Conspiracy

It's undoubtedly the best episode from season one and possibly the best episode of Next Generation. From the jump, it had the perfect amount of tension and believability and a great story. The only season one episodes that compare to its quality are "Datalore" and "Heart of Glory." The Federation's rules and benevolent nature are under assault by a mysterious force that might have originated from within the core leadership of its organization. Only a handful of its trustworthy senior officers seem to be aware of the problem, which is alarming in itself.

This episode's only flaws: its special effects are very dated and almost laughable by today's standards, and it relies on Jonathon Frakes's acting (groan) a bit too much.

The overall story of Conspiracy is quite interesting, and certainly unique, at least to The Next Generation. We are left in the dark for precisely the right moments, and only in the end do we really understand what has been going on this entire episode, which in my eyes in quintessentially trek storytelling.

The special effects and practical effects, while only seen in greater detail in the latter half of the episode, are a bit rudimentary compared to todays standards, however considering that this was created in the late 80's, and for a television show no less, it meets expectations. Even incorporating tricky stop-motion to capture certain movements which would not be easy to do otherwise.

Where this episode is lacking however is in the way it is told. The story is great, but the whole episode feels like it's trying to fill the time with long drawn out scenes, and whole minutes of the episode feel like they should've been left on the cutting room floor, and instead been filled with more interesting exposition or a more dramatic rising action.

All in all the episode is one of the better ones from season 1, and definitely is worth a watch, although as many reviewers pointed out, it does contain some light gore elements, so very young children should probably sit this one out.

This carries on the conspiracy theme where suspicions arise about a coup taking place behind the scenes. A friend arrives on the Enterprise and Jean-Luc comes to realize that he is not acting as he should. The good captain finds himself meeting with what may or may not be friends of the federation. They are a surly lot and see destruction ahead. On board a series of events take place, finally sending Riker into a state of shock. He becomes catatonic. Captain Savar fights with Worf and nearly dismantles him. He has powers beyond human capability and enjoys his superior strength to no end. Meanwhile, Picard beams to the meeting room for a discussion of the future of Star Fleet. From there, things get really dicey as we realize that there are things at work here that are alien in nature. It seems the deck is badly stacked and subterfuge is going to be necessary. There are wonderful twists and turns, analytical subtleties, and excellent premises to tie together. For some reason, there are those who are incredibly disappointed in this effort, that somehow there are a set of rules that episodes are supposed to follow. I have seen this episode several times and still enjoy it.

"Conspiracy" ranks as one of the most disgusting installments in episode television history. The story line involves an infiltration of Star Fleet by "intelligences" bent on the destruction of the Federation. A longtime friend of Beverly Crusher visits the Enterprise and brings with him a sinister secret, revealed in a stunning confrontation with Worf.

As the conspiracy widens, Capt. Picard and Ryker return to Earth and come face-to-face with the "mother" of the conspiracy, setting the stage for one of the most dramatic and jaw-dropping scenes in Trek history.

'It's too bad that the producers didn't decide to continue with a follow-up episode that would tie up some of the loose ends from this memorable show.

The plot for "Conspiracy" is pretty much taken from "Invasion of the Body Snatchers", so it's hardly original. However, it's such a HUGE departure from the usually overly cerebral episodes of season one that it's a welcome breath of fresh air!

A few episodes back, an admiral and his henchman, a commander, were introduced ("Coming of Age") and at the time, why they were in the first episode seemed a bit unclear. Here, the final portion of that story is about to play out in "Conspiracy".

It seems that Starfleet has been behaving oddly and several other Federation captains have called Picard to a secret meeting to discuss this. They are not sure what is happening--but SOMETHING is afoot. They warn Picard to be on his guard. This paranoia seems well founded when shortly after the meeting adjourns, one of the captains' ships explodes! Obviously SOMETHING is happening. What? See the show.

This is good old senseless paranoia and violence--things that made the original "Star Trek" series so much fun. And this episode is indeed fun--something the series occasionally forgot to include and a welcome relief here. This is the one to see during the first season.