Star Trek: The Next Generation (TV Series) The Game (1991) User Reviews

A Starship of pod people

[bkoganbing · 8/10 · 30 July 2018]

One of my favorite TNG episodes has the Enterprise becoming a captive of a subversive alien race which gets the Enterprise crew members addicted to a three dimensional video game. The only ones not affected are a visiting Wesley Crusher from Starfleet Academy and Ensign Robin Leffler.

Both Wil Wheaton and Ashley Judd would have gotten a bit more romantically involved if it weren't for the fact that they realize what is going on and spend the entire episode both running from the familiar friends and family in the crew and trying to figure out how to counter the addiction to the game which allow aliens to control the minds of the crew.

Wheaton and Judd remind so much of Kevin McCarthy and Dana Wynter running from the pod people in Invasion Of The Body Snatchers. The parallels are too obvious to ignore.

Poor Wesley Crusher can't even rely on his mother, a frightening prospect for anyone.

Great episode and great homage to Invasion Of The Body Snatchers.

In principle it is an accurate future prediction

[snoozejonc · 8/10 · 7 August 2021]

Riker brings an augmented reality gaming headset back from shore leave and members of the crew start to become addicted to using it.

This is an entertaining episode that gives a decent commentary on excessive gaming and is a nice homage to 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers'.

The story has the formula of a possession thriller with a nice bit of irony showing adults as the game obsessed victims, whilst the teenage characters do not indulge. It maintains an effective level creepiness throughout, but the suspense is minimal when you know everything will soon be back to normal. It holds up well on contemporary viewing given the prevalence of screen time in today's world.

Wesley Crusher and Robin Lefler are the main protagonists. They have reasonably good chemistry, and this is mainly down to Ashley Judd's incredibly striking screen presence and charming persona. To be fair to Will Wheaton, he is better than he's ever been at delivering the poorly written Wesley dialogue.

Many other characters play 'possessed' versions of their usual characters. It's always creepier when they keep the normal personality with some sinister traits thrown in.

Visually it is quite effective, with some cinematography giving certain scenes an air of dread or a feeling that characters are not quite right. Some of the sexualised behaviour of the people playing the game is a bit OTT but keeps it all fun.

The gaming effects are a bit weird. They look good as an AR style game that would have been quite futuristic when the episode was made, but for me it looks like a game designed by people who know nothing about gaming.

All the cast give solid performances.

For me it's a 7.5/10 but I like to round upwards.

An odd case where the young people are disgusted by all the adults playing videogames!

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 22 November 2014]

When the show begins, you learn that Wesley is on leave from Starfleet Academy and will soon be coming to visit. As for Riker, he's doing what he ALWAYS does--trying to get his groove on with an alien lady. However, instead of doing the nasty, she slips a video game headpiece on his head and instantly Riker is addicted. In fact, he's SO addicted that he brings more of these devices aboard and soon just about everyone is playing 'the game'. So, into this weird environment arrives Wesley and he and his new girlfriend (a very young and adorable Ashley Judd) are alarmed at how much time is being used by players in this game. Additionally, Wesley examines one of these gaming devices and finds out that it is deliberately addictive. But what can these two do---just about everyone aboard is hooked and serving some new overlords!

This is a cute turn--seeing two young people who don't want to play videogames and all the adults hooked! The plot is original and clever and worth seeing.

Pleasures that can lead to addiction.

[russem31 · 25 April 2006]

ST:TNG:106 - "The Game" (Stardate: 45028.2) - this is the 6th episode of the 5th season of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

While on Risa for a vacation, Riker becomes romantically involved with a mysterious woman who introduces him to a game that stimulates the pleasure centers. When he returns to the Enterprise, he starts getting other people hooked on the game.

At the same time, Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton in his first appearance since the fourth season episode "Final Mission") comes onboard for a break from Starfleet Academy. There he falls in love with Ensign Robin Lefler (Ashley Judd in her second TNG appearance), and the two start investigating the increasing popularity of the game.

