Captain Worf alone puts this episode in my top 5 of the season. Suzie Plakson as the fiery K'Ehleyr has also got to be one of my favourite guest stars in TNG.
*_Susie Plakson, who plays K'Ehleyr, you actually met already in the episode "The Schizoid Man": She played the Vulcan Doctor that accompanies Data when he met Dr. Ira Graves (The self-proclaimed "Grand-Pa" of Data). In both roles, she was smoking hot! And seeing her as K'Ehleyr use to make me think, had they ever made a She-Hulk TV in the 80s, she would have been the perfect casting for the main role (K'Ehleyr practically IS She-Hulk... Only Brown and Alien!)_*
19:13 I know you guys wanna avoid spoilers, but I will tell you that Michael Dorn continued to just dominate the role of Worf. The man can offer chamomile tea in an episode like a boss. An entire legend.
Funny you should mention Skeletor. Michael Westmore (TNG's prosthetics man) used a leftover Skeletor mask from the live-action MotU movie as its basis. Westmore also did the makeup for that film.
I like this one a lot. Often I see Worf's suggestions and input dismissed. In this one he was the star and came up with the peaceful solution at the end.
Worf: "We have mated!" K'ehleyr: "I know! I was there!" One of my favorite jokes in all of Star Trek TNG. And between Q's snarks, Riker's joviality, Data's literalisms, and Worf's one-liners, TNG has a LOT of jokes.
This is the first episode in what TNG becomes. A character driven story that has huge ramifications for the future. This episode is critical to TNG. It sets up entire story arcs in the future. And has tentacles that stretch into DS9. The preamble is over. Welcome to Next Generation.
I love Warf’s bravery and innocence. He’s rather a paladin. He is very noble in the traditional sense. Of course a sexual union means something. It’s a promise you make with your body. He holds to the ideals. But he’s been raised outside his culture and has a romanticized view of Klingons. It’s like someone raised on stories of the noble Galahad and thinks all knights are like that.
Like a Klingon Don Quixote. Would that make K'Ehleyr his Dulcinea? Actually, thinking about it... I would kill to see a Klingon take on that story. You know they'd love it.
"I'll give you two minutes, for you and your gallant crew." - Kruge "Time is a luxury you don't have, Admiral." - Khan Kruge got done dirty. He didn't mean to blow up the Grissom, immediately executed the war criminal responsible, his dog died, and Kirk completely ignored his "no tricks" condition.
This episode as well as some of the other “bangers” of season 2 become the model of storytelling for the seasons to come. That’s why it’s never a good idea to skip s1 and s2 of TNG. The seeds of greatness were planted here. Your reactions are priceless and are allowing me to enjoy TNG after all these years as if I’m seeing them for the first time. Bravo gentlemen!
One of the great TNG/DS9/VOY era utility players, Suzie Plakson. I wish they gave her a main cast role. Like Jeff Combs you cast her and you will get your money's worth and more. She's a ball of charisma and the perfect romantic interest for Worf.
Suzie Plakson 2.0 meets The TA Guys. MAGIC! This is another episode I'm sure many a fan of this channel was eager for y'all to see. She isn't even fully out of the transport probe, and you already know this gal is going to make thangs happen!
12:43 The random crewman at the Tactical station when Worf is in the Captain's chair is actually comedic actor Diedrich Bader, in basically his first tv show appearance ever. He's best known for being one of the stars of The Drew Carey Show and played Jethro in The Beverly Hillbillies Movie. He was also in Office Space, Napoleon Dynamite, VEEP, American Houswife, Better Things, Shazam II, etc. But this was his first ever role on a major tv show.
5:05 In one of the star trek books I've read, there was a planet where the more rare the hybrid, the higher their social standing. Klingon-Human hybrids were rare.
One thing interesting about K'Ehleyr: She's basically arguing with Capt. Picard about how to handle the situation and just using Worf as a proxy. But Suzie Plakson is so awesomely awesome that we're won over to K'Ehleyr even though she's more or less in the wrong the entire episode. In the hands of another actor, we might not have liked K'Ehleyr that much.
I love the little moments that give insight into just how Starfleet works in the 24th century. "Any personal reasons?" "Yes." "Any professional reasons?" "No...I withdraw my request." It such a small thing. But it tells me a lot about how humanity has evolved. Even if these are the exceptional people.
The thought of all those bangers (and duds) still ahead makes me excited to be along for the ride. It's truly a shame how few channels do reactions to TNG, especially when it is maybe my favorite show of all time. A lot of people have their feel-good show that makes them instantly feel like home and this is mine. And I think younger generations can still learn a lot from TNG. Although I have to say, growing up with TNG gave me unrealistic, idealistic expectations towards life as an adult. :P I don't know if there will ever be a scifi show with actors of this caliber, that is primarily non-comedy, that can be enjoyed by almost anyone and which maintains a somewhat positive outlook on humanity's future. It's a gem that must be experienced by as many as possible.
