Star Trek: The Next Generation
"The Inner Light"
Air date: 6/1/1992
Teleplay by Morgan Gendel and Peter Allan Fields
Story by Morgan Gendel
Directed by Peter Lauritson
Review by Jamahl Epsicokhan
There's an elegance and simplicity to "The Inner Light" that is hard to quantify but important to consider, because it's crucial to the effect of this classic TNG episode, which is a shining example of not only Star Trek but of science fiction. The story told here is actually quite straightforward, but the implications are hauntingly significant and affecting, and provide nothing less than a contemplation upon our own mortality — as individuals as well as, someday, inevitably, our entire civilization.
The best science-fiction stories are usually the simple ones that take an idea and consider how it affects us as people. TNG has a tendency to often be about problem-solving, and how to invent fictional tech solutions to solve fictional tech problems; in many cases the problem and solution are arbitrary concoctions of a writer trying to get from A to B. TNG became very good at this particular formula of sci-fi — to so much a degree that if you asked me to sum up what the essence of TNG was in a single phrase, my answer would be "problem solving." But a story like "I, Borg" or "The Inner Light" is more about the bigger questions behind far less arbitrary sci-fi machinations. It's about how the trappings of sci-fi can be used to tell stories about the essence of the human condition. Forget about cliffhangers: This episode could've been a wonderful season finale to this or any season of TNG.
The Enterprise encounters an automated probe that attaches a telepathic beam directly to Picard, who collapses on the bridge and goes into a state of unconsciousness. Picard awakens to find he is an everyman in a small village on a world called Kataan, where everyone knows him as Kamin. He believes he is still Picard, but his wife Eline (Margot Rose) tells him that he has just awoken from a long fever and must be delusional. He has a good friend named Batai (Richard Riehle). Gradually, Kamin resumes the life on Kataan that he doesn't remember. Back aboard the Enterprise, the crew attempts to disconnect Picard from the probe, but they fail.
Every time the narrative returns to Kataan, years have gone by — eventually decades. Kamin builds a life, has children and grandchildren, has long conversations with his wife, grows old and gray with her, and eventually watches her die in his arms. All the while, he can't shake his interest in the heavens, where he remembers, perhaps as a delusion, of having been a starship captain so long, long ago. Also quietly in the background, an ominous subplot slowly but surely develops, with talk about droughts that keep getting progressively worse, and whispers that something terrible may be on the horizon.
The secret of "The Inner Light" is that the world of Kataan has been gone for 1,000 years, destroyed by a supernova that its residents had no hope of escaping. The probe was their interactive time capsule meant to deliver the history of their world to one person, via the very specific experience of becoming one of them and living a life among them. Interestingly, we are given all the information necessary to solve this puzzle well before the story's true moment of epiphany where Kamin/Picard himself realizes the nature of his existence on Kataan after 30 years with them.
Fascinatingly, this has the effect of making Kamin's/Picard's epiphany more poignant rather than less. We realize what's happening to Kamin's world before it occurs, and it's that foreknowledge that makes both the value and the tragedy of Kamin's life all the more profound and heartbreaking. Here's a man — and a society — that knows the world is ending and that everything about their civilization is coming to its imminent and inevitable end, and it's only through the launching of a probe into space — with the hopes that it might, someday, just maybe, find someone else and teach them who they once were — that the world of Kataan is able to survive.
The wonderfully hopeful and heartbreaking, recursively paradoxical moment of epiphany comes at the end of the probe's program, where Kamin realizes that he, who once was Picard 30 years ago in a long-forgotten life, is the very person who will receive this message — because Kamin was Picard, and now Picard is Kamin. (Intriguingly irrelevant question: Was Kamin based on a real person on Kataan, or was his whole existence an invention for the purpose of the interactive program?)
"The Inner Light" isn't simply about that moment of Kamin's final realization, but about how all the moments up to that point have created a fully formed life full of joy, family, wisdom, sorrow, and ultimately the acceptance of one's mortality. It is, in short, a story of the human experience. It's a concept that's beautiful in the depth of its meaning, and yet astounding in the simplicity of its procedure. Of course, none of this would be possible without Patrick Stewart's fine performance. (I found some of the old-age makeup to be less than convincing at times, but never Stewart's ability to inhabit it.)
Key to the effect of all this is that after the program ends and Picard wakes up back on the bridge, the effect of the mere 25 minutes of being connected to the probe is as if Picard had literally lived those 30 years of memories (*), only just now returning to his long-forgotten, distant shadow of a former life. In the episode's coda, Riker visits Picard — still getting acclimated to life aboard the ship — and says the probe's program terminated after disconnecting from Picard. It was a message meant for an audience of one, who now is the sole carrier of the dead civilization's history. While functionally and logically I'd say that putting all of Kataan's eggs in one basket is an awfully risky way of preserving that history, I will also say that it's somehow the perfect emotional note for this story. Also, inside the probe is the flute that was Kamin's lifelong pastime, now a gift for Picard — who holds it dearly (Stewart is perfect in this wordless final scene) and then we see that he knows how to play it. Whoa.
