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The Surprising Reason Captain Picard Let His First Officer Commit Murder

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The Surprising Reason Captain Picard Let His First Officer Commit Murder


By Chris Snellgrove
| Published

Captain Picard made many crazy decisions throughout Star Trek: The Next Generation which ranged from refusing to wipe out the Borg to letting a precocious teenager fly the Enterprise. Arguably, though, his wildest choice was standing by and doing nothing while Riker vaporized a relatively harmless assassin. Fans have spent years trying to figure out why Picard didn’t say or do anything in the climax of “The Vengeance Factor,” but it turns out the real reason he stood so still while Riker killed a woman is that Patrick Stewart couldn’t move or say anything lest he mess up the optical special effect of Riker’s lethal phaser blast.

In this episode, our intrepid crew discovers that a seemingly youthful woman named Yuta is actually an assassin…one of the last of her kind, she is completely dedicated to wiping out the entirety of the clan that killed her people. She advances towards her target while Riker alternates warning her and shooting her with ever stronger phaser blasters, eventually vaporizing her while the captain silently. Picard’s lack of reaction at the end of “The Vengeance Factor” is very strange, but episode director Timothy Bond later explained that he wanted the captain in the shot where Yuta is killed but that the optical effect required him to not move.

As recorded in Captains’ Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages, Bond was determined to have Picard in the most shocking scene of “The Vengeance Factor:” the moment that Riker vaporizes the assassin. He thought the captain’s presence “would be really neat,” but pulling everything off “meant putting several layers of elements into the shot, and in order for it to work properly, Picard had to stay still.” The director belatedly admitted that there was “not a good reason” for Picard to sit by and do nothing and that “when I saw it, I actually regretted the decision.”

Interestingly, Picard actor Patrick Stewart was as confused as the fans at his character’s inaction in this climactic moment of “The Vengeance Factor.” According to Bond, the actor was very incredulous and asked “I’m just supposed to sit here and do nothing?” While the episode director belatedly realized what a bad call this was, he initially felt this was the best course of action because “we knew Riker had to kill the girl and we didn’t want to get Picard shot by the phaser.”

Now, if you’re a fan of Picard who has spent decades asking why he did nothing in “The Vengeance Factor,” this explanation is likely unsatisfying. Like, it made sense from a special effects standpoint, but it’s downright weird watching Picard sit there doing and saying nothing while Riker speaks with and ultimately kills Yuta over the course of four minutes. It turns out that Timothy Bond agrees, noting that “what I should have done is what you usually do–don’t have him in the shot” because “then the audience doesn’t think ‘Why doesn’t Picard react?’”

What makes all of this even crazier is that Riker arguably didn’t have to murder Yuta…like, while we see that she can’t be stunned by the lower setting, the first officer only fires at her twice before maxing his phaser out. Maybe there was a setting between “stun” and “vaporize” that could have knocked her out? Plus, he had a laser gun and she only had a glass, making the case that she was a clear and present threat who could not be captured very fuzzy at best.

The moral murkiness of Riker’s big moment makes Picard’s silence and inaction in “The Vengeance Factor” that much weirder. Now we know, though, that this bizarre moment was caused by the need for the captain to stand perfectly still during an optical effect. Unfortunately, this effect did more than kill Yuta…in the eyes of many fans, it also killed Picard’s character, making him seem indecisive and downright passive in the face of his first officer murdering someone right in front of him.




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Days of our Lives: Sarah & Philip’s New Loves – 3 Summer Break-Ups Shock!

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Days of our Lives: Sarah & Philip’s New Loves - 3 Summer Break-Ups Shock!


 Days of Our Lives fans – get ready – we have got some scoop from our leaker about a new love coming for Sarah Horton (Linsey Godfrey), for Philip Kiriakis (John-Paul Lavoisier), and others as summer heats up in Salem. We’ve got a bromance reunion, a couple of intense breakups, and several new couples on the horizon. So, let’s get into it.

Days of Our Lives: Xander Kiriakis Goes Off the Rails

If you are current on your today’s episodes, you have seen Xander Kiriakis (Paul Telfer) going off the rails lately. We saw him making assumptions about Philip on top of the fraud and forgery that is known. So Xander lost it, and he kicked Philip’s butt so bad it landed him in the ICU, and he’s still unconscious.

Then Xander ranted at Sarah about covering for Philip, and she slapped back harder at Xander. She said she had to protect Victoria. You know, he’s the bad guy that she always feared, yada yada. And she kicked her hubby out of the Kiriakis mansion and out of her life.

Plus, after Maggie Horton Kiriakis (Suzanne Rogers) sided with Sarah and she laid into Xander with a couple of threats, well, he stole and stabbed and ripped apart that portrait of his father, the late great Victor Kiriakis (John Aniston), that Constantine (John Kapelos) had given to Maggie.

