CBS claimed this episode, so I guess it’s a good time to remind you that you can watch ALL of our UA-cam videos AD-FREE and many of them early for $1 a month or $10.80 for the year on Patreon - www.patreon.com/targetaudience
I think I'd better bump up to the next tier... We are getting to the good stuff now, and Paramount may claim several of the episodes between now and the end of season three. Also, I'm confident you will like episode 12 better...
@@targetaudience So much BS. I am surprised that Networks and film studios haven't created agreements that youtubers etc. can sign up for. "Sign this agreement and we give you license to use clips of our products"
Difference is, these people in the episode were misled and genetically engineered to be violent and then incarcerated just because they were considered too dangerous. Most of your brothers and sisters knew they were voluntarily signing up do. And for their "service" they are given benefits for life your average person doesn't get. From medical to home loans to education to hiring preferences and that's just part of it. Hard for me to really make the connection and feel the same sympathies.
@@ZeroRed78 I'm guessing you were born after Vietnam. Most of those men didn't have a choice, and they were vilified and called names like "baby killers" when they returned home.
@@bobbuethe1477 Only by a few years. And that is why I qualified things with "most". But we are in 2024 now. Vietnam vets are not a majority of veterans anymore. And even for them, only 25% of US service members during that war were drafted. For others there are other justifications from propaganda to simply the military as the best way to make a living. But those factors delve into much more gray moral areas than this TNG episode does.
I love that O'Brien puts up more of a fight against Roga Danar, who is essentially Star Trek's version of the Winter Soldier, longer than trained security personnel. Don't mess with an Irishman.
O'Brien was one of the few Enterprise crewmen with real frontline wartime experience, due to the Cardassian conflict (which was apparently brief, because no other Enterprise crewman seemed to have fought in it).
I agree that in 1990, there were still lots of Vietnam vets who came home 16 yrs before and just could not make the transition. Society really did not want to be reminded of the war. They wanted to move on. The 1980's wanted to forget the 60's and 1970's ever happened.
For those of us with family members who were Korea, Vietnam and Desert Storm veterans suffering from PTSD and trauma from their training/conditioning, this episode really resonates.
I've always seen this as an allegory for how the U.S. treated its returning war veterans. They often have a difficult time adapting back to society, and unfortunately, more often than not, the U.S. does not treat them well.
Yeah, back then PTSD was barely understood or acknowledged. Lots of Vietnam vets in particular were on the streets as homeless, often addicts and suffering from mental illnesses. And the VA has never been especially good.
"Oh it's that guy..." You mean Academy Award winning actor James Cromwell, one of our national treasures? Yeah, it's THAT guy. Btw, if you haven't seen "L.A Confidential," yet you need to.
This was about how Veterans are treated in society. They are trained and sent to war to kill on behalf of your nation, but after the war, are then expected to just disappear from the public eye, especially if the war didn't go as planned. Even today Veterans are forgotten about and do not receive adequate treatment for PTSD. According to a report by the VA, in 2021 there were 17.5 suicides per day among Veterans.
I like this episode a lot just for the real world parallels. Yeah, it's an allegory for war veterans and how not only is it difficult to re-integrate into society, but how society often intentionally creates barriers to make it more difficult. Cordoning them off from "polite society" and always with the ever present "we might need them later." They aren't people anymore, just tools to be put in a box, and discarded when they've outlived their usefulness. I think anyone who I've known who has been in the military has rated this episode very highly.
One of the few episodes in which Worf gets to be a badass. Even if he eventually loses to the supersoldier. He stands his ground and gets his licks in.
Soldier staring Kurt Russel is a great action movie with this episodes themes in it. Highly recommend you two watching it. As for this episode. The theme of how a society treats it's soldiers, and veterans is a good one. 1990 was after the post Vietnam mindset of the late 70s through 80s. It's also right before America went to war with Iraq in the Gulf war. When those vets came back they were embraced. With the "war on terror" of the 2000s it's both support and indifference. I think it's a solid episode. Sure it's not a great one, but it upholds a base line standard for the show.
I prefer this more realistic "let the viewer work out what might have happened". There were some earlier episodes TOS and TNG where one of the critiques was that the Enterprise conveniently fixed things for a happy ending. Here, they set things up to potentially be better than they were before, but it's up to that world.
My father liked this episode, my father was a Vietnam era Marine, and my father explained that the story of Roga Danar and the other veterans is similar to what Vietnam era Marines faced. There's a difference between USMC training during peace time vs the training they get during war time. My father having been through basic training during the Vietnam War, the war was over by the time my father completed his basic training, so he was never sent over to Vietnam, but the training and conditioning to kill was still very present. My father told me for a long time after leaving the USMC that he wanted to climb up in a tower and start randomly sniping people (part of his conditioning), my father had to seek counseling on his own to get unconditioned, and that took years. My father says that he understand the importance of the training and conditioning that he received, but says the USMC should also have reconditioning for when Marines return to civilian life.
I'm a bit more concerned that "What happens in the holodeck, stays in the holodeck" might have a more literal meaning. I would not want to be on the cleaning crew.