"The Inner Light" is a brilliant and contemplative sci-fi elegy, and one of Trek's finest hours.
* The episodic nature of TNG proves here to be both a blessing and a curse. I would be remiss to point out that if, as is suggested, Picard really returns at the end of this hour exactly as if it's been half a lifetime since he last was himself, then he should be a fundamentally different person forever. Basically, everything before this episode took place more than 30 years ago from his perspective, and there should be psychological consequences to his life as Kamin.
But because TNG is episodic, none of this will matter by the next episode. That feels like a cheat, and I hesitate to suggest that maybe it should've been mentioned here that the effect of these artificial memories might fade more quickly than real ones, or become more dreamlike after the initial experience wears off, because that would rob "The Inner Light" of a lot of its power. I guess at a certain level, these are all fictional characters in a format of TV where most everything is erased by the next episode, we have to accept that, and that's all there is to it.
Previous episode: The Next Phase
Next episode: Time's Arrow, Part I
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271 comments on this post
Wed, May 11, 2011, 7:43am (UTC -6)
And if I write any more about this episode, I'll cry.
Wed, May 11, 2011, 9:06am (UTC -6)
Wed, May 11, 2011, 3:52pm (UTC -6)
Wed, May 11, 2011, 4:47pm (UTC -6)
Picard doesn't have amnesia when he 'arrives' on Kataan (the first thing he does is call for the ship), but the fact that he tells Eline that he wants kids is a pretty good indication that he's fallen in love with her by that point.
With the exception of O'Brien, Picard became the only Trek character to enjoy married life for more than just a bit, & it just cost 25 minutes of his time.
This episode was such a brilliant way to get around that cliche. I thought that in 1992 & I think that now.
Wed, May 11, 2011, 8:34pm (UTC -6)
I've always felt that the experience in "Inner Light" would've been the most profound experience in Picard's life and changed him irrevocably. However, that wasn't our intention when we were creating the episode. We were after a good hour of TV, and the larger implications of how this would really screw somebody up didn't hit home with us until later (that's sometimes a danger in TV – you're so focused on just getting the show produced every week that sometimes you suffer from the "can't see the forest for the trees" syndrome). We never intended the show to completely upend his character and force a radical change in the series, so we contented ourselves with a single follow-up in "Lessons".
The same thing happened with O'Brien in "Hard Time". My own personal way of getting around it is that since they weren't "real" memories, it didn't take as long to get back to their old lives.
Wed, May 11, 2011, 8:55pm (UTC -6)
Regarding the speed at which Picard recovers, I think you'd be surprised at how quickly you'd recover from such an experience. It'd be like waking up from a dream. I think Stewart plays the 'strangeness' of waking up from the experience extremely well.
Thu, May 12, 2011, 12:00am (UTC -6)
Amazing show.
Thu, May 12, 2011, 1:32am (UTC -6)
Besides, I think Picard's revelation when the probe lauches was meant to be his rehabilitaion.
Thu, May 12, 2011, 6:38pm (UTC -6)
Those are among the Trek's all time classics. Why wasn't he used more?
Thu, May 12, 2011, 8:33pm (UTC -6)
Now, at the time, this was deemed nonsensical. How could one of Trek's best writers be deemed below par by the staff? However, it is entirely possible that many of Fields best episodes were re-written by either Piller & Jeri Taylor on TNG or Piller & Behr & Robert Wolfe on DS9. None of this can be readily proven...all we know for sure is that Piller wrote the final draft for "Crossover" and Wolfe provided story beats for the mirror universe.
If I would have to guess, I'd say that the final drafts of "Inner Light", "Duet" and "Evil" are largely his final drafts. Maybe some work by Piller or Ron Moore on "Light", and maybe some help from Wolfe on the DS9 ones. Just a guess.
Also, I am curious who the hell we should blame for "Cost of Living"....
Thu, May 12, 2011, 11:19pm (UTC -6)
Well, for someone whose writing "isn't up to par", Fields somehow got involved with a whole bunch of classics. I don't really buy that explanation. Perhaps there was some kind of creative falling out?
Fri, May 13, 2011, 8:50am (UTC -6)
Fri, May 13, 2011, 8:31pm (UTC -6)
Hadn't ever considered that before, but now that you mention it... recalling the speculation two years earlier about whether Stewart would return to TNG because of the events of BOBW, imagine how worked-up Trekkers would've gotten if this episode had sent them into the summer of '92 knowing that Picard's mind had been totally rewired.
