11001001

Enterprise docks at a Starbase for a computer upgrade from the Bynars.

This is a solid episode that is a little slow to get going, but once it kicks into life, it's very entertaining and has some good character moments.

The plot is simple but effective and I won't mention any specifics not to spoil. It is safe to say that once we find out what's going on it puts a more interesting spin on what's been happening in the first part of the episode. It has an interesting concept when we consider how much society relies on computers.

I like how a number of different characters provide good contributions to what happens. Picard, Riker, Data and Wesley (ish) all get their share of cool moments. Worf briefly provides a moment of humour with his fiercely competitive Klingon nature on display.

Visuals and sound effects are excellent. I love the design of the Bynars which is similar to the Talosians. Their manner of communication and backstory is also interesting. This includes great visuals of Starbase 74 as the Enterprise docs and undocks.

All performances are solid, especially Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner and Michael Dorn.

For me this is a 7.5/10 but I like to round upwards.

ST:TNG:16 - "11001001" (Stardate: 41365.9) - this is the 16th episode produced but the 15th one aired on TV. "11001001" is one of my more favorite episodes of season 1 (and of the whole series) - it really gets to the heart of Star Trek and introduces a species that is quite different from humans - that of the Bynars who always travel in pairs since they need two to decipher their binary code (when interacting with each other and other beings). I really liked the beginning when the Enterprise docked at a Starbase, entering it (and exiting later on in the episode) just like the original Enterprise entering Spacedock in Star Trek III: The Search For Spock - though it's obvious they took the matte paintings from that movie, it is a welcome homage to The Next Generation's past. See this episode, you won't be disappointed.

Trivia: Carolyn McCormick who plays Minuet will be back in the fourth season episode "Future Imperfect".

This marvelous episode had me hooked from the appearance of Starbase 74, the docking of the Enterprise and the appearance of the Bynars. The character of Minuet is played to perfection by the exquisitely beautiful & sultry Caroline McCormack. All in all this episode left me wanting to know more about the Bynars and their homework of Binus.

The Enterprise puts in for repair and a race of aliens called Binaries are enlisted to help in the repair. They are a highly unusual species who always travel in 2s like Mormon Elders and co-dependent totally on the other. Their written and spoken language is in binary code like a computer.

These binaries have an agenda all their own. They steal the Enterprise to take to their home planet for reasons you have to see the show to know. The whole crew is on shore leave and later additional personnel abandon ship when it looks like a warp core breach.

All that's left on the Enterprise are Picard and Riker. For Riker the binaries have rigged the holodeck with a most fetching and sultry personality. Carolyn McCormick later the proper and professional psychiatric consultant on Law And Order Dr. Elizabeth Olivet is the alluring Minuet in Riker's program. She really distracts Jonathan Frakes until it's too late almost.

A highly entertaining story that's grounded in a certain reality. The Binaries are a lot like the Logopolitans from the Tom Baker original Dr. Who.

The Enterprise docks at Starbase 74 for routine maintenance on its computers, led by a strange alien race known as the Binars. While the rest of the crew indulge in some R&R, Riker finds himself on the holodeck and falling for yet another enigmatic woman.

A bit less successful than 'The Big Goodbye', this holodeck episode works well alongside a decent narrative involving the Enterprise being taken over. The Binars are an intriguing species that deserved to be revisited in future but the subplot involving Horny Riker never really works as well as it should. After all, it's fairly obvious to the viewer what's going on so why does it take the characters so long to figure it out?