There’s definitely a meta commentary on the concept that soldiers “can never go home again” once they’ve seen the horrors of war, because they carry those experiences with them. However, the callousness with which society can treat soldiers is more the focus. That point was a tense issue in post-Vietnam War America, and this was aired prior to the First Gulf War which served to boost the prestige of the military and repair its standing in the US.
If you watch the video by lindybeige on shooting to k1ll, you'll see that the USA and NATO were actually conditionally programming their soldiers to shoot without them consciously evaluating the morality of the target actually threatening them. This is the reason for the higher than historic levels of PTSD in these military vets since Korea in Western countries. Once a soldier k1lls someone they can't morally justify as defensive or in the line of duty, they get PTSD and mental problems. All of that plus the society disconnects in understanding and supporting the vets makes this episode more relevant today than ever before.
Random detail: In pretty much every brig scene TNG has to offer - Data finds a way to go stare at / talk to the prisoner without orders to. Just a Data quirk that could be a bingo space or drinking game point.
@@MysteriousMose Oh I agree! It’s totally in character and logical but ever since I noticed it now when I watch and the brig shows up I’m like “Data in 3 2 1….” And sure enough he’s in the next shot alone staring through the glass.
This is my personal 6th favourite of the season. It's one of those that i've liked more and more each time i've watched it. Possibly if you re-watched it in about a year you might think differently, remember how your opinion on Balance Of Terror changed.
Jason Bourne is loose on the Enterprise, Worf is just walking to every place the dude is supposed to be, and then only captures him when he slows down even more and stops lol. way to go Worf. great action on this Episode though.
I liked this episode, I always rewatch it. It accomplishes what sci fi is great at, real relevant social commentary under a sci setting. Even now spend gobs of money on training and equipment for soldiers but abandon them when they come back broken from combat. You may have found the transporter breakout silly, but i found it kinda badass.
I always loved that little touch of Picard, walking down the corridor, discussing with Troi how the soldiers are unlikely to Kill. That was 100% for RIKER'S benefit! Riker made it crystal clear in Episode One that his FIRST priority is the Captain's safety! And that he will even go so far as to OPPOSE the Captain's orders IF he feels he is putting himself in unacceptable levels of RISK. So, that entire talk was just to allay Riker's concern & keep him from "fighting" Picard on his decision to beam down himself! (a tad subtle, but VERY "intentional")
8:40 -- the genetic qualities that make him very difficult to track with sensors as well as gives him resistance to energy weapons also makes him resistant to the matter-energy transference, which is how the transporter tele-locates targets. It's less so an act of physical strength on his part and more so based on his ability to resist energy attacks.
The lights are still green. I think they turn red & start over at 1 light for kill, then escalate up to the incinerate/vaporize/explode settings with more red lights.
As far as cultural commentary late 80s / 90s this allegory was pointed at Vietnam vets who were still generally in their 40s and mostly ignored by government and left flailing. It’s not a very meaty episode but with a few tweaks I think it really could have been something powerful.
Reposted from Patreon: Part II: In a subtle piece of continuity, the method Riker suggests Danar might be using to elude the Enterprise’s scanners, hiding over one of the planet’s magnetic poles, is the same method Data mentioned that Riker himself had used in the past in “Peak Performance.” This is another episode in which Dennis McCarthy’s score is more noticeable than usual, allowing us to appreciate his talent. On these occasions, the main difference between McCarthy’s style and that of Ron Jones is that McCarthy does not include distinctive themes specific to the episode or its characters, as Jones usually does. Although I and other commenters have, I believe, been referring to the access tunnels aboard Starfleet vessels as “Jefferies tubes” ever since Alex and Josh were watching TOS, this was a spoiler: “The Hunted” is the first time this term has appeared in dialogue. The name honors Matt Jefferies, the Art Director of TOS who designed the original Enterprise and created the access tunnels for TOS. The term “Jefferies tube” had appeared in scripts as early as “Journey to Babel,” but never on screen until now. “The Hunted” includes one of the most obvious continuity errors in the Star Trek franchise: the hole Danar blasts in the wall over Nayrok’s shoulder in the climactic scene disappears when we cut back to that camera angle, inspiring fan jokes about how the Angosians are so advanced that they have developed self-repairing walls. Director Cliff Bole had hoped for a more elaborate action sequence at the episode’s climax, but considerations of time and budget ruled that out. There is a connection between “The Hunted” and a major spoiler which I gave away in my UA-cam comment on one of the Target Audience TOS reactions, before I realized the extent to which Alex and Josh want to avoid spoilers. Since they may have forgotten it by now, I will not repeat the spoiler here. (Split into two posts because the original disappeared, presumably because it was too long -- UA-cam has gotten annoyingly finicky about that.)
I always liked this episode, but it probably had more impact in 1990 than it does today. Vets returning from Iraq and Afghanistan were treated far better than vets returning from Vietnam. Plus, the whole super-soldier thing hadn't been done a a bunch of times by this point.
This is one that I watched a lot as a kid and gives me a lot of warm feelings. It’s not one of the stronger episodes of the series, but nostalgia is nostalgia
@@thewinner7382 I can’t remember it exactly, but if it’s the episode I’m thinking of, it’s okay. (I’m not getting into plot points in case the lads read the comment) Nostalgia doesn’t poke me with it the same way it does with The Hunted.