And imagine their disappointment a few months later when this issue was ignored entirely. Although, if Moore's comment, quoted by Nic, is an indication, if "The Inner Light" had been the season finale, even accidentally, that would've given the writers more time to contemplate the enormity of what they had done to their leading man. They might've revamped Picard's character -- at least have him demonstrate some fondness for kids.
Fri, May 13, 2011, 8:40pm (UTC -6)
Sat, May 14, 2011, 7:37am (UTC -6)
Sat, May 14, 2011, 7:24pm (UTC -6)
That thing with Ivanova, she really *did* break her leg. They had no choice but to keep showing it in future episodes.
Sat, May 14, 2011, 11:00pm (UTC -6)
I just saw that several people were discussing the writer, Peter Allan Fields, and I wanted to add my kudos. I first came across Fields when I was watching "The Man From UNCLE" - his name always seemed to be attached to the best and wittiest scripts. I believe he started his career on that series, which aired concurrently with the *original* Star Trek, so he was definitely a seasoned professional by this point. For giving us "The Inner Light," "Duet," and "Necessary Evil," he deserves a permanent place in the Trek pantheon. His IMDB profile lists no projects after he left DS9. Perhaps he simply retired? I hope he's enjoying his well-earned rest! :)
A lovely episode. Thanks again.
Mon, May 16, 2011, 12:59am (UTC -6)
Is it Trekkian blasphemy to say that's "Hard Time" is better paced and told told?
Mon, May 16, 2011, 2:01pm (UTC -6)
And, lest anyone think I have TNG-bias, the same reasoning can be drawn for why "The Naked Time" is better than "The Naked Now" (despite the cute Data-Tasha hookup)
Wed, May 18, 2011, 7:04pm (UTC -6)
Thu, May 19, 2011, 2:48pm (UTC -6)
Fri, May 20, 2011, 5:16am (UTC -6)
Sun, May 22, 2011, 1:16pm (UTC -6)
In fact, if you listen to "the inner light suite" I cry almost every time I hear that haunting tune.
One thought, I always felt it might have been a little better if they never cut back to the Enterprise, I felt it was unnessary dramatically, cut down the mystery and tension, and implied Picard was not actually "Living" the memories, just being donwloaded them.. But, still easy 4 star and probably the best episode of Star Trek, maybe even better than "city on the edge of Forever".
Tue, May 24, 2011, 2:01am (UTC -6)
I also tend to think "Inner Light" works so well because the episode's structure takes the viewer right along for the ride with Picard: the viewer has the same information he does, which makes the final WHAM! at the end even more poetic and poignant. Sort of like a bittersweet, yet still hopeful version of a Twilight Zone episode.
Wed, May 25, 2011, 11:11am (UTC -6)
i think ivanova was in s2 with the drazi.
--
didnt Picard play the flute again in a later episode?
Wed, Jun 1, 2011, 10:40am (UTC -6)
"Far Beyond the Stars," "Muse" or "Cogenitor."
I too hate those 'classic' episodes. I find Far Beyond the Stars offensively bad with their "White = bad, black = good" message, and the sexual discrimination at the beginning just plain ignored while trying to preach tolerance.
But "The Visitor" is a masterpiece, and Threshold is bad (not as bad as people make out). But Spock's Bloody Brain!?!?!? Seriously? McCoy connecting the 'nerve' that controls Spock's left arm etc?
Anyway, The Inner Light.
I loved this episode at the time, haven't seen it in years. I generally prefer the twisty/weird/time travel episodes and I am an action-whore, so this was a gentle change of pace for me.
My belief is that Picard's memories were a simulation, for the simple reason that the Kamin was Picard. Would Worf had settled in like that if he had been standing on that spot on bridge as the probe struck?
No, he would have lead the village in a revolt against the rulers of the planet and seized control. Actually, I'd have liked to have seen that episode.
There must be a fan fiction or one of those awful alternate universe stories about that surely?
Sure the simulation steered Picard down a path (Flute and launching the rockets), but Worf would never have been steered down the same path.
As an aside, there is one of the later books, with Picard fighting the Borg yet again, where he raises his past life to his new wife Beverley, and he finally grieves for his lost son, daughter and grandchild. Best part in an otherwise poor book.
