Entertainment
One Of Star Trek's Best Episodes Was Created Out Of Spite
By Chris Snellgrove
| Published
Ever learn about someone for the first time and feel an immediate kinship with them? Recently, I learned about the late, great Evan Carlos Somers, someone who wrote for the best Transformers show ever made: Beast Wars. He also wrote the episode “Melora” for Deep Space Nine, which just happens to be the greatest Star Trek show ever made (I said what I said, haters!).
What intrigued me most about Somers is that he wrote “Melora” out of spite. Part of that spite was for the Paramount production offices and the DS9 set itself. As a man in a wheelchair, Somers discovered how tough it was to get around the studio, and he made sure the wheelchair-bound Melora faced the same difficulties navigating the most famous space station in the quadrant. On top of that, he wrote “Melora” largely to wave a middle finger at the writers of “Ethics.” That’s the TNG episode where a paralyzed Worf wants to (as the kids on Starfleet Academy might say) unalive himself with the help of Commander Riker.
The Best Parking Spot On The Station
This tale is gonna need a double dose of context, so buckle up. The most notable thing about the “Melora” is that even in the 24th century, the titular Starfleet officer must use a wheelchair to move around the station. This is because she comes from a low-gravity planet, and her fancy hoverchair is incompatible with the station’s Cardassian technology. The episode was pitched and originally written (it got later rewrites) by Evan Carlos Somers, who felt that his life as a handicapped person would help him more authentically write for a wheelchair-bound character.
The big emotional thrust of the episode comes when Dr. Bashir develops a “cure” for Melora that would allow her to easily walk in Earth normal gravity. However, it would keep her from returning to her homeworld. It would also fundamentally change who she is, and she eventually decides not to go through with it just to make Bashir happy. In this way, the handicapped Somers wrote a quintessential Star Trek episode in which a character refuses to be defined by her disability and, instead, fully embraces it.
Today Is A Good Day To Die
While he was motivated to write “Melora” largely out of his desire to honestly portray the lived experience of a handicapped person, Somers also wanted to write a response to the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode, “Ethics.” This is the episode where Worf gets paralyzed by some falling barrels, and he considers committing ritual suicide because of Klingon cultural customs. They believe if you can’t walk, you can’t fight, and if you can’t fight, you might as well be dead. Worf is unable to convince Riker to help with his assisted suicide and is unwilling to ask his son, so he reluctantly agrees to an experimental medical procedure that allows him to walk again.
In an interview with The Official Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Magazine, Evan Carlos Somers revealed that “Ethics” was an episode that “had gotten a little under my skin.” While acknowledging that Klingons have their own cultural values, he still felt that “we’re making statements with Star Trek” and that “messages and values are being broadcast loud and clear.” In this case, he “reented the message in ‘Ethics’–that Worf is worthless now that he’s disabled and therefore must kill himself.” This motivated the writing of “Melora” because “I always thought it would be nice to create a disabled character who’s accepted for what she is and doesn’t have to change.”
In retrospect, “Melora” did have a nice message, but I find it personally hilarious that this progressive episode was written out of spite for the writers of an earlier TNG episode. Even funnier, “Ethics” was written by Ronald D. Moore, the Klingon expert who later went on to create the acclaimed Battlestar Galactica reboot.
He’s considered one of Star Trek’s best writers, but that didn’t keep a young intern-turned-writer from calling him out with one of DS9’s craziest episodes. Somers was powered by spite the same way the Enterprise is powered by the warp core, and like Scotty, he was giving it all he’s got with “Melora.” Real talk? As a cranky writer myself, that’s the kind of motivation I can get behind.
Entertainment
Hurdle hints and answers for March 25, 2026
If you like playing daily word games like Wordle, then Hurdle is a great game to add to your routine.
There are five rounds to the game. The first round sees you trying to guess the word, with correct, misplaced, and incorrect letters shown in each guess. If you guess the correct answer, it’ll take you to the next hurdle, providing the answer to the last hurdle as your first guess. This can give you several clues or none, depending on the words. For the final hurdle, every correct answer from previous hurdles is shown, with correct and misplaced letters clearly shown.
An important note is that the number of times a letter is highlighted from previous guesses does necessarily indicate the number of times that letter appears in the final hurdle.
If you find yourself stuck at any step of today’s Hurdle, don’t worry! We have you covered.
Hurdle Word 1 hint
A woven hairstyle.
Hurdle Word 1 answer
BRAID
Hurdle Word 2 hint
An excursion.
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Hurdle Word 2 Answer
JAUNT
Hurdle Word 3 hint
Shine.
Hurdle Word 3 answer
GLEAM
Hurdle Word 4 hint
Not height.
Hurdle Word 4 answer
WIDTH
Final Hurdle hint
Moon-related.
Hurdle Word 5 answer
LUNAR
If you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
Entertainment
NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for March 25, 2026
Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is for people who like sneakers.
As we’ve shared in previous hints stories, this is a version of the popular New York Times word game that seeks to test the knowledge of sports fans.
Like the original Connections, the game is all about finding the “common threads between words.” And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier — so we’ve served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.
If you just want to be told today’s puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for the latest Connections solution. But if you’d rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.
What is Connections: Sports Edition?
The NYT‘s latest daily word game has launched in association with The Athletic, the New York Times property that provides the publication’s sports coverage. Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.
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Each puzzle features 16 words and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise of anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there’s only one correct answer.
If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake — players get up to four mistakes until the game ends.