This was an amazingly topical episode at the time it came out. It's clearly an allegory for the situation with returning Vietnam vets. At this time this was a huge social issue (notice the wave of films like Rambo). The way vets were treated after the Gulf War and the Iraq/Afghanistan wars was completely different from the disaster of the returning vets from Nam.
Enterprise security teams are conveniently inept or useless at times, depending on the plot need. Dangerous person on board? Let's send a "full security team" of two people.
I don't think this is the best episode of the season or anything, but I like it more now than when I first saw it, especially because of the ending, I really do love Picard being all "gee, wish we could help, but internal matter and all, gotta go!"
I always liked this episode VERY much. It was a fantastic use of Troi and demonstration of how useful it can be to have a psychiatrist on board -- sometimes the drama is happening inside of one person's skull. Without a ship's shrink, they would not have gotten to the bottom of what was going on. I have a soft spot for the stories that use Troi correctly.
There's a bit of a ways to go before the next episode that I consider a true classic. I suspect you'll know when you reach that episode by the pre-credits scene, but at the very least you'll go nuts when you see said scene. It's an episode that history has never forgotten.
I never noticed before, at the end there Picard says: “The Federation will assist the Andosians in Re-programming their Veterans” instead of “De-programming “ Just a writers slip there I guess, Or perhaps we just weren’t as well informed about these topics in 1990. I mean Operation Desert Storm / Gulf war wouldn’t happen til August, the same year !! 😢
This episode is perfectly servicable, and it's enjoyable enough. I did like the chase through the ship and how they portrayed the crew having to take steps against a competent intruder which we don't really see much of. Honestly, the only thing that took me out of it as that some no-name security mook can shut down forcefields. Or, in this case, someone pretending to be a no-name security mook. I would expect only Worf and/or Data to be able to raise and lower forcefields from their respective consoles.
you were right at the end .... for instance, Eleanor Roosevelt didn't want to let the marines come back home after fighting in the south pacific during WW2
This is a C tier episode for me but it reiterates a surprising and I think somewhat unique aspect of TNG. Sometimes their choice to a conflict is to do nothing. Episodes aren’t always resolved and tied up in a nice bow at the ending.
Like I mentioned on your Facebook page this is the Rambo episode that they could not have done in 66 to 69 during the original series for obvious reasons NBC wouldn’t have let it go on the air. I like this one. It’s a good one.
You're right, they REALLY should send Data in a situation like this. I don't care how engineered he is, a flesh and blood being isn't overpowering the guy who can bend steel bars like Play-Doh
Nice reaction boys, but you gotta give him this. There’s always been a prime directive problem but now they’ve only use prime directive for a good thing they can all be excellent went to seven year show that’s unheard of for a series. Thanks for the fun until next time.
Thanks, guys. It's probably just a generational thing, but it's interesting that your viewers/commenters liken this episode to real life (Vietnam etc) while you two compare it to other movies (Marvel etc).
After the likes of Wolverine (in the comics) and Rambo (First Blood), the notion of traumatized vets combined with any number of superhuman enhancements to make them super soldiers was pretty common throughout the ‘80s and ‘90s. This was TNG’s attempt at it, except with the limits of the fight choreography of an early ‘90s tv show and a 42m runtime.
@@targetaudience Another excellent video! Lol yea I wasn't super sold on this one either. Data would have done to this dude like Hulk did to Loki 🤣🤣🤣 but then the episode would 10 minues long ... oh well
Visually it's a good episode. Lots of effects and pretty new sets to explore. I don't think they ever reuse that set with the round corridor and orange lighting. Interesting that a TNG phaser on overload does jack squat for damage. TOS made it seem like it'd destroy the ship!
@@paul_andrews That would be funny, if Miles just wordlessly, calmly targets the guy with the transporter while he's fighting the security guys and sends him right back to the spaceship. Riker and Worf show up and he just shrugs at them.
@@fakecubed It's also disturbing how often Worf gets his ass kicked. Kirk whipped Khan, I've no doubt he'd of schooled ol' Danar and his coiffed waves ....
Admittedly this is not a strong episode but for some reason I have a soft spot for it. I never skip this one but I really don't know why. Worf looked like he wanted nothing to do with getting his ass kicked by the alien of the week as he slowly walked after the fugitive who single handedly outsmarted the entire ship.😂
Troi episodes aren't usually the best (there are some stronger ones though). But there's some good world building in this with the process of how new worlds end up in the Federation, and we got to see some parts of the Enterprise we don't normally see. The phaser overload thing is a nice callback. The action is pretty good. I think the guest actors are also pretty good. I find it suitably entertaining on rewatch but it's not making any best of lists for me.
You're right. This is a fine episode, but it's not one of the "6 best". Personally there are 10 episodes left that I'm looking forward to. A couple of them are just fun. A couple others are amongst the best in all of Trek.
It's lightly Deanna focused, but it's another episode where she's used well. Even her just reading him walking by was done nicely. This is a very heavy action episode and it's done quite well. Yeah, I've never been super happy with people talking during transport and certainly not somehow defeating it. But it's basically hocus pocus, so whatever.