And then this week, Xander is in handcuffs, arrested for Philip’s brutal beating. And adding insult to injury, Xander loses the hospital to his sworn enemy EJ DiMera (Dan Feuerriegel) because of the arrest. So with Philip still conked out, Xander is heading to jail, and he still despises his brother at the moment, but he’s starting to see he overreacted.

Salem Spoilers: Philip and Xander Kiriakis Bromance Reunion

So that’s the first relationship we want to talk about. Right now, Philip and Xander’s brotherly bond does seem irretrievably broken. Philip wanted to get the miracle drug first to save Bo Brady (Peter Reckell) and try to get back in Xander’s good graces.

So now, Dandy Xandy finally realizes that Philip wasn’t trying to profit but was trying to help save Bo, and he was actually trying to help Xander win the bid for the hospital over EJ. But Xander almost killed his brother.

So when Philip wakes up, our leaker says in a twist, he won’t press charges. So Belle Black is not going to get to prosecute Xander pummeling Philip nearly to death. And additionally, in a significant twist, Xander and Philip resume their brotherly relationship. The brother breakup becomes a makeup and possibly causes a shakeup.

Days of Our Lives: Philip and Xander Reunite

Now, I for one cannot wait for the bromance between the Kiriakis brothers to resume. I loved seeing Xander and Philip high five when they won a deal together. They were so cute as brothers with their bond. But how will Kate Roberts react when Philip and Xander get thick as thieves again? Well, I bet Kate’s going to hate it.

And with Philip and Xander reunited as friends and brothers, guess what? Our leaker says Philip keeps pressing Xander to get back with Sarah. Philip according to our leaker, becomes the biggest cheerleader that’s urging a Xander and Sarah reunion. And he won’t quit till he puts them back together since Philip knows that he is a big part of why Xander and Sarah split, and he’s Team Xarah all the way.

Plus, we know big brother Bo wakes up, and he gets involved with some sort of Kiriakis Titan plot, and he’s running around with Philip and Xander as they’re trying to do something good for the family. And if you remember a couple years ago, Bo wanted to run Titan while he was in his intense Kiriakis phase before his memories finally came back.

Days of Our Lives: Sarah Horton’s New Romance with Brady Black?

Okay, breaking from the bromance, now let’s talk about a romance. Our leaker says that throughout the summer, Xander and Sarah remain split, and their marriage is in tatters. Although we were also told they will not divorce. And it seems like while she’s split from Xander, some other man gets close to Sarah. We are told it’s another family member of Xander’s who slides close to Sarah. And we already saw a glimpse of it this week. The person in question is Brady Black (Eric Martsolf).

Our leaker says that Sarah and Brady keep getting closer this summer. And remember, Sarah’s been involved with Brady’s stepbrother, Eric Brady (Greg Vaughan), before. And then obviously with Xander, she’s had a few love interests. So, not only has she been involved with others, there’s Rex Brady (Kyle Lowder) in that mix. So, a lot of Brady and Kiriakis action on Days of our Lives.

Days of Our Lives: Sarah Horton (Linsey Godfrey) - Philip Kiriakis (John-Paul Lavoisier)
Days of Our Lives: Sarah Horton – Philip Kiriakis

So, anyway, we are going to see Sarah and Brady getting closer, which is kind of interesting. However, despite it being some sort of slow burn thing between them, it’s going to be more of a situationship than a relationship between Sarah and Brady, according to our leaker. And they also told us that it’s not going to evolve into anything substantial for Sarah and Brady. So, that’s good.

Salem Spoilers: Xander’s Love Life and Xarah Endgame

Now, let’s talk about Xander’s romantic prospects while he is split from Sarah. His toxic ex Gwen Rizczech (Emily O’Brien) is back to Salem this July. So, a little over a month from now, we’re getting her back. And there’s some fans that really enjoyed Xander and Gwen together. I do think a lot more viewers ship Xander with Sarah, though.

So, our Days of Our Lives insider says that even though Xander is split from Sarah, he remains very much in love with her. And we’ve heard that although Gwen wants to get back with hunky Xander, he is not down for a reunion. Not at all.

So despite Gwen trying to get her claws back into Xander and Brady leaning into Sarah, it does look like we’ve got this endgame goal of seeing Xander ultimately reunite with Sarah. And that may be happening going into the 60th anniversary episodes in November, closer to Christmas.

Days of Our Lives: Philip Kiriakis and Gabi Romance Heats Up

And now let’s talk about Philip getting a love interest once he wakes up from that brotherly bashing that he got from Xander. Our Days leaker says there’s a budding romance coming soon between Gabi Hernandez (Cherie Jimenez) and Philip.

