We finished our reviews of the "Alien Nation" TV series, but sprinkled in between our upcoming reivews of the five "Alien Nation" TV movies, we'll be reviewing our top 20 episodes of "Star Trek: The Next Generation." First up is one of many people's favorites from season 2, if not the whole series, "The Measure of a Man." This is the one where Lt. Cmdr. Data is on trial regarding his status as Starfleet property, with Picard fighting for Data's right to choose...and to live. Note: A few segments ran long and were moved to an upcoming bonus episode. Stay tuned for that. - Which co-host picked "The Measure of a Man" as one his personal top 10 (to add to the collective top 20)? - How did this episode rank among the seasons, series, and beyond? - What three things did Nick like the best about this episode? - What did the co-hosts list in the "Warp Speed" (good stuff) and "Chalice of Reeks" (bad stuff) segments? - What was the original concept for exploring Data's nature before switching to him learning poker, which became a recurring trope throughout the whole series, including the last moment of the series finale? - In what ways did both co-hosts love the final scene between Data and Riker? - What are some of the great quotes from this episode? - What big nitpick, that took up approximately 13 minutes of the raw recording, ended up getting moved to the forthcoming bonus episode? Which guest character earned a co-host's rant, which also got moved to the bonus episode? - What were some of the smaller nitpicks & negatives that the co-hosts had in an otherwise great episode? - What is one co-host's "head canon" about how Nakamura (a bad admiral), Captain Louvois (a bad judge), Commander Maddox (an immoral cyberneticist), and Data, all wound up in the same place at the same time? - What famous song was written by a guest star in this episode, and who was that guest star? - Which guest star had a very brief role (just a couple lines) in "The Shawshank Redemption," and what was the role? - This episode has connections to season 3's "The Offspring," which is also great in many ways but also frustrates one co-host in similar ways? What are those frustrations? - What are some other episodes in this show, the franchise, or other franchises, that involve rights, personhood, or autonomy? - What are some other episodes that involve trials, hearings, or other forms of courtroom drama? - What is it about this episode that makes some things that happen later in "Star Trek: Picard" even more frustrating (and, isn't "Star Trek: Picard" frustrating enough already)? - What are the other Trek episodes directed by the director of this episode? - What are some of the neat technical, visual, and behind-the-scenes details from the episode, including views out of windows, the model used for the space station, items in Data's cylindrical luggage, references to "Buckaroo Bonzai," the music, and deleted scenes? - Which character wins the "Captain's Chair" segment for MVP of the episode? - What do the frustrations about this episode and "The Offspring" teach us about real-life, regarding issues with rights, privileges, progress, and changing hands of leadership? - How did the co-hosts grade this episode, how did the explanation of one grading system sneak in a little commentary about new/modern Trek, and which co-host changed his grade *during* the recording? - And, what communiques were read during the "Hailing Frequencies" segment? Listen now for the answers to these and other broad and deep questions as we fathom..."The Measure of a Man." And, stay tuned for the bonus episode, with more material from this review, coming soon. Please rate or review us wherever you listen to podcasts. You can leave comments on individual episodes via the Spotify and GoodPods apps. Our e-mail address is alienatingourselves@gmail.com. Royalty-free music used in this episode came from Pixabay.com.