The allegory was more geared towards Vietnam veterans, and how the government really didn't invest in taking care of them post war resulting in a number of them being homeless.
@targetaudience, I think you guys were a little too harsh on this episode. I watched it when it first came out and was intrigued by Roga Danar’s evade and escape tactics. I think he was an interesting character. I thought the character and story developed well. I didn’t feel that it being dragged on for too long. I like Picard’s resolution and answer for the prime minister at the end. For an episode that is about 34 years old, I think it’s held up well. Certainly not the best episode but definitely better than anything in season 1. I have watched and enjoyed all of your TNG reactions but I’m a little nervous to see what you think about my all-time favorite episode coming up (I won’t say which one). As a lifelong Sci-Fi and Star Trek fan, I guess😮 I’m a little more forgiving. Just my opinions. Great job overall guys! I will keep reliving the first time viewing experience with you.
Yeah you definitely have to expect a drop after "The Defector," but there are some good ones upcoming. I predict you will judge only one S3 episode as better than "The Defector."
In "The Hunted," a chase does begin, A soldier fleeing, with guilt deep within. Roga Danar's strength, a force to behold, Worf confronts him, both brave and bold. His genetic engineering, a cruel fate, Remembers each face, of every life he'd take. Haunted by war, fighting PTSD From the horror of his past, he seeks to be free. The Prime Minister hides behind lies, Picard exposes the truth, to nobody's surprise. A story of freedom, of breaking the chain, Seeking redemption, through struggle and pain. A tale of control, and a fight for what's right, A soldier's hidden battle brought into the light.. I'm commenting to help Alex and Josh on their way. So give a like for "The Hunted," even if it's ...just okay.
@@ianjohns9398 LOL! Commenting helps the channel, so I just think it's a better comment than, "This episode was okay". Hopefully some people enjoy it. 😅
Yes this is a meta episode about our society and how we wash our hands after we abuse soldiers We sit here comfortably while soldiers commit atrocities for our convenience. Then we pretend to be above it all and civilized. Star Trek is often times about us.
CBS claimed this episode, so I guess it’s a good time to remind you that you can watch ALL of our UA-cam videos AD-FREE and many of them early for $1 a month or $10.80 for the year on Patreon - www.patreon.com/targetaudience
So how does that work? The vid stays up but no revenue for you guys?
Correct, CBS gets all the ad revenue
I think I'd better bump up to the next tier... We are getting to the good stuff now, and Paramount may claim several of the episodes between now and the end of season three.
Also, I'm confident you will like episode 12 better...
One of the many reasons why I hate the networks.
@@targetaudience So much BS. I am surprised that Networks and film studios haven't created agreements that youtubers etc. can sign up for. "Sign this agreement and we give you license to use clips of our products"
I wonder if that phaser shot was the root of O'Brien's endless shoulder problems
@@ig_4220 I always thought so.
As a Veteran, with many close brothers and sisters who struggle with PTSD, I've always really loved this episode.
Difference is, these people in the episode were misled and genetically engineered to be violent and then incarcerated just because they were considered too dangerous. Most of your brothers and sisters knew they were voluntarily signing up do. And for their "service" they are given benefits for life your average person doesn't get. From medical to home loans to education to hiring preferences and that's just part of it. Hard for me to really make the connection and feel the same sympathies.
@@ZeroRed78 Don't be a jerk
@@ZeroRed78 I'm guessing you were born after Vietnam. Most of those men didn't have a choice, and they were vilified and called names like "baby killers" when they returned home.
@@bobbuethe1477 Only by a few years. And that is why I qualified things with "most". But we are in 2024 now. Vietnam vets are not a majority of veterans anymore. And even for them, only 25% of US service members during that war were drafted.
For others there are other justifications from propaganda to simply the military as the best way to make a living. But those factors delve into much more gray moral areas than this TNG episode does.
@@ZeroRed78 no, the difference is this is fiction and those are real humans, which you seem not to understand.
Lay off the scumbag pills for a while.
I love that O'Brien puts up more of a fight against Roga Danar, who is essentially Star Trek's version of the Winter Soldier, longer than trained security personnel. Don't mess with an Irishman.
O'Brien was one of the few Enterprise crewmen with real frontline wartime experience, due to the Cardassian conflict (which was apparently brief, because no other Enterprise crewman seemed to have fought in it).
Absolutely right about that. Of course, Alex and Josh haven't yet seen the very good "background of O'Brien" episode.
@@theevilascotcompany9255Picard served in the war, but he did it from the captain’s chair. O’Brian actually had ground combat experience.
Chief! Lol O'Brien is a bad ass! Love him!
Guys you need to avoid talking about those things. It’s all spoiler territory.
I agree that in 1990, there were still lots of Vietnam vets who came home 16 yrs before and just could not make the transition. Society really did not want to be reminded of the war. They wanted to move on. The 1980's wanted to forget the 60's and 1970's ever happened.
For good reason, it resonates today.
That reluctance to deal with what happens is why so much societal trauma goes unresolved and so many atrocities are prone to repeat.
I blame bell bottom pants.
For those of us with family members who were Korea, Vietnam and Desert Storm veterans suffering from PTSD and trauma from their training/conditioning, this episode really resonates.