Mon, Jun 6, 2011, 4:21am (UTC -6)
Tue, Jun 14, 2011, 9:39am (UTC -6)
Sun, Jun 26, 2011, 6:04pm (UTC -6)
Mon, Jul 11, 2011, 6:19pm (UTC -6)
I have several reasons why I think Inner Light is SLIGHTLY overrated but my biggest would be this:
* The episodic nature of TNG proves here to be both a blessing and a curse. I would be remiss to point out that if, as is suggested, Picard really returns at the end of this hour exactly as if it's been half a lifetime since he last was himself, then he should be a fundamentally different person forever. Basically, everything before this episode took place more than 30 years ago from his perspective, and there should be psychological consequences to his life as Kamin.*
I don't know if that paragragh is Jammer's own, or from another critique (I only wonder because of the different font) but if it IS Jammer's, then he states a HUGE reason for me only being insanely in love with this episode rather than super insanely in love with this episode.
I disagree slightly with the notion that episodic series which feature many ''stand alone'' episodes can not show lasting consequences without bogging down into an overall mytharc and sacrificing the stand alone aspect.
The Moffat Reboot of The Doctor (not Davies', but Moffat's the past season and a half) is a master at this. EVERY episode shows or mentions (even if its brief) a consequence to actions in the prior episode even in the ''stand alones.'' Moffat has the most deft touch at this admittedly tricky to balance problem that I have ever seen.
I also have to say that, as I have recently begunmy first TNG re-watch in a LONG time, that there is MUCH more ''continuity'' and arc than I remembered which inspires me to give it big props. It is NOT quite as mostly stand alone as I had seemed to remember from long ago and that makes me happy.
Tue, Aug 9, 2011, 8:49pm (UTC -6)
Picard would have felt driven, first, to reconnect with whatever was left of Kataan, and, second, would have felt compelled, like the Ancient Mariner, to tell the story of Kataan in order to remain faithful to Eline's last wish and final testament.
In subsequent TNG episodes, we should have at least seen evidence of Kataanian door decorations appear in Picard's quarters, for example.
Tue, Aug 9, 2011, 9:01pm (UTC -6)
Similarly, when Kamin agrees to build the nursery, and Eline hugs him, we see in her face great sorrow as well as joy, as though she knew that the only children Kamin could ever have with her would be virtual ones.
This episode outdoes "The Sixth Sense" in requiring the audience to watch it over and over to get all the clues, and reinterpret the perspectives of the characters. I would love to know whether such was the explicit intention of the director. Margot Rose certainly seems to understand intuitively that her character works on two levels.
Sat, Aug 13, 2011, 10:17am (UTC -6)
The astonishing thing about this dramatic work of art is the economy with which it establishes at least three different and independent levels that all interact and are all going on simultaneously.
Thu, Aug 25, 2011, 1:27pm (UTC -6)
The question is: what good does it do the extinct race to be remembered at all? They're all gone. Whatever anyone remembers about them will not matter one bit to them. Their desperate, pitiful plan could only have been dreamed up by a society with no belief in God.
Thu, Aug 25, 2011, 2:13pm (UTC -6)
I was almost digging your against the grain comment until the last line, than you lost me.
1st, I don't think it was ever stated the Society was Atheist, I remember one scene that was quite contradicting that very premise.
2nd, I am not sure that what you are saying has any Earth historical relevance, as their have been many societies that have been utterly destroyed by other societies, often times by societies that believe in the same god.
Now, I am certainly not in the "religion is evil - Bill Maher" camp, but I think the idea that the more religious a society is, the more enlightened and long lasting is an extreme stretch.
Thu, Aug 25, 2011, 5:50pm (UTC -6)
Really? You don't identify or at least understand the idea of wanting to be remembered when you're gone? To pass on the knowledge of what you once were to someone else -- so that the ideas might live on beyond you? Now imagine that extended to an entire society about to be destroyed.
I don't think belief in God has anything to do with it. It gets to the very nature of our own human need to have a purpose in life, to say that we were here, that we lived, and that we leave something behind when we die. Children. Writings. History. A legacy. Something.
I for one hope that if we learned the entire human race was going to be wiped off the planet a year from now and there was nothing we could do about it, that we would do something to preserve the knowledge of what we were, what we accomplished as a society over thousands of years ... for someone. In the real non-sci-fi world where it's probably impossible there's any way that such a message could end up in the hands of another society, that's pretty depressing, yes. But on Star Trek (and it's not clear that the people of Kataan even knew this) you can pass that along to the stars, and other societies off your planet. It's something. It's solace. Or hope. I for one do not think it's pitiful when the alternative is guaranteed oblivion.
Even if you believe in God and an afterlife that awaits you after death, don't you want someone to remember you in this lifetime? If only for a while?
Thu, Aug 25, 2011, 6:01pm (UTC -6)
The answer is indeed nothing. That's not the point. It did PICARD good. An incredible good that will disseminate to others he meets and influences. That's the nature of society, of legacy and is the hope which defines our existence.
