Entertainment
The Next Generation Episode That Invented Star Trek’s Worst Trope
By Chris Snellgrove
| Published
As a franchise, Star Trek has always faced an interesting creative paradox: it must balance the human storytelling of the present day with the science of the far future. Some writers prefer stories that are driven by hard science, and some prefer those driven by emotion. In The Original Series, these extremes were represented by Spock (who had to explain the cold logic of what was going on) and Dr. McCoy (who constantly espoused the values of passion and emotion).
In the Golden Age of Star Trek, the technical side of storytelling was represented by “technobabble,” the catch-all term for the confusing blather of scientific and technological terms often blurted out by characters like Data. Many fans (even those who prefer stories more in the vein of traditional science fiction) came to hate technobabble because it felt forced and out of place, often disrupting otherwise excellent stories. One of the best examples of this is the Next Generation episode “Pen Pals,” which one iconic Trek director thought was ruined by technobabble.
Reach Out And Touch Someone
In case you’ve forgotten, “Pen Pals” is the episode where Data makes contact with an alien child on an underdeveloped world. He discovers that her world is in danger and implores Captain Picard to violate the Prime Directive in order to save her people. Picard reluctantly does so, and Dr. Pulaski mind-wipes the alien kiddo to prevent her from remembering that time her entire planet was saved by aliens with what she would consider godlike abilities.
The episode was directed by Winrich Kolbe, a Star Trek icon (he dated Kate Mulgrew, for God’s sake!) who directed some of the best episodes of the franchise. For TNG, this includes such bangers as “Darmok” and “All Good Things…”, the series finale. On DS9, he directed some personal favorites, including “Through the Looking Glass” and “The Siege of AR-558.” For Voyager, he directed the premiere episode “Caretaker” and the ambitious two-parter, “Basics.”
They Blinded Us With Science
As his resume indicates, few people understand Trek like Kolbe, someone who quickly developed an instinct for what can make or break a potentially excellent episode. In an interview with The Official Star Trek Magazine, he described “Pen Pals” as “one of those cases where I felt the original script… the first draft, was very, very nice. It was a very personal story.”
He said it was a personal story, so what changed? Winrich Kolbe claims that someone very high up (he couldn’t remember if it was Rick Berman or Gene Roddenberry) “felt we needed more of a technical surrounding story.” The storytelling change was swift: “Suddenly, out went more and more of the character issue, and in came more and more tech talk.”
Putting Star Trek Under The Microscope
Kolbe wasn’t a fan of adding so much technobabble to a very personal story, and he didn’t mince words when discussing what went wrong with “Pen Pals.” He called the infusion of the distracting space lingo “a problem” and said that he disagreed with the prevailing staff assessment “that more technical jargon enhances the stories.” The director believes “these stories should be left alone” and summarized his thoughts on this particular episode quite bluntly: “I think ‘Pen Pals’ could have been a better show than it was.”
Most fans would agree with this assessment; after all, “Pen Pals” is a good episode that falls far short of its potential. Even controversial showrunner Maurice Hurley agrees. According to Captains’ Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages, he said the script “kind of got muddled around, mucked up and lost its purity.” He ultimately decided that the finished episode “worked okay,” but he generally echoes Kolbe’s argument that the jargon-ridden additions to this script made the episode far worse than it should have been.
Technobabble Never Left The Franchise
Sadly, the rest of the writing staff didn’t see it that way: “technobabble” became an ever-present feature in the franchise, one that was often used as a writing crutch to explain how our heroes suddenly turn the tables on their enemy. It could often be grating for fans whenever an episode of The Next Generation or Voyager ground to a halt so someone could explain the plot in the most confusing way.
Still, the scientifically accurate (more or less) technobabble of Old Trek will always be preferable to the breezy stupidity of NuTrek, where a single supernova can threaten the entire galaxy!
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Heather Locklear is off the market once again and is dating Lorenzo Lamas, Us Weekly can confirm.
Lamas, 68, and Locklear, 64, “are seeing each other,” a rep for the Falcon Crest actor confirmed to Us Weekly on Friday, April 10.
TMZ, which was first to report the news, published pictures earlier on Friday that showed the pair posing while spending New Year’s Eve together in Las Vegas. The couple were photographed meeting chef Barry Dakake at Barry’s Steakhouse located inside the Circa Resort and Casino in Sin City in December 2025.
In one photo, Locklear put her arm around the chef as he smiled in between her and Lamas in the kitchen. A second picture showed the Dynasty alum trying a dessert fresh out of the oven as Lamas stood beside her.
