@dgw that 48 hour line from Riker was another case of writer-dramatizing-need. They had to keep Korris identity a secret for a while. One thing I found much more head scratching was why didn't they beam the Klingons right out of the detention cell ? Even the force field should not prohibit that as it could have been timed with the beam out. But the first season is full of this writing lapses.
Review by dgwVIP 10BlockedParent2018-11-03T04:58:41Z
Patrick Stewart flubbed a line in the Sickbay scene, saying "Terellian" instead of "Talarian", and that made it into the final print. It also survived into the syndicated TV broadcasts, DVD release, and Blu-ray remaster.
It's odd that a message to Starfleet would take 48 hours to arrive on subspace frequencies, according to Riker, when the whole episode started with a communiqué from Starfleet asking the Enterprise to investigate a disturbance in the area. They wouldn't ask unless the request would arrive quickly enough for the ship to actually arrive in time to see what happened. Picard says to inform Starfleet the Enterprise will enter the Neutral Zone, which presumably won't take 48 hours to get back to Earth. You can't run a fleet of starships on four-day turnaround between order and acknowledgement… Riker's line had to be a mistake.
Speaking of communication issues… When Tasha reports a hostage situation on deck 17, which she later tells the Bridge to disregard, it's extremely fishy that no one acknowledged it, asked for more details, said they were sending another team… anything.
Worf's reference to the "Age of Inclusion" in this episode is the only time that term appears in Star Trek. In all future episodes that reference this point in a young Klingon's life, it is called the "Age of Ascension" instead.
And more Klingon-related writing flubs: Klingons use disruptors, not phasers, but everyone in this episode calls the weapon Korris and Kon'mel assembled in the security detention cell a "phaser". Oops?
I like this episode as a character study of Worf, though it's not that great overall. The important bits are acted well, and we get a nice bit where Data explains the Klingons' howling at the ceiling to Captain Picard. I do have a soft spot for Data being a smarty-pants.