Without taking a stance for or against religion, that attitude he seems to be promoting--the abjuration of legacy or interest in a world which outlives oneself--is a prominent feature in the godless creed of Buddhists. The desire for legacy and a kind of immortality through works is a defining feature of Christianised western philosophy.
Tue, Aug 30, 2011, 2:04am (UTC -6)
Sun, Sep 4, 2011, 3:36pm (UTC -6)
I... do not believe that was the statement made in "Far Beyond The Stars"... at all.
@pviateur:
What everyone else said.
Sun, Sep 25, 2011, 7:17pm (UTC -6)
Thu, Sep 29, 2011, 8:33pm (UTC -6)
Perhaps a neighboring species had visited pre-nova and supplied data, including the planet's name, to the Federation.
Or perhaps the probe got the Federation name of the planet from the computer when it got the English language files.
Tue, Oct 11, 2011, 9:46pm (UTC -6)
Tue, Oct 25, 2011, 11:10am (UTC -6)
Theoretically speaking it should have never been found, floating alone in space. That's like finding a needle in a galaxy-sized haystack...
A good question I don't really want to ask is, where did they get the technology to create such a vivid simulation? They have electricity, or at least electric lights (no powerlines, but they could be buried, using batteries/generators, or transferred wirelessly) but we don't see the com device the wife describes, which seems to be centralized for each village like old timey telegraphs, or anything resembling TV/computers.
Presumably, because the probe is using Federation Standard to communicate with Picard, it used the name of the planet he would understand, vs one the natives would have. Which begs even more questions, best ignored in light of how good this episode is.
Tue, Oct 25, 2011, 5:00pm (UTC -6)
Picard, in seasons one and two, was less gregarious, more formal and generally less interesting. A lot's made in "All Good Things" about Picard finally breaking down the wall between himself and the senior staff, but I think that had slowly been happening for years (the relationship with Crusher, his friendship with Wesley, his role in Klingon stuff with Worf and his de facto mentoring of Data).
I think "The Inner Light" was one of the episodes that changed Picard. Arguably, it should have affected him more, but I think it still kinda works as part of the evolution of the captain of the Enterprise -- which really goes all the way to "Generations."
Picard's reaction to his brother's and nephew's deaths seemed really odd when I first saw it, but I think incidents like "The Inner Light" (and other episodes like "The Perfect Mate" and "Lessons") changed the guy. The loss of his real family probably hit Picard harder in the first movie than it would have in the early days of TNG. He valued family and people more after his years on the Enterprise.
I don't think TNG has aged particularly well in some respects, and I think some of its characters really look one-dimensional in retrospect. Riker, in particular, seemed to regress during the series. Troi was terrible, and Geordi and Crusher were very stagnant.
But Picard and Data (and Worf, until the ridiculous Troi pairing in season 7) evolved a lot over the course of the series. In the end, those two were what TNG was about. Q said it in the finale -- the adventure is to explore the nature of existence. And Picard and Data's exploration still make TNG a very good show.
I view "The Inner Light" like I view "The Offspring." I thought the episodes could have changed Picard and Data more than they did, but I think they were part of both characters' evolutions.
Fri, Oct 28, 2011, 2:42pm (UTC -6)
Mon, Oct 31, 2011, 9:26am (UTC -6)
Sun, Nov 13, 2011, 11:57pm (UTC -6)
Tue, Jan 3, 2012, 11:30am (UTC -6)
Tue, Jan 17, 2012, 12:10pm (UTC -6)
Wed, Jan 18, 2012, 6:24pm (UTC -6)
That said -- and this is somewhat implied by your saying the show's episodic nature is both a "blessing and a curse" -- the show's light continuity is a bit of a trade-off. As Ron Moore suggests in the quote above, the writers didn't want to upend the series; they just wanted to tell a story. So had they realized that this would have, realistically, upended Picard's life at the early stages of writing the episode, the episode might not have been written; or it might have been written with a reset button even more clearly built into the episode; or it might, incredibly, have been written around a guest character who could be permanently changed by the experience without worrying about Picard. By contrast, as wonderful as this episode is, the story benefit -- to the series -- to have a probe randomly show up and change the character's life for the rest of the series seems somewhat thin to me. It's true that in real life we are sometimes altered by major incidents that we have no control over, but most of the best work of serial television is about incidents that happen upon us gradually, that are the result at least in part of our own choices. The Best of Both Worlds, which was set up by Q Who? and so follows up from not only that episode but the premise of Q's interactions with the humans in Encounter at Farpoint, would obviously have benefited from a follow-up, and I think the task of following up on it would not have deterred the writers from wiring it. But The Inner Light is *such* a self-contained story, which doesn't follow directly from anything the series has set up. It is important for Picard, and the story gains its strength because we *know* Picard and know how much he'd resist submitting to this life, and how much he'd lose in his life that he'd never get back. But...it's hard to imagine this episode existing, as it does, in a series that had a deeper respect for the way experiences like this transform you, without sacrificing some of its poignancy.
