way more effective, but on the other hand it just happening and not being reversed is refreshing. Things can just happen. The one reason I prefere Babylon5 over the older startrek shows is that such things happen more frequent. That people come and go and that the status quo gets shaken up.
2025-08-20 14:55

Robert Cooper

1. Skin of Evil is just a garbase episode. 2. Denise Crosby wanted to leave. She got offered another gig and didn't think TNG was going to get renewed. :P 3. The big thing with the transporter is it was cheap. On TOS they couldn't afford to do SFX/mode shots of shuttling down all the time, so they came with with the transporter which was a cheap video effect.

Mastervodo

Did anyone else notice how Simone nailed the "Ssssssp...fuck" moment during both episodes while George was talking, and how disappointed she was that it was not acknowledged? I noticed Simone! I see you!

GAB

Apropos good TNG episodes, my opinion is that the 1995 point-and-click adventure game "Star Trek: The Next Generation - A Final Unity" is the best. Perhaps I'm biased because it tickled my nerd sensibilities by including pulsar-based celestial navigation.

Cinebinge

Hi Daniel, we watch the show directly on Paramount+ so whatever they list the episode number/title as, is what we go by. Additionally, on Wikipedia it shows episode 25 as Conspiracy rather than 24. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek:_The_Next_Generation_season_1 this confusion from different sources may be due to the fact that the episodes both called Encounter at Far Point is sometimes considered as one episode on some listings, and sometimes considered as two episodes on others. We'll add episode titles into the descriptions going forward.

Andrew

I actually like Skin of Evil. The practical special effects are terrific and genuinely creepy. I like that Tasha's death is sudden and senseless because it's so realistic and shocking. Seldom do main characters in a cast suddenly die like this. It's also worth remembering that Denise Crosby wanted to leave so the writers had to figure out something on short notice. Regarding Artemis, his character is more relevant today than ever. We see people on the internet that are angry and spew hate because they are deeply unhappy people. Some of these people commit unspeakable acts of violence. It is senseless and impossible for people to understand much like Tasha's death. I thought that leaving Artemis on the planet alone was a fitting ending to the story.

akaTheBAY-AY-RON

Simone not knowing what "cake" means in the context George used it is actually super wholesome XD

Light Movies

Denise Cosby (Tasha Yar) auditioned for the character of Deanna Troy and didn't get the part. They gave her Tasha's but she didn't like the character and the show that much, so she decided to drop it. Actually a lot of the cast didn't believe in this "remake/sequel" of a such iconic franchise, thinking it'll be a flop. Denise will regret having left the show later and it's still one of her bigger regrets. When I saw the show for the first time, I thought her final speech was too much for the character. I've never had the time to be attached to her that much to empatize for her at that level. I've always seen her like an extra with some dialogues. The actrees didn't like the character exactly for that: she said "my chracter is too much in background, and the main line she says is AYE SIR".

Joe Concepts

Ha, just what I was going to point out!

Joe Concepts

Imagine the impact this would've had a couple seasons in. I think the funeral scene suffers a bit because they had to kind of make up some relationships that the show never explored. Like when she talks about her feelings about Beverly and Geordi. Though the Data part is great, because you get the feeling that he does kind of have some emotions in there somewhere.

RSteele

If Simone wasn't so clueless about Star Trek (sorry) she'd explain that Denise Crosby didn't want to continue playing Tasha Yar because she felt she wasn't getting any character development, so she wanted to quit and they had to suddenly kill her off. If she had only had more patience she would have gotten those episodes she wished for like all the other main characters eventually did. Denise Crosby went on to star in terrible b-movies and unknown tv shows so it was definitely a bad move by her. But she will return in Star Trek eventually in one way or another.

Patrick - Excelsior

The black sludge is a pool of Metamucil and printer's ink.

Alex Macdougall

Always funny watching this episode and thinking about a future episode wher it gets dunked on so hard. "It was a pointless death, an empty death"

Curaitis

I really like Simone but she lost me when she said there is no Klingon Empire. Even if you dont watch Season 1 or 2 this was a WTH moment for someone who said she is a big Star Trek Fan and she loves TNG. I like Simone but that was a true head scratcher. Crosby´s career really went downhill afterwards. She never had a noteable career but to leave the show so early was premature.