Agreed.
I've always seen this as an allegory for how the U.S. treated its returning war veterans. They often have a difficult time adapting back to society, and unfortunately, more often than not, the U.S. does not treat them well.
Yeah, back then PTSD was barely understood or acknowledged. Lots of Vietnam vets in particular were on the streets as homeless, often addicts and suffering from mental illnesses. And the VA has never been especially good.
Treated? Past tense? Been to a VA lately.
Super Soldier is useful in helping his society to remain free. Then thrown into a prison colony and forgotten. Seems like a compelling episode to me.
"Oh it's that guy..."
You mean Academy Award winning actor James Cromwell, one of our national treasures? Yeah, it's THAT guy.
Btw, if you haven't seen "L.A Confidential," yet you need to.
Was this his first character in Star Trek?
Rolo Tomassi ! LOL
This was about how Veterans are treated in society. They are trained and sent to war to kill on behalf of your nation, but after the war, are then expected to just disappear from the public eye, especially if the war didn't go as planned. Even today Veterans are forgotten about and do not receive adequate treatment for PTSD. According to a report by the VA, in 2021 there were 17.5 suicides per day among Veterans.
@@brucechmiel7964I’d argue THE worst.
I really like this episode tbh. The soldiers resentment of himself adds a lot of depth to an otherwise basic story/character
A great "Space Seed" call back when they try to capture Danar with Anesthesia gas.
I like this episode a lot just for the real world parallels. Yeah, it's an allegory for war veterans and how not only is it difficult to re-integrate into society, but how society often intentionally creates barriers to make it more difficult. Cordoning them off from "polite society" and always with the ever present "we might need them later." They aren't people anymore, just tools to be put in a box, and discarded when they've outlived their usefulness. I think anyone who I've known who has been in the military has rated this episode very highly.
One of the few episodes in which Worf gets to be a badass.
Even if he eventually loses to the supersoldier. He stands his ground and gets his licks in.
True. In a ring without cargo containers he may have taken that fight.
I think he was actually winning that fight and Danar had to resort to this tactic out of necessity
this episode aged well. i think i like it better today than when it aired
Soldier staring Kurt Russel is a great action movie with this episodes themes in it. Highly recommend you two watching it.
As for this episode. The theme of how a society treats it's soldiers, and veterans is a good one. 1990 was after the post Vietnam mindset of the late 70s through 80s. It's also right before America went to war with Iraq in the Gulf war. When those vets came back they were embraced. With the "war on terror" of the 2000s it's both support and indifference. I think it's a solid episode. Sure it's not a great one, but it upholds a base line standard for the show.
I really like Soldier, but to call it a "great" movie is a bit of a stretch...
No. Its not. @GeraldWalls
I love the not-totally-resolved ending here
They’ll figure it out lol
I prefer this more realistic "let the viewer work out what might have happened". There were some earlier episodes TOS and TNG where one of the critiques was that the Enterprise conveniently fixed things for a happy ending. Here, they set things up to potentially be better than they were before, but it's up to that world.
I’d love it if they came back several years later and it’s a complete hellscape
My father liked this episode, my father was a Vietnam era Marine, and my father explained that the story of Roga Danar and the other veterans is similar to what Vietnam era Marines faced.
There's a difference between USMC training during peace time vs the training they get during war time. My father having been through basic training during the Vietnam War, the war was over by the time my father completed his basic training, so he was never sent over to Vietnam, but the training and conditioning to kill was still very present. My father told me for a long time after leaving the USMC that he wanted to climb up in a tower and start randomly sniping people (part of his conditioning), my father had to seek counseling on his own to get unconditioned, and that took years. My father says that he understand the importance of the training and conditioning that he received, but says the USMC should also have reconditioning for when Marines return to civilian life.
Whoever was in charge of casting Robocop 2 must really love season 3.
"What happens in the holodeck, stays in the holodeck." Until someone just walks in, and then everyone knows.
I'm a bit more concerned that "What happens in the holodeck, stays in the holodeck" might have a more literal meaning. I would not want to be on the cleaning crew.
Definitely a shirt that was bought before viewing the Barclay episode.
And you find out that the computer can make it go viral.
@@tsugambler It is ranked as the worst job on the ship...
@@tsugambler I never understood why they didn't just have a holographic cleaning crew to take care of such "Situations"...
Styrofoam is like kryptonite to Lt. Worf.
Hahaha "Ethics" springs to mind.
There’s definitely a meta commentary on the concept that soldiers “can never go home again” once they’ve seen the horrors of war, because they carry those experiences with them. However, the callousness with which society can treat soldiers is more the focus. That point was a tense issue in post-Vietnam War America, and this was aired prior to the First Gulf War which served to boost the prestige of the military and repair its standing in the US.
If you watch the video by lindybeige on shooting to k1ll, you'll see that the USA and NATO were actually conditionally programming their soldiers to shoot without them consciously evaluating the morality of the target actually threatening them. This is the reason for the higher than historic levels of PTSD in these military vets since Korea in Western countries. Once a soldier k1lls someone they can't morally justify as defensive or in the line of duty, they get PTSD and mental problems. All of that plus the society disconnects in understanding and supporting the vets makes this episode more relevant today than ever before.
