ACT THREE, SCENE 53

Our take: Another scene with Troi sensing nothing, and Worf itching for a fight. It’s almost a complete duplication of the earlier scene featuring the two officers giving the same information to Picard.

The only worthwhile portion of this footage is Data’s repeated attempts to restore power to the bridge, along with Picard’s befuddled look as the lights stay dim.

ACT FOUR, SCENE 66

Our take: Okay, hold on just a second – the nanites have evolved “emotional growth” to the point where Troi can sense them?

As the last in a series of scenes where Troi has expressed a lack of any alien presence, this is pretty silly. We’re glad that somebody realized that if an advanced machine like Data – or his devious twin, Lore – doesn’t trigger Troi’s emotional perception, the nanites shouldn’t, either.

ACT FOUR, SCENE 67

Our take: Another slice into the womanizing image of Dr. Paul Stubbs. The final version of the episode portrays Stubbs as a driven (if not obsessed) workaholic; an equal-opportunity jerk.

The wise removal of this bit of dialogue smartly eliminates a harsh, almost misogynistic side of Stubbs’ personality, making him much more sympathetic to the viewer.

ACT FIVE, SCENES 82 – 84

Our take: Much of the episode serves to hold Stubbs up as a mirror of Wesley Crusher; the image of someone as driven and determined as he is, with several decades added and every personal connection lost.

This conversation is Wesley’s turning point; he flat-out admits that there’s other things to life than just work, even if that work is something he chooses to focus on. All the scenes with his teenage friends built to his final line: “I have other things to live for.”

It’s this declaration that adds much more meaning to the final shot of Wesley with his friends in Ten Forward; he may spend his days living in the world of officers and grown-ups, but he doesn’t want to lose the connection to people his own age.

It’s just too bad that whole storyline was compressed to a single shot, used to illustrate that Beverly doesn’t know her son after being away for so long.

ACT FIVE, SCENE 86

Our take: After the second sickbay scene was removed, the only direct assault on anyone aboard the Enterprise was Stubbs’ electrocution… a direct response to his attack on the nanites in the ship’s computer core.

Removing references to a “cease fire” changes the presentation of the crew’s view towards the nanites: they’re a mystery to be solved; an intelligence to be negotiated with – not an enemy to be placated.