Star Trek: The Next Generation

“Identity Crisis”

2.5 stars.

Air date: 3/25/1991
Teleplay by Brannon Braga
Story by Timothy De Haas
Directed by Winrich Kolbe

Review Text

Geordi's close friend — sort of like his big sister — Susanna Leijten (Maryann Plunkett) comes aboard to report that the other officers of an away mission they all had been on several years earlier have recently gone missing. The Enterprise tracks a shuttle from one of the missing crewmen to the original mission's planet. They find no trace of the missing crewman, but Susanna, and then Geordi, begin having strange medical symptoms that draw them to the planet. It turns out they were both afflicted, on that years-ago mission, by an alien influence that is now rewriting their DNA. When Susanna starts transforming into an alien, Crusher must race to find a way to stop it before Susanna and Geordi are both lost.

"Identity Crisis" is a tolerable hodgepodge of stories. It's a merging of various familiar devices including (1) Starfleet officers who have gone missing, (2) an old close friend we've never heard of before, (3) a medical mystery, (4) an alien parasite, (5) a holodeck investigation, and (6) Fun With DNA™. Actually, this might be the best Fun With DNA episode on record, since Fun With DNA generally makes me want to retch. Brannon Braga apparently decided that if "Identity Crisis" was the starting point then "Threshold" was the logical extension, but I digress.

The most interesting scenes involve Geordi on the holodeck trying to put together clues from a video recording of the original mission. Hey, look! There's a shadow from someone who isn't there! What is that? Before long, Geordi has become an invisible alien himself, and goes careening through the ship with the aid of his own personal biological cloaking device, like the alien in Predator.

The first half of the story does a pretty good job of creating a sense of mystery about what's going on, as Susanna slowly, psychologically melts down. And the second half of the show — which focuses on the close friendship between Geordi and Susanna as they try to save each other — works emotionally, even as the science goes off the deep end (transforming people into aliens and back without killing them and in such a way that even their hair looks the same, etc.). I can't recommend "Identity Crisis," but there are things about it that work in spite of itself.

Previous episode: Night Terrors
Next episode: The Nth Degree

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42 comments on this post

    The transparent, invisible alien that somehow casts a shadow... doesn't really make sense, yet that holodeck investigation scene creeps me out nonetheless.

    I am a pretty huge fan, but this and the previous episode are two I just can't get through...

    @Peremensoe, the aliens aren't actually transparent, but chameleonic -- and so they should cast shadows. However, it's also pretty unlikely they could actually hide in plain sight the way they do without a lot more distortion, particularly when looked at from different angles at the same time from different people.

    As with "Night Terrors," nothing in this episode seems to be specific to the characters in this show. That isn't so terrible; much of the show is about exploring interesting concepts (morally, scientifically etc.) rather than about exploring the main cast, though I think the best episodes work on both levels. The Fun With DNA [TM Jammer] stuff doesn't seem to me to be all that interesting or meaningful -- it's not really based in actual science, and there doesn't seem to be any deeper metaphor or anything about the human condition otherwise. It *is* a decent mystery, and that works in the episode's favour. And that mystery aspect is the thing that makes it at least passable as a La Forge story, since the "Blow-Up" inspired scenes of Geordi piecing together what happened give a decent sense of the process of the engineering mind at work, as well as revealing something about Geordi, who prefers to be working on a problem even when he is the problem.

    The episode's other conceit is that this is a story about something from the past of Geordi and other away team members coming back for them five years later; it's something creepy and primal, I think, and the basis for a lot of horror stories, that there is some Event somewhere buried in someone's past that can come toward them at any time. (DS9's "The Darkness and the Light" does well with this concept.) But nothing that Geordi or the others did matters to this, so the emotional resonance is still only barely there. The episode does push the Geordi/Susanna friendship, and there is a natural chemistry between the two in an early scene which makes Susanna's ability to reach Geordi later on believable...but really, should the emotional lynchpin of an episode be a relationship between Geordi and a character who had never been mentioned before and never will be again? There's a nice scene where Crusher intuits Data is "worried" and Data denies it, and another where Data goes to talk to Geordi, and I couldn't help notice a shot of Data looking on as Susanna found Geordi again; the Data-Geordi friendship is more fundamental to the show, and I wonder if they could have played up that angle in having Geordi return to his human roots. Or not.

