Entertainment
Beloved Star Trek Character’s Best Episode Secretly Ripped Off An Earlier Show
By Chris Snellgrove
| Published
There’s an old, somewhat controversial statement about creative works often attributed to Pablo Picasso: “good artists copy, great artists steal.” The quote often ruffles the feathers of creative types because it seemingly glorifies the act of stealing from someone else’s ideas. However, the greatest sci-fi franchise ever created has been engaging in this practice for over 60 years.
The first Star Trek show was originally conceived of as “Wagon Train to the stars,” which meant it would take the style and sensibility of Western TV shows and adapt them to a sci-fi setting. Subsequent spinoffs adopted this same mentality and, inevitably enough, some of Trek’s best episodes ended up cannibalizing the best episodes of previous shows. For example, the writer of the fan-favorite Voyager episode “Projections” admitted that he created this seemingly original tale by mashing together two different episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation.
If You Glitch Him, Does He Not Bleed?
“Projections” is a Voyager episode with a very fascinating concept: after an attack on the ship, the holographic Doctor discovers that he is flesh and blood. As the episode unfolds, he starts to believe that he is actually a human being and that the rest of the crew are actually holograms. Thanks to a surprise appearance from minor TNG character Barclay, the Doctor is convinced he must destroy the ship in order to end the holographic program he is stuck inside. However, he realizes far too late that he is actually stuck on the holodeck, and listening to Barclay’s destructive orders will actually delete his own program.
This Voyager episode was written by Brannon Braga, the rockstar writer who helped transform The Next Generation into must-see TV. He was so well-versed in that earlier Star Trek show that he wasn’t afraid to borrow heavily from it when he was writing Voyager episodes. In an old interview with Star Trek Monthly, he admitted that the plot of “Projections” is a mashup of the plots from two very different THG episodes: “The Measure of a Man” and “Frame of Mind.”
Mixing And Matching Star Trek Stories
“The Measure of a Man” is, of course, the iconic TNG episode in which Lieutenant Commander Data had to prove in court that he was a sentient being rather than Starfleet property. Meanwhile, “Frame of Mind” (which Braga also wrote) has Riker trapped in an asylum after the completion of a recent covert mission. He has trouble telling what’s real and what is not, eventually discovering that he was captured by enemies during the mission, and all of the mind games he was experiencing were a side effect of these aliens probing his mind for Federation secrets.
How does combining the plots from these two TNG episodes add up to Voyager’s “Projections?” Like Data in “The Measure of a Man,” the Doctor must prove that he is exactly who and what he thinks he is. But there’s an interesting inversion here: the artificial Data had to prove he had the same rights as humans like Riker and Picard, whereas the Doctor had to prove that he was completely artificial and not a flesh-and-blood human being.
The Ultimate Story Synthesis
The parallels between “Projections” and “Frame of Mind” are even easier to see: in each episode, the primary character had to decide which version of reality was authentic. The Doctor had to figure out whether he was actually an Emergency Medical Hologram or Lewis Zimmerman, the human scientist who created the EMH in his image. Riker, meanwhile, had to figure out if he was actually the first officer of the Federation flagship Enterprise or a crazy man trapped within an alien asylum.
Brannon Braga was the first to admit that “Projections” wasn’t the most original story because it mashed up the stories from two earlier Next Generation episodes. Nonetheless, he managed to synthesize two older stories into something that felt both fresh and innovative. The result was an episode that has thrilled fans for decades due to its cool concept, vaulting ambition, and pitch-perfect acting.
Entertainment
Pokémon TCG Ascended Heroes Tech Sticker Collections now only $32 at Walmart — save $5 vs. Amazon
Where to buy Pokémon TCG Ascended Heroes Tech Sticker Collections:
Keen Pokémon TCG collectors hunting for affordable Ascended Heroes packs have another solid option right now, thanks to Walmart quietly lowering the price on one of the expansion’s smaller collections.
As of March 12, the Pokémon TCG Mega Evolution Ascended Heroes Tech Sticker Collection is available for just over $32 at Walmart, undercutting Amazon’s current $37.98 listing by roughly $5. The collection is shipped as a randomly selected Charmander or Gastly edition, which means you won’t know exactly which promo card you’re getting until it arrives.
Mashable Deals
Each Tech Sticker Collection comes with one foil promo card featuring either Charmander or Gastly, along with a themed tech sticker sheet spotlighting Charmander and Mega Charizard Y or Gastly and Mega Gengar. On top of that, you’ll also get three booster packs from the Mega Evolution Ascended Heroes expansion, each containing the usual 10 Pokémon trading cards.
Mashable Trend Report
This is the best way to get Pokémon TCG Ascended Heroes boosters at a half-decent price. Individually, Ascended Heroes booster packs cost $18.97 at Walmart and $24.99 at Amazon. Comparatively, this Ascended Heroes Tech Sticker collection means you’re only paying $10.75 per pack, saving you $8.24 compared to buying them on their own.
For other Pokémon TCG deals, consider the Perfect Order Booster Box price cuts at Amazon and Walmart. What’s more, the Pokémon TCG Perfect Order Booster Bundle is still available to preorder at Amazon for $59.99.
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Pokemon
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Entertainment
Starfleet Academy Just Resurrected A Decades-Old Alien Ritual From Star Trek
By Chris Snellgrove
| Published
Starfleet Academy has been incorporating nods to earlier Star Trek shows, with varying degrees of subtlety. Sometimes, we just get, say, passing references to a Talaxian furfly. Other times, we get an entire episode dedicated to characters like Benjamin Sisko, complete with cameos from those who are closest to him.