Adam Morgan

In hindsight, it was a mistake. However, she asked Gene Roddenberry about it and was directly told that she wouldn't get any character development (as was the standard for the shows he was used to producing in the past). She acted based on the best information available to her at the time. Also, I believe Marina Sirtis was close to being fired because the writers were having problems with her character and Roddenberry thought there were too many women in the cast. Crosby's departure secured her job. I'm curious what Yar would have been in later seasons but there is a silver lining.

Ginger

I kind of like how off handed and meaningless her death was and think that was very intentional. It's something Joss Whedon also liked to do much later and Game of Thrones much much later (or in between if you take the books). I don't think a main character's death necessarily has to occur as a great sacrifice, sometimes things happen randomly and with no great consequence.

Ginger

Conspiracy is next week - which I'm SO looking forward to. :D

Walter H.

On the topic of the coordinates used: two axes are enough to go anywhere in 3D space, because the third is just the roll. So you might arrive upside down, but who gives a fuck?

Joe Stacey (edited)

Comment edits

2026-09-05 05:00 Skin of Evil is just a bad episode. I have no problem with killing off a character or making that death meaningless. There's a decent concept buried in the episode, it's just badly executed (like Tasha). I didn't mind them having to put aside their feelings to get on with rescuing Deanna and Ben. They hadn't moved on, they were just being professionals. But the worst part of Skin of Evil is the ending. That is the worst kind of american schmaltzy, saccharine, It is so vomit-inducingly bad that it robs Tasha's final moments of any real emotional impact it might have had. There were better ways to handle this. I've heard it suggested, I think by Denise Crosby, that Tasha's message to Data should have been simply, "It did happen." and let viewers link it to what she told Data at the end of The Naked Now. That would have been meaningful. Never mind. Starfleet security officers have a built-in expiry date. Maybe Worf will get something to do now.
2025-08-20 16:57

WastedPo

Yeah, I don't blame Crosby for wanting off the show. Even George and Simone in their discussion of how Yar never really got a lot of development to her character (inadvertently) underscored why the actress would want off of her show. I also assume that some of the cringey moments that George noted involving her character weren't lost on Denise Crosby either at the time. Fans have no issues saying that a lot of the writing in Season 1 was lacking, and that even Gene Roddenberry himself might've been a reason for that. I think it's reasonable to think that Crosby also saw the problems of the show, and was dissatisfied with some of the shallower aspects of her character.

Stephen Morris

It’s unfortunate what went on around Denise Crosbys exit. Producer Rick Berman ripped the combadge off her uniform and told you won’t be needing this anymore.

Eric Wilson

You hit the nail on the head. The transporter is the most underused tool, one of the best weapons you can have.

Polecat21

I think Denise Crosby leaving really helped the show as her character and Worf were too similar and this allowed us to get a lot more of Worf...

Hans Czajkowski Jørgensen

Since George talked over it, I feel a need to acknowledge Simone's perfectly timed 'Space...' at the beginning of episode 24. Well done, S!

Henchmen21

To clear you up, "Encounter At Farpoint" is actually one episode. It aired as a double length episode (2hr). It's intent was to be a 2hr long episode. It was only broken up into two episodes for reruns. The same thing happens to not only TNG's final episode but also subsequent Trek shows that had double length eps.

Dan

Yeah, I agree, especially with how the infamous "red shirts" were so unceremoniously killed off for so long. Why should a main character get a "plot death" just because they didn't get plot armor? Granted, there's plenty of plot armor to go around going forward, but I rather like this end just for its uniqueness and straightforwardness.

WastedPo

I agree. It's not perfect, but it has some genuinely good stuff in it. (Troi's interactions with Armus... when Data is forced to point his weapon at his colleagues.... Armus's voice acting.) Frankly, I think the scene at the very end when Tasha says goodbye is one of the best scenes in the entire season. George observed that the goodbye scene seemed disproportionately dramatic compared to how little screen time Tasha got, but I think that's more an indictment on the rest of the season than that one scene. I also think the rest of the crew acted appropriately after Tasha's death. They were shaken up, but they still had to save the lives of Ben and Troi. It would be downright unprofessional if they spent the rest of the episode moping around.