    I couldn't help but notice that mutated Geordi seemed to have working eyes, with pupils and everything. I guess when the DNA [tech] which Crusher uses to magically reverse the process took effect, it restored Geordi's eyes to their non-functioning position, because...what, is his blindness genetic? Which does not really seem to square with "All Good Things"/Insurrection, but whatever.

    I agree with Jammer that the episode sort of works in spite of itself, but I think if "Night Terrors" is a high 2.5 star show, this is probably a high 2 star show for me.

    This show works pretty well on atmosphere and mystery factor alone. The soundtrack especially helped the episode out in terms of working up the suspense and sense of mystery.

    However, the ending where Leijten appeals to the residual humanity in La Forge-turned-into-blue-meanie didn't really work for me. I would have preferred a straightforward "Phasers on stun! (ZAP!) One to beam up."

    One thing they missed: what about the other Enterprise personnel who beamed down? Shouldn't they have been screened for the parasite afterward? Just one mention in the captain's log would have sufficed, but otherwise it seems like a pretty big thing to miss.

    Good, but not great episode. 3/4

    Quick question: could the Enterprise have entered warp briefly to come into tractor beam range for the shuttle in the beginning that cruised into the atmosphere? I suppose it's a "whatever", but I'm curious if such a thing could've been possible. Isn't such a thing in battle known as "The Picard Maneuver"?

    I think the episode launched into mystery adventure too quickly, without enough pre-knowledge orienting us to the characters in question and their previous mission. The holodeck investigation is surprisingly creepy - I think discovering the mysterious shadow and slowly leading us to look at its source is done at excellent pace - suspense done very well. Kind of like an accidental scary scene, though the final computer projection of the invisible figure is a little bit of a let down, though a realistic one.

    I appreciated how the final dialogue between Geordi and Susannah suggest he only trusted her because of their special, trusting relationship from old times. Says something of instinct to trust.

    Also enjoyed the little humor of Data replying so succinctly about his work taking two minutes to finish. I found that humorous, at least. And another excellent episode showing off Data's supposed objectivity and our own projection onto him of concern for a friend. Does he worry in some way about Geordi? I read in Jammer's old school paper analysis of Trek how the writers liked to make us think that Data cared more than he said, but carefully kept him in line with his objectivity. Feels satisfying to not know for certain, and it's fun to try to adopt pure logic from Data's point of view.


    So again - could it have been possible to intercept that shuttle in the beginning by warping to it for a brief time?

    This is one of many TNG episodes which are built on a strong concept which is executed in an engaging way and thus are satisfying until the end, when we are presented with an unsatisfying resolution that consists only of magic or technobabble.

    The mystery surrounding the vanished Starfleet members was interesting enough to keep me guessing until the end. The scenes with the holodeck investigation were thrilling and genuinely creepy and provided some insight into Geordie's problem solving methodology as an engineer. I always like these episodes which revolve around a problem and the crew's attempts to solve it with fact-finding and logic. It was also nice to see a little more about Geordie's private life, and Susanna immediately shooting down his remark about how we liked the bachelor's life too much was really funny, considering his prior "success" with women.

    Sadly, what could have been a great episode was impaired by the stupid genetics plot device. I don't expect Star Trek to deliver much real science, but my willingness to suspend disbelief stops where a person's genetic outfit being completely changed twice in the course of a few days without them suffering any harm whatsoever.

    Like "Night Terrors" before it, "Identity Crisis" has a very interesting atmosphere and little else worthy of commendation. The sequence with LaForge on the holodeck is indeed the best part of the episode and that's because of the creepy atmosphere. The rest of the episode, well....