Christopher Collins (A Matter of Honor & Samaritan Snare) and Suzie Plakson (The Schizoid Man & The Emissary) sre the first actors to be used twice in the same season playing different characters in Star Trek. And we can thank Michael Westmore and the make-up department that it wasn't obvious.
Your discussions also help future writers and directors break down story, pacing, character, dialog, placement of scenes, continuity etc. We who are into visual storytelling appreciate your breakdown of what works for you and what needs improvements. You guys are more than just a reaction channel now. You actually teaching.
What makes you think he was bluffing at the end? He was given command and the opportunity to see if he could resolve it, if not it should be him to order their destruction.
"Should've given Michael Dorn the ball and let him run with it...." Before Discovery was launched, when there was just a rumor at a new trek show, Dorn and fans were calling for a Worf centered series.... what might have been.
So this episode would imply that Worf has never been in command of the Enterprise before... we know Riker, Data and Jordi have. Probably because any big away mission would have him on it, so he is rarely left alone on the bridge.
Reposted from Patreon: Although I always knew it was good, “The Emissary” is an even better episode than I had remembered, and on this rewatch rises to fourth place in my ranking of TNG Season 2 episodes, ahead of “Elementary, Dear Data.” Suzie Plakson (K’Ehleyr) previously played Dr. Selar, the Vulcan Enterprise physician in “The Schizoid Man.” Tracy Tormé, the scriptwriter of “The Schizoid Man” (who was a man, by the way), had wanted Dr. Selar to become a romantic interest for Worf, although there is no indication of this in that episode. Of course, Plakson was a suitable actor to play a love interest for Worf due to her height (6’2”). (Two meters is about six feet, so K'Ehleyr must have found the probe an extremely tight squeeze.) Robin Curtis (Saavik in Search for Spock and Voyage Home) was the first choice to play K’Ehleyr but was unavailable due to a movie role. (Incidentally, I was surprised and pleased that apparently neither Alex nor Josh realized that Selar and K'Ehleyr were the same actress. Multiple people had been insistent about sharing this spoiler after Alex and Josh watched "The Schizoid Man;" some of them may have deleted their comments, but I was still concerned that Alex and Josh might have read others.) Lance LeGault (Captain K’Temoc) was the narrator of "Quantum Leap." His best-known role was on the 1980s TV series "The A-Team"; among other roles, he also appeared in the "Battlestar Galactica" episodes “The Lost Warrior,” “The Man with Nine Lives” and “Baltar’s Escape,” and in the classic 1981 Army comedy "Stripes" with Bill Murray and Harold Ramis. Georgann Johnson (Admiral Gromek) later succeeded Jane Wyman in the role of the title character’s mother on "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman." Given the chaotic production of TNG Season 2, it is a coincidence, but a pleasant one, that Worf’s calisthenics program appears both near the beginning of the season and near its end, complete with the creature that looks like Skeletor. Near the end of TOS Season 3, Alex and Josh mentioned that a significant difference between their experience of watching the show and that of its original audience was that it was not interrupted by commercial breaks. This difference is more significant in "The Emissary" than in any other Star Trek episode the Target Audience has seen thus far: having to wait through the commercials at the end of Act 3 makes it more immediately obvious that Worf and K'Ehleyr are having sexual intercourse (and that this is what K'Ehleyr means by her hilarious first line in Act 4, "Some calisthenics programs are better than others"). Alex and Josh's comments about Worf's experience on the holodeck are highly insightful: it is entirely possible that Worf was a virgin prior to this episode, and that his previous discussions of sex were merely theoretical. An alternate possibility is that Worf has never had sex *with a Klingon* before; he may have found women of other species who were physically capable of sex with him. It may be that Worf is only obligated to marry someone with whom he has sex if that person is Klingon. Alex's mental arithmetic concerning Klingon history is also quite accurate: 75 years prior to this episode brings us back into the TOS movie era, when the Klingons already had bumpy foreheads, as we see with the crew of the T'Ong. Note that, if you pay close attention to what Worf says to K'Temoc, only one word is a lie: applying the title "Commander" to K'Ehleyr, who is a Federation emissary but not a member of Starfleet and does not have a paramilitary rank. Worf never claims to have the rank of Captain or to be the permanent commander of the Enterprise, only that he is in command at that moment (which is true); he never says that the Klingons won the war with the Federation, only that the war is over (which is also true). This is, I believe, the first episode of TNG which neither begins nor ends with an exterior shot of the Enterprise. I have seen an online review of “The Emissary” that gives it the highest possible accolade: that it is like a Season 3 episode come early. “The Emissary” is not as good as “A Matter of Honor,” “The Measure of a Man,” or “Q Who,” but it is an excellent episode, and this level of excellence will become more commonplace in Season 3. If you want a preview of what TNG will be like next season, you could do worse than watch “The Emissary.”
