Q; How come Pulaski's not a Bridge Officer when Beverly Crusher apparently was?
A; Something of a grey area, this. If we think back to Star Trek Classic, if there was a heavy duty conference going down then Bones would invariably be present to give the Medical Officer's point of view. So would Scotty to give the Engineer's. I suspect that a meeting of Bridge staff, called to discuss some imminent crisis, is automatically taken to include all relevant senior personnel, in fact if not in title. When Pulaski refers to herself here as not being Bridge staff, I get the impression that she's still a little unsure of herself and she's feeling her way.
Q; Why is the autodestruct sequence now variable, instead of being a fixed five minutes as it used to be?
A; Someone used their head a little and reprogrammed it, I suppose. Let's face it, an adjustable autodestruct sequence is a great deal more versatile than a fixed five minute one.
Q; When Picard magnifies the black area, nearby stars go fuzzy, which shouldn't happen. Does Picard not know how to work the equipment?
A; I wouldn't think so, no. I don't suppose he knows how to work half the things on the ship, actually. No Captain could know it all, that's why they have staff. Picard's function is to act as chief decision maker; it is for others to be drawers of water or hewers of wood. I would imagine that he still knows the broad outlines in most cases, though.
Or, of course, it could just be that the stars are made fuzzy by their proximity to Nagillum's black stuff.
When the Enterprise drops a stationary beacon, as it disappears behind them and then reappears in front of them, a Doppler effect is clearly audible. Strange that the Doppler effect should work in outer space, isn't it, science buffs? Still, I suppose if the Enterprise had a gizmo which measured red shift to a very, very, very fine degree and then expressed that information in audio terms. . . maybe we can let them get away with it.
One further little niggle: while the Bridge crew is waiting, obviously in a state of some tension, for Picard to abort the autodestruct, the crew members to the rear of Worf carry blithely on throughout this scene without turning a hair. Dour souls they must be to stick at their posts and show no sign of tension despite their imminent immolation. This could have been better done, I think.
And why is it that Pulaski, Troi and Wesley keep coming and going from the Bridge? I can see why the writers shifted Wesley (so they could have the Helm Officer killed) but why keep shuffling the others?
The Child Where Silence Has Lease Elementary, My Dear Data The Outrageous Okona
Loud As a Whisper The Schizoid Man Unnatural Selection A Matter of Honour
The Measure of a Man The Dauphin Contagion The Royale Times Squared The
Icarus Factor Pen Pals Q Who Samaritan Snare Up The Long
Ladder Manhunt The Emissary
Peak Performance Shades of Grey