When they realize that Commander Data has been mysteriously deactivated and that the game is addictive, they must work together to save the Enterprise from impending doom.

Trivia note: We see Troi eating a chocolate sundae in a seductive way, we see a cadet uniform, Data recalls Crusher (the Dancing Doctor) teaching him to dance in "Data's Day", and Wesley recalls taking Picard's advice and meeting Boothby during his first week at Starfleet Academy. Also we hear that Picard engraved "A.F." in an elm tree (for an "old acquaintance" who distracted him from his studies). And, Nurse Ogawa makes another appearance.

The Game Plot - 20 years Ahead of its Time

[rkgnet · 9/10 · 28 February 2017]

Am I the only one to watch this episode which came out in October of 1991 and not see that once again Star Trek predicted technology decades before it happened. Watch this episode....and then think about what has happened to our world society today as the result of first cell phones in the 90s and now smart phones over the past 10 years. The "Game" device even looks a little like a mobile smart device with headphones.

How many are left today that are not addicted to our new "Game". How many of us today are having their entire lives controlled by social media and smart phone apps. Go anywhere, commute on any bus, train, or car....hike on any street or trail. Go to a fitness center....are they really working out? How many people do you see playing our 2017 version of the "Game"? I hope someday, a Wesley Crusher will wake us up to the downside of our artificially controlled "Game" to the real world around us that doesn't require membership or being a "friend" or a device to exist.

As I rode on a train in the UK last year, a little 3 year old girl was having a great time showing off on her hobby horse. Her father didn't notice her and others around her were on their smart phones too. I was the only one who paid her any attention and smiled at her. How sad a "Game" we play today. Wesley....beam us back!

A Wesley episode that's good?

[SnydleyDownDeep · 8/10 · 17 February 2008]

Wesley visits the Enterprise for the first time since leaving for Starfleet Academy in the previous season's "Final Mission". Finally, he's grown out of the grinning cherub we'd all come to despise.

Ashley Judd also makes her true acting debut in this episode, as Ensign Robin Lefler (although she made a brief appearance in an earlier episode, "Darmok"). She does a wonderful job, and it's a pity we never see her charming brainy character again.

Despite a weak beginning (everyone is *so* busy getting ready for all these scientists coming aboard, yet they have time to throw a surprise party for Wesley), the episode quickly moves into intrigue and romance. Wesley and Robin are a perfect match along the geek-factor, and they develop what is probably the most believable single-episode romance in the entire Trek universe. (I know--Wesley? In a believable romance? On Star Trek? But it's true; credit Asley Judd's fine acting.) When Wesley asks Robin out for coffee, and she says "No. I'll meet you for dinner instead." there's not a red-blooded male watching who doesn't know exactly how Wesley feels at that moment.

With their friendship established, the two begin investigating the odd behavior of the crew that's being caused by a new game that Riker brought on board from a trip to Risa. Tension builds effectively as they learn more about the game and the danger they are beginning to face.

When the crew discovers that Wesley has not yet played the game, they hunt him down, and we really do worry about Wesley during the exciting chase scenes. (I know--Wesley? The character we all wanted to be chopped into Targ food? We care about him? Yes, we do; credit his budding acting skills.) The penultimate scene, when the crew forces Wesley to play the game by holding him in a chair and forcing his eyes open is chilling. Unfortunately, a last-minute Data-saves-the-day scene pops us out of our suspense and reminds us that we are watching a Trek episode after all.

The Return of the Younger Crusher

[Samuel-Shovel · 7/10 · 18 March 2020]

In "The Game" Wesley Crusher returns on a visit to the Enterprise to discover that the crew has begun playing a game with addictive qualities that maybe affecting how they run the ship and what their future plans might be. With the help of Ensign Lefler (Ashley Judd), Wesley must stop the spread of this addictive game before it's too late.