A warrior species that regularly utilises stealth tech DEFINITELY understands the utility of bluffing...and the utility of having a reputation for not bluffing.
They sparred more with the Romulans than Federation and IIRC stole most technology from them over time. Think of Klingon cloaking devices as a learned tactic from generational trauma.
You are definitely right about Worf and Klingon episodes - they're a pretty solid series of episodes throughout the series. This one isn't my favorite (nothing particularly bad about it, just didn't entirely click), but it's definitely a good one and Captain Worf is great - I actually made a meme gif out of "Then die in ignorance. I can waste no more time on you."
This episode and the one with Riker as the exchange student are the best of this season. I also love the old Klingons waking up 75 years later to start up the old war again. And then Captain Worf. Amazing!
5:59 - Klingon females tend to have facial features that are (slightly) less attractive by most human standards. The make-up is used to give them more 'brutish' features in line with the males of the species. 'Rough edges' basically. To represent K'eylar's human ancestry, most of those rough edges have been smoothed out. Personal tastes, I think K'eylar is the most attractive woman I've seen with ANY Klingon heritage, with Grilka from DS9 being the most attractive full-blooded Klingon.
Suzie Plakson had her TNG debut in the episode Schyzoid Man as the Vulcan Doctor Selar who examined Ira Graves and she was pivotal in how she described him to Picard and Troi as they compared him with how Data had been acting.
I can’t say enough about how good your reactions are you bring me back how I felt back in the day great reaction to this episode Brian from Northeast Ohio 👍👍👍
Susie Plakson also shows up in Voyager as a particularly important character playing opposite one of everybody's favourites....you'll see when you get there.
Thing is, Worf wasn't bluffing. He was in command of the Enterprise, the war was over, and HE would have killed them if they did not stand down. It isn't a bluffing when you are holding the winning hand. 😅😂😊
Suzie Plakson is my all-time favorite Star Trek actress. As you've no doubt learned by now, you've seen her before -- Dr. Selar in "The Schizoid Man" -- and you'll see her again in certain roles. K'Ehleyr is a fantastic character, as you noticed.
Since Klingons never bluff, Captain Worf used that knowledge to his advantage. The Klingons from the past believed he wasn't bluffing on the kill order. *FUN FACT:* The prosthetics on K'Ehleyr's face were used to make her appear half human. K'Ehleyr is actually full Klingon.😏
You hit the nail on the head saying that season 2 really goes up and down in quality. When its good, it gives us franchise classics and when its bad, its as bad as Star Trek gets!
The fact that you guys liked it so much was not a surprise. You’re so close to the end of the season, and the beginning of genuine peak TNG. Fasten your safety belts, gents. We’re almost ready to go to maximum warp. 😎😁
Great drop again. I knew you guys would love this episode. Definitely, one of the highlights of Season 2. The Klingon captain of the awakened Klingon crew is Lance LeGault (pronounced "leh-GOW"), best known as Colonel Decker on The A-Team tv series, pursuing the title characters.
The great Suzi Plakson!!! Not sure you guys recognized the helm officer as well in the beginning. The actress is named Anne Ramsey and she was on a show called Mad About You with Paul Riser and Helen Hunt. Also the Captain is played by the great Lance LeGault! Great episode and Plakson is smoking hot in her red spandex!
Love how you guys drink sometimes during the show, it's a great touch of feeling like we're right in your home with you watching great Trek, makes a casual chill tone. I really wish they made a cool comic book series of K'Ehleyr. And she looks especially great standing next to Worf
You guys might remember, that actress was in a few season 1 episodes as a Vulcan female crewmember. Note this love episode kind of is contrary to the episode where Riker went on the Klingon ship, and the 2 Kkingon women wanted to mate with him.
Worf was always my favorite character. You are right, almost all of the Worf episodes are great. I can't wait to watch you see some of the later episodes!
The art department often snuck a bunch of injokes and references into the LCARS panels, though with analogue TV resolutions many weren't readable till the Blu-ray versions came out. I'd point to archives of these in jokes, but they are laden with spoilers so I'd hold off till you complete VOY.
