Talk:Encounter at Farpoint (episode)

Images of the station?
I couldn't believe it when I found that there were no pictures of Farpoint Station or the aliens, on MA :) Zsingaya  Talk 10:53, 24 Sep 2005 (UTC)

Expand summary?
The summary seems very slim to me, compared to most other episodes. It should be expanded, no? PrognosisNegative 20:54, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

New Background notes
There were a number of new background notes recently added to this article:


 * In the very final scene is the only time Tasha Yar can be seen wearing the skirt style uniform.

It is specific to this episode. Nothing wrong with this, I am leaving it alone.


 * Deanna Troi wears standard uniform in the pilot, she would not do so again until the 6th season's "Chain of Command". She is also referred to by her rank.

This really effects more than one episode, in fact it is over most of the series. Therefore, I think it belongs in the article Deanna Troi. After looking at that article, I find a note on this is already there. I am removing it from here.


 * In the pilot, as well as early in the first season, the forward bridge consoles don't seem to be delegated specifically to either helm control or operations since Data, the operations manager, can be seen in both the left and right stations at different times

Since this effects an entire season, and not just this episode, I feel it more belongs in the article, specifically as a note on the section of the bridge. I am moving it there. --OuroborosCobra 19:40, 25 June 2006 (UTC)

Starfleet Tactical Crossdresser?
I kid you not, watching this afternoon, I saw a male crewman go cruising by the camera left-to-right wearing one of the skirted uniforms. Sorry, no Tivo or DVD for me to review. It was, I think, during the saucer sep prep scenes ... there's another shot of someone (Riker?) directing people through a corridor, and behind him is clearly the large, engineering Okudagram schematic of the Enterprise-D -- indicating shot was done in Engineering, doubling for a plain vanilla corridor. (Elsewhere in this episode and "The Naked Now," it appears that "the pool table" wasn't in place yet.) ANYWAY, if someone has the Season 1 DVD and some time to kill, feel free to see if there really was an extra dressed in a 23rd century dress. Certainly some fun trivia... Kojiro Vance | Talk 23:26, 11 December 2006 (UTC)
 * Yep, he was wearing a "skant" (as you can see another male from wear in the image I just placed here). I guess it was to show that it was "gender-neutral" to place Troi and Yar in this uniform. More on the skant is here.--Tim Thomason 00:08, 12 December 2006 (UTC)
 * Ha-ha, I just watched that ep. And the 2nd unit director zoomed in on the poor guy. Boy ... i wouldn't want that on my Starfleet C.V. ... "While working in Ops aboard the 1701-D, I participated in a uniform study*, working for several weeks in a skant uniform. I am still participating actively in counseling following this." :D Kojiro Vance | Talk 23:45, 12 December 2006 (UTC)
 * (I did one of these in the Coast Guard. Headquarters units have a few people work in a new proposed uniform then fill out surveys, and the uniform is analyzed for durability, etc. Surely a Starfleet "flag vessel" might do programs like this.)

TV Version
In the TV version, Encounter at Farpoint has a teaser, and some parts (such as the part where LT. j.g. Worf talks to the engenier about the warp drive and much more) are missing. --67.170.207.109 21:12, 16 May 2007 (UTC)
 * This is probably not the "TV version", but rather the version displayed on Spike TV. Spike is well known to cut scenes from episodes and edit them to make more room for commercials. --OuroborosCobra talk 03:58, 17 May 2007 (UTC)
 * No, this is not the TV version, but the syndicated version where the pilot is split into two 45-minute episodes. Therefore, some scenes had to be removed to free some time for the beginning and end credits, "last time on Star Trek" preview, etc. --Ltarex 20:32, 16 October 2009 (CET)
 * Two of the larger cuts from the Spike TV version versus the full version are the discussion between Picard and Crusher in Sick Bay in Part 2, and Riker watching the video recapping earlier events in Part 1. However, SyFy does not make the same cuts, as was seen when this episode, as well as other ones, were shown during marathons. LReyomeXX 03:34, March 17, 2011 (UTC)

Incomplete Summary?
Why is this episode's summary considered incomplete? It seems well fleshed-out to me, and I don't see anything on the talk page addressing this. If no one objects, I'll remove the template.