When Wes popped back onboard the ship I let out an audible groan but this one actually turned out to be decent. Maybe Wheaton is a better actor with more confidence, maybe it's the fact that the Wes character isn't being shoved down our throats on a constant basis, or maybe someone finally decided to write a decent script for the boy, but this is actually a fairly good Wesley Crusher episode, something I thought I'd never say. The fact that the superior thespian Ashley Judd is along for the ride doesn't hurt the quality either. A good mystery with some horrible elements, a solid entry into Season 5.

Homer's Odyssey and Invasion of the Body Snatchers

[fluminis · 9/10 · 23 June 2016]

"The Game" is based on both classical and modern references. The effects of the game in question –addiction, oblivion of mission, carelessness of duties– recall Homer's Odyssey, IX, 84-105, it is, the debarkation of Ulysses' men at Lotophagia, the country of the Lotus- eaters, where Ithaca's crewmen are kindly invited by the locals to taste the powerfully alienating lotus. The way in which the game gets more and more Enterprise's crew-people hooked vividly reminds the expansion of the soul-empty impostors in "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" (Don Siegel 1956, with several remakes) all over and around the apparently peaceful town of Santa Mira. From this point on spoilers would start to appear. Oh, and kisses for Ashly Judd.

Data is fast when he needs to be...

[apocalypse_showdown · 6/10 · 8 February 2013]

... and exceptionally slow when it serves the storyline. Data is fast enough in some episodes to avoid phaser fire a couple of feet away (Season 4 - Episode 6, Legacy) but is slow enough to not protect himself from being shut down by a human. Anyway, that is not the only flaw here.

Quick summary: The crew starts distributing a device that gives them pleasure but also takes over their higher brain functions to make them do the bidding of the aliens who gave them the device in the first place. Wesley, with the help of Robin is able to discover that the device has dangerous side-effects and tries to find a solution.

And now the rant: Riker is on Risa and he allows an unknown person to put a headband on him with two pointed nodes aimed directly at his eyes. Considering all the stuff that has happened since Season 1, who in their right mind would be so careless especially the first officer of the flagship of a fleet that everyone is envious and jealous of. Well, Riker makes another wrong decision here and leads to this episode. That part could have been handled in a better fashion to make the whole thing more believable.

How did Wesley Crusher repair data when Geordi couldn't figure out how to repair data? Not to mention that once Crusher found the small cuts in the wires, how the hell did he repair them?? And man, that stupid off switch in data ticks me off so much when it is used by the writers to move the plot along.

When Wesley informs the captain about the problem, the captain is already under influence as shown a few seconds later when he grabs the device off of a table (presumably) to his right without opening any drawer or dipping into a concealed area. How did Wesley miss the device that is towards the right of the captain? Yet he somehow manages to find the tiniest of cuts in data's wires.

Ashley Judd looks good. She was quite beautiful when she was young (and still is!), no doubt (and if I may indulge a little bit - she looked great in the scenes where she wore the red/pink dress) but that hardly makes this a 'good' episode. 6 stars is being a bit generous because I am biased towards TNG overall.

Sometimes a Cigar is Just a Cigar

[Hitchcoc · 9/10 · 31 August 2014]

There is a little of "The Invasion of the Body Snatchers" involved in this episode. There are also some very sensual scenes, also pointed out by earlier reviewers. The plot involves the presence of a kind of video game that gains access to the brain. As one plays, he or she is absorbed into the game to the exclusion of duties. They are also absorbed into a collective mentality. The crew, not being dummies, know that Data is an interloper and they proceed to shut him down. The only ones who are aware that things are going to hell are the visiting Wesley Crusher and the beautiful Robin Lefler. They are alone aboard a ship of addicts who are trying to force them into their game. They are under the control of the commander of another ship who has plans to infect the entire sector of the galaxy. Wesley and Robin are able to interpret the medical data through brain scans. Meanwhile, Data is the key. He is the once dangerous force to the drug addled crew. The look on Picard's face when he lies to Wesley says it all. It is obvious that their fearless leader has succumbed to the attack and this really becomes frightening. A really imaginative use of the characters.