So far, most of the show’s most overt references have been nods to shows like Deep Space Nine and Voyager. However, the most recent episode, “300th Night,” referenced The Next Generation in a powerful way by portraying an alien ritual we haven’t seen onscreen for decades. That ritual was the R’uustai, which allows Klingons to induct new members into their house.
Worf Bonds With A Child
We first saw the R’uustai in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “The Bonding.” In this tale, Worf led an away team mission that went sideways, resulting in the death of a woman under his command. She died a typical Redshirt-style death, but unlike the Redshirts of yesteryear, her death left her son, Jeremy Aster, without a mother or father to raise him.
Jeremy goes through plenty of trauma afterward, especially after sympathetic aliens try to replicate his mother in an attempt to soothe his pain. Eventually, the crew gets the young boy to accept that his mother is dead, and Worf (whom the kid originally blamed for his mother’s death) performs the act of R’uustai, an ancient Klingon ritual that allowed him to make Jeremy a brother who would forever be part of Worf’s family, House Mogh.
Interestingly, R’uustai didn’t come up again in Star Trek for decades. Jeremy Aster was never mentioned again, and we never saw this ritual onscreen or even heard it mentioned. This is doubly interesting because on Deep Space Nine, Martok made Worf part of his family, meaning that young Jeremy Aster (wherever he is) is technically the last surviving member of House Mogh. However, it’s doubtful that he’ll be picking up a bat’leth and battling for the disgraced family’s honor anytime soon.
An Old Ritual From A New Klingon
After decades of its absence from Star Trek, however, R’uustai just made a quiet comeback. In the penultimate episode of Starfleet Academy Season 1 (“300th Night”), the unconventional Klingon Jay-Den conducts the R’uustai ritual for his fellow cadets, inviting them to join his family, House Kraag. All but Caleb drink during the ceremony, making them brothers and sisters of Jay-Den. Despite Caleb not wanting to join House Kraag because he is still obsessed with finding his mother (the last of his biological family), Jay-Den considers him a chosen brother and helps Caleb with his reckless mission to reunite with his mom.
In a weird way, this forgotten ritual from Star Trek: The Next Generation was perfect for Starfleet Academy. The show is all about found family and the strength you gain from letting close friends into your heart. In “300th Night,” the R’uustai ritual makes the “family” part official for these cadets while calling back to a TNG ritual that proved how easy it was for humans and other outsiders to officially join Klingon houses.
Today Is A Good Day To Bond
As a longtime Star Trek nerd, I just wish we knew a little more about how R’uustai works in this fictional universe. In the TNG episode “The Bonding,” this ritual was used to induct Jeremy Aster into Worf’s family, but an entirely different ritual (one involving less drinking and more bloodletting) was used in the DS9 episode “Sons and Daughters” to induct Alexander into House Martok. Therefore, it’s unclear whether the R’uustai temporarily fell out of fashion as a way to induct new House members before Jay-Den embraced it or if the rituals are race-specific, with one being reserved for Klingons and the other being used for everyone else.
At any rate, if you’re a Star Trek fan who loves Klingon lore, it’s particularly rewarding to see the return of R’uustai, something last seen in the excellent TNG episode “The Bonding.” The ritual emphasizes Starfleet Academy’s themes of found family, all while steeping itself in decades-old franchise lore. Hopefully, everything works out for Jay-Den, whose induction of Darem into House Kraag means he now officially has a family member who wants to have sex with him.
Let’s just hope this doesn’t lead to any particularly weird holodeck misadventures. If a simulated Darem gets stuck in a Jeffries Tube and starts saying things like, “What are you doing, chosen brother?” that will be our cue to turn the TV off quicker than you can say “qapla’!”
Entertainment
7 Spring Fashion Trends — Thoughts?
“I’m ready to shed my winter clothes,” wrote a CoJ reader named Hilleary. “What are the spring trends?” I know some people don’t care about trends — life is short, wear whatever you’d like! — but I actually love the visual conversation of seeing people re-wearing their old bandanas, say, or breathing life into baggy jeans from the back of their closet. If you, too, are curious, here are seven spring trends to look out for…
1. Bandanas. I invited people over last week, and no fewer than FIVE lovely women showed up with bandanas around their necks. How easy is that? (Side note: Would you like a bandana-tying tutorial, just for fun?)
2. Funnel necks. How chic are the high collars on this cream jacket and denim coat? If money were no object, this Barbour number is also beautiful — and here’s a baby blue one.
3. Baby blue. I wear this blue 100% cotton shirt allllll the time with jeans or shorts. It drapes really well, looks great with the sleeves rolled, and makes an easy travel uniform. I’m also into these baby blue and woven flats.
4. Polka dots. Do you wear polka dots? My friends’ answers are mixed, but I think they can look really elegant, especially when the dress itself feels more adult (e.g., long, silky, belted). Remember this scene in Pretty Woman?
5. Dark denim. Think: so dark they’re almost navy. This trouser silhouette is great, and these cuties are currently 30% off.
6. Track pants. When Alison wore track pants in her house tour photos, we got a gazillion comments asking about them. Hers were from Adidas, but there are other fun versions, like linen and polka dots.
7. Boat shoes. Last summer, my dad wore classic boat shoes while on a boat in Cornwall, England, and when I told him that he was on trend, he….didn’t care. But! They’re timeless, easy, and perfect for summer, so I was excited for both of us.
Thoughts? What are you wearing these days? And if you want to stick to basics, there’s always the forever-cool stick-of-butter look. xoxo
P.S. Women share their weeks of outfits, and my five holy-grail beauty products.
(Top photo of the Brooklyn Promenade.)
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