Paul T Hewes

"ooops...lost his pattern in the buffer." 🤷‍♂️

Dan

As Andrew and GAB mentioned below, I think there's plenty of good in "Skin of Evil", and saying as much compels me to think of how the Skin of Evil was created in the first place -- from something good, shedding its worst attributes. Because that is what we must do. Picard says it meaningfully here, that the REAL evil is not standing up to evil when given the chance. Dictators and detractors like Adolf and Eric Cartman are always going to exist. It's up to the rest of us to not entertain or give in to the demands of evil, even and especially when those whims are mysterious or mercurial. There is no bargaining with such a creature. You have to stop them when they can be stopped, ignore them when they can't be stopped, and be willing to accept your fate and stick to your morals if they can't be ignored. Beverly Crusher voiced her dissent, but chose herself as the sacrifice rather than give in to fear and pick someone else. Each time someone was given the choice to target someone else to save themselves, they declined. Picard put himself in danger to get his away team off the planet, because he knew he had the philosophical mind and fortitude to do what was necessary. Resistance at every level, especially when the only good choice is to not play the game. You're saying it's a bad episode, but imagine how much better off we'd be if our citizens had the courage of this crew, to stand up to the police and to their representatives; if our representatives had the courage of this crew, to stand up to their lobbyists and party whips; if our media had the courage of this crew, to stand up to the corporations and their owners/shareholders. We wouldn't be in half the mess we're in now, and each member of the away team personified what it takes to fix society when faced with poisonous adversity.

Brad Enervold

I watched this when it was first aired and I was stunned and angry at the time. But after doing research here and there over the years, the reason Tasha was killed off was because Denise Crosby wasn't happy about her character not having enough growth or screen time. She just wanted out . She didn't want to wait for season 2 and didn't want to stay. So they wrote her out fast .So George, you are kind of right. But also, sometimes getting killed for no reason in the military is the point. Keep on going, it just gets better and better.

StonyD

That time when Simone nails the timing on "Space..." but George is talking and only we notice it...

Plaid Hills

Just in case no one else brings it up, the show did a terrible job of actually explaining Tasha's cause of death. So Simone, when Tasha is attacked by Armis with the force field, it looks like it has an energy wave or component in addition to the physical movement. The next hint is when Dr. Crusher is attempting to stabilize her brain pathways, the medical assistant says her synaptic network is breaking down. Then when Dr. Crusher stops the efforts to revive her, she states, "That thing just sucked the life right out of her." (Timecode 16.26) That, combined with Armis absorbing the phaser shots from Riker and Data with no effect, I would guess that Armis has the ability to absorb/control energy, both normal and biochemical. That's how I'm guessing the original idea was created, but through all of the rewrites that the TNG scripts went through, someone probably figured it would be easy to cut the death cause analysis to save time and figured the audience wouldn't care (probably hoped the audience would be more focused on her dying, not how exactly she died), which was a terrible mistake.

StonyD

I like when people are dismayed or baffled at the Skin of Evil Yar death, if only because it shows that it worked. Everyone is used to the "hero's death" and to have the plot revolve around that character's departure. This was the most "realistic" in terms of what their life was like working as Security Chief on a starship and the risks that come along with it. The breaking of the plot armor, in such a casual, meaningless way, creates a shock in first viewing that makes many confused, angry, annoyed....just like how we might deal with a sudden unexpected death in real life. You're left asking "Why?" and there is no answer. So, the most "realistic" death of a major character in Star Trek imo.

lalaland

Ya but why are we trying to have 'realistic' in a star Trek TNG story... That just seems like a lame excuse to a bad episode imo. In a space fairing, heroic, melodramatic and often ludacris show. Suddenly we doing "realistic"? If a wizard appeared in breaking bad and fixed cured Walt's cancer you wouldn't say it's good to have some "fantastical éléments".

lalaland

Ya but why are we trying to have 'realistic' in a star Trek TNG story... That just seems like a lame excuse to a bad episode imo. In a space fairing, heroic, melodramatic and often ludacris show. Suddenly we doing "realistic"? If a wizard appeared in breaking bad and fixed cured Walt's cancer you wouldn't say it's good to have some "fantastical éléments".

