Reviewing the reviews here, people loved this episode, or hated it, but everybody clearly cared about it. That's pretty significant for a mid-budget, mid-rating, mid-90 sci-fi show.
Watching this with my nuclear family, everybody identified with it, and it provoked impassioned comments from all of them.
My wife demanded to know whether I secretly wanted her to be more like Charlene (played by Wendy Schaal, the distinctive voice of American Dad's Francine Smith). Well, there's no secret about it, of course I would.
Son, who is far too Vulcan, said that he doesn't need any Klingon friends - oh, but he does, he really does.
Daughter became obsessed with knowing what future blood-sport Belle was playing, and I'd like to know too. And credit to Lindsey Haun here for her compelling performance in the role, with talent far beyond her years.
Robert Picardo ties the episode together and really sells the concept. He is a genuinely superb actor, and often rises above the material, but here he was given something to really get his acting teeth into.
There's also a science fiction plot going on, but it's not that important. Eddy's in the space-time continuum, and this is his swirly sofa. Hat tip to the Bussard collector, some actual science. It's just filler around the Doctor plot, but it's unobjectionable and doesn't get in the way.
I'm in the "loved it" camp, but I respect the views of those who hated it. Nobody ignored it though.