In the early days of her career, Heather Locklear was the platonic ideal of a blonde bombshell, idolized by fans real and fictional. After she rose to fame in the early 1980s playing Officer Stacy Sheridan on T.J. Hooker, Locklear became a tabloid fixture as well because of her 1986 marriage to Mötley Crüe drummer […]
TMZ additionally reported on Friday that Locklear and Lamas’ adult children were planning to “hang out” this weekend and get to know each other as their parents’ romance heats up.
Us Weekly has reached out to Locklear’s rep for comment.
Locklear’s new relationship with Lamas comes nearly one year after Us exclusively confirmed in May 2025 that she was single.
At the time, multiple sources told Us that Locklear had recently split from fiancé Chris Heisser following their June 2020 engagement.
“Heather is single and she’s ready to date again,” an insider shared with Us, revealing that Locklear hadn’t seen Heisser since the New Year.
The source added that the former Melrose Place actress was “focusing on herself” and “doing really well.”
Prior to her on-again, off-again romance with Heisser, 64, Locklear was married two times. She and Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee were married from 1986 to 1993.
Locklear moved on with Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora, whom she wed in 1994. The pair welcomed daughter Ava in 1997. A decade later, Locklear and Sambora, 66, divorced in 2007.
The actress was also briefly engaged to Melrose Place costar Jack Wagner in 2011.
Lamas, for his part, has been married six times. The Love in the Clouds star was married to Victoria Hilbert from 1981 to 1982. He and second wife Michele Smith, who share son A.J. and daughter Shayne, were married from 1983 to 1985. (Smith died in January 2018 at the age of 61.)
Lamas welcomed daughters Alexandra, Victoria and Isabella, with third wife Kathleen Kinmont, whom he was married to from 1989 to 1993. Shauna Sand was married to the actor from 1996 to 2002, while Shawna Craig’s marriage to Lamas lasted from 2011 to 2018. Lamas’ most recent marriage to Kenna Nicole Scott was from 2023 to 2025.
The Bold and the Beautiful alum is also the father to daughter Patton Lee from a previous relationship with Daphne Ashbrook.
As Boston Blue prepares for an explosive season finale, Sonequa Martin-Green teased a difficult revelation.
“What a journey I take as Lena Silver. There’s some threads of it at the beginning of the season [and] you’ll start to see us delving into some really serious things,” Martin-Green exclusively told Us Weekly about what is still to come.
Martin-Green warned that there “were difficult stories to tell.”
“I applaud Brandon Sonnier — our coshowrunner — because the Silver family is based on his own family. There are a lot of dynamics in Lena’s life that are based on his life,” she continued. “So this is real and this is authentic. This is his experience. So I am just so excited for people to see it because it’s rough. It’s rough stuff that Lena is about to go through for the rest of the season.”
During the Friday, April 10, episode of the Blue Bloods spinoff, Lena was seen asking her mother, Mae (Gloria Reuben), for more details on her birth father. Mae was reluctant to open up about the past — and that will continue to be addressed on the show.
“It’s going to have a ripple effect. It’s going to be time for this family to start unearthing some serious stuff. We went there and we went to those difficult places because the story was just really important,” the actress noted. “I’m really hoping that people can relate to it and can see examples of it in their own lives.”
Martin-Green recalled a multitude of conversations being sparked on screen.
“We’re just one example of it. We’re a pretend example but I think that sometimes examples are needed to be seen,” she continued. “Lena is a cool cat — as I like to call her — and it’s nice when you get to see layers with somebody like that. She is self-assured, confident and carries herself with ease and smoothness. It’s really good storytelling to see someone like that be broken down and humbled.”
Lena was introduced to Us when Boston Blue premiered in October 2025. In addition to being Danny’s (Donnie Wahlberg) new partner, Martin-Green’s character brought in a new fictional family into the Blue Bloods universe: the Silvers.
“We’re standing on the shoulders of Blue Bloods and there’s so many amazing characters and relationships,” she told Us. “I don’t take that lightly.”
Martin-Green did use the opportunity to take what Blue Bloods built to pave the way for more authentic and important storytelling. Through Lena, Martin-Green was thrilled to expand the world with stories while offering insight into a Boston detective finding her place while part of a noted police family.
“There were the detectives at the BPD that really made an impact on me. It was amazing to be able to be there in person and see and then continuing to have those conversations on set is just invaluable,” she shared. “We ask them for some of everything and they are so open and willing and collaborative and gracious and generous with their stories that are difficult. I’ve been learning a lot about what it means to be a cop. I’m pulling from all the resources that I have around me.”
