This one manages to just barely up the stakes enough to earn a two-parter. It’s pretty well-plotted, which is good since there isn’t much else going on, really. Both parts of Gambit are a lot more chasing-an-object-driven than TNG usually gets, but it’s sorta fun to see some low-budget tv space pirates. The real reason to watch this is that seeing Data in command for a prolonged amount of screen time is really fun.
A lot of stuff goes on in “Gambit Part 1” but the main event is that Beverly wears a hat.Picard was killed and Riker wants answers!Riker gets captured by some pottery enthusiasts.Data is in command!Riker doesn’t even get a chair!But then one of the crew looks kind of like Picard.It *is* Picard! He helps Riker get undercover by being mean to him.They have a run-in with Enterprise and sometimes Riker knows how to tell Data something without saying it.But we have to wait until next episode to see if Enterprise sustains minimal damage!!