Jomero

Denise Crosby thought the show was silly and wanted out. A few years later she realized just how many people the show touched and how much it meant to others, and just how much she actually did enjoy her time on it while she was there. She regretted asking to be written out. She has since embraced the Trek fandom and... well that's all I'll say.

lalaland

Probably a "favorites of the season" like they did with TOS?

Ca$hWednesday

If nothing else, It makes a possibility of a certain other of character dying seem plausible down the road.

StonyD

Exactly. This is simply a Red Shirt death, but in TNG it's elevated to a main cast member. I don't love the episode plot, but I love how casual the death is portrayed.

MrCAL

Moments of realism in the fantastical, provide anchor points in which we the viewer can relate. Those moments hit even harder because of that very contrast. I totally disagree with George in regards to needing her death to have a ''meaningful" build up. Death does not always announce itself. In fact in a lot of circumstances it is sudden, it is unexpected. No closing monologue, no build up. This episode focused on the crews professionalism through unexpected and sudden loss and trauma.

Eric Wilson

Ship gets boarded? Whoops everyone is getting transported to 1. The brig 2. Back to the other ship or 3 hard vaccum of space. Other ships shields are down? Beam a photon torpedo into the bridge.

WhiteHawk

Fun fact, for those who know both shows, the We’ll Always Have Paris episode aired on May 2nd 1988, while the Red Dwarf episode Future Echoes aired 22nd of February 1988.

Maerandir Eldar

Regarding coordinates: the answer to all of your guesses is "yes" ...the Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual (which I HIGHLY recommend you grab a copy of, but only after you've watched the third season, as it would be minorly spoilerish otherwise) does a fantastic job of explaining uncountable inconsistencies in the show's writing and presentation, and it does it all quite convincingly. In terms of navigation coordinates, because the writers were stupidly inconsistent about them, it shows you about a half-dozen ways they can be given, all dependent on situational context. Two-number coordinates are usually implied to be a bearing relative either to/from a ship, a significant navigation point (usually the center of the star system, sector, or from galactic core), unless the writers used a number bigger than 359, wherein it's supposedly just the X and Y coordinates on a sector map, with the Z-axis aligned to the galactic rotational axis, and not given in that coordinate set - basically just to pinpoint where they are from a top-down orthographic perspective.

Maerandir Eldar

Those are headings/bearings, not coordinates. I gave a long-winded explanation on the multiple coordinate systems as indicated by the Star Trek: TNG Technical Manual somewhere above.

Pearl Jam

At the end of Skin of Evil in the Holodeck, I think that is the first we see the Green uniform in TNG, worn by Dr. Krusher.

Zero Cochrane

When you guys are done season 3 you should watch a documentary called “ Chaos on the Bridge “. It’s actually free on YouTube and it’s made by William Shatner. It’s all about the first three seasons of Star Trek, the next generation and all the drama and power grabbing and politicking that was going on behind the scenes. I’ve seen it and it’s absolutely nuts and they get cast members from the show For the documentary. Both you guys have so many questions especially George about story decisions and why things went one way or the other? I have a feeling if you watched this documentary, you’d understand why the first three seasons of the way they are.

David N

Is anyone else concerned over advertising the 'you don't need your own copy' on the public youtube videos? I'm worried that if word gets out enough someone (patreon, copy write holders) might take action against the website/patreon. Sorry if this was answered in another place but it seems dicey to tell everyone you can stream hundreds of hours of content just by giving you guys the monetary equivalent of one episodes purchase.

