Ai-LLM reviews of STNG - Shades of Grey

Google Gemini

"Star Trek: The Next Generation - Shades of Grey"
is a clip show episode, a format often used to
save budget and production time. It attempts to
frame a medical crisis for Commander Riker around
a journey through his past memories, but its
execution is widely regarded
as one of the series' weakest points.

Plot Overview:

The episode begins with Commander Riker
sustaining an injury on a newly discovered
planet, leading to an infection by an unknown
microbe. This microbe rapidly spreads through
his nervous system, threatening his life.
Dr. Pulaski discovers that the organism
is unlike any known pathogen, possessing
characteristics of both bacteria and viruses,
and is alarmingly advancing towards Riker's
brain. To combat the infection, Pulaski
devises a drastic treatment: stimulating
Riker's brain with electrical impulses
to trigger and manipulate his memories.

As Riker's memories are accessed,
the episode becomes a montage of clips
from previous Next Generation episodes,
showcasing various moments from his past,
both triumphant and challenging. It is
discovered that the microbe's growth
rate is directly affected by Riker's
emotions: positive emotions accelerate
its spread, while negative emotions
slow it down. Ultimately, Pulaski
uses this crucial knowledge
to eradicate the infection.
By inducing strong, primal survival
emotions in Riker, she manages to slow
the microbe's growth sufficiently to
destroy it, saving his life.

Strengths:

Riker's Focus: The episode centers
on Commander Riker, providing a vehicle
to explore his character, albeit through
a recap of past events.

Dr. Pulaski's Ingenuity: Dr. Pulaski
is given a central role in diagnosing
and treating Riker, showcasing her medical
expertise and unconventional methods.

Concept of Emotion's Effect
on Biology: The idea that a microbe's
growth is affected by emotional states
is an interesting, if underdeveloped,
sci-fi concept.

Weaknesses:

Clip Show Format: This is the episode's
most significant and widely criticized weakness.
The heavy reliance on clips from previous
episodes makes it feel like a recap rather than
a new story, offering little in terms of fresh
content or narrative progression.

Lack of Originality: The plot serves primarily
as a flimsy excuse to string together old
footage, resulting in a story that feels
uninspired and repetitive.

Pacing: The constant interruptions for clips
severely disrupt the pacing of the new
narrative, making it feel disjointed and slow.

Low Stakes (Perceived): Because the "new" plot
is so thin and the focus is on flashbacks,
the immediate threat to Riker often feels
less urgent than it should.

Convenient Resolution: The idea that simply
inducing "survival emotions" can eradicate
a complex, unknown microbe feels overly
simplistic and a convenient way to resolve
the medical crisis.

Dated Visuals (of the clips): While
the original episodes had their own visual
quality, seeing them strung together
in this manner, often without proper context,
highlights their dated nature.

Overall Impression:

"Shades of Grey" is almost universally
considered one of Star Trek: The Next Generation's
weakest episodes. Its nature as a clip show,
designed to save budget, severely undermines
its narrative integrity and originality.
While it attempts to explore Riker's past
and Pulaski's medical skills, it ultimately
delivers a disjointed and unsatisfying
viewing experience.
It's a rare misstep in an otherwise strong series.

Rating: 2/10

ChatGPT

Alright — let’s tackle **“Star Trek: The Next
Generation” — *Shades of Gray*** using the script
from [chakoteya.net]
(http://www.chakoteya.net/NextGen/148.htm).

- ---

**Episode:** *Shades of Gray*
**Season:** 2, Episode 22 (Season Finale)
**Original Air Date:** July 17, 1989

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## 📋 **Summary (from the transcript)**

The Enterprise is on a planetary survey when
Riker is infected by a neural parasite through
a thorny vine. He’s rushed back to the ship,
where Dr. Pulaski discovers the organism is
feeding off his nervous system. If it reaches
his brain stem, he’ll die.

To fight it, Pulaski comes up with a plan
to stimulate Riker’s brain through intense
emotions. To do this, the show basically
plays a highlight reel
of Season 1 and 2: the crew hooks Riker
up to a machine that induces
memories — so we get a string
of clips: Riker’s adventures, fights, kisses,
and laughs.

Pulaski and Troi watch over him while
the audience watches recycled footage
from previous episodes. Eventually,
the emotional stimulation overloads the parasite,
Riker recovers, and the Enterprise sails on.

- ---

## ✅ **Strengths**

**➊ Some great memories:** The episode is a clip
show, so by default it revisits some genuinely
fun moments — Riker brawling with Klingons,
flirting with aliens, laughing with the crew.

**➋ Some character warmth:** There are hints
of genuine concern from Pulaski
and Troi — the tiny moments of crew
friendship and loyalty are there.

**➌ A few bits of new material:** Frakes
does his best with what he’s given, showing
some vulnerability and charm in the sickbay scenes.

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## ❌ **Weaknesses**

**➊ It’s a clip show:** Trek’s only true clip
show — notoriously done because of a writer’s
strike and budget overruns. Instead of a new
story, you get mostly recycled footage.

**➋ Thin plot:** The “infection” is pure filler,
resolved by playing old scenes. The medical
technobabble is stretched beyond believability,
even for Trek.

**➌ Wasted finale:** Ending the season on a clip
show feels lazy and anticlimactic — especially
after stronger late-season episodes
like *Q Who* and *Peak Performance*.

**� No real stakes:** There’s never a
sense that Riker is truly in danger.
The emotional “therapy” feels like
a convenient excuse to replay highlights.

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## 🎭 **Standout moments**

* Picard’s old pep talks — nice
to see those lines again.

* Riker’s goofy memories — like
flirting with holograms or grinning at aliens.

* Pulaski’s dedication — Diana Muldaur
does her best to sell urgency.

- ---

## 🗨️ **Most honest line**

**Pulaski:** *“I’m afraid that’s

all we can do now — wait.”*

Pretty much sums up watching *Shades of Gray*.

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## ⭐ **Rating: 2/10**

**Verdict:** *Shades of Gray* is TNG’s weakest
episode. It’s not offensive, just pointless.
It’s an uncreative “bottle show” with zero
new ideas. Some moments are nostalgic if you
like seeing Riker’s Greatest Hits,
but the plot is so thin it’s practically
transparent. TNG had grown so much
by this point — this finale feels like
it belongs in Season 1. Thankfully,
it’s the last clip show *Star Trek* ever did.



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