K'Eyleyr had the original Queen Armadillo treatment, changing clothes each time she went through a door ! Once, some cultured critics of the Unification Magazine said that the importance of Klingons in Star Trek was the very proof of Gene Roddenberry's ability to make his characters actually interesting...
Watch our reaction to Heart of Glory - ua-cam.com/video/C9CR1Gu19SA/v-deo.html
Did you know Michael Dorn is an Ace pilot? Owns many jet fighters and has flown with the Thunderbirds and the Blue Angels. He is the real deal.
The one where Worf and his ex bond over video games.
A tale as old as time... or the 80s.
Suzie Plakson was one of Star Treks best guest stars in every role she played.
embarrassingly only in watching this today did it dawn on me that she played those other roles. She steals every scene!
She’s fantastic as a Vulcan, and that’s not easy!
Her portrayal of a Q was fantastic!
She’s great in DS9 too
She makes a great Vulcan as well...Dr. Selar from "The Schizoid Man" (s02e06)
Captain Worf alone puts this episode in my top 5 of the season. Suzie Plakson as the fiery K'Ehleyr has also got to be one of my favourite guest stars in TNG.
She played Dr. Selar in "The Schizoid Man".
Suzie Plakson was-GORGEOUS-in this episode !!! And she also appeared as a Vulcan female as a back ground character,don't remember which episode tho.
@@kerry-j4m And an Andorian in Star Trek Enterprise.
@@Trygvar13 Okay,COOL. Didn't know that. That woman is-FINE-too. LOL.
I love how Worf is always the more romantic one in his relationship.
Speaks to the truth of humans also, sadly
That's how Worf told Wesley it went with Klingons. The men read poetry and the women hurl heavy objects!
He's a warrior-poet.
guys are romantic girls not so much
@@davidboda1640 "Men are more sentimental then women,. It blurs their thinking." - Heinlein
*_Susie Plakson, who plays K'Ehleyr, you actually met already in the episode "The Schizoid Man": She played the Vulcan Doctor that accompanies Data when he met Dr. Ira Graves (The self-proclaimed "Grand-Pa" of Data). In both roles, she was smoking hot! And seeing her as K'Ehleyr use to make me think, had they ever made a She-Hulk TV in the 80s, she would have been the perfect casting for the main role (K'Ehleyr practically IS She-Hulk... Only Brown and Alien!)_*
She played a lot of aliens, but she didn’t go for the Mark Leonard Hat Trick (Vulcan, Klingon and Romulan).
I'm glad someone besides me realized that Susie Plakson also played Dr Selar in the Skitzoid Man rpisode.
Had no idea she played the Vulcan doctor.
Suzie was also on How I Met Your Mother as Marshall's mom.
She was also in the cast of the sitcom "Love & War," which I wish some channel would rerun.
I repeat that you guys are going to love the hell out of DS9.
I hope they'll amp up the number of episodes to 4 a week (2 TNG / 2 DS9, later 2 DS9 / 2 VOY) once they get to the additional series.
@@burni82not unless they go full-time
19:13 I know you guys wanna avoid spoilers, but I will tell you that Michael Dorn continued to just dominate the role of Worf. The man can offer chamomile tea in an episode like a boss. An entire legend.
Sometimes, the silliest lines delivered with that kind of gravitas obtain their own level of pure epic.
When Picard praises Worf’s first command, it gets me misty eyed
Funny you should mention Skeletor. Michael Westmore (TNG's prosthetics man) used a leftover Skeletor mask from the live-action MotU movie as its basis. Westmore also did the makeup for that film.
"Klingons never bluff" is a bluff.
"vulcan's don't lie"
"Klingons do not laugh!" -Worf.
"Oh, yes they do! Absolutely they do! YOU don't. But I've heard Klingon belly laughs that'd curl your hair!" - Guinan.
This is such an amazing episode that ticks every single box...worldbuilding...character development...compelling story...it just has it all.
The ups in S2 is why I like S2; the lows, I can ignore and just watch the highs and get a lot out of them
I like this one a lot. Often I see Worf's suggestions and input dismissed. In this one he was the star and came up with the peaceful solution at the end.
Worf: "We have mated!"
K'ehleyr: "I know! I was there!"
One of my favorite jokes in all of Star Trek TNG. And between Q's snarks, Riker's joviality, Data's literalisms, and Worf's one-liners, TNG has a LOT of jokes.
Her human side needed to hear him say that he loved her.
He did, in Klingon fashion.
He did say it. That "incomplete without you" line is very powerful.
This is the first episode in what TNG becomes. A character driven story that has huge ramifications for the future.
This episode is critical to TNG. It sets up entire story arcs in the future. And has tentacles that stretch into DS9.