Deano 42

This is true. Ms. Crosby (Bing Crosby's Granddaughter) wanted to expand her acting career into "more serious" roles. Unfortunately for her, that didn't pan out quite the way she had hoped. After leaving Star Trek, she starred in such greats as Arizona Heat, Miracle Mile, Pet Sematary and Dolly Dearest. She has had many more movie credits over the decades, but clearly not the illustrious and prestigious legacy she had envisioned for herself back in 1987. Still, we love her and her contributions to the series, and we wish her well.

Angzarr

Leland T. Lynch seems like kind of a dick. Who gives their full name with middle initial every time they talk!? Unless there is another Leland Lynch in Engineering, it's just annoying. Also, I think "Skin of Evil" sounds like forms on top of a bowl of black liquid evil goo when you leave it in the fridge too long, like a bowl of pudding...

Donna Castellano

I know they posted before they went ahead with the "you don't need your own copy" versions, they had in depth discussions with Patreon about it. So they definitely wouldn't have done it if Patreon hadn't given the OK.

Donna Castellano

Man, seaQuest. What a blast from the past. Was obsessed with that show. The third season wasn't that great but those first two seasons were 🔥🔥

Angzarr

I just had a really dark thought. George commented again about Tasha always being horny. I just put that together with the fact that SA victims can often become hypersexual, and her growing up on a planet with roving rape gangs... Ick.

Michael Kemmet

Skin of Evil: At the end of the day, there were just too many problems with the original cast. Too many actors and too many underdefined roles. It led to writing problems, unhappy actors, and fan dissatisfaction. And then you have all the drama going on behind the scenes. In no particular order, where does Yar's job end and Worf's begin? For that matter, what exactly is Worf's job when Yar is around? If Wesley is going to be an acting ensign, exactly what is he supposed to be doing? Is he going to be on the bridge all the time? If so, where is he supposed to go? What about engineering? You've got this giant set, scenes placed there most episodes, and the ghost of Scotty hanging over it all, yet you've chosen to do a chief engineer of the week for some strange reason. Even with 26 episodes in a season, how can you can you have enough character episodes to keep nine actors satisfied? Put it all together and something had to give with the main cast. Crosby being unhappy and wanting to leave gave them the first solution. Reduce the main cast by one and some of the pressure for character episodes is relieved. It also clarifies the Yar/Worf situation. Other changes may or may not be happening in the future to address other problems. Some will work, some won't. Eventually it will all settle down with the bugs worked out reasonably well(though some cast will never be completely happy for good reason).

Michael Kemmet

Skin of Evil pt 2: And thank you George for saying exactly what I was thinking during the entire memorial service(Windows XP background). lol

Ben Stevens

ohhh happy birthday to me. will never forget this gift.

Michael Kemmet

We'll Always Have Paris: Never knew this before, but the actor that plays Jenice(Picard's old gf), is Michelle Phillips of The Mamas & the Papas. They were a famous folk rock group from the late 60s. They weren't together long, but they made some hits that have hung on and are still known today. Monday, Monday, California Dreamin', Go Where You Wanna Go, Dedicated to the One I Love. She's also the mother of Chynna Phillips of the group Wilson Phillips. While not as well-known as The Mamas & the Papas, they were quite famous for those of us that grew up in the late-80s/90s. Probably their biggest hit was Hold On.

Neil Creek

Hell yes, Babylon 5 is the show I most wish they'd watch. Seeing their reactions to the incredible twists and character moments would be incredible. I've shown the series to so many of my friends, and sharing my love of the series is so fulfilling!

DanTurismo

They didn’t fire her. She’s said she was miserable and asked to leave. She felt like Tasha didn’t have enough to do on the show. Later she said she had regrets about leaving when she saw how much better the writing got.

DanTurismo

The black goo was metamucil and black printers ink. Apparently it was kind of corrosive and kept rotting the costumes.