Awkward balance of serious and creepy

[Mr-Fusion · 6/10 · 16 April 2017]

'The Game' has good intentions - mind control, that time-honored trope of scifi - and it's even served up as a classic Invasion of the Body Snatchers tale (how can you go wrong with paranoia?). But there's an inherent silliness to the execution of the game itself that's dissonant with the rest of it. It's easy to suggest brain-washing if the device is tapping into the frontal lobe, but do they really need the implied orgasmic satisfaction? That just makes it all very weird.

But if you can get past that, this is a good vehicle for Wesley to save the day . . . and kiss Ashley Judd, which is an undeniable win. I don't actively oppose this episode, and there are some positives (like Crusher getting the upper hand on everyone else), but it's such an oddball game to (very nearly zombify the crew of Starfleet's flagship.

6/10

I love this episode, Ashley Judd just steals the show!

[dcobbimdb · 10/10 · 6 March 2012]

At this point Wesley has been off the show for some time now and we've only seen a blip of the beautiful Ashley Judd in the previous episode Darmok, obviously the Stage gate for this episode. Now both come back in thriving passion due to an addictive game that has seemingly taken over the rest of the crew, bottom they are the only ones who know about it in time and can stop it, but can they against the odds?

What's interesting to me is that while I love the Star Trek universe as a whole, what I mostly love are very unique or confrontational battle like episodes. So while this episode is unique it hardly has much of a sub plot or battle like feel. So what filled that gap for me was Mainly Ashley Judd as she is just stunningly beautiful as she is today, but here she was in her young twenties and boy was she just as vibrant and talented back then. So the flirtatious aspect of her and Wesley through this building episode did more than carry it for me. It's amazing how much of an open face actress she was back then showing all those emotions and thoughts and you can see looking back why she was born to stardom. I mainly write reviews for movies and seldom TV shows and again while I love the Star Trek universe overall I have to say I really found this episode a gem after all this time... Maybe it's the old man in me coming out over a young, beautiful and talented Ashley, but I enjoyed it very mush. Well done...

My First Foray Into STNG!

[spasek · 7/10 · 20 August 2021]

Before I chose to give STNG, I was an adamant fan of TOS. However, my friends were huge fans of both and encouraged me to give the series a chance. I decided to do so. This was the episode that aired at that point in time, and I actually found myself enjoying it.

Oh, I knew a little about the characters and such, so it wasn't a completely new experience, but it was here that I realized that my friends were right, and I was onto a whole new series to explore. One that I never regretted and still count among my favorite sci-fi series of all-time.

I'll admit that as a 20-year-old at the time, most of my attention was on a then, unknown actress in Ashley Judd. She had the best smile and dimples I'd seen, and I was bummed to find out that she wasn't a fixture of the crew. A few years later, I would watch "Ruby" and on from there.

The story has an intriguing premise in which an alien race attempts to subvert and overthrow the Federation by using a psychotropic game. Sort of a more advanced verson of the "Manchurian Candidate." With video games being enormously popular back then (Nintendo/Sega etc.), parents were starting to become concerned about prolonged use and how more and more kids were spending more and more time playing games instead of doing other things.

I suppose today, we could use this storyline that would be applicable to cellphone and social media use. Working in China a few years ago, and on board a subway, I recall being a little shocked of the rows of people all hunched over...all holding their cellphones in front of them...all staring down at their device. They looked like lemmings or robots.

Because Wesley was around my age at the time I saw this episode, I was intrigued by the premise of him being the sole member of the crew who hadn't fallen prey to the game. Of course, even then, I knew it couldn't last. After all, he wasn't Danar!