Mon, Jan 30, 2012, 12:50pm (UTC -6)
Unfortunately, there is something I feel detracts from enjoying it too much. Namely that I don't believe for a second that an entire civilization is doomed (more like a tiny colony), and there is nothing distinctive about its culture that would signify a loss for the intergalactic community.
Of course this goes for most civilizations encountered in Star Trek.
Mon, Jan 30, 2012, 12:58pm (UTC -6)
Mon, Feb 13, 2012, 5:32pm (UTC -6)
Tue, Apr 17, 2012, 4:32am (UTC -6)
Tue, May 8, 2012, 9:46pm (UTC -6)
probe -> virtual reality -> holodeck.;)
Sun, May 27, 2012, 7:14pm (UTC -6)
I would think it must have had some sort of beacon on it to attract attention, otherwise the entire reasoning for the planet launching the probe becomes moot.
Thu, Jun 7, 2012, 11:56pm (UTC -6)
Happy to have stumbled upon this site. Looking forward to browsing through more reviews :)
Sun, Jun 10, 2012, 7:36am (UTC -6)
Thu, Jul 12, 2012, 10:04am (UTC -6)
But..
I would echo the earlier statement that the alien culture could have been made more interesting and Kamin's family and friends less cliched and corny.
Also, does anyone else have an issue with all Kamin's loved ones appearing to him at the end? To me it cheapens it a little and makes Picard seem more manipulated.
There are other logical issues raised by others but I don't really think they're the point.
Sun, Jul 15, 2012, 12:19am (UTC -6)
Beyond that I thought the episode was great, especially Stewart's acting.
Mon, Aug 13, 2012, 12:18pm (UTC -6)
Mon, Sep 10, 2012, 3:23pm (UTC -6)
Yeah, and I was also bothered by the notion that this civilization, clearly less advanced than the Federation, somehow had this technology to...incapacitate...Picard, that Federation technology was helpless against. Of course, the "reason" was to further the plot, but it was still troubling...
Sun, Oct 7, 2012, 9:16pm (UTC -6)
Take the "Shades of Grey"/"The Inner Light" challenge and see if your head doesn't explode at the thought that those two episodes belong to the same series.
Tue, Oct 23, 2012, 8:16pm (UTC -6)
Fri, Oct 26, 2012, 12:49am (UTC -6)
Sun, Dec 2, 2012, 9:34pm (UTC -6)
Tue, Dec 4, 2012, 12:55pm (UTC -6)
Sat, Dec 22, 2012, 7:11pm (UTC -6)
I remember the episode from Voyager where cruel aliens planted their version of a conflicted into the heads of casual passers-by, giving them PTSD. The maniac called Captain Janeway then ordered to restore the monument so that others could be traumatized as well. But that was psycho Janeway.
In this installment some hillbillies think it's interesting to remember their culture by mind raping someone from a starship unlucky enough to zip by.
Highly questionable ethics, if you ask me. I wouldn't take kind to people forcing me into memories I never experienced, never had before and never asked for. Thirty years of torture. Unfathomable. Good these people are extinct so they cannot screw up others anymore.
Great episode if it comes to character development, lousy ethics, as so often in Star Trek. (Only to call into mind the creepy racist, authoritarian and scientifically deeply flawed "Prime Directive".)
Sat, Dec 29, 2012, 4:38pm (UTC -6)
Thu, Jan 10, 2013, 3:34pm (UTC -6)
Sat, Jan 19, 2013, 7:52am (UTC -6)
I think that Kataanian probe was _deliberately_ created as an idealized representation of their life... a "Photoshopped" representation, if you will. I think that's what results in them appearing "cliched and corny" as you put it.
Tue, Feb 5, 2013, 2:20pm (UTC -6)
Mon, Mar 18, 2013, 5:02pm (UTC -6)
In my family, we do not believe in an afterlife, so we honor our loved ones in memory. My children have been taught the crazy cusswords their grandpa said; I memorialize my brother and sister on facebook on the anniversaries of their deaths; and I try to share family memories as I can.
So I wonder--if you knew you were about to die forever, like the people of this world, what memory of you would you want to be continued? What virtual memory of you would you send to people 1000 years in the future?
I saved a man's life once--he stopped breathing and his heart stopped and I turned into a harsh-order-barking dictator, telling everyone what to do. I was at work, where I was a peon, and started barking orders at my managers on what to do.