Lintrinsic

According to DC Fontana the high-ups didn't want Worf. They fought tooth and nail to prevent him existing. Then she wrote Yar taking command of the saucer in a draft of Encounter at Farpoint and they suddenly wanted Worf and for him to be in command because they didn't want a woman in the centre seat. I don't think it's a case of too many characters, it's poor definition of what their purpose is. Worf is kind of a spare part up to this point. He was a good idea as the first Klingon in Starfleet but he doesn't really have a purpose other than a random command officer hanging around like an extra, but for some reason included in senior team briefings. Wesley getting included is even more baffling to me. Dumping huge pressure and responsibility on an untrained, unqualified kid and promoting him to the bridge over officers that have been working towards it for years just because some alien says he's clever doesn't really seem sensible or like encouragement to me. It's preferential treatment other academy candidates don't get. The chief engineers are like shift managers at McDonald's in season 1. I've always found it amusing that they announce themselves like , "this is Snidely P Whiplash, your chief engineer for today". It's an interesting choice.

WastedPo

I think this is a valid concern. At the end of the day, I don't think it matters what Patreon says (or even the law). It's what the studios say. As convenient as it is for us patrons, I do worry that they might be flying a little too close to the sun with the "no synch" stuff. Technically speaking, I'm sure a lawyer could validly argue that they're "transforming" the content by giving commentary over the entire show/movie. However, the letter of the law doesn't matter in the real world if studios disagree with that and want to throw their weight around. There have been other reaction channels that started out their patreon content by having the full show with picture-in-picture. (I don't believe they did any research. They just did it automatically, without forethought.) Well one day, they suddenly permanently removed all of those picture-in-picture reactions. Apparently they'd gotten legally threatened. (And unfortunately, they had never saved separate video of their reactions, only the burned-in copies of the their reactions combined with the movies. So at that point, their full reactions to all of these things got lost forever.) tldr: The "no synch" feature is a great convenience, but I agree with the concerns about Cinebinge so openly advertising "you don't need your own copy."

Lintrinsic

And later lied and said she gave it to him. He also got the episode wrong that was her final day of filming. It wasn't Skin of Evil, it was Symbiosis and she can be seen waving in the background as the cargo bay doors close as Picard and Beverly leave. That was her final scene.

Lintrinsic

There was a lot of discussion that "it happened" should have been in her message to Data at the time as I recall. I don't think her message to him was bad, but I do think it would have made it more personal and less generic.

Ben Schwartz

Simone/George, I'm not sure who does the editing for these videos, but the sound mix on this one is PERFECT! Please make these levels permanent if you can!!!

GAB

Wesley was Gene Roddenberry's middle name - that's why there's a wunderkind with the same name on the bridge. Narcissism - plain and simple.

GAB

It made me think of Rufus T Firefly and James T Kirk.

gfixler

When Picard tells Riker to look up if there were any other reports of time loops in that sector, and Riker starting searching on the little computer on his chair's arm, I remembered one of my favorite old Twitter accounts, @RikerGoogling. Some examples: Apr 18, 2023 real housewives of the mirror universe bittorrent Apr 21, 2023 can a visor see farts Apr 22, 2023 why do stars look small and close at warp speed Apr 23, 2023 are more people left handed in the mirror universe Apr 24, 2023 which pokemon can have sex with humans Apr 24, 2023 how can you tell if your cat is a republican Apr 25, 2023 apple starships vs google starships Apr 25, 2023 turn off communicator badge email alerts

Danny Roberts

I skimmed the comments but didn't see it. The musical instrument played in the Parisian cafe are actually called "Vibe Tubes". They weren't named officially until S05E03 of Lower Decks where they appeared a bit more prominently.

The Real Andrew Kim

Fencing will make its return with an A-list celebrity from the 90s

The Real Andrew Kim

now that its no longer a spoiler, because of the way production was shot, Denise Crosby's last scene she shot was actually back in "Symbiosis" in the scene where Picard is leaving the cargo bay at the end, you can see inside the room just before it closes, Crosby waves to the camera goodbye at the very last second https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZXAAwooVOA

The Real Andrew Kim

technically Microsoft saw this episode and thought, lets make the default background a reminder of a cast member funeral, which is what I thought when I first used Windows XP

Jpsynergy

I too really dislike Skin of Evil. I wouldn't have minded more Tasha Yar before she left the show either. I guess it means Worf will have more to do since he's now acting chief of security.

Hammerdash

It was a shame we lost Tasha so early, but when I look at all the great stuff that can in some way be traced back to this episode, I don't ultimately regret it.