Overall, this is a fun episode, even if it's a little far-fetched, it's still enjoyable. While it's nowhere near the best Star Trek episode, it still largely works. And even if it didn't, you still have Ashely Judd!

Not the worst, but not that good.

[gilbertayres · 4/10 · 6 October 2018]

This episode is, frankly, weird. Ashley Judd's guest appearance and the reappearance of Wesley partially make up for what is obviously a narrative solely about gaming addiction. Why Troi doesn't immediately realize that Riker is addicted to the game and alerts Dr. Crusher before anyone else can be affected simply doesn't make sense. The fact that the kids are left to find a solution is also, equally, dumb.

One of the best episodes of STNG

[LilyDaleLady · 10/10 · 28 September 2019]

STNG could be very good, or mediocre and lame. You could never tell! The first couple seasons were very dry and "politically correct" but the show improved in the 3rd, 4th and 5th seasons.

This 5th season episode (October 1991!) is one of my favorites. It's held up to repeated viewings and I just saw it yesterday evening. For one thing....years before the internet and smartphones, it predicted the obsessive mind control of gaming and devices. I have often thought about this in the years since, and would see games that "rewarded" players with little "atta-boys" and sparkly images as a "prize" and how studies proved these kinds of rewards "massage" the pleasure centers of the brain! and I'd think "damn, Star Trek NG did an episode on this!"

Mostly STNG did very little in this vein -- real sci fi, that predicts or explores social phenomena. It was mostly militaristic types of stories. This episode could almost be a stand-alone for a Twilight Zone or Black Mirror-type of show.

Even better: it's Ashley Judd's as guest star! and her first professional role ever. What a coup! she is only about 22 or 23 (and looks effectively like her late teens) and she's terrific -- she just commands the screen. (How many other Trek guest stars WENT ON to have major A-list acting careers? I can't think of any!) She's beautiful, not as eye candy but a serious character and romantic interest for Wesley. (It seems implied she will be a "regular" but then, dropped like a hot rock -- I imagine she had far better offers than a small recurring role on STNG.) They actually give her a lot of backstory and even some attractive clothing to wear.

I normally am in the "Loathe Wesley Club" but this is probably the only episode I can stand him in. For starters, he's been gone a while here -- a year I think -- and he's clearly matured. He has a real action part, and a real romance with a charming leading lady. He doesn't come off QUITE as obnoxiously "genius-y".

It's almost a shame Judd could not have continued, at least for a while, as a major character. Despite many female roles, STNG never really had any one "breakout" female star who was memorable or iconic in any way -- like Uhura or even Seven of Nine. I think "Robin Leffler" could have been it, probably due to Judd's sheer star power and acting chops ... but it was never meant to be, I guess.

Beyond that, enjoy this episode for some real sci fi chops -- interesting allusions to "Invasion of the Bodysnatchers" -- real predictive ideas! One of my favorites of this series, despite an awkward ending where everything is wrapped up much too fast and all the characters are sort of "oh well, they took over our minds easily with a game...no big problem, huh."

Addicted

[Tweekums · 8/10 · 23 June 2015]

In the opening scenes Riker is having a good time on Risa when the woman with him introduces him to a new game where every success is rewarded to pleasurable sensations. Once back on the Enterprise he shares it with his friends and soon everybody is playing. It soon becomes clear than it is more than just harmless fun when Dr Crusher deactivates Data; the only being on board certain to be immune from the games effects. Not quite everybody is playing the game; Wesley Crusher, who is on leave from Star Fleet Academy, just wants to spend time with his mother and an attractive young engineer; Ensign Robin Lefler. As his mother and others pressure him to play the game he gets suspicious and starts to investigate how it works... will he and Robin be able to find a way to break everybody of their addiction to the game before they can spread it throughout Star Fleet.