I then performed CPR and the man began breathing again, and his heart started up.
I wouldn't mind if that was the memory of me that lasted.
But then there was the time when I danced naked with Jimmy Page. I wouldn't mind that one either.
What would yours be?
Wed, Mar 27, 2013, 8:33pm (UTC -6)
Sat, Jun 15, 2013, 6:49pm (UTC -6)
It's nice to see Picard mellowing, and interesting to see him grow in his new community without overpowering it. His relationships with his wife, kids, grandkids are also interesting and engaging, especially since his character grows in "new" ways that we might not have expected based on our previous experience with him.
But for me there was an ingredient missing... the planet story was a bit bland, as was the planet setting, I don't know, maybe over two episodes with a little more at stake. I just felt we were floating through.
I also agree with the comment above that it would have been nice for Picard to try and find the remnants of the planet.
There's just a little more that could have been done with all aspects of the story that warrant more than a single episode.
But still, it was reasonable enough, but not among my list of top episodes.
Sun, Jun 23, 2013, 6:24pm (UTC -6)
BTW, another great episode involving a flute.
Wed, Jul 17, 2013, 11:54pm (UTC -6)
Fri, Jul 26, 2013, 10:07am (UTC -6)
Even though I found the scenes with the crew as intrusive as the beam did, they were brief and relatively minor, which is probably why I didn't remember them.
The pacing and time it took for Picard to accept his new life was handled realistically given his character. It wouldn't have taken me five years to give in to a woman like that though.
I could warch this show 100 times and it would pack the same emotional punch.
Very well done!!!
Thu, Aug 29, 2013, 2:19pm (UTC -6)
Thu, Sep 12, 2013, 5:47am (UTC -6)
The Inner Light has it all: a great story, great acting, a great score and above all: a very touching ending. That silent moment when Picard holds that flute - it still brings me to tears.
Sat, Nov 9, 2013, 5:01am (UTC -6)
Amazing episode. Can't really add much more, just wanted to add that I loved it.
The end is lump in the throat stuff.
Sat, Jan 11, 2014, 8:22am (UTC -6)
Thu, Jan 23, 2014, 12:27am (UTC -6)
I think the reason Picard seems unchanged from this incident is simple. It's episodic television. The episodes need to stand on their own for syndication, two-parters notwithstanding. They don't always get rebroadcast in the same order as originally produced, so I think it just helps if there isn't much baggage carried over several shows. Dr. Who tried that back in the '70's, the whole 'Key to Time' season with shows all referencing back. It gets tedious and tiresome. It didn't work out too well.
Comparison to City on the Edge of Forever was also made. I think it's appropriate. These two episodes have a lot in common. They both are non-tech stories that don't take place on the ship (at least not consciously in the case of Inner Light). They are also both very human centered stories. Despite having great story telling devices (the Guardian and the probe), they both are purely about the people and their relationships. The heart of both is love, sacrifice and death. There are no laser battles, space car chases or other devices that appealed to me when I was 9.
It also occurs to me, these elements are also what made STII: Wrath of Khan so good. Whenever Star Trek focuses on people and their interactions and how they grow and learn, good stories usually result. When the franchise gets caught up in technobabble and two dimensional bad guys, usually the result is disappointing, like Spock's Brain. Or the last couple TNG movies. Or STV : The Final Frontier.
This same pattern kept getting played out over and over during the whole course of Star Trek's life. I don't understand why the brains behind the franchise never seemed to recognize that. Good stories about people (not just the humans) are the heart of all the good episodes. As much criticism as the early period for TNG often takes, one of the best episodes of the whole series is found in the second season, early on. The Measure of a Man is one of TNG's best, and it's not about Data's being an android. The techy stuff is just what it should be, gloss. The real story is about Data as a person, and his right to live and be.
By the way, there's a reason the season two finale Shades of Gray is an utter piece of land fill. There was a writer's strike and the only thing the production crew could do at the time was to slap together a clip show. Too bad. Season two showed TNG really starting to find its own footing, no longer regurgitating TOS material. And the characters were beginning to take shape, except for poor Dr.Pulaski who mysteriously disappeared over summer hiatus.
Fri, Mar 21, 2014, 7:11pm (UTC -6)
I don't need to defend this point as others have done so a hundred times over.
10/10 - A perfect episode of what Star Trek can be as a story platform on the human condition.
Sat, May 17, 2014, 6:33pm (UTC -6)
You'll remember that Picard and Riker are rummaging through the wreck of the Enterprise-D. I think everyone forgot about this episode, because there's absolutely NO WAY Picard leaves that vessel forever without his Kataanian flute. Easy to pack out as well, as opposed to a big book or a big ceramic head ...
