Summary[]
While Wesley is taking his entrance exam to Starfleet Academy on Relva VII, Picard's old friend, Admiral Quinn, and his assistant Remmick beam up the ship. Remmick conducts a thorough investigation of log entries and a series of interrogations of the crew. The two remain silent about the purpose of all this. It is a test of Picard's loyalty, as there are rumors of a conspiracy in Starfleet. When Remmick reports that he could find nothing wrong, Quinn offers Picard to promote him to admiral and the lead of Starfleet Academy.
In the meantime, Wesley has completed all parts of the exam, including the dreaded "psych test", which in his case consisted in helping people in a staged emergency. However, another candidate, Mordok, performed still better, thanks to Wesley's help, and is the only one to be accepted. Disappointed about his apparent failure, Wesley returns to the ship where Picard reveals that he too failed his first attempt to enter Starfleet Academy. Picard eventually decides to decline Quinn's offer.
Errors and Explanations[]
Internet Movie Database[]
Plot holes[]
- When Remick asks Data if is programmed to tell the whole truth Data says, "Yes." This would be untrue. First he is seen over and over to not only withhold information but from time to time has been seen to lie. Secondly, a being incapable of withholding information would be unsuitable in any kind of military organization as they could never be trusted with sensitive information. Data could be misleading Remmick, in order to ensure the investigator accepts Data's testimony.
The Nitpicker's Guide
Next Generation Trekkers
Volume 2[]
Plot Oversights[]
- At one point, Jake Kurland steals a shuttle, attempting to run away from home. Evidently the young man is terribly nervous because - shortly after he is described as skilled in shuttle operation - he unbalances the shuttle engines. His expertise may have been limited to the theoretical aspects.
- Does it seem realistic that Wesley doesn't make it into the academy? He’s already an acting ensign. Both his parents were officers. He has saved the ship several times. l’m sure Picard would give him a good letter of recommendation. Are the entrance requirements really this stringent? In Legacy, lshara Yar pretends that she has an interest in joining Startleet. Both Worf and Data encourage her to do so. Yet this woman has grown up on a colony run by gangs. Doesn't it seem likely that the academy would stress the necessity of a high-quality education? Ishara grew up in the same enviorment as Tasha, and possess many of the same skills and attributes.
Changed Premises[]
- A few shows later we will discover that Quinn was not imagining a crisis brewing in Startleet. ln fact, some beetlelike aliens are systematically seizing control of key members of the admiralty. The episode Conspiracy reveals this and another interesting fact: The mother creature controlling the beetles lives in Remmick! Presumably it‘s already in him during this episode. Quinn is already saying that something is amiss. It the aliens want to take over Startleet, wouldn't this be the most opportune time to plant a few beetles in the bridge crew of the Enterprise’? After all, Remmick has had a chance to be alone with all of them. For some reason, Remmick fails to take advantage of the situation. The creatures may not have been able to take control of Quinn and Remmick until after the events of this episode. Besides, letting Picard and the others think Quinn was imaging a crisis would allow them to be caught off guard later. (In any case, if the bluegill creatures had been planted during this episode, Remmick would have been the obvious suspect!)
Equipment Oddities[]
- Near the end of the episode, Remmick reports his findings to Quinn. He comes to Quinn's quarters and sits in a chair directly in front of Quinn's desk. Evidently, the user interface for raising and lowering chairs won‘t change much in the next 350 years because Remmick’s chair has a little lever that sticks out to the side underneath the seat cushion, just like the one on my office chair! If it works, don't change it!.
Nit Central[]
- Mark Swinton on Thursday, October 28, 1999 - 3:59 pm: A scene in during Remmick's interrogations (which were all brilliantly done, I must say) made me sit up and think "Nit nit nit nit nit!" When interviewing Picard, he says "You violated the Prime Directive of the Edo" referring to that silly pointless episode "Justice". Wait a minute! The Edo had no Prime Directive, it was the Federation Prime Directive that was compromised in that episode. Remmick may have been referring to the Edo's use of the death penalty, without exceptions, for any criminal act.
- Ryan on Friday, July 20, 2001 - 9:48 pm: True, the spying thing could have gotten the Federation through first contact and through subsequent dimplomatic affairs. But would a person so infuriated by courtesy really join the benevolent and courteous Federation? In just one episode we see countless acts of courtesy on the Enterprise, I would assume most other starships have similar behaviours. If you loathed courtesy, would you join into this kind of organization? More to the point, would a race that prided itself on honesty want to join an organisation dishonest enough to spy on the population before revealing themselves!
Ex Astris Scientia[]
- There is a test in "hyperspace physics", which should have been "subspace physics" for all we know. Hyperspace physics could be an alternative description for the mechanics of Faster than Light travel.
Notes[]
- ↑ Hannah Louise Shearer performed an uncredited re-write
| The Next Generation - Season 1 |
| Encounter at Farpoint I The Naked Now I Code of Honor I Haven I Where No One Has Gone Before I The Last Outpost I Lonely Among Us I Justice I The Battle I Hide and Q I Too Short a Season I The Big Goodbye I Datalore I Angel One I 11001001 I Home Soil I When the Bough Breaks I Coming of Age I Heart of Glory I The Arsenal of Freedom I Symbiosis I Skin of Evil I We'll Always Have Paris I Conspiracy I The Neutral Zone |