TNG also had Vulcan extremists (trying to recover ancient psyonic weapons) and Sela must have expected a fifth column ready to defect once her thousand troops landed and gave them an excuse.

With one barely mentioned planet, this episode reframed the plot originally designed to hold together TNG, DS9, and Voyager.

Federation authorities insisted the DMZ colonies were recent and had been warned they were disputed territory. They painted a picture like Israeli settlers in Gaza refusing to obey their own government and leave.

But now we have a Federation affiliated colony on Setlik 2 a century earlier.

The UFP’s failure to stop the Maquis terrorists always seemed like command wanted the war restarted with plausible deniability. Now the Maquis arguments are stronger. Ceding long-held territory is much easier to call abandonment.

Yeah, the first scene where Riker is in awe of the holodeck also says Data was in the class of 78, Riker is reluctant to accept Data’s personhood (as initially planned), and since they hadn’t introduced the replicators yet, Data describes the holodeck as using transporter tech in a way that sounds very clumsy and patronizing now.

After that they mostly stick to holodecks just being new on ships, and not usually controlled by a computer as sophisticated as the Enterprise’s.

Boimler is prone to exaggerating and has strange perspectives. It could be some obscure holiday on a planet he saved, or a Starfleet tradition to commemorate just on ships named Enterprise. Or there’s another major holiday which coincides with Pike’s birthday.

He reacted as if it was an actual Federation holiday, which would be stronger evidence if he wasn’t already terrified he’d altered time.

I’ve always thought the Romulans weren’t just the Vulcans who rejected Surak’s teachings, but also any who didn’t have the physical ability to follow them.

Originally it was just based on Romulans not expressing any psychic abilities, but Picard also established that sharing personal details publicly as a major taboo. That would track with them being a mix of former enemies who are concerned with suppressing the rivalries that lead to nuclear war.

“Spock’s Brain” actually was licensed and performed by a community theater as a comedy. The teaser and part of the first act used to be on YouTube.