--Commodore Sixty-Fourtalk 09:50, 6 June 2007 (UTC)

Oops, it looks like the very first comment addresses it. My bad. Still, I think it merits more discussion.

--C64

Inconsistency
Has anyone ever noticed when Yar, Troi, La Forge, Riker, & Data are exploring the caves/caverns below the city, there's about 7 humanoid shadows on the wall? 65.74.126.49 09:43, 26 November 2007 (UTC)

Old Background Notes
'# Colm Meaney (Miles O'Brien) and John de Lancie (Q) are the only actors, besides the regulars, to appear in both this episode and the finale "All Good Things...". However, Denise Crosby (Tasha Yar), who left the cast in "Skin of Evil" and was therefore not a regular at the time of the finale, also appeared in both episodes.'

This is phrased beyond poorly. It should either be streamlines to simply include Denise Crosby as one of the three (next to Meaney, and De Lancie), or she should be removed from the reference all together. As is, it reads remarkably poorly.

'# Colm Meaney is the only non-regular to appear in both the pilots and finales of TNG and DS9. '

"Only non-regular" implies that there was a regular who appeared, all inclusive style, in the TNG, and DS9 premiers, and the TNG, and DS9 finales. If there was no "regular" who did what Colm Meaney did (and I can think of none), it should be changed to read something to the effect of "...is the only actor to appear in both the pilots, and finales of...".

Both of these read vary poorly, and even if there is some justification for them... which I'm anticipating, which is why I bring this to the discussion page, instead of simply changing them...  they should be reworded. Thoughts? Hossrex 10:02, 26 November 2007 (UTC)


 * I agree with the second change, but the first involving Denise Crosby doesn't read poorly to me. To move her with de Lancie and Meaney would imply she was never a regular... which, of course, isn't true. To remove her altogether is out of the question, really, because that would simply be ignoring the fact that she appeared in both the pilot and the finale. That said, I'll see if I can't rephrase it better. --From Andoria with Love 17:56, 26 November 2007 (UTC)

The changes you've made sound good to me. Thanks for listening. Hossrex 22:39, 26 November 2007 (UTC)

Syndicated "Last time on ..." different?
I'm watching part 2 right now on Space and instead of Majel Roddenberry's voice saying "Last time on Star Trek: The Next Generation..." there was a man's voice (don't know whose) that said "Last time on Encounter at Farpoint..." and I'm not sure if this is heard on other channels, but is this a notable thing? --Blastermant 20:07, 25 August 2009 (UTC)

Production History Question
I see that the listed airdate for the episode is Sept. 28, 1987. Since the show was syndicated and therefore aired at various dates that week across the country, (and for that matter, around the world), shouldn't the airdate for this episode and all subsequent TNG and DS9 episodes state "Week of..." instead of an actual date like "Week of Sept. 28, 1987?" Cause "Encounter at Farpoint" didn't air until October 3, 1987 where I live and that's the day I count as TNG's anniversary. Any thoughts? leandar 03:01, October 7, 2009 (UTC)
 * Should be whenever it was first aired as that's when the actual airdate is...doesn't matter where or when. &mdash; Morder (talk) 03:05, October 7, 2009 (UTC)

Do we know for sure if it was aired on that date somewhere? That date, as best as I recall, was a Monday. I'd be hard pressed to believe some of the stations at that time would preempt programming (especially if it was a network station) to air TNG. If they did, cool. I just had to wonder I guess. lol leandar 03:08, October 7, 2009 (UTC)
 * I'm sure whoever posted it got it from a source. StarTrek.com probably has all the official airdates. &mdash; Morder (talk) 03:09, October 7, 2009 (UTC)

Yeah, it does. I just checked. It still seems like they should say "Week of..." but I guess it works out alright without it. Thanks anyway for the info. leandar 03:14, October 7, 2009 (UTC)


 * We don't use the "week of" stuff, since it only actually applies to TNG, DS9, and VOY. TOS and Enterprise had very specific air dates for their stuff.  The general idea of that airdate is a premiere anyhow.  Some markets just don't get stuff at the same time as others (for whatever silly reason). And yes, we went through a whole discussion on this a couple of years ago when we standardized the episode page styles. -- sulfur 03:51, October 7, 2009 (UTC)

Continuity

 * A similar continuity issue potentially arises with Dr. Crusher's statement to Riker that her duties and interests are "outside the command structure." The subsequent episodes and  establish her competence to command, and later still (in ) we learn that Crusher took the Bridge Officer's Test voluntarily and actually enjoys taking the bridge occasionally. However, this could simply indicate a change in Crusher's duties and interests over time, possibly related in some way to her leaving the Enterprise in the second season to become the head of Starfleet Medical.