The preamble is over. Welcome to Next Generation.
We have to get past that S2 finale first though...
I love Warf’s bravery and innocence. He’s rather a paladin. He is very noble in the traditional sense. Of course a sexual union means something. It’s a promise you make with your body. He holds to the ideals. But he’s been raised outside his culture and has a romanticized view of Klingons. It’s like someone raised on stories of the noble Galahad and thinks all knights are like that.
Well, he's right. All knights SHOULD be like that.
Like a Klingon Don Quixote. Would that make K'Ehleyr his Dulcinea?
Actually, thinking about it... I would kill to see a Klingon take on that story. You know they'd love it.
@choalithikanthe2422 "You have not experienced Don Quixote until you've read it in the original Klingon." 😊
When Troi mentioned she could sense that K'heyleyr was upset, I was hoping Alex would shoot the Fireball out of his nose 🤣
I hope you give a Targ its forever home, Alex!!
You've already met the actress as Dr Selar.
Alright everyone, someone commented it. You can all stop typing the same thing.
I have loved pretty much everything Suzie Plakson has ever done. I first saw her in My Stepmother is an Alien.
@@targetaudience Hey, I wanna be in on this too! You've already met Suzie Plakson as Dr Selar.
When they said she was beautiful with the Klingon headpiece I thought they had figured it out.
@@targetaudience You met Dr Suzie as Plakson Selar, already.
10k views with only 13.2k subs? Comon peeps, what are you waiting for? Hit that subscribe button! This is awesome stuff!
If Klingon's never bluff, then that explains how pissed they were at Kirk for the way he took out Kruge's crew.
"I'll give you two minutes, for you and your gallant crew." - Kruge
"Time is a luxury you don't have, Admiral." - Khan
Kruge got done dirty. He didn't mean to blow up the Grissom, immediately executed the war criminal responsible, his dog died, and Kirk completely ignored his "no tricks" condition.
This episode as well as some of the other “bangers” of season 2 become the model of storytelling for the seasons to come. That’s why it’s never a good idea to skip s1 and s2 of TNG. The seeds of greatness were planted here. Your reactions are priceless and are allowing me to enjoy TNG after all these years as if I’m seeing them for the first time. Bravo gentlemen!
Just gonna say it. The Klingon episodes are absolutely worth the watch. Hope y'all keep enjoying Star Trek.
The actress who played Worfs love interest that you liked so much also played the vulcan assistant to the old guy to loaded his brain into Data.
One of the great TNG/DS9/VOY era utility players, Suzie Plakson. I wish they gave her a main cast role. Like Jeff Combs you cast her and you will get your money's worth and more. She's a ball of charisma and the perfect romantic interest for Worf.
K'Ehleyr is played by Suzie Plakson,
she is indeed gorgeous and a talented actor. ☺
If the Klingons had thought about it, Worf using a human time measurement should have been a giveaway that they were being conned.
I just thought that for the first time watching this today. Glad you caught that.
But he was commanding a Federation starship, so, who is to say the measurement system didn’t change too?
Maybe the Universal Translator automatically converts metric to Klingon Imperial.
@qam2024 "We've traveled thousands of Klingometers--"
"Millions, Worf, millions"
"-- Millions of Klingometers"
Kellicams
Somebody mentioned in another comment section picard n riker listening behind door giggling
Suzie Plakson 2.0 meets The TA Guys. MAGIC! This is another episode I'm sure many a fan of this channel was eager for y'all to see. She isn't even fully out of the transport probe, and you already know this gal is going to make thangs happen!
Worf's character arc has begone & it is Glorious the stuff of Klingon Legend
Yeah. Like this is the first 'real' Worf episode.
12:43 The random crewman at the Tactical station when Worf is in the Captain's chair is actually comedic actor Diedrich Bader, in basically his first tv show appearance ever.
He's best known for being one of the stars of The Drew Carey Show and played Jethro in The Beverly Hillbillies Movie. He was also in Office Space, Napoleon Dynamite, VEEP, American Houswife, Better Things, Shazam II, etc.
But this was his first ever role on a major tv show.
Wow! I never noticed that before! He looks so young!
And the Klingon captain was Colonel Decker from The A Team.
Can never forget that voice.
5:05 In one of the star trek books I've read, there was a planet where the more rare the hybrid, the higher their social standing. Klingon-Human hybrids were rare.
2:07 I love how you guys are so attached to the poker scenes. They’re truly peak character moments. Almost always.
Riker's poker game theory: if we see Riker's poker game, it's gonna be a banger.