    The whole relationship between Leijten and LaForge, which is supposed to provide the emotional core of the episode, drags everything down. LaForge, who has consistently been portrayed as having absolutely no success in building close, non-working relationship with women, now suddenly has a female friend who is so close to him that they might as well be lovers? And they've been this close for years? And they have excellent chemistry with each other? Um, no. You can't have LaForge be so inept with women and yet have him in such an intimate relationship with one. Seriously, Leijten and LaForge are so close that the only thing that's missing from their relationship is actual physical intimacy. If they had instead had the character be LaForge's actual sister instead of a quasi-sister figure, it would have worked. I simply can't buy their friendship. Why is LaForge wasting his time looking for other women and falling in love with holodeck characters when he has this amazing woman in his life?! And on a more meta-level, it really bothers me that the writers put LaForge through the ringer with women only to now put an unbelievably beautiful woman, both on the inside as well as the outside, in his life and only make them friends. Were they trying to piss all over nerds? Because that's what it seems like what they were doing with the LaForge character.

    As for the science of the episode - yes, it does strain the suspension of disbelief, but it still works for me. I don't watch Star Trek for a science lesson; I watch it to be entertained. Maybe it's because I'm not a scientist myself, but it takes a LOT of scientific silliness for me to take issue with it - "Threshold" being an obvious example. "Identity Crisis," while scientifically silly, manages to be entertaining, but only just.

    4/10

    Yet another mystery of the week episode. Unlike Night Terrors, this one struggles to achieve a distinctive tone, although as others have noted the holodeck scene does create an authentically creepy atmosphere. However, it's also loooooong, as Geordi slowly works through the problem, and an overall lack of pace is something that dogs the episode.

    So despite the interesting premise, we reach a frankly risible conclusion as Leijten appeals to the remaining shred of humanity in Geordi to bring him bank from the brink. The UV reflecting unitard costumes don't help either. Didn't speak to me, this one. 2 stars.

    I like the character of Susannah, however I wish that the Data-Geordi relationship had been better utilized. We are often told that those two are best buddies but rarely do we see scenes where their friendship grows or is beneficial to either of them. I feel like Data should have been the one to talk Geordi into returning to the ship rather than Leitjen. It would have strengthened their relationship on screen and better illustrated that Data and Geordi are indeed friends and not an engineer and his pet robot. Sometimes seeing them interact, I'm reminded of the Doctor and K-9. I know there are some good scenes of character development between the two, but they almost never correspond to episodes that are character-centric. In fact I can't think of a single episode that played that friendship as a central theme, which is my big beef with the show. The writer's say, "They are best friends", but rarely show it in anymore than the most superficial manner.

    This episode has "Miss Universe 1990" (a 19 year old Norwegian girl) playing an ensign on the bridge - rather fitting for this show. Seriously, though, what a stupid title - do any other planets, let alone galaxies, compete in the pageant besides Earth?

    What I enjoyed about this episode was the investigation with recording logs and the holodeck to discover a terrifying truth. The sad part was that the entire investigation was pointless because if Geordie had just stayed in sick bay under lock and key, Crusher had figured out it was a virus anyway through her own abilities.

    I also can't forgive the fact that if something is weird with starfleet personnel after wandering around on a planet, you don't BEAM ANOTHER TEAM DOWN to create a third batch of victims! At least give them isolation suits Picard!

    Actually, David: You've just given me the very happy thought that Trekky ladies should start competing for the "Miss Universe" title in Bajoran and other alien costumes. That would be hilarious if done in the right way. Really underline the point that "Miss Universe" should be open to all the humanoids out there ^_^

    Way below average, this one. The beginning is quite suspenseful. I like the scene where Geordi and Susannah talk about their unknown predicament in Ten Forward. But, it all goes downhill from there. The episode doesn't work as a mystery, since the solution is found through hocus pocus in the med bay. Geordi's research had nothing to do with it. Apart from the mystery element, the episode has little to offer, with exception of Data (the scene where he accidentally jump scares La Forge is memorable).

    1 star.

    Another ho-hum episode after "Night Terrors" -- requires considerable suspension of disbelief for the medi-babble that the alien DNA transforms humans and then a quick solution to transform them back. This will be a recurring theme (thinking of the weak ENT S3 episode "Extinction") in Trek.

    I didn't buy in to the supposed close friendship between Geordi and Susanna. Clearly the both cared for each other and were able to help each other when needed but it didn't do anything for me. Surely the ending could have had Data or Riker calling to Geordi as they are also very good friends.