This episode was much better than I'd expected; the game itself doesn't look anything special but that is the point… it isn't really a game. As it projects an image directly into the eyes of the players it stimulates the brains pleasure centres, giving an almost sexual response, as well as imputing instructions from the aliens who have their own nefarious intentions. The return of Wesley Crusher was another cause for concern although the character seems to have matured while away; Wil Wheaton does a good job portraying his characters fear as more and more of the people he trusts come under the game's influence; the scene where he is finally forced to play the game is particularly tense; I couldn't help being reminded of a famous scene in 'A Clockwork Orange'. Guest star Ashley Judd is likable as Ensign Robin Lefler; it is a pity that she only appears in this episode as she was an interesting character. The final resolution is well handled giving the impression of a defeat just before the alien plot is stopped. Overall a solid episode which was much better than I'd expected.

"Whatever this thing does, it must feel pretty good."

[classicsoncall · 7/10 · 15 February 2024]

This episode introduces yet another alien race in the Ktarians, one of which seduces Commander Riker (Jonathan Frakes) on the pleasure planet Risa. We don't know it at the outset, but Etana Jol (Katherine Moffat) has designs on not only taking over the Enterprise, but the entire section of the galaxy they're investigating on the way to surveying the Phoenix Cluster. Things look ominous when Dr. Crusher (Gates McFadden) disables Data (Brent Spiner) in a plot that also includes Riker and ship's Counselor Troi (Marina Sirtis). In a fortuitous coincidence, Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton) is back on the Enterprise, on leave from Starfleet Academy. Even though he catches the eye of newly assigned mission specialist, Ensign Robin Lefler (Ashley Judd), the pair doesn't allow a mysterious fascination with the new game interfere with a potential romance. However, as more and more of the officer and regular crew succumb to the effects of the mesmerizing game, they become determined to find out what's causing everyone to zone out, including the usually impervious Captain Picard. That's probably the only problem I have with this story, as the Captain in any other one would have been curious why everyone on board was suddenly captivated by a weird headset that emitted a flash of light into one's pupils and caused them to go gaga. Fortunately, the investigation by Wesley and Lefler led them to revive Data by reconnecting some of his severed neural links. Data makes the save just in the nick of time by interrupting the game gadget's effect by emitting an optical blast pattern to the bridge crew's eyes with a palm beacon. At that point, the sinister plot of Ktarian Etana Jol is uncovered as she makes a feeble threat against the Enterprise. As the story concludes, Wesley gets ready to return to Starfleet, vowing to stay in touch with the pretty Ensign Lefler. Maybe it came with a one season sabbatical, or maybe it was just a year of maturing, but this time the character of Wesley Crusher didn't seem to be annoying.

Wesley's back!

[delta_sixtwo · 10/10 · 16 January 2019]

Wesley's been gone a while yet returns, new haircut and all. Ashley Judd comes back for her second episode and her character initiates a romance with Wesley -- I think the actors pulled this off very naturally, nor did it feel stilted at all.

What really compels me to give the episode a 10 though is Data's entry at the end. Everything seemed hopeless and I really did not know how they would get out of this one, and then Data steps in and saves the day.

Overall a great episode.

You've been gamed.

[thevacinstaller · 9/10 · 2 April 2021]

Great episode --- Maybe the best Wesley Crusher episode.

Historically, Wesley Crusher has saved the Enterprise from external forces but in this episode he has to save the crew themselves. How does he do it? Is it God like intellectual powers? Nope, it's because Wesley watched after school specials about drug use and decided to research the 'game'. Wesley is perfectly fine when he is being just a regular kid going to starfleet and I am glad they steered into that over the middle seasons of TNG.

I will join the herd of needy geek bearded men and sing the praises of Ashley Judd's dazzling distracting beauty ---- and performance! She's extremely likeable and well performed in this episode as Robin.

This is one of those great "How are they going to get out of this?" episodes and it's executed beautifully. Just how long until we become mindless dopamine addicts? If even the mighty Picard can succumb then what hope do we have?