Random detail: In pretty much every brig scene TNG has to offer - Data finds a way to go stare at / talk to the prisoner without orders to.
Just a Data quirk that could be a bingo space or drinking game point.
Data just has a tendency to reach out to the outsider
@@MysteriousMose
Oh I agree! It’s totally in character and logical but ever since I noticed it now when I watch and the brig shows up I’m like “Data in 3 2 1….” And sure enough he’s in the next shot alone staring through the glass.
This episode hits pretty close to home for us Veterans.
I think this reaction shows me how the bar has been raised for you guys. How would this episode rank as a TOS episode or a season one TNG episode?
You guys are nuts, this episode is fantastic.
This is my personal 6th favourite of the season. It's one of those that i've liked more and more each time i've watched it. Possibly if you re-watched it in about a year you might think differently, remember how your opinion on Balance Of Terror changed.
Riker: "Set phasers to maximum stun!"
Worf: ~sets phaser to vaporize~
Roga Danar: The only character in Trek history that can kung fu a transporter beam.
Jason Bourne is loose on the Enterprise, Worf is just walking to every place the dude is supposed to be, and then only captures him when he slows down even more and stops lol. way to go Worf. great action on this Episode though.
Before watching this video… “More security! More security!”
Agreed it’s no Defector… but I’ve always enjoyed this one .
I liked this episode, I always rewatch it. It accomplishes what sci fi is great at, real relevant social commentary under a sci setting. Even now spend gobs of money on training and equipment for soldiers but abandon them when they come back broken from combat. You may have found the transporter breakout silly, but i found it kinda badass.
I always loved that little touch of Picard, walking down the corridor, discussing with Troi how the soldiers are unlikely to Kill.
That was 100% for RIKER'S benefit! Riker made it crystal clear in Episode One that his FIRST priority is the Captain's safety! And that he will even go so far as to OPPOSE the Captain's orders IF he feels he is putting himself in unacceptable levels of RISK.
So, that entire talk was just to allay Riker's concern & keep him from "fighting" Picard on his decision to beam down himself!
(a tad subtle, but VERY "intentional")
8:40 -- the genetic qualities that make him very difficult to track with sensors as well as gives him resistance to energy weapons also makes him resistant to the matter-energy transference, which is how the transporter tele-locates targets. It's less so an act of physical strength on his part and more so based on his ability to resist energy attacks.
It would be interesting to see this soldier pitted against Khan.
Notice Worf turns the phaser ALL THE WAY UP -- disintegrate setting😁
The lights are still green. I think they turn red & start over at 1 light for kill, then escalate up to the incinerate/vaporize/explode settings with more red lights.
As far as cultural commentary late 80s / 90s this allegory was pointed at Vietnam vets who were still generally in their 40s and mostly ignored by government and left flailing.
It’s not a very meaty episode but with a few tweaks I think it really could have been something powerful.
It doesn't need any tweaks, it is fantastic the way it is.
Much better than many as the actor playing rambo did a great job showing his concerns and just how deadly super Villiers can be
These are the perfect length for my work lunch. Great job guys
The Next Episode is a "Hard Lesson" Story as well!
I love the music when Danar is walking down the hallway.
2:53 "The Riker standard" : Three strikes and your'e out.
Reposted from Patreon: Part II: In a subtle piece of continuity, the method Riker suggests Danar might be using to elude the Enterprise’s scanners, hiding over one of the planet’s magnetic poles, is the same method Data mentioned that Riker himself had used in the past in “Peak Performance.”
This is another episode in which Dennis McCarthy’s score is more noticeable than usual, allowing us to appreciate his talent. On these occasions, the main difference between McCarthy’s style and that of Ron Jones is that McCarthy does not include distinctive themes specific to the episode or its characters, as Jones usually does.
Although I and other commenters have, I believe, been referring to the access tunnels aboard Starfleet vessels as “Jefferies tubes” ever since Alex and Josh were watching TOS, this was a spoiler: “The Hunted” is the first time this term has appeared in dialogue. The name honors Matt Jefferies, the Art Director of TOS who designed the original Enterprise and created the access tunnels for TOS. The term “Jefferies tube” had appeared in scripts as early as “Journey to Babel,” but never on screen until now.
“The Hunted” includes one of the most obvious continuity errors in the Star Trek franchise: the hole Danar blasts in the wall over Nayrok’s shoulder in the climactic scene disappears when we cut back to that camera angle, inspiring fan jokes about how the Angosians are so advanced that they have developed self-repairing walls. Director Cliff Bole had hoped for a more elaborate action sequence at the episode’s climax, but considerations of time and budget ruled that out.
There is a connection between “The Hunted” and a major spoiler which I gave away in my UA-cam comment on one of the Target Audience TOS reactions, before I realized the extent to which Alex and Josh want to avoid spoilers. Since they may have forgotten it by now, I will not repeat the spoiler here.
(Split into two posts because the original disappeared, presumably because it was too long -- UA-cam has gotten annoyingly finicky about that.)
