Q; How come with these guys the Federation is adopting the attitude of waiting until they have almost figured out warp drive before contacting them, when in other shows they cheerily embrace cultures who don't even seem able to fly?
A; I can only guess that Starfleet has this policy towards peoples who have not yet been discovered by other guys with warp capability. Maybe the Romulans found one bunch of dudes, or the Klingons, so there is no point pretending with those guys. The inhabitants of Malcoria 3, though, are, er, virgins in this respect. Don't forget, there was a time before the Federation of Planets existed, and a lot of contacts must have been made during those centuries. Not all of those cultures would have wished for space travel, any more than the Mayans are currently all rushing out and subscribing to cable. Probably.
Q; How come the inhabitants of Malcoria 3, a planet on which there is apparently a large school of thought which suggests that it itself is the centre of the universe (something of an anomaly in a species which has discovered warp drive), call themselves Malcoria 3? Shouldn't they be calling themselves Grande Fromage 1, or some such?
A; Hey, dudes! You never heard of the Universal Translator? When Picard et al say "Malcoria 3", the inhabitants, we might assume, hear it as "Grande Fromage 1!" Simplissimo!
Speaking of the UT, I wonder just where it is that Riker keeps his in this episode? He's lost his comm. badge, which is what I always thought did the job in these circumstances. I don't think there can be one implanted in him anywhere, because the Malcorian medics have got him all wired up and scanned and so forth and nothing seems remarkable to them. Maybe Riker had to take a crash course in Malcorian before he beamed down. This might explain why Picard speaks very highly of another officer's linguistic ability in an earlier episode; maybe before anyone can be sent on one of these reconnaissance missions, they have to learn the local language, a trick not everyone can do.
I can't help but wonder, what do the Malcorians do when it rains? We can fairly assume that it does rain, as in the shots we see of their planet, there is an atmosphere with clouds in the sky. They have what look like upside-down noses on the base of their foreheads, so what do they do to keep the rain out?
I thought it strange that Riker was said to have suffered head injuries in his escape attempt. If you pay close attention, you'll notice that after the duo who are enthusiastically beating him up are made to cease and desist, a doctor quickly examines him and by feeling his stomach determines that he's bleeding internally. Then the same pair who were thumping him scoop him up and carry him to the surgery. Perhaps he was subject to a little 'resisting arrest' on the way.
The end of the episode is a little strange. The witnesses will not be believed, the fuss will die down, so the whole thing will pass over and Malcoria 3 will carry on as before. Er, excuse me, but how are they going to explain away the coincident disappearance of a Minister? Just a thought.
And one last thing. Hi Lilith!
The Best of Both Worlds Part
Two Family Brothers Suddenly
Human Remember Me Legacy Reunion Future Imperfect Final
Mission The Loss Data's Day The Wounded Devil's Due Clues
First Contact Galaxy's Child
Night Terrors Identity Crisis
The Nth Degree Qpid
The Drumhead Half a Life The
Host The Mind's Eye In Theory
Redemption