Mystery, Suspense, Drama, love story and a dash or two of comedy. Trek seems to excel when they blend themes together in an episode.

Even without all the positives mentioned ---- we get to see Dr. Crushers O-face and that clearly deserves a 9 out of 10.

Wesley is finally used properly this time.

[wwcanoer-tech · 8/10 · 26 January 2022]

I groaned when the captain said that Wesley would return but was pleasantly surprised that his role as savior was appropriate in this episode, albeit no surprise.

It makes sense that he is more interested in preparing for his dinner date with Ashely Judd than whatever his mother wants and then his discussion with Ashely about their love of tinkering with devices to learn how they work flows nicely into their decision to learn how the game works.

Unfortunately, many other things do not make any sense at all, beginning with Riker not immediately retrieving his communicator. This was probably intended to show that he's so deep in lust that he's not thinking clearly but it stuck out like a sore thumb as incongruent with his character.

It is in line with Riker's character that he would let a woman talk him into a questionable activity, but it felt ridiculous that he would so willingly use a device into his eyes like that, let alone everyone else on the ship, but we simply have to accept that and let go of our doubts to enjoy the episode.

But how was Geordie susceptible? The writers should have said that he was on an away mission or something, rather than glossing it over.

The other big incongruency was how large the effect was on everyone. It made no sense that they set up the episode with everyone being very busy, then when people stop being productive, nobody notices?! It would have made more sense for the opening to be that there's a lull in activity while they're enroute somewhere, where people have time to catch up on personal activities. Then they could drop out unnoticed. (Can't believe that Guinan would fall for this, so she is absent.)

Why does Data not protect his off switch?! That annoys everyone. Why not have the doctor say that she needs to run a test but then covertly cuts some wires so that Data cannot move but let's him keep speaking. "Doctor, what did you do? I cannot move!" "Sorry Data, just a minute." and then she severs the wires to his speech center and we see fear or confusion in his eyes (we all know that he shows plenty of emotion). It's far better to see what they did to data than to have people twice explain it in words.

The next massive plot hole was an unaffected Geordie not being able to determine what is wrong with Data and going to Data's quarters to look for clues. That made no sense. Again, better for Geordie to be absent.

Minor point, Ashley says "The cuts are precise. Look how clean the edges are" before she magnifies the view. It would make more sense to say that after the magnification. I.e. Before magnification "What could sever those connections?!" then after magnification she says her line to show that it must be sabotage.

It's unfortunate that the only way that the writers can generate suspense is by not showing that Wesley and Ashley were able to fix Data.

I didn't understand what Wesley was doing by running away. Where was he going? What was he planning to do? It only made sense later as a diversion.

Presumably the writers wanted the chase scene to provide some action but it was very cliché to have the hero's partner succumb to the zombies and leave the hero running for his life. It would have been more exciting if Ashley and Wesley were working together, not on some technical solution, but hiding Data so that he could work. Perhaps keeping people out of sick bay. They would set up a distraction for the doctor to occupy her. They might have to inject a medical assistant with a sedative and place them in stasis. There could be good action there. Eventually someone discovers that Data is awake but barricaded in the sick bay, so Warf and Riker have to break in, they break though the door before Data is finished, so Wesley and Ashley have a phaser fight with Warf and Riker, eventually losing. As Warf and Riker approach data, he turns around and flashes them with the light. Warf and Riker then protect data while he programs the lights in the bridge to flash, perhaps flashing the doctor when she walks in on them. Data then flashes the bridge lights while Picard is talking to the alien, so that we see her confusion and gradual understanding of what has happened. When she realizes that the game is up, she turns to leave and a few moments later when Picard realizes what is happening, the Enterprise quickly chases and captures her ship.

There are several rooms in the sick bay, so Wesley and Ashley could place a dummy copy of data in a chair faced away from the door, and then stand at the door as if to protect data. When Warf and Riker break in they demand to see data and push past Wesley to grab data but are left holding a mannequin. When they turn around in surprise, Data is there to flash them.

