Sorry I was away for a while (Cosmo cracked his dew claw again and we had to take him to the vet). And now I’ve got evening plans. But until the tractor beam of the Star Trek ban locks back on, I’ll keep posting stuff over the weekend. Mostly emails from folks desperate to get their two cents in before the crackdown resumes. I did like this one:

Thanks for all the great Star Trek posts. Based on your TNG comments, I’ve enclosed two convenient plot summaries, which cover most of the episodes: Version One: Lt. Data: Captain, sensors indicate a complete absence of plot or action in this quadrant. Capt. Picard: To the Holodeck! Quickly! Version Two: First Ten Minutes: Introduce dramatic back story, interrupted by realization that ship is under attack from “techie-techie” thing. Next Forty Minutes: Dramatic back story, with deep, transforming personal realizations by one or more crew members Final Ten minutes: Lt. Data suggests improvising some “anti-techie-techie” stuff and shooting it at the “techie-techie” thing, thus resolving the crisis. As a variation, Wesley Crusher will suggest the “anti-techie-techie” instead, but his suggestion comes fifteen minutes into the episode, only to have Picard continually tell him to “Be quiet, Wesley!” until the last ten minutes. Note that the dramatic back story segment guarantees each character a minimum of one “evil twin” episode and one “return of a family member with unresolved issues” episode.