G Lam

I was very tempted to comment "That wave......" But had to restrain myself

G Lam

I'm sure in the 135 comments so far some of this is already mentioned.. some of which I've seen. Yes, she chose to leave, and regretted it afterward. Reasons being that she'd turn up on set, say something mundane like "Hailing frequencies open, sir", and that was it. No character death, no acting challenges... But TNG in the early days had a lot of issues with scripts, and rewrites to satisfy network execs, and stuff, people would draft a script, someone would review and change, and bigwigs would put their foot down, and it would get rewritten again.. The show was almost fighting to stay on air... as such, nuance and character development was often side-lined. Plus Worf's warrior/protector default mode threw off the balance of TNG doing the Trek thing by pushing the boundaries slightly by having the security chief be a female character... often to be overshadowed somewhat. The flick-of-the-wrist "and now you are dead" was actually Gene Roddenberry's doing. After failing to convince her to stay on the show he decided it would leave viewers vulnerable to the uncertainty of plot armour of main credit cast (hello Game of Thrones) Not really a spoiler: Character and inter-character stuff develops way better later on... which is where Denise Crosby's regret over leaving comes in.

Weirdo

Much as everything with Tasha naturally dominates talk about this episode, one of its redeeming qualities is Marina Sirtis giving an excellent performance as Deanna trying to navigate a difficult situation, showing her intelligence and value to the team even as she knows she's lost one of her best friends.

WastedPo

I also really like the way Troi is played in this episode. I think she's at her best when the writers actually acknowledge (a) she has powers (b) she is a counselor who understand psychology.

Zero Cochrane

Yes, because the documentary is more about the mess the first three seasons were behind the scenes. By the end of season three a lot of the problems have been dealt with, and they had a permanent showrunner.

McShades

It's probably already been mention but the actress Denise Crosby thought her character was shallow and was just "stage dressing" so she asked to leave the show, the writers decided to kill her off from the show. She didn't really do much afterwards, career wise she would have probably been better off staying on TNG, odds are her character would have grown in future seasons. As for Enterprise, they do have transporter technology, it's just brand new technology and not everyone trusts it. So they tend to take the shuttle instead.

Edina Lewis

Very entertaining watching George trying to rationalise why Tasha’s death should have had more meaning. Most deaths do not have meaning. Why should Tasha’s death be any more meaningful than that of engineer Singh? Or any of the other countless red shirts we’ve seen die? Characters die, there is still a mission to accomplish, then the other characters grieve for them in their own time. Exactly how every other death in the series is handled.

punterjoe

I have an aversion to TNg "Verb of Adjective" episodes. Between this and Coffee of Honor, I think it was an act of mercy to write Denise correct out of the series. I must admit Arsenal of Freedom may be an exception to my rule. While not great, it's ok on a classic TOS easy. Anyway, this episode free Denise up to do more satisfying roles in her career.

erosennin

Jesus Christ George... the world ending plot and the missed date plot is literally a parallel to Casablanca. Two former lovers meet while the world is going to shit. "The problems of two little people don't amount to a hill of beans" and all that. Pretty much everything in that episode was a reference to Casablanca. It gets a bit tiring listening to George constantly tying to apply his narrow set of rules of television crafting like "they should have just killed er at the end" or "Plot A and Plot B don't mix well". The first episode might not be the best and might have missed the mark in several ways, but you're not fixing what's wrong with the episode by making Tasha's death this dramatic final piece of the episode. It made sense where in the story it was for what they tried to tell.

PJ P

Armus is not "pure evil" in the sense that we take it in horror movies or anything. He is essentially the culmination of "evil" traits and desires from a civilized culture - think volumes of evil vs degrees of evil. 'Him' starting with death makes sense since it's what we all assume would be the worst thing, but as mentioned it was too quick and did not get the result he wanted. From that point he was less secure and lacked control as he searched for a way to properly torture them, especially when you consider he was being 'weakened' by Deanna (empathy incarnate). You have to remember Armus is a physical entity, not the embodiment of actual evil. While he retains remnants of those that discarded him he was essentially created and abandoned - the majority of his existence being in solitude.