Wouldn't that be more interesting than a zombie chase and Data suddenly appearing on the bridge to flash a light. Also, Data must flash them one by one but no-one even tries to stop him. (Boring.)

It was definitely an entertaining episode and now, decades later, very heartwarming to see a young Ashely Judd.

Good fun but..

[peterrichardson-05555 · 5/10 · 16 July 2021]

Why was Riker so dumb as to indulge? Indeed, why would he be advertising his rank and ship to his casual lady friend? Then we're supposed to believe that Wesley can resist the lure of the game but the likes of Worf and Picard can't? Oh and how exactly did it work for Geordi? They simply avoid showing him using it! Pah, this is a poor episode that's been massively overrated. Only the chemistry between Wes and Robin redeems it.

No Apologies?

[iblack-23610 · 8/10 · 29 August 2022]

Damn if I was Wesley I'd be more than alittle ticked off that not one of the bridge crew including his own mother never even uttered a "Thanks for saving our useless hides" or "Sorry for trying to turn you into a zombie"!

Sure you can use the argument that they were all being controlled against a unique Alien gadget but that's a cop out excuse. Wesley and for the most part Robin resisted to even begin playing the game because of how it started becoming obviously infectious. Riker being Riker was the easiest person to fall victim to this game given his base character but Troi, I suppose her empathetic abilities were focused on her desert bowl maybe? Beverly? Geordi? Picard?? Worf even!!! I'd love to have seen the moment any of the possessed crew compelled him into putting on a headset and play a game!

The fact they succumbed and Wes never did merited at the very least a heartfelt "Im so very sorry for being so weak"

But no they just return to business as usual and send the hero on his merry way lol! Great entertaining episode but the ending was seriously lacking in responsibility from any of the bridge crew!

REVIEW 2022

[iamirwar · 10/10 · 13 September 2022]

Law 104: Maybe if Riker didn't chase Etana around, she would have simply got fed up of running around, sat down and eventually given him back the communicator. He's playing a game but do I detect something ominous in Etana's laugh?

Maybe on this trip we will get our first look at the Phoenix Cluster. Troi likes her chocolate and talks about her experience of spooning it out of the bowel with remarkable descriptiveness.

We have a surprise... he gets a surprise. Half-hearted but he doesn't get a bowel of ice-cream.

Meanwhile, the latest Gameboy that Riker brought back from Riser is doing the rounds among the Enterprise crew... I'm assuming that this event has something to do with this episodes title and still we remember Etana's ominous laughter. Robin Lefler is like a female Wesley... is there young love in the air.

A slow burn of an episode, where are we going with this?

It gets there in the end. A very good idea and well presented story.

This Episodes Clue: Law 91.

Wonderful Ashley Judd and a nice episode.

[Filmreader · 10/10 · 2 April 2022]

Wonderful Ashley Judd and a nice episode.

I rewatch this episode only for the beautiful Ashley Judd and the interesting plot.

Wesley Crusher is as always boring.

Have the tried the new iphone?

[amusinghandle · 9/10 · 8 March 2024]

I always really enjoyed this episode. With the smart phone revolution of everyone having access to one another every second of our waking lives it continues to be relevant.

This is another textbook example of how to proper pace and execute an episode of television. From the initial tease hook to the gradually revealed threat and resolution the episode itself flows seamlessly together.

Wesley has excellent on screen chemistry with Robin and she is extremely likeable in the few scenes she has. Wait... Wait a second... Molly looks like her father? I.... um... what? I suppose in the 24th century open relationships are not considered to be taboo (or greedy) anymore.

Now, if you want to control a society ---- this is how it's done. You don't go to war --- You invent a smart phone and design it in a way to inject a dopamine booster every 5 minutes you use it.

There's a few solid Wesley episodes coming up but I maintain that this is the best one and it is probably in the top 25 TNG episodes of all time for me.