    There is a decent mystery to be solved here and I liked how the Enterprise crew went about it as well as Geordi figuring it out in the holodeck -- although that scene went on a bit too long. It also isn't clear to me: did other members of the landing party (Riker, Worf etc.) potentially pick up the parasite or what did Geordi, Susanna etc. do years ago to get the parasite?

    "Identity Crisis" gets 2 stars for me. Not a really compelling story, somewhat contrived, dubious medi-babble but it did show some good problem solving.

    In defence of the Geordi/Susanna relationship, [heterosexual, male] nerds don't have problems relating to women, they have problems relating to women they are attracted to. It seems perfectly plausible to me that Geordi formed a great working partnership and friendship with Susanna in the past. Also, I don't buy the complaint that we haven't heard of her before or see her again. Those of us who have reached a certain age can recount a number of friendships (work related or otherwise) which are simply no longer functioning because you are not in each others lives anymore but which can re-form instantly when you do get together.

    You might argue that Geordi would have to be blind NOT to be attracted to Susanna, but that would be pretty insensitive in the circumstances.

    Where did the connectors (blinking red lights) go while Geordi was a mutant/alien? Could he see? The usual DNA = magic nonsense...

    I remember seeing this first time around and finding the body horror theme pretty creepy.
    I think I would hand back my tricorder if all it takes to identify the aliens is UV lights and my scanner cannot detect them.

    Gosh, I don't have whole lot to say about this one. A few random things I liked:

    -- The atmosphere they created on the planet.

    -- The friendship with Geordi and Susannah.

    -- The metamorphosis into the other creatures was pretty interesting.

    In the end, it's very middle-ish Trek.

    How convenient that Geordi doesn't get infected until long after everyone else. Of course it's the show's main character who isn't affected by anything, while the throwaway extras are the weakest and suffer first/most.

    And of course the one and only woman in an away team of 5 would be Geordi's friend, the guy with terrible luck with women...cue the awkward romantic vibes.

    The Fun With DNA is putting the episode heavy on the FICTION part of Science Fiction.

    @David


    The reason that Miss Universe only has competitors from Earth in it is because every living being in the universe lives on Earth. Aliens, like everything on Star Trek, are just fiction. It is bizarre to me how so many people on this website cannot seem to grasp that Star Trek is just a television programmec none of this actually happened or ever will happen, it is possible to enjoy a television programme without having a delusion that it is real.

    I happened to be watching this episode one evening, and something suddenly seemed very familiar to me. The idea of a parasitic infection or some such gradually transforming human beings into aliens abruptly had me flashing back to an old "Outer Limits" story I had seen many years ago---a tale called "A Feasibility Study" in which a whole city block had been transported to a distant planet. The aliens, in this case, were trying to determine whether the time was right for an invasion of Earth and the enslavement of its human population---but after one person had gone beyond a force field and had become an alien the residents of that block saw a way out. Maybe they could never go home again, but they could thwart the aliens' plan; as one resident told the others, "We can join them. We can become what they are." And when the people joined hands and subjected themselves to the infection and the transformation the aliens realized that their plan was not feasible. So, one way or another, there's always a solution to a problem. And I have a further comment, one aimed at the previous writer who said that "Star Trek" is "just a television program"---it ain't necessarily so. Many things that we've seen on "Trek" have become reality, and scientists are actually working on the possibility of stuff like warp drive. As someone once said, "Today's fiction may be tomorrow's fact."

    Re: The Miss Universe comments. Actually there is a genuine Miss Klingon Empire pageant, held every year in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, Earth. So, there you go.

    I definitely found this episode creepy when I fist saw it years ago. These days, less so. Whether that is because of higher definition, being older, or somthing else I don't know.

    The fact that "Miss Klingon Empire" is an actual thing gives me hope for the world. ;)

    It's a shame one of TNG's best ever sequences, is locked in such a mediocre episode.

    The sequence in which Geordi, on the holodeck, pieces together the mystery, is great. It's evocative of Antonioni's "Blow Up" and De Palma's "Blow Out", both of which see "detectives" methodically piecing together photographs and audio files and stumbling upon horrific discoveries. Here the technology is updated to a holodeck.