One thing interesting about K'Ehleyr: She's basically arguing with Capt. Picard about how to handle the situation and just using Worf as a proxy. But Suzie Plakson is so awesomely awesome that we're won over to K'Ehleyr even though she's more or less in the wrong the entire episode. In the hands of another actor, we might not have liked K'Ehleyr that much.
I love the little moments that give insight into just how Starfleet works in the 24th century.
"Any personal reasons?"
"Yes."
"Any professional reasons?"
"No...I withdraw my request."
It such a small thing. But it tells me a lot about how humanity has evolved. Even if these are the exceptional people.
The thought of all those bangers (and duds) still ahead makes me excited to be along for the ride.
It's truly a shame how few channels do reactions to TNG, especially when it is maybe my favorite show of all time. A lot of people have their feel-good show that makes them instantly feel like home and this is mine. And I think younger generations can still learn a lot from TNG.
Although I have to say, growing up with TNG gave me unrealistic, idealistic expectations towards life as an adult. :P
I don't know if there will ever be a scifi show with actors of this caliber, that is primarily non-comedy, that can be enjoyed by almost anyone and which maintains a somewhat positive outlook on humanity's future. It's a gem that must be experienced by as many as possible.
Christopher Collins (A Matter of Honor & Samaritan Snare) and Suzie Plakson (The Schizoid Man & The Emissary) sre the first actors to be used twice in the same season playing different characters in Star Trek. And we can thank Michael Westmore and the make-up department that it wasn't obvious.
I love the immediate lean in to read the screen for the holodeck programs, cracked me up lol. Glad I'm not the only one that geeks out on that stuff
Yeah but that made them miss the line where Khelar asked specifically for the callisthenic program of Lieutenant Worf.
Another interesting point about that, before hd and blu-ray restorations it wasn't so practical to see all those details
Your discussions also help future writers and directors break down story, pacing, character, dialog, placement of scenes, continuity etc. We who are into visual storytelling appreciate your breakdown of what works for you and what needs improvements. You guys are more than just a reaction channel now. You actually teaching.
What a wonderful compliment!
My favorite UA-cam channel at the moment.
Ditto
"My father was Klingon... My mother was human..." You just KNOW her mom had tattoos and piercings.
Well she was a big fan of K-pop from what I hear.
She was the first female to get Worf's Chewbacca shash off😂
What makes you think he was bluffing at the end? He was given command and the opportunity to see if he could resolve it, if not it should be him to order their destruction.
"If you want a good episode of star trek just make it about Worf and the Klingons" - Probably also Ronald D Moore at some point.
She also played Dr. Salar the Vulcan doctor that came to see Ira graves.
One of my favorites of all of TNG, did not expect them to like it.
"Should've given Michael Dorn the ball and let him run with it...."
Before Discovery was launched, when there was just a rumor at a new trek show, Dorn and fans were calling for a Worf centered series.... what might have been.
And what a disappointment that we ended up with Discovery.
@@Kainlarsen ... for you. Not for me. I love all three new series.... and, yes, they are "Trek"... just not what you prefer. That's okay.
So this episode would imply that Worf has never been in command of the Enterprise before... we know Riker, Data and Jordi have. Probably because any big away mission would have him on it, so he is rarely left alone on the bridge.
I knew I could count on my guys to catch the continuity with the library list of holodeck programs. 😎
It's funny how Worf is always the starry-eyed one in this sort of thing. :-)
In terms of importance in shaping the series this episode is right up there with Q Who. Remember it well.
Reposted from Patreon: Although I always knew it was good, “The Emissary” is an even better episode than I had remembered, and on this rewatch rises to fourth place in my ranking of TNG Season 2 episodes, ahead of “Elementary, Dear Data.”
Suzie Plakson (K’Ehleyr) previously played Dr. Selar, the Vulcan Enterprise physician in “The Schizoid Man.” Tracy Tormé, the scriptwriter of “The Schizoid Man” (who was a man, by the way), had wanted Dr. Selar to become a romantic interest for Worf, although there is no indication of this in that episode. Of course, Plakson was a suitable actor to play a love interest for Worf due to her height (6’2”). (Two meters is about six feet, so K'Ehleyr must have found the probe an extremely tight squeeze.) Robin Curtis (Saavik in Search for Spock and Voyage Home) was the first choice to play K’Ehleyr but was unavailable due to a movie role.
(Incidentally, I was surprised and pleased that apparently neither Alex nor Josh realized that Selar and K'Ehleyr were the same actress. Multiple people had been insistent about sharing this spoiler after Alex and Josh watched "The Schizoid Man;" some of them may have deleted their comments, but I was still concerned that Alex and Josh might have read others.)