Agreed with the second half - this isn't a continuity issue &mdash; Morder (talk) 17:01, October 30, 2009 (UTC)

Image
What is the point of this uncited and poorly named image? What part of it "looks" like it was taken from an SD source? Do we know either way for sure? Can we get a comparison shot? - 22:25, February 4, 2012 (UTC)
 * I've renamed it but cannot say anything to the SDvHD source argument. -- sulfur 17:43, February 5, 2012 (UTC)
 * In the clipshow that Riker views on the battle bridge, only this short sequence is noticeably different because SD footage had to be used. If you look at the whole sequence Riker views, you'll notice all footage appears exactly like that earlier in the episode. Only the short sequence seen on the screenshot is a little different. It's the footage of Q, wearing the Christopher Columbus costume, saying "Go back, or thou shall most certainly die". All the other footage that Riker views on the monitor is actually footage from earlier in the episode, so just that footage could be used, when it was replayed on the viewscreen. But this is different for the footage of Q as Columbus uttering the sentence "Go back, or thou shall most certainly die". In the actual scene earlier in the episode, while Q is saying "Go back", the shot is an over the angle shot, focusing on Picard and only showing Qs back. The shot then switches to Q, while he utters "or thou shall most certainly die." The original footage of Q saying that sentence can be found between 0:06:52 to 0:06:56 on the Blu-ray. In the footage Riker views, the whole footage is shown from Picard's point of view, so Q is seen making the whole statement from Picard's point of view. On the Blu-ray, this can be found between 0.37:35 and 0:37:38. As this footage is the only footage that differs from the sequence earlier in the episode, it was apparently decided to upscale the footage to HD instead of digging through the archives to find the relevant sequence. --Jörg 17:54, February 5, 2012 (UTC)

Nitpick

 * Wesley Crusher fell into water on the holodeck, and emerged from the holodeck soaking wet. As the water is only part of the simulation, it cannot exist outside the holodeck, so Wesley should not have been wet outside of the holodeck.

Removed as a nitpick.--31dot 22:26, March 7, 2012 (UTC)

Warp 9.8
In this episode, The Enterprise-D travels at warp 9.8. is this the fastest a federation starship has gone without modification?
 * No, the USS Voyager was built with an engine that was designed for 9.975 without modification. --Pseudohuman (talk) 16:49, January 4, 2013 (UTC)

Missing scenes?
I watched this episode on NetFlix and I'm sure there are missing scenes. Those scenes are also not described on this wiki page.

Isn't it true that:
 * There's a scene where Troi explains to Picard that she and Rikker have a history?
 * There's a scene where Picard explains to Rikker that he will call him "number one"?

I didn't just dream those scenes, did I? I'm sure I've seen them. Where are they?

69.243.29.99 16:25, May 14, 2013 (UTC)


 * The only scene where Troi and "Riker"'s relationship is discussed is when Picard introduces them to each other after leaving his ready room. Troi speaks telepathically to Riker about their relationship; aloud they only state that they knew each other.  I don't believe there is any scene discussing what Picard will call Riker. 31dot (talk) 20:09, May 14, 2013 (UTC)


 * I just recently watched this episode again, and 31dot is right about the mention of Troi and Riker's relationship. Regarding Picard calling Riker "number one", I think you were remembering a scene from another episode. If I'm not mistaken, there is a reference to it later in the series. But I can't recall off hand which episode it appears in, though. --Knglerxst (talk) 02:13, May 21, 2013 (UTC)knglerxst

The Troi/Picard scene I was thinking about was from "All Good Things...". The "Number One" scene I was thining about was probably from "Disaster." 69.243.29.99 14:01, June 3, 2013 (UTC)