    The episode's "hidden in plain sight" aliens are also a pretty neat idea. If any Trek episode deserves a remake, under a better, tighter script, it's this one. You can do a lot of cool stuff with this material.

    8.5/10

    I have always loved this episode. I think it is a combination of the spooky atmosphere on the planet and the mystery Geordi solves with the shadows.

    There were some gaps of course: why would Leijtin see the footprints and go off on her own. Why were they not searching in pairs, how did the away team not get infected, why not shut down the holodeck program when searching for La Forge, why not implant something into La Forge when they were worried about him transforming and taking off.

    but all of these are no matter when you have the spooky atmosphere, the wonderful nighttime sandy scenery on the planet - like a summer evening at a beach cottage or tropical vacation- and the mystery to solve like CSI with the video

    I only gave it 8.5 because this was more of a personal fave

    @ Diana, could Mona Grudt and the like be why Riker kept declining his own command ;)


    https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EDilAdOWkAAPO4i?format=png&name=900x900

    Watched this one a few hours ago and I don't believe I'd ever seen it before. The edgy, creepy feel works really well here and I liked the idea it's based on. The woman who plays Leijten really acts out of her skin. Superb performance. I like to nit-pick though so here goes.

    There's a scene where Data is assembling some improbable device, and he does it much like a human would, announcing that it will take two minutes. But in at least one other episode (in the first series I think) he's able to perform manual tasks at extreme speed.

    When Riker and the others arrive on the Holodeck (it's always Holodeck 3, why?) Riker orders a search. Why not just end the program to clear all the scenery out of the way?

    Anyway - a good one.

    @Anton

    Wow. Calm down, man. David was clearly joking about Miss Universe. Your antipathy is unwarranted.

    (Plus, you have no idea if there are beings on other planets out there. Will we ever see them? Will there ever be anything like Star Trek for real? Probably not, but calm down and let us have our fun.)

    There is so much I like about this episode: Geordi’s banter with his “big sis,” the slow unfolding of the mystery, the sick bay scenes, and especially the holodeck scene everyone’s mentioned. I even like the aliens, for the most part. Unfortunately, the answer to the mystery doesn’t hold up. The DNA aspect doesn’t pass inspection, and the relatively quick and easy way the doctor had for reversing it seemed highly implausible, even for Trek. Plus, I’m not a biology expert, but it seems highly unlikely that one species would need another, human-sized being in order to reproduce like this one did. That said, I really enjoy this episode and rewatch it periodically. ***.5/*****

    Not much to be said about this one.

    I thought the ultraviolet aliens were impressively done, and the moment where ultraviolet Geordi's by now very alien hand reaches out trustingly to take Leijten's (and the subsequent reassuring hug) was surprisingly moving and well played.

    It was also nice to see a character such as Leijten who was introduced without simply being killed off to advance the plot as is otherwise typically the case. I rather liked her and Geordi's friendship, and it's always a plus to see regular crew before they became regular crew.

    That said, as much as I enjoy computer- and holodeck-based extrapolation scenes, the visual recording on which past events (and thus the entire plot) hinged seemed somewhat implausible.

    I also found it frankly absurd that no physical attempt was made to prevent the shuttle from breaking up. The Enterprise had a full minute to act in which it could have manoeuvred closer to lock on with a tractor beam or use the transporter but instead the clock ticks down (in real time) with Picard saying stop or I'll ask you to stop again. Very odd.

    Did anybody else find it odd that when Riker and Warf went to the holodeck to find Geordi, they ran into the simulation to look around instead of simply stating “end program”?

    I liked this episode quite a bit. The special effects were surprisingly good, particularly the "invisible" Geordi, even though the concept did seem indebted to Predator. The mystery was a good one, with Geordi doing some good sleuthing, and the unfolding discoveries happened at the right pace for me as the viewer. The episode didn't drag the way Night Terrors did. I thought that making the "eureka moment" involving the unaccounted-for shadow was a subtle and brilliant touch.

    In fact, it is an unusual Geordi-centric episode that wasn't annoying or sappy, or annoyingly sappy. Levar Burton for once did a very nice job carrying it and reacting authentically to what he was encountering. I liked the relationship between Susannah and Geordi, and to get a bit of a decent backstory on Geordi.