Lance LeGault (Captain K’Temoc) was the narrator of "Quantum Leap." His best-known role was on the 1980s TV series "The A-Team"; among other roles, he also appeared in the "Battlestar Galactica" episodes “The Lost Warrior,” “The Man with Nine Lives” and “Baltar’s Escape,” and in the classic 1981 Army comedy "Stripes" with Bill Murray and Harold Ramis. Georgann Johnson (Admiral Gromek) later succeeded Jane Wyman in the role of the title character’s mother on "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman."
Given the chaotic production of TNG Season 2, it is a coincidence, but a pleasant one, that Worf’s calisthenics program appears both near the beginning of the season and near its end, complete with the creature that looks like Skeletor.
Near the end of TOS Season 3, Alex and Josh mentioned that a significant difference between their experience of watching the show and that of its original audience was that it was not interrupted by commercial breaks. This difference is more significant in "The Emissary" than in any other Star Trek episode the Target Audience has seen thus far: having to wait through the commercials at the end of Act 3 makes it more immediately obvious that Worf and K'Ehleyr are having sexual intercourse (and that this is what K'Ehleyr means by her hilarious first line in Act 4, "Some calisthenics programs are better than others").
Alex and Josh's comments about Worf's experience on the holodeck are highly insightful: it is entirely possible that Worf was a virgin prior to this episode, and that his previous discussions of sex were merely theoretical. An alternate possibility is that Worf has never had sex *with a Klingon* before; he may have found women of other species who were physically capable of sex with him. It may be that Worf is only obligated to marry someone with whom he has sex if that person is Klingon.
Alex's mental arithmetic concerning Klingon history is also quite accurate: 75 years prior to this episode brings us back into the TOS movie era, when the Klingons already had bumpy foreheads, as we see with the crew of the T'Ong.
Note that, if you pay close attention to what Worf says to K'Temoc, only one word is a lie: applying the title "Commander" to K'Ehleyr, who is a Federation emissary but not a member of Starfleet and does not have a paramilitary rank. Worf never claims to have the rank of Captain or to be the permanent commander of the Enterprise, only that he is in command at that moment (which is true); he never says that the Klingons won the war with the Federation, only that the war is over (which is also true).
This is, I believe, the first episode of TNG which neither begins nor ends with an exterior shot of the Enterprise.
I have seen an online review of “The Emissary” that gives it the highest possible accolade: that it is like a Season 3 episode come early. “The Emissary” is not as good as “A Matter of Honor,” “The Measure of a Man,” or “Q Who,” but it is an excellent episode, and this level of excellence will become more commonplace in Season 3. If you want a preview of what TNG will be like next season, you could do worse than watch “The Emissary.”
A warrior species that regularly utilises stealth tech DEFINITELY understands the utility of bluffing...and the utility of having a reputation for not bluffing.
They sparred more with the Romulans than Federation and IIRC stole most technology from them over time. Think of Klingon cloaking devices as a learned tactic from generational trauma.
you guys have so many exceptional episodes in this and upcoming seasons you just dont know. excited for you.
You are definitely right about Worf and Klingon episodes - they're a pretty solid series of episodes throughout the series. This one isn't my favorite (nothing particularly bad about it, just didn't entirely click), but it's definitely a good one and Captain Worf is great - I actually made a meme gif out of "Then die in ignorance. I can waste no more time on you."
I stumbled across your channel recently. I love how you analyze the show.
Welcome!
The best is yet to come! Season 3 is full of amazing episodes! Especially the final episode of season 3!
K'ehleyr is awesome and one of my favorite Klingons ever.
Suzie Plakson is GORGEOUS! 😍😍
This episode and the one with Riker as the exchange student are the best of this season. I also love the old Klingons waking up 75 years later to start up the old war again. And then Captain Worf. Amazing!
5:59 - Klingon females tend to have facial features that are (slightly) less attractive by most human standards. The make-up is used to give them more 'brutish' features in line with the males of the species. 'Rough edges' basically. To represent K'eylar's human ancestry, most of those rough edges have been smoothed out. Personal tastes, I think K'eylar is the most attractive woman I've seen with ANY Klingon heritage, with Grilka from DS9 being the most attractive full-blooded Klingon.
The nice teeth dont hurt either
I can listen to Worf calling Klingons, “FOOLS” for hours 😂.
Suzy Plakson is gorgeous
Amen.
K'Ehleyr was one of my earliest crushes when those old hormones started kicking in.
Suzie Plakson had her TNG debut in the episode Schyzoid Man as the Vulcan Doctor Selar who examined Ira Graves and she was pivotal in how she described him to Picard and Troi as they compared him with how Data had been acting.
