With all of the talk of deleted scenes being focused on the stunningly remastered and expanded ‘The Measure of a Man‘ (and rightly so – it’s a tour de force in every way), you could be forgiven for forgetting that CBS have also included deleted scenes from two other episodes on the 2nd Season Blu-Ray set of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Today we take a look at one of those scenes, breaking it down for you and giving our analysis.

TNG Episode 140 ‘The Icarus Factor‘

Act 2, Scene A21 (1:10)
This scene takes place in a corridor on Deck 10, right after Riker’s standoff with his father in the Observation lounge, and right before Data and Geordi try to get Worf to open up about his problems in Ten Forward.

CORRIDOR – DATA AND GEORDI ARE APPROACHING TEN-FORWARD

GEORDI
I don’t think Worf is going to appreciate being observed like some laboratory specimen.

DATA
Correct. He is quite sensitive… particularly at this stage of his development.

GEORDI
Just remember, this is Wesley’s operation, okay?

DATA
Wesley is quite competent.

Just as they approach Ten-Forward, Wesley steps up,
agitated.

WESLEY
You guys aren’t going to believe this…

GEORDI
Believe what?

WESLEY
Commander Riker just caught me coming out of the turbolift.

GEORDI
So? This area of the ship isn’t off limits to you.

WESLEY
I know, but I’ve been working on Paracelsian calculation as part of my studies; Commander Riker wants them right away.

GEORDI
What about Worf?

WESLEY
When Commander Riker says right away, he means RIGHT AWAY.

DATA
(to Wesley)
Indeed.

(to Geordi)
Indeed.

WESLEY
You guys can cover for me, right?

GEORDI
No, see, you were supposed to —

WESLEY
Geordi, I’ve got to get my calculations done.

GEORDI
I understand that, Wesley, but this was supposed to be your —

WESLEY
(A smile spreads across his face)
This is what friends are for, right?
(to Data)
Right, Data?

Data reacts, very much put on the spot; then:

DATA
(to Wesley)
Go ahead. Finish your work!
(to Geordi)
We will study Worf.

WESLEY
Thanks – I knew I could count on you guys!

With that, Wesley heads off down the corridor, leaving a stunned Geordi to chase after Data.

Our take: Data and Geordi refer to this conversation in the final version of the episode, as they build up the nerve to talk to Worf:

GEORDI
Wesley really should be doing this on his own.

DATA
But he needs his study time.

GEORDI
I can’t believe you fell for that.

While it’s fun to see Data fall for Wesley’s excuse to get out of dealing with Worf, we can understand why it was cut from the episode. It makes Wesley look like a jerk for so blatantly taking advantage of Data’s naiveté, and it leaves Geordi looking like a wimp for completely undercutting his previous order for the teenager to lead the way in handling Worf (and for letting Wesley get away with it wearing such a smug grin on his face).

The brief reference to the conversation in Ten Forward works better on its own, leaving all the characters looking better than what’s shown here.

In addition to this deleted scene and the one from ‘Up the Long Ladder‘, Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 2 on Blu-Ray includes a brand new hour-long roundtable discussion with the principal cast, the continuation of Robert Meyer Burnett and Roger Lay Jr.’s epic documentary chronicling the history of TNG with Making It So: Continuing The Next Generation. Also included are the much-talked about extended edition of “The Measure of a Man”, a brand new gag-reel and other extras including LeVar Burton’s original TNG-based “Reading Rainbow” episode!

With just two weeks to go and Black Friday fast approaching… be sure to pre-order Season 2 below so you get it on release date in your country. All Amazon stores have significantly discounted the title – at the time of writing it’s under $65 in the U.S., £47.00 in the U.K. and under 57,00EUR in Germany!

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