The work didn’t stop with the scenes Martin-Green filmed. She also spoke to Us about building Lena out through her wardrobe as well, saying, “It is a conversation that we continue to have about finding that balance because you don’t want to be in a position where you’re standing out but you also want to be put together. There’s something so elegant to me about Lena but also understated. The suits are a necessity because I have to wear those. But it was about, let’s work with certain cuts that have more of a femininity to them. It’s great to just dive into your femininity and into your softness because you have to have that masculine shield up when you’re at work.”
She added: “You have to put that force field up because the job just requires it. But when you’re home, you can be soft and you can sink into that softness. I want to keep growing in that and I appreciate that it is a collaboration and that we are able to have these conversations.”
Looking ahead, Martin-Green is excited about where the show goes from here.
“I just can’t stress enough how grateful I am to be telling a character-driven story in a procedural format. I couldn’t have imagined and I really appreciate it. We cover a lot and a lot goes down by the end of the season,” she told Us. “There are a lot of things that are open-ended. There are so many questions and so many things have been introduced. Things are so big in the second half of the season that I feel like we’re going to see the undoing of all of those things — or the coming together of all of those things — for episodes and episodes to come.
Martin-Green is also starring in Rick Gomez‘s directorial debut She Dances, which follows a struggling father who attempts to reconnect with his daughter while serving as her chaperone at a dance competition. Steve Zahn, Ethan Hawke, Mackenzie Ziegler, Rosemarie DeWitt and Audrey Zahn make up the rest of the cast of the movie, which is out now.
Boston Blue airs on CBS Fridays at 10 p.m. ET. New episodes stream the next day on Paramount+.
Ridley Scott is in line for a big year in 2026 when he returns to the world of sci-fi with the release of The Dog Stars. The post-apocalyptic thriller stars Jacob Elordi and Josh Brolin opposite Margaret Qualley, and after being delayed out of its previously March release spot, it’s now set to be one of the biggest blockbusters of the summer. The Dog Stars will be Scott’s first sci-fi movie in almost 10 years, since he last directed Alien: Covenant in 2017. Following the release of the film, Scott has focused more on historical epics in the last few years, but it hasn’t been exactly smooth sailing. Movies like The Last Duel (starring Matt Damon) and Napoleon (starring Joaquin Phoenix) have gone on to become some of the most controversial releases of Scott’s career.
One Ridley Scott-directed and produced film that’s anything but controversial, though, is Alien. The 1979 sci-fi film is loved by critics and audiences alike, and it’s considered one of the most influential movies ever made. Alien also spawned a sci-fi horror franchise that’s still ongoing to this day, with new releases like Alien: Romulus and Alien: Earth coming in 2024 and 2025. It’s been nearly 50 years since the first Alien movie was released, but the film is still one of the most popular movies in the world on HBO Max, where it’s streaming exclusively in America. Alien grossed $109 million at the box office against an $11 million budget, and the film holds marks of 93% from critics and 94% from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes. Not only is it arguably Scott’s greatest film, it’s one of the best sci-fi movies ever made.
What Is ‘Alien’ About?
The official synopsis for Alien reads as follows:
“Ridley Scott’s classic sci-fi chiller about seven astronauts who find themselves hunted by a horrific predator in deep space.”
The ensemble cast of Alien consists of Tom Skerritt as Dallas, Sigourney Weaver as Ripley, Veronica Cartwright as Lambert, Harry Dean Stanton as Brett, John Hurt as Kane, Ian Holm as Ash, and more. Dan O’Bannon wrote the screenplay for Alien with help from Ronald Shusett on the story. James Cameron directed the first Alien sequel in 1986 before handing directorial control to David Fincher for the polarizing Alien threequel, Alien 3.
Check out Alien on HBO Max in America, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates and coverage on the future of the Alien franchise.
- Release Date
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June 22, 1979
- Runtime
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117 Minutes
- Writers
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Dan O’Bannon, Ronald Shusett
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Meagan Good is explaining why she had to rehome her pet cat after tying the knot with Jonathan Majors.
Appearing on the “Picture This” podcast on Wednesday, April 8, Good, 44, was asked if there was anything “you thought you could live without, but actually could.”
“Uh, my cat, ’cause I had to get rid of my little cat. His name is Bam Bam,” Good replied.
The actress explained that when she and her husband moved in together, he brought along his two dogs. When they added a third dog to the household, Bam Bam did not react well.