I can’t say enough about how good your reactions are you bring me back how I felt back
in the day great reaction
to this episode
Brian from Northeast Ohio 👍👍👍
Susie Plakson also shows up in Voyager as a particularly important character playing opposite one of everybody's favourites....you'll see when you get there.
No spoilers, but Michael Dorn singlehandedly reinvented the Klingon race for guest stars in future series. Great editing in reducing this masterpiece.
Another amazing episode! We're on a roll, gentlemen!
Thing is, Worf wasn't bluffing. He was in command of the Enterprise, the war was over, and HE would have killed them if they did not stand down. It isn't a bluffing when you are holding the winning hand. 😅😂😊
Damn, K'Ehleyr is such a great character.
K'Ehleyr is such a good character. I always liked her.
Just found your channel yesterday - great stuff guys! I love the reaction videos plus discussion videos.
Welcome aboard the Target Audience!
Suzie Plakson is my all-time favorite Star Trek actress. As you've no doubt learned by now, you've seen her before -- Dr. Selar in "The Schizoid Man" -- and you'll see her again in certain roles. K'Ehleyr is a fantastic character, as you noticed.
This is why the fans demanded a Captain Worf show in time for the 50th anniversary of Trek.
Instead we got ST:D two years after the fact.
I agree with Newbie Startrek Reviews, that the mission in this episode was just a ruse by the rest of the senior staff to get Worf laid.
LOL
LOL
Since Klingons never bluff, Captain Worf used that knowledge to his advantage. The Klingons from the past believed he wasn't bluffing on the kill order.
*FUN FACT:* The prosthetics on K'Ehleyr's face were used to make her appear half human. K'Ehleyr is actually full Klingon.😏
Susie Plakson kills it. As usual.
Worf was not bluffing, destroying the Klingon ship was absolutely the next step if they hadn't stood down.
You hit the nail on the head saying that season 2 really goes up and down in quality. When its good, it gives us franchise classics and when its bad, its as bad as Star Trek gets!
A man is incomplete until he gets married.
Then he's finished.
Suzie Plakson also played Selar (the female Vulcan Medical officer)
The fact that you guys liked it so much was not a surprise. You’re so close to the end of the season, and the beginning of genuine peak TNG.
Fasten your safety belts, gents. We’re almost ready to go to maximum warp. 😎😁
Great drop again. I knew you guys would love this episode. Definitely, one of the highlights of Season 2. The Klingon captain of the awakened Klingon crew is Lance LeGault (pronounced "leh-GOW"), best known as Colonel Decker on The A-Team tv series, pursuing the title characters.
Oh, man, Colonel Decker. Now there was a guy who sucked at his job 😂
This is definitely one of the high points of season 2. I love the character of K’Ehleyr and how the actress plays her.
The great Suzi Plakson!!! Not sure you guys recognized the helm officer as well in the beginning. The actress is named Anne Ramsey and she was on a show called Mad About You with Paul Riser and Helen Hunt. Also the Captain is played by the great Lance LeGault! Great episode and Plakson is smoking hot in her red spandex!
Love how you guys drink sometimes during the show, it's a great touch of feeling like we're right in your home with you watching great Trek, makes a casual chill tone.
I really wish they made a cool comic book series of K'Ehleyr. And she looks especially great standing next to Worf
Hands down my favorite episode of season 2.
You guys might remember, that actress was in a few season 1 episodes as a Vulcan female crewmember.
Note this love episode kind of is contrary to the episode where Riker went on the Klingon ship, and the 2 Kkingon women wanted to mate with him.
Worf was always my favorite character. You are right, almost all of the Worf episodes are great. I can't wait to watch you see some of the later episodes!
What i love about the Klingon trench coat is the map briefcase built into its back panel
The art department often snuck a bunch of injokes and references into the LCARS panels, though with analogue TV resolutions many weren't readable till the Blu-ray versions came out.
I'd point to archives of these in jokes, but they are laden with spoilers so I'd hold off till you complete VOY.
Kyhlar out here stealing hearts.
next is peak performance. its going to be glorious
Worf wasn't bluffing. He was very willing and able to blow the Tong into smithereens.
I doubt Picard gave him the go ahead to actually fire.
He was in command. You sit in the chair, you get to make the big decisions.
Great point. Susie Plakson was gorgeous here, and also when she played the Vulcan, Dr. Selar.
One of my favorite episodes of this series. BTW Susie Plakson who plays K'lar also played a recurring role on Everybody Loves Raymond
K'Eyleyr had the original Queen Armadillo treatment, changing clothes each time she went through a door !
Once, some cultured critics of the Unification Magazine said that the importance of Klingons in Star Trek was the very proof of Gene Roddenberry's ability to make his characters actually interesting...