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Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media.
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Here’s a hint for today’s Connections: Sports Edition categories
Want a hint about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:
Here are today’s Connections: Sports Edition categories
Need a little extra help? Today’s connections fall into the following categories:
Looking for Wordle today? Here’s the answer to today’s Wordle.
Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today’s puzzle before we reveal the solutions.
Drumroll, please!
The solution to today’s Connections: Sports Edition #548 is…
What is the answer to Connections: Sports Edition today?
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Games Played on a Table – AIR HOCKEY, FOOSBALL, POOL, SNOOKER
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Nike Shoes – AIR FORCE 1, BLAZER, PEGASUS, SHOX
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Giants Greats – BONDS, MAYS, OTT, POSEY
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NBA___ – ALL-STAR, CUP, DRAFT, FINALS
Don’t feel down if you didn’t manage to guess it this time. There will be new sports Connections for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we’ll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.
Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today’s Strands.
If you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
Not the day you’re after? Here’s the solution to yesterday’s Connections.
Entertainment
NYT Pips hints, answers for March 25, 2026
Welcome to your guide to Pips, the latest game in the New York Times catalogue.
Released in August 2025, the Pips puts a unique spin on dominoes, creating a fun single-player experience that could become your next daily gaming habit.
Currently, if you’re stuck, the game only offers to reveal the entire puzzle, forcing you to move onto the next difficulty level and start over. However, we have you covered! Below are piecemeal answers that will serve as hints so that you can find your way through each difficulty level.
How to play Pips
If you’ve ever played dominoes, you’ll have a passing familiarity for how Pips is played. As we’ve shared in our previous hints stories for Pips, the tiles, like dominoes, are placed vertically or horizontally and connect with each other. The main difference between a traditional game of dominoes and Pips is the color-coded conditions you have to address. The touching tiles don’t necessarily have to match.
The conditions you have to meet are specific to the color-coded spaces. For example, if it provides a single number, every side of a tile in that space must add up to the number provided. It is possible – and common – for only half a tile to be within a color-coded space.
Here are common examples you’ll run into across the difficulty levels:
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Number: All the pips in this space must add up to the number.
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Equal: Every domino half in this space must be the same number of pips.
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Not Equal: Every domino half in this space must have a completely different number of pips.
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Less than: Every domino half in this space must add up to less than the number.
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Greater than: Every domino half in this space must add up to more than the number.
If an area does not have any color coding, it means there are no conditions on the portions of dominoes within those spaces.
Easy difficulty hints, answers for March 25 Pips
Equal (2): Everything in this space must be equal to 2. The answer is 2-2, placed horizontally; 2-5, placed horizontally.
Number (5): Everything in this space must add up to 5. The answer is 2-5, placed horizontally.
Number (6): Everything in this space must add up to 6. The answer is 6-3, placed vertically.
Number (14): Everything in this space must add up to 14. The answer is 5-5, placed horizontally; 4-4, placed horizontally.
Equal (4): Everything in this space must be equal to 4. The answer is 0-4, placed vertically; 4-4, placed horizontally.
Medium difficulty hints, answers for March 25 Pips
Number (2): Everything in this space must add up to 2. The answer is 2-6, placed horizontally.
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Equal (6): Everything in this space must be equal to 6. The answer is 2-6, placed horizontally; 5-6, placed horizontally; 6-1, placed horizontally.
Number (0): Everything in this space must add up to 0. The answer is 5-0, placed vertically.
Equal (5): Everything in this space must be equal to 5. The answer is 5-0, placed vertically; 5-6, placed horizontally; 5-3, placed vertically.
Equal (1): Everything in this orange space must be equal to 1. The answer is 6-1, placed horizontally; 3-1, placed horizontally.
Equal (3): Everything in this space must be equal to 5. The answer is 5-3, placed vertically; 3-3, placed horizontally; 3-1, placed horizontally.
Number (1): Everything in this space must add up to 1. The answer is 1-0, placed horizontally.
Hard difficulty hints, answers for March 25 Pips
Number (5): Everything in this space must add up to 5. The answer is 4-0, placed vertically; 1-2, placed horizontally.
Number (8): Everything in this space must add up to 8. The answer is 1-2, placed horizontally; 6-6, placed horizontally.
Equal (0): Everything in this space must be equal to 0. The answer is 4-0, placed vertically; 0-6, placed vertically; 0-2, placed horizontally.
Less than (3): Everything in this space must be less than 3. The answer is 0-2, placed horizontally.
Number (7): Everything in this space must add up to 7. The answer is 6-6, placed horizontally; 1-3, placed vertically.
Equal (6): Everything in this space must be equal to 6. The answer is 0-3, placed vertically; 6-5, placed vertically; 6-4, placed horizontally.
Greater than (3): Everything in this space must be greater than 3. The answer is 6-4, placed horizontally.
Number (6): Everything in this space must add up to 6. The answer is -3, placed vertically; 3-0, placed vertically.
Number (5): Everything in this space must add up to 5. The answer is 6-5, placed vertically.
Number (0): Everything in this space must add up to 0. The answer is 0-5, placed horizontally.
Equal (5): Everything in this space must be equal to 5. The answer is 0-5, placed horizontally; 5-5, placed horizontally.
Number (6): Everything in this space must add up to 6. The answer is 3-0, placed vertically; 4-2, placed vertically.
If you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
Hurdle hints and answers for March 25, 2026
Bucks waive Cam Thomas to convert Pete Nance's contract