I always liked this episode, but it probably had more impact in 1990 than it does today. Vets returning from Iraq and Afghanistan were treated far better than vets returning from Vietnam. Plus, the whole super-soldier thing hadn't been done a a bunch of times by this point.
I bet the producers were like “dang, a stuntman called in sick today, we’re short of security officers”, then Colm Meaney immediately volunteered
Roga Danar. The original Winter soldier 👍👍👍👍
Star Trek: Rambo edition.
This is one that I watched a lot as a kid and gives me a lot of warm feelings. It’s not one of the stronger episodes of the series, but nostalgia is nostalgia
You must like Transfigurations too. I mix these two up all the time.
@@thewinner7382 I can’t remember it exactly, but if it’s the episode I’m thinking of, it’s okay. (I’m not getting into plot points in case the lads read the comment)
Nostalgia doesn’t poke me with it the same way it does with The Hunted.
Roga Danar was always one of my favorite guest characters.
This was an amazingly topical episode at the time it came out. It's clearly an allegory for the situation with returning Vietnam vets. At this time this was a huge social issue (notice the wave of films like Rambo). The way vets were treated after the Gulf War and the Iraq/Afghanistan wars was completely different from the disaster of the returning vets from Nam.
I'd say clear as it is, It's still too subtle for this channel to pick up on.. lol
Worf doesn't do well with barrels
Or doors. Doors seem to be his serious weakness.
Enterprise security teams are conveniently inept or useless at times, depending on the plot need. Dangerous person on board? Let's send a "full security team" of two people.
2:50 and so begins O'briens long, painful journey of always getting hit in the shoulder.
I don't think this is the best episode of the season or anything, but I like it more now than when I first saw it, especially because of the ending, I really do love Picard being all "gee, wish we could help, but internal matter and all, gotta go!"
I always liked this episode VERY much. It was a fantastic use of Troi and demonstration of how useful it can be to have a psychiatrist on board -- sometimes the drama is happening inside of one person's skull. Without a ship's shrink, they would not have gotten to the bottom of what was going on. I have a soft spot for the stories that use Troi correctly.
There's a bit of a ways to go before the next episode that I consider a true classic. I suspect you'll know when you reach that episode by the pre-credits scene, but at the very least you'll go nuts when you see said scene. It's an episode that history has never forgotten.
Never be the one who has to clean the holodeck 😂😂😂
I never noticed before, at the end there Picard says: “The Federation will assist the Andosians in Re-programming their Veterans” instead of “De-programming “ Just a writers slip there I guess, Or perhaps we just weren’t as well informed about these topics in 1990. I mean Operation Desert Storm / Gulf war wouldn’t happen til August, the same year !! 😢
This episode is perfectly servicable, and it's enjoyable enough. I did like the chase through the ship and how they portrayed the crew having to take steps against a competent intruder which we don't really see much of.
Honestly, the only thing that took me out of it as that some no-name security mook can shut down forcefields. Or, in this case, someone pretending to be a no-name security mook. I would expect only Worf and/or Data to be able to raise and lower forcefields from their respective consoles.
I thought the chase dragged and made the ep boring
you were right at the end .... for instance, Eleanor Roosevelt didn't want to let the marines come back home after fighting in the south pacific during WW2
Very evil woman.
14:43 "I think the problems on this planet will be solved very shortly."
- Kup (Transformers: The Movie)
I share your love for your shirt Alex 😂🔥
I took it as a Vietnam allegory.
I certainly did in 1990. We could throw in Gulf War I, Afghanistan and Iraq since this first aired.
This is a C tier episode for me but it reiterates a surprising and I think somewhat unique aspect of TNG. Sometimes their choice to a conflict is to do nothing. Episodes aren’t always resolved and tied up in a nice bow at the ending.
Like I mentioned on your Facebook page this is the Rambo episode that they could not have done in 66 to 69 during the original series for obvious reasons NBC wouldn’t have let it go on the air. I like this one. It’s a good one.
You're right, they REALLY should send Data in a situation like this. I don't care how engineered he is, a flesh and blood being isn't overpowering the guy who can bend steel bars like Play-Doh
Nice reaction boys, but you gotta give him this. There’s always been a prime directive problem but now they’ve only use prime directive for a good thing they can all be excellent went to seven year show that’s unheard of for a series. Thanks for the fun until next time.
Thanks, guys. It's probably just a generational thing, but it's interesting that your viewers/commenters liken this episode to real life (Vietnam etc) while you two compare it to other movies (Marvel etc).
_First Blood_ IN SPACE! From the POV of the cops!
After the likes of Wolverine (in the comics) and Rambo (First Blood), the notion of traumatized vets combined with any number of superhuman enhancements to make them super soldiers was pretty common throughout the ‘80s and ‘90s. This was TNG’s attempt at it, except with the limits of the fight choreography of an early ‘90s tv show and a 42m runtime.
Not the best episode, but definitely a favorite of mine. It’s got fun action sequences and the ending is clutch.
Rambo - first blood almost perfectly :)
Love getting home after work and settling down with my dinner and Target Audience! You guys Rock!!!
Let’s go!!!
@@targetaudience Another excellent video! Lol yea I wasn't super sold on this one either. Data would have done to this dude like Hulk did to Loki 🤣🤣🤣 but then the episode would 10 minues long ... oh well
The interior of the first scene on the planet reminds of Starfleet HQ in Conspiracy.