Logan Kerlee

Really enjoyed watching these with you both. :) You both are a lot of fun to watch this show with! Super enjoyed it. :) Love this show!

Paul Verburg

Sorry to be pedantic, but it’s “Noun of Noun”. No one was going to flay Armus 😉. And I think “Coming of Age” might be the best episode of the season, but I guess that’s actually the only “Verb of Noun” episode.

p0sthum4n

Armus was made of printer ink and metamucil.

LazyBoy Stays Up Late Watchin Video Tapes

Armus is the physical manifestation of Crosby's decision. She was the one who "Abandoned" them. Armus is how the creators/writers felt about her decision. I could be full of Shit ;P

Patrick - Excelsior

When the musician asked for a "mess of greens" he was referring to collard greens. A southern food staple consisting of green thick leafy plant similar to kale but tougher. To remedy this they are often slow-simmered with smoked meats until tender. I never liked the Captains response to the three revived people. If nothing else his curiosity should be peaked. A look into people from the past. The origins of his species. Imagine if a a frozen person from 300 years in our past, they would be instantly celebrities. But here the Captain basically chews out data for saving the life of three humans. Tasha Yar was dead on that planet, why didn't he yell at the landing party for bringing her body back to the ship and Dr. Crusher for trying to revive her. Its out of character for Picard. This episode was a milestone in the history of Star Trek by establishing that the first season of TNG took place in the year 2364. This was the first time an exact calendar date was provided for a Trek episode. The capsule containing the "frozen" had the name SS Birdseye was inscribed on the hull. "Birdseye Seafood, Inc." was one of the first brands of frozen food. "A couple of pit woofies." is a country music term for low-class groupies. The role of rich asshat was originally intended to be Harcourt Fenton Mudd, but Roger C. Carmel died before production of this episode could begin. So the character was rewritten as the money obsessed CEO butthead. When Claire Raymond searches for her family members with Counsellor Troi, the first screen shows that her son married Ginger and Mary Anne, a reference to Gilligan's Island (1964). Then, on the next screen, the first names are: Jonathan F. , Marina S., Denise C., Brent S., Levardis B., and Wil W.

overdev

the look of Simone when she saw the dark liquid and realized whats going to happen was great :D

Guts

I think they killed her off like this to raise the stakes in other episodes. It wasn't a random red shirt that got killed. It was a main character. From this episode onwards viewers would be way more on edge when the crew is in danger.

Marcus Hicks

Armus kind of reminds me of the creature from the Stephen King short story "The Raft".

Marcus Hicks

Not sure if this is a spoiler, but George was right that Tasha Yar was grossly underdeveloped and underutilized in the show, so Denise Crosby wanted to be written out. Not sure if this is what she had in mind, though.

Marcus Hicks

Yes, more getting denied 😉

Jay Perry

If they followed the principles of real science, every time they warp they would stay younger than people not moving that fast. With all the ships of all the advanced societies who have warp tech, it would be very confusing for everyone. Everyone would be time travelling every time they use warp drive. Or maybe going light speed squared just turns you into energy? Either way, Science Fiction is not Science.

ImpishMisconception

I dont blame George for his reaction to Tasha Yar's death. I have watched this show many times, I still remember my first time seeing Skin Of Evil and I just sat there stunned... I do think though that Tasha Yar's death should have happened later in the episode. Like have it evelope Riker first and do the other crap it did, then have that Tar Monster from Scooby Doo kill Tasha Yar...

ancientmoros

Traveling at warp has a different effect than travelling close the speed of light through normal space. Time dilation occurs when you travel through space at high relativistic speeds, but the warp drive works by bending the space itself so there isn't any time dilation. Other shows use the 'travel through sub-space' alternative to also avoid time dilation problems. The impulse drives might create a time dilation effect though as that moves the ship in normal space. Some ships, like Voyager, can travel up to 80% speed of light on impulse making the time dilation very drastic. The coils create a subspace field though so idk if they would say that cancels the time dilation.

Jay Perry

But then, wouldn't bending space, destroy space?