For the past several many weeks, if you’re watching, Gabi’s been on the outs with her boyfriend Jack Junior (JJ) Deveraux, and it looks like they’re probably done.

That’s because Gabi was a suspect in EJ’s shooting and actually may still be, and JJ had to grill her about it. He had to, it’s his job. And to be fair, he did catch Gabi at the DiMera mansion with a loaded gun aimed at EJ and he talked her down from shooting him. So, you can’t blame JJ for asking Gabi you know, hey honey, did you shoot EJ. He has to ask. And Gabi is not getting that at all. She’s still lashing out at JJ.

Days of Our Lives: Philip Gets Close to Gabi

Now, Gabi did ask for his help to find Ari this week, but once that was resolved, you know, Gabby’s going to be back to not appreciating JJ. And it feels like the Gabi/JJ ship has sailed. Of course, that’ll make Julie extremely happy because she never wanted JJ to get with her.

So, we’re going to see Philip instead getting close to Gabi. And right now she’s mad that Philip and Xander took over DiMera, which means they took over Gabi Chic, and they’re not going to let her walk away with her company.

But maybe once Philip’s out of the hospital, back to work, he’s going to play nice with Gabi even though they are forcing her to keep her company under the Titan umbrella. And soon, according to our leaker, Philip is romancing Gabi. Now she might get into that to make JJ jealous, but then it’s going to turn into something.

Days of Our Lives:

To sum it up, Xander’s getting chased by Gwen, but isn’t interested. Brady and Sarah have some sort of thing that’ll go nowhere because she’s destined to get back with Xander. And Philip gets hot and heavy with Gabby and also reunites in a brotherly bond with Xander. So, the big winner in all of this, despite this brutal beating that he’s taken, is Philp. He’s going to come out of this with lots of stuff going on good in his life.



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How ‘Pulp Fiction’ Inspired the Disguises of ‘Day of the Jackal’

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Eddie Redmayne in Peacock’s The Day of the Jackal.


Prosthetics designer Richard Martin knew that the first time audiences saw Eddie Redmayne in full makeup in The Day of the Jackal, it was going to be a make-or-break moment.

“It’s the bar-setter,” he explains. “The original concept was that no one was supposed to know the janitor was Eddie in prosthetics until he started to take them off. Before the show came out, magazine articles gave the game away; however, if you take any premise away and watch this, all you see is this old boy committing this atrocity.”

Martin was inspired by the diner scene and title sequence in Quentin Tarantino’s iconic 1994 film Pulp Fiction — a moment of calm before mayhem ensues.

“Here you see someone that looks exactly the same as the janitor, and suddenly, the action happens. He takes his face off, and it’s the Jackal. It’s like the start of Pulp Fiction, when the music hits, and bang! Here we go,” the prosthetist says, admitting it was “nerve-racking” to pull off.

Peacock‘s reimagined and updated take on The Day of the Jackal is based on Frederick Forsyth’s novel and the 1973 film. In this 10-episode incarnation, Redmayne plays Alex Duggan, the titular assassin being pursued by MI6 agent Bianca Pullman (Lashana Lynch).

Martin, also known for his work on The White Lotus season three and The Substance, strives for “absolute realism,” using materials that mimic skin so no one can see where his work begins or ends.

“If you can see it’s someone in prosthetics, you’ve failed,” the Brit muses. “Filming in Vienna, the green room was in a hotel around the corner, so we made Eddie up, and he walked through the street to set. It was about 5 o’clock in the evening, so there were loads of people around, but he strolled through in his full prosthetics with Alexandra Reynolds, his movement coach, and they were chatting.”

Martin hung back “about 20 yards” to watch the passersby’s reactions and see if anyone recognized Redmayne, but “nobody batted an eyelid,” he recalls with a chuckle. However, the extent of the prosthetics combined with the filming conditions created uncomfortable challenges.

Through prosthetics work, the actor transformed into the janitor in episode one.

Courtesy of Carnival Film & Television Limited

“With the janitor makeup, the only things not covered by prosthetics were the tops of Eddie’s ears,” Martin says. “He had a bald cap, a full forehead, cheeks, neck, both front and back because I gave him a hump, nose, lips and earlobes, as well as a full wig. We were filming at the peak of summer in Budapest, and it was over 30 degrees [86 Fahrenheit]. It was mainly studio stuff, and they’re not air-conditioned at all, so it was sweltering. Eddie also wore a thick foam rubber body suit under his costume.”