Eluded the Enterprise? I love the way Picard says that
Visually it's a good episode. Lots of effects and pretty new sets to explore.
I don't think they ever reuse that set with the round corridor and orange lighting.
Interesting that a TNG phaser on overload does jack squat for damage. TOS made it seem like it'd destroy the ship!
Starships are made out of stronger materials these days.
Finished watching the episode… “More security! More security!”
"Irrelevant! Irrelevant!"
It was a very Goldblum like "Must Go Faster" moment.
Instead of just “he started fighting everyone so I beamed him again” lol
@@paul_andrews That would be funny, if Miles just wordlessly, calmly targets the guy with the transporter while he's fighting the security guys and sends him right back to the spaceship. Riker and Worf show up and he just shrugs at them.
So what we learned was that Starfleet doesn't teach anyone to really fight. Should've got the US Marines to teach 'em.
Peacetime Federation is really complacent.
@@fakecubed It's also disturbing how often Worf gets his ass kicked.
Kirk whipped Khan, I've no doubt he'd of schooled ol' Danar and his coiffed waves ....
Admittedly this is not a strong episode but for some reason I have a soft spot for it. I never skip this one but I really don't know why.
Worf looked like he wanted nothing to do with getting his ass kicked by the alien of the week as he slowly walked after the fugitive who single handedly outsmarted the entire ship.😂
He’s an absolute unit.
This is a fun fight 4 life thrilling adreneline episode. A few more in series. Fun stuff testing crew abilities. O'Brien in action, great!
Space Rambo one of my faves
Personally, I really like this episode. This is one of my favorites in TNG.
Not a favourite, but still a very solid episode IMO.
This episode was AWESOME!
That's what La Forge and Lieutenant Barclay thought.
Hay they all can’t be great
but for me it was ok
Brian from Northeast Ohio
Troi episodes aren't usually the best (there are some stronger ones though). But there's some good world building in this with the process of how new worlds end up in the Federation, and we got to see some parts of the Enterprise we don't normally see. The phaser overload thing is a nice callback. The action is pretty good. I think the guest actors are also pretty good. I find it suitably entertaining on rewatch but it's not making any best of lists for me.
you guys are great, genuinley brings my life some joy watching these, thank you.
You’re the best Jamie!
You're right. This is a fine episode, but it's not one of the "6 best". Personally there are 10 episodes left that I'm looking forward to. A couple of them are just fun. A couple others are amongst the best in all of Trek.
Thats a pure Dennis McCarthy score 10:11
It's lightly Deanna focused, but it's another episode where she's used well. Even her just reading him walking by was done nicely.
This is a very heavy action episode and it's done quite well.
Yeah, I've never been super happy with people talking during transport and certainly not somehow defeating it. But it's basically hocus pocus, so whatever.
The allegory was more geared towards Vietnam veterans, and how the government really didn't invest in taking care of them post war resulting in a number of them being homeless.
@targetaudience, I think you guys were a little too harsh on this episode. I watched it when it first came out and was intrigued by Roga Danar’s evade and escape tactics. I think he was an interesting character. I thought the character and story developed well. I didn’t feel that it being dragged on for too long. I like Picard’s resolution and answer for the prime minister at the end. For an episode that is about 34 years old, I think it’s held up well. Certainly not the best episode but definitely better than anything in season 1. I have watched and enjoyed all of your TNG reactions but I’m a little nervous to see what you think about my all-time favorite episode coming up (I won’t say which one). As a lifelong Sci-Fi and Star Trek fan, I guess😮 I’m a little more forgiving. Just my opinions. Great job overall guys! I will keep reliving the first time viewing experience with you.
Yeah you definitely have to expect a drop after "The Defector," but there are some good ones upcoming. I predict you will judge only one S3 episode as better than "The Defector."
In "The Hunted," a chase does begin,
A soldier fleeing, with guilt deep within.
Roga Danar's strength, a force to behold,
Worf confronts him, both brave and bold.
His genetic engineering, a cruel fate,
Remembers each face, of every life he'd take.
Haunted by war, fighting PTSD
From the horror of his past, he seeks to be free.
The Prime Minister hides behind lies,
Picard exposes the truth, to nobody's surprise.
A story of freedom, of breaking the chain,
Seeking redemption, through struggle and pain.
A tale of control, and a fight for what's right,
A soldier's hidden battle brought into the light..
I'm commenting to help Alex and Josh on their way.
So give a like for "The Hunted," even if it's ...just okay.
wtf? ... next time on Starrr Trek The Poetry Reviews ...
@@ianjohns9398 LOL! Commenting helps the channel, so I just think it's a better comment than, "This episode was okay". Hopefully some people enjoy it. 😅
I'm a fan. Please do one for each episode.
@@DamonCzanik it was very impressive
Where do I get that shirt? 😂
Yes this is a meta episode about our society and how we wash our hands after we abuse soldiers
We sit here comfortably while soldiers commit atrocities for our convenience. Then we pretend to be above it all and civilized. Star Trek is often times about us.
Not horrible not great but not skippable. Decent episode