History Recap / StarTrekTheNextGenerationS4E15FirstContact

* BizarreAlienBiology: Humans to the Malcorians, to the point where Riker's heart is where they think his digestive tract should be.

** After Malcorians decline to join the Federation, they cover up the presence of aliens, similar to UFO conspiracy theories in the real world. Riker in the medical facility is also an apparent nod to the "alien autopsy" in Roswell.

* EvilLuddite: Krola is not just against trusting alien visitors, he mentions constantly that he hates any form of progress in Malcorian society: in everything from science to economy to social reforms - as a emblem of one of the worse extremes of RomanticismVersusEnlightenment. He is willing to die to keep the world as traditional as possible, and ultimately he admits that he might accept the Federation is peaceful, but still schemes to ruin their relations because it would change his way of life.

* IdiotBall: The Federation has this with Riker. They haven't planned for this particular rather obvious possibility. None of the implants they put into Riker includes a tracking device, and Riker's story is hardly watertight--despite having other agents on the planet who could have been his emergency contacts.

* LeftHanging: Riker was caught up in a riot that required police intervention to break up. Why there was a riot was unimportant, it was just there to get Riker to the Hospital.

* ThanatosGambit: Krola tries to kill himself with Riker's phaser and pin it on Riker to show how threatening the humans are. Fails because he doesn't understand the [[StunGuns "stun" setting]], and makes no attempt to stop the badly weakened Riker from pressing a button on the phaser before he triggers it. The response from the other Malcorians to Krola's plan indicates that this sort of attempt at deception is as common in fiction on their world as it is on Earth.

* RomanticismVsEnlightenment: Malcor is in a period of turmoil as they approach warp technology: making many leaps and bounds in sciences, social theory and innovation, but not as much in terms of understanding and acceptance, with many of the people unwilling to accept the new ideas being introduced - sometimes violently - in a clear reference to this period. It's implied to be because the government focused on innovation on their own, without also focusing on adequately educating or preparing their people, leaving them to believe their government is leaving them behind.

* EvilLuddite: Krola is not just against trusting alien visitors, he mentions constantly that he hates any form of progress in Malcorian society: in everything from science to economy to social reforms - as a emblem of one of the worse extremes of RomanticismVsEnlightenment. He is willing to die to keep the world as traditional as possible, and ultimately he admits that he might accept the Federation is peaceful, but still schemes to ruin their relations because it would change his way of life.

* EvilLuddite: Krola is not just against trusting alien visitors, he mentions constantly that he hates any form of progress in Malcorian society: in everything from science to economy to social reforms - as a emblem of one of the worse extremes of EnlightenmentVsRomanticism. He is willing to die to keep the world as traditional as possible, and ultimately he admits that he might accept the Federation is peaceful, but still schemes to ruin their relations because it would change his way of life.

* DoubleStandardRapeSciFi: Lanel essentially gives Riker an ultimatum: Have sex with her or be captured. While it's not a case of physical force, it's still rape-by-coercion. Doubles as DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnMale as the episode doesn't really play it up as anything other than a humorous scenario, but it's unlikely that it would be taken the same way were the genders reversed.

* GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe: In an amusing inversion, ''Riker'' is this to Lanel, who finds the idea of having sex with an alien hot.

* AscendedFangirl: Creator/BebeNeuwirth is a major ''Star Trek'' fan, giving her scene with Riker an addition RealitySubtext. [[invoked]]

* AscendedFangirl: Creator/BebeNeuwirth is a major ''Star Trek'' fan, giving her scene with Riker an addition RealitySubtext.

* DoubleStandardRapeSciFi: Lanel essentially gives Riker an ultimatum: Have sex with her or be captured. While it's not a case of physical force, it's still essentially rape-by-coercion. Doubles as DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnMale as the episode doesn't really play it up as anything other than a humorous scenario, but it's unlikely that it would be taken the same way were the genders reversed.

* ProperlyParanoid: Durken points out to Picard that many conquerors throughout history have come as friends. This and Krola's paranoia regarding an alien invasion suggests that the Malcorians have been conquered before.

* ProperlyParanoid: Durken points out to Picard that many conquerors throughout history have come as friends. This and Krola's paranoia regarding an alien invasion suggests that the Malkorans have been conquered before.

[[caption-width-right:350:Riker making "first contact".]]

* ProperlyParanoid: Durken points out to Picard that many conquerors throughout history have come as friends.

Commander Riker is injured while scouting out a planet for a first contact mission. Because of this, Captain Picard and Counselor Troi must beam down to the planet before they are fully ready to make contact with the aliens, the Malcorians. Things go sour quickly when Commander Riker is discovered to be an alien by the doctors at the medical facility he is being treated at, and this creates suspicion by the Malcorians that the Enterprise is there to infiltrate their society and conquer.

!!Tropes

* AlienInvasion: What many, including Minister of Security Krola, believe the crew of the Enterprise is there for.
* AlienNonInterferenceClause: Picard mentions the Prime Directive to Chancellor Durken.

* ForgottenPhlebotinum: The subcutaneous communicator shown in [[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS3E4WhoWatchesTheWatchers "Who Watches The Watchers"]] would have been very useful for Riker to have on this kind of undercover mission.

* HumanityIsAdvanced: The Enterprise has technology far beyond that of the Malcorians.
* IdiotBall: The Federation has this with Riker. They haven't planned for this particular rather obvious possibility. None of the implants they put into Riker includes a tracking device, and Riker's story was hardly watertight - despite having other agents on the planet who could have been his emergency contacts.

* PhlebotinumBreakdown: The ''Enterprise's'' EverythingSensor[=s=] are apparently unable to locate the the only human on a planet of alien humanoids. Nor can they find Riker's Starfleet-issue equipment, such as his phaser. If the sensors were up to their usual ability, the episode's plot would have been over with before it began.

* RubberForeheadAliens: That and the fact that the Malcorians do not have individual fingers and toes is the only outward physical difference between them and humans - though in a twist on the trope, it's the ability to turn a human into one of these that makes the planet so easy to infiltrate.
* SexualExtortion: Want to get out of hospital before the secret police lock you up for ever, Riker? You'd better give this alien chick what she wants, then. We can play this for grins because it's Riker and a girl; odds are low that we'd be yucking it up if it were Troi or Crusher being made to accommodate a nerdy boy-alien's advances.
* StealthInSpace: Implied. The Enterprise is shown to be in a fairly close orbit with the planet in question, and being over a half-kilometer long does not seem all that worried about being seen in orbit around a planet which is ready to try out warp technology - implying the planet has telescopes, amateur astronomers, satellites, etc.

* ThanatosGambit: Krola tries to kill himself with Riker's phaser and pin it on Riker to show how threatening the humans are. Fails because he doesn't understand the [[StunGuns "stun" setting]]. The response from the other Malcorians to Krola's plan is that this sort of attempt at deception is as common in fiction on their as it is on Earth.

* TheWorldIsNotReady: The Malcorians decide they're not ready to go through with first contact.