Between takes, Redmayne would sit near an air conditioning unit in his tent. But because Martin uses silicone, which is water-tight, the sweat couldn’t go anywhere. “We found that blisters would form underneath the piece on the thinner areas of the prosthetics, particularly the bridge of the nose,” he laments. “I had very sharp needle-nose tweezers, so I’d go in and pierce it, slightly open it up, dab it out, then pop it back down; otherwise, it looked like he’d come out in hives. At the end of the day, when you stripped everything off, there was a pool of sweat in his clavicle. It was pretty grim.”

This story first appeared in a May stand-alone issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.



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Ben Stiller Reacts to Pat McAfee’s Knicks Fan Comments

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Ben Stiller Reacts to Pat McAfee's Knicks Fan Comments


UPDATE 5/29/25 at 8:52 a.m. ET — Ben Stiller has some thoughts on Pat McAfee’s hot take about celebrity New York Knicks fans attending a playoff game against the Indiana Pacers.

Stiller, 59, replied to a clip of McAfee’s pregame jumbotron message — in which he called Stiller, Spike Lee and Timothée Chalamet “sons of bitches” — via X. “Yes. Weird,” the actor wrote on Tuesday. May 27. “We were happy to be there and cheer our team and other than that Indy fans were awesome 👏.”

Stiller also replied to other fans criticizing his reaction, writing in one X response, “No bitterness at all Indy fans were amazing good win for you guys.”

Original story below

The New York Knicks are on the brink of elimination from the NBA Playoffs and if you ask Boomer Esiason, the celebrity Knicks fans sitting courtside might be to blame.

The quarterback-turned-talk-radio-host unloaded on the stars, including Timothée Chalamet (once with girlfriend Kylie Jenner by his side), Spike Lee and Ben Stiller, who have been front and center throughout New York’s Eastern Conference Finals series against the Indiana Pacers.

“I think [the Knicks] are sick and tired of all the damn celebrities at home,” Esiason said on the air Tuesday before Game 4. “They’d rather get away from all that.”

The Knicks are just 3-5 at Madison Square Garden during the 2025 NBA Playoffs compared to 6-2 on the road. The star-studded distractions traveled to Indiana for Game 4, which the Knicks lost, 130-121.

Timothee Chalamet and Kylie Jenner Boston Celtics and the New York Knicks


Related: Timothee Chalamet and Kylie Jenner Cheer on the Knicks at Playoff Game

Timothée Chalamet and Kylie Jenner are bringing their love courtside. On Monday, May 12, the couple cheered on the New York Knicks at the team’s playoff game against the Boston Celtics. Chalamet, who was born and raised in New York City, had prime seating alongside Kylie and her sister Kendall Jenner in the Madison Square […]

ESPN’s Pat McAfee pumped up the partisan Pacers crowd before the game on Tuesday, shouting out each of the three, as they were met with a chorus of boos.

“We got some bigwigs from the big city in the building,” he yelled in a pregame message shown on the jumbotron. “Let’s send these sons of bitches back to New York with their ears ringing!Let’s turn this s*** up.”

Former Knick and current member of the Minnesota Timberwolves Julius Randle spoke about the pressures of playing on the New York stage in a story for Yahoo Sports published on Monday.

“It ain’t fun, it ain’t fun,” he said. “You can’t really focus on the game, you’re focused on everything else other than the game itself. You’re living and dying with every single shot, every single turnover, every single loss. It’s not a fun way to play.”

Every Celebrity Who Attended the 2025 Super Bowl


Related: Lady Gaga, Doechii and More Stars Who Attended Super Bowl 2025

The 2025 Super Bowl was a truly star-studded affair. In a rematch of the 2023 championship, the Kansas City Chiefs took on the Philadelphia Eagles at New Orleans’ Caesars Superdome on Sunday, February 9. (The KC squad notably won the first time around, which saw brothers Travis Kelce and Jason Kelce face off on the […]

Knicks players know that it comes with the territory of playing in the biggest sports market in the country — and for a team that hasn’t won a championship since 1973. The celebrities courtside are nothing new, particularly Lee, 68, who has been a mainstay at MSG since the 1990s.

He was at the center of the action when the Knicks and Pacers met in the 1994 Eastern Conference Finals. As Pacers legend Reggie Miller was torching New York to the tune of 39 points in Game 5, Lee was heckling the future Hall of Famer. Toward the end of the game as Indiana pulled off a 12-point fourth quarter comeback, Miller made his now famous choke gesture at Lee.

Though he can’t say the same for his feelings about the Pacers, Lee says there’s no bad blood between him and Miller.

“That stuff is two-plus decades old,” he told the New York Post in a story published May 6. “There’s no rivalry between Reggie and I. It’s all love.”

Game 5 is scheduled for Thursday night in New York and it’s a safe bet that the stars will be out once again.



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