    I don't have a problem with the genetic mutations reversing themselves once the parasite is removed because of the immutable law of the episodic format where everything must return to the way it was.

    I agree that it defies logic to send an away team -- apparently unprotected -- to the surface of a planet where everyone who goes there turns into an alien. I guess the justification would be that at that point they had identified the source and could presumably scan everyone for the parasite and destroy it. But in general, the lack of protection when beaming to a planet's surface is a constant head-scratcher in Star Trek, as is the computer's failure to immediately detect when anyone on board has randomly disappeared (a la Geordi here). Shouldn't the computer always automatically know these things and alert the crew?

    The use of the holodeck to solve the mystery was effective and eerie. A concept revisited in Schisms, which is a personal favorite. I also liked the Enterprise's sensors being useless for the entire episode.

    On the negative side, I don't really understand how this species can realistically avoid extinction as the number of available hosts would necessarily dwindle down to zero. I'd also have liked some sort of explanation as to how the parasite gets produced in the first place.

    @O'Brien, agree that it was bizarre that they didn't just end the program on the Holodeck.

    Overall, an engaging mystery episode that kept my attention. 3/4.

    As soon as this episode began I thought “This is the one with the video reconstruction and the mysterious shadow” … and so it was! For that reason alone, i.e. a dramatic mystery that must be solved, I think this holds up, despite the rather hokey biological science.

    There are a few plot holes…

    1. Why is there a crew member standing there with a camera and spotlight recording everything, which is never usually a feature of away missions?

    2. Riker and Worf also beamed down and are presumably affected. Would it have taken even 10 seconds for Crusher to say “…and I have examined them for any trace of the parasite and removed it”?

    I also notice how many of the crew perform the Picard Manoeuvre - Riker and Geordi to name two! Could they not have subtly redesigned the uniforms to prevent it? Hahaha.

    3 stars - the ending with Susanna reaching out to the altered Geordi was very affecting and one of the best such scenes in TNG.

    I DO like this and consider it three stars, but for a lot of those reasons mentioned above, it comes across as some sort of parallel dimension. Why is the guy recording this? Why can't their tech (including Geordi's Visor) detect something that's casting a shadow? Why can't the Enterprise save that shuttle?

    Why wasn't someone assigned to be with Geordi constantly after Susanna became affected, especially considering he's Chief Engineer and refuses to be confined to sickbay?

    Well, ok, that last part is the same regular dimension...

    And at least Geordi and Susanna didn't have baby salamanders.

    Did Picard just sentence this species to extinction by preventing anyone from going to the planet anymore? Then again how did these creatures reproduce before they had visitors landing on their planet? Perhaps there are other native life forms on the planet that they normally use to reproduce.

    After Geordi went through all that work figuring out what the shadow was it turned out to be completely irrelevant to the story. Figuring out that there was a hidden figure casting the shadow had nothing to do with the outcome, it was just filler.

    How does removing the parasite reverse all the changes done to their bodies? Even their hair instantly grew back. Star Trek DNA magic always makes for the dumbest episodes.

    If it was me, Id nuke that planet from orbit..

    I hate how they write off people who arent in the main cast...at least Kirk wold pause a moment when someone friggin DIED....and those new day-glo aliens had families waiting for them back on Earth!

    Well..they are alien GITD's now..lets move on!

    And yeah..technically I guess its against the Prime Directive to leave warning bouys.. ..IF the alien monsters didnt have NATIVE victims they could life-rape.

    I will never understand why someone would take the time to critique every part of every episode in a negative way. If you don't like the series, then don't watch it. It's pretty simple.

    The aliens weren't technically parasites were they? More like co opting and transforming their bodies as opposed to feeding off them.

    I agree with many of the comments and generally like this episode. After viewing for the first time in a long time I remember liking the holodeck simulation, but forgot how useless to the story it was. The other thing that irritates me are the multiple bioscans the infected away team members had. All showed perfect health. Then later they notice a parasite. Why are the bioscans so ineffective? The solution of just removing it to return everyone to normal almost immediately seems like lazy writing.

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