I hate to be the bearer of elitist geek news* but "GIF" is pronounced "jiff"
()
Anyway, thanks for your discussion of TNG. I really enjoyed the episode because one of my oldest vivid memories comes from an episode of TNG.
But first, some backstory.
Bill, you mentioned that you were 19 when TNG premiered. Well I was also 19... days old. (sorry, I can't help but rub that in:P )
My dad watched TNG for almost all of it's run. I remember him watching the show every week.
But there was one specific episode I remember clearly from a young age. was the 5th episode of the 6th season (aired on 10/19/92, making me 5 years, one month, and ten days old when it aired. [sorry, I'm doing it again...])
That episode scared the ever loving piss out of me.
It is my earliest memory of fear. I stayed up almost all night building trains and stuff out of my Duplo bricks after that episode aired. My parents were smart enough to send me out of the room after they saw it was going to be a scary episode, but I think that actually made it worse as I never got to see the resolution.
But I also remember some of the other episodes you talked about from re-runs and such. It was a cool walk down memory lane.

*not really, I actually relish it, but I just don't want to come off like I do... Crap, that's ruined now