Jonathan Majors and Meagan Good are reportedly married, multiple outlets report. According to Entertainment Tonight, the pair tied the knot during a “small private wedding at their home in L.A.” on Tuesday, March 18. Per ET, Majors’ mother officiated the wedding while Good’s mom served as a witness. No other guests were reportedly in attendance. […]
“The pups came with Jonathan. So, there was two pups. And then we got a third one. And by the third one, Bam Bam was real upset and Bam Bam started using the bathroom in the bed,” Good explained.
She continued, “So, at first I was like, I don’t know. Well, I’m going to miss him and I really want him here and he’s my own pup. He’s my little kitty, you know, and he’s like, you know, but then we had a puppy and the puppy pushed him off the edge.”
The interviewer then questioned Good whether she “chose the puppy over Bam Bam?” Good responded, “I chose the man.”
Jonathan Majors and Meagan Good. (Photo by Gilbert Flores/ Billboard via Getty Images)
Good and Majors, 36, have been together since 2023. They announced their engagement in November 2024 before tying the knot the following year.
“I’m just really happy,” Good exclusively told Us Weekly in June 2025. “He’s very silly. He always falls asleep in the middle of movies. I love doing adventures with him. If I’m like, ‘Let’s just go try this. Let’s go do that.’ He’s like, ‘All right, let’s go.’ We’re just both in it, like, two little kids who can’t believe we’re allowed to do what we want to do.”
Good also shared with Us in the same interview that she wanted to start a family with Majors. (Majors has a 13-year-old daughter from a past relationship.)
“I definitely am ready to have kids now,” Good told Us at the time. “And then, my partner [is] someone I want to really do it with, and get excited about doing it with, and who is a phenomenal father already, but now we can do it together.”
Jonathan Majors has had the continued support of fiancée Meagan Good amid his legal issues. Before the couple started dating, Good went through a divorce from DeVon Franklin after nine years of marriage. Franklin filed the paperwork in late 2021, and the duo finalized their split nearly one year later. In a joint statement, Good […]
Speaking about their pet dogs, Good added that she has an ideal number of children in mind.
“Two would be good,” she told Us. “We got four dogs already. So, we got four Belgian Malinois, and they are the hyperest dogs of life, but the house is very safe.”
For his part, Majors gushed about Good during a television interview with Sherri Shepherd in March 2025, where he confirmed they had tied the knot.
“I said to Meagan yesterday, ‘Today might be the happiest day of my life.’ I love that woman so much,” he said.
Giving your pet up may not be an easy choice, but several celebrities including Rachel Leviss and Jen Affleck have stood by their decision.
The Vanderpump Rules alum and her dog Graham Cracker were introduced to viewers during Leviss’ relationship with James Kennedy. Following Leviss and Kennedy’s split in 2021, Leviss initially remained Graham Cracker’s primary guardian because the pup was a gift from her parents.
Leviss’ ownership was called into question after she had an affair with costar Tom Sandoval, which ended his nearly decade-long romance with Ariana Madix. During spring 2023, Leviss checked herself into a mental health facility and some fans assumed that her dog was in her family’s possession for the 90-day stay.
In July 2023, Kennedy revealed that he was looking after Graham Cracker, who has since been renamed Hippie, after the dog was surrendered to trainers following an incident with Leviss’ mother. The trailer contacted Lisa Vanderpump who rehomed the pet with Kennedy.
Andy Cohen faced a vastly different situation with his dog Wacha, who he adopted from a kill shelter in West Virginia in 2013. Seven years later, Cohen announced that out of an abundance of caution for his son, Benjamin, Wacha found a new home.
“Numerous professionals led me to the conclusion that my home is simply not a good place for him,” Cohen wrote via Instagram in May 2020. “Keeping him here could be catastrophic for Ben and worse for Wacha.”
Cohen, who later welcomed daughter Lucy, has publicly documented his reunion with Wacha over the years.
In April 2026, Meagan Good admitted she “had to get rid of my little cat” after moving in with husband Jonathan Majors.
Keep scrolling for more celebrities who candidly discussed what led to them rehoming a pet:
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Jasveen Sangha, also known as the ‘Ketamine Queen,’ was sentenced to 15 years in prison on April 8.
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Chris Brown and Usher announce surprise tour 3 years after alleged altercation in Las Vegas
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The two singers have a long history of collaboration but reportedly got into a heated argument at a roller rink in 2023.
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The “Live” hosts’ 23-year-old son is appearing in “Death of a Salesman.”
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“When I saw what we had done, I actually think we arrived at something more elegant and a little bit more restrained,” Wyle admitted of the final product.
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