Trivia / Star Trek: The Next Generation S7E8 "Force of Nature"

• Creator Backlash:
  • Nearly all of the show's writing staff, including credited writer Naren Shankar, admitted that while the episode's core message might have been a worthwhile one, it was very badly executed. Shankar also admitted that the Warp 5 limit was in retrospect a stupid idea given that the show's reliance on Status Quo Is God meant it would almost certainly just be ignored or Hand Waved at some point. About 30 years later, the Star Trek: Lower Decks episode "Caves" suggests the entire thing was a Vendorian morality test, which they don’t refute.
  • Showrunner Jeri Taylor admitted that removing the originally-planned subplot about Geordi getting over the death of his mother by throwing himself into his work was a bad call.
• What Could Have Been: Originally, the episode's secondary plot involved Geordi's sister coming on-board the Enterprise in order to help him get over the death of his mother. Showrunner Jeri Taylor ordered it removed out of concern that it would lead to Continuity Lockout for viewers who hadn't seen "Interface", resulting in it being removed and replaced by the sub-plots with Spot, and Geordi's rivalry with the chief engineer of the Intrepid.