Everything about this episode is ill-conceived: ripping off the plot of an original series episode; doing so in the very first post-pilot episode of the new series; having all the characters act “out of character” before we’ve even gotten to know what they’re like when they are in character; Data being susceptible to the intoxication; Wesley taking over the ship, then saving the day in the end. From beginning to end, this was a travesty. Practically the only positive thing that I can think of to say is that if they were going to re-use a TOS plot, at least they had the decency to explicitly acknowledge it.
Assorted thoughts: It’s hard to believe that anyone—no matter how “drunk”—would open an “emergency hatch” in deep space just for the sheer hell of it. Also, Data proclaiming the sound of this having happened “impossible” is utterly un-Data. Wesley being able to take over Engineering using recordings of the captain’s voice indicates that the ship’s security protocols are worthless (as does everything else about the scene in which he persuades the Assistant Chief Engineer to leave him in charge there); also, as a civilian (much less a teenager), Wesley shouldn’t have access to Engineering any more than he does to the bridge (and his whining about not being allowed on the bridge is idiotic). The scene between him and Geordi during which said whining occurs is also a missed opportunity to get what will be an ongoing character relationship started off in an interesting way. Furthermore, it was just a terrible, terrible idea to start off the story of Wesley’s time aboard the Enterprise by having him take over the ship. In order to ever like the character at all after this, one has to pretend that this episode simply never happened—and I haven’t even gone into the “none of the adults can see the obvious solution at the end, but Wesley totally can” issue. Finally, since the intoxicating effect is obviously spreading via physical contact, why does no one at all ever so much as even suggest caution about touching those affected, or make any effort to halt the spread?
Some other character notes: Riker seems remarkably resistant to the intoxicating effect—which is odd, but which also ends up making him the most likable and useful character in the episode. Crusher also performs reasonably well, aside from her “I think I’ll go seduce the captain” scene. Even when clearly under the influence, she behaves like an impaired professional who’s struggling to keep a level head, rather than like a brainless idiot (which is how almost everyone else reacts). On the other hand, the lack of any involvement on her part in the stuff going on with her son is more than a little odd. As for Worf, he was apparently not seen as an important enough character at this point to even bother having him be affected. Among minor characters, the “Assistant Chief Engineer” (a job that never even exists in later episodes) behaves not so much like he’s drunk as like he’s about five years old (?), whereas the Chief-Engineer-of-the-week, who never gets affected, actually seems like a halfway promising character (too bad we’ll never see her again).
One tiny positive note: In Farpoint, an entire “Riker and Data wander the holodeck and get to know each other” scene (while both are presumably on duty) is putatively justified by the pretext that Riker is seeking Data (who is hanging out on the holodeck…why?) out to “ask” him to join an away team; afterwards, Riker tells Picard that Data has “agreed” to do so. Toward the beginning of this episode, by contrast, when a need for an away team presents itself, Riker stands up, lists off a few names in a decisive manner, and the named individuals follow him off the bridge, all within about five seconds—all very much the way away teams will be assembled throughout the remainder of the series.