Sun, May 18, 2014, 4:18am (UTC -6)
Mon, Jul 7, 2014, 5:35pm (UTC -6)
Fri, Jul 11, 2014, 10:47am (UTC -6)
In regards to the ethics of the probe:
I rationalize that aspect as the probe doing what life does to everyone of us. We didn't ask to live and yet here we are, whether we like it or not. Then we deal with it as best we can. I think the probe is as unethical as life itself. We all got hit with the "like it or not, live a life" directive. Picard just got hit with it twice.
In regards to why the civilization would choose to be remembered by a single person:
I think that's one of the best aspects of the premise. The point is that the best way to know a people is to live with them, and as them. Any less specific method of being remembered would have led to a watered-down version of their legacy. They wanted to be really known. There's the issue of quantity vs. quality. Do you want to be vaguely remembered by a lot of people, or deeply and emotionally remembered by a single person?
In regards to him searching for remains of Kataan after his experience:
I am glad that didn't happen. The experience is much more meaningful if Picard knows that the probe, the flute, and his memories are all that remain. He will cherish the experience all the more, and won't have to go on what could only be a disappointing search for additional mementos that won't evoke who these people truly were.
In regards to the disparity between the apparent lack of technological advancement of the civilization and the sophistication of the probe:
Yeah I think that's a valid issue. The episode is good enough to let me suspend disbelief in that respect.
In regards to the Kataan culture not being interesting enough:
I agree that they are not all that interesting, but I like it better that way. They are a culture that wants to be remembered, much like we do as individuals. Most of us are not all that interesting, but that doesn't stop us from wanting to be understood and appreciated, especially by those close to us. I view the episode not as "ancient civilization is so interesting it needs to be remembered" but "ancient civilization wants to be remembered, much like humans do."
Thu, Jul 17, 2014, 10:02pm (UTC -6)
People have talked about them here, but a recap: how would an agrarian society be able to produce such an amazing piece of technology as the probe? Was this a complete violation of Picard? Why would the probe self destruct after only one experience? And shouldn't this have changed Picard's life more?
All good points. But really, this is one of those episodes that deserves a giant heaping of willing suspension of disbelief. The important thing about this episode is the idea and the sense of wonder about it. It's something to experience, not analyze. Again, this sort of thing could only work once. Too much suspension of disbelief and things become silly. But I can accept it here.
Besides, BoBW is another episode that should have changed Picard more than it did (although TNG did a better job of following up on that one), and no one minds that it still happened. Its the curse of the episodic format. We have to accept such things so that we can enjoy these stories.
In any case, even ignoring that for a moment, it still is more than just a good experience or a good idea. I was worried coming into this episode that I would appreciate it more than I would like it, given that I already knew the plot and its special place in the annals of Trek. But watching it again, it was still a joy to see. You feel for Kamin's wife, who has her husband stolen from her yet still waits patiently for him to accept his life. You watch Picard's transformation, still retaining his core personality but losing his sense of self. And then the slow buildup of dread, watching how the characters react as the situation with the sun gets worse and worse. Even knowing how the story goes, it was still emotional. Still impactful. A once in a lifetime episode.
Mon, Jul 28, 2014, 11:45am (UTC -6)
"Remember, put your shoes away"
"I promise"
"Now we live in you; tell them of us, my darling"
Mon, Jul 28, 2014, 12:28pm (UTC -6)
What an interesting, emotional and historic Star Trek episode.
Couple times during this one I get all choked up, it doesn't matter how many times I've seen this episode.
"PICARD: I'd like to ask your permission to build something.
ELINE: Kamin, you've built your telescope, your laboratory. You don't need my permission for something new.
PICARD: In this case, I think I do.
ELINE: What is it?
PICARD: A nursery.
ELINE: Really? Really?
PICARD: Unless, of course, if you would prefer a porch. It would certainly be easier to build. I could make a start on it right away.
ELINE: No."
"RIKER: We were able to open the probe and examine it. Apparently, whatever had locked onto you must have been self terminating. It's not functioning any longer. We found this inside.
(Riker hands him a box and leaves. Inside it is a penny whistle with a tassel. Picard clutches it to his chest for a moment, then plays his Skye Boat song variation on it)"
(snif, snif)
But this episode, while playing with our emotions, does it in such a way that should make us cringe.
Involuntary mind rape is fully accepted in the Star Trek universe. Picard was RAPED!! ...and for what? So some race that couldn't figure out how to get off their rock could be remembered?
It all seems very selfish to me.
#1. The Kataanian’s as race believe that force-feeding this program "down someone's mind" is acceptable? Really, the risk never occurred to them? Hoe selfish is this probe?
#2. We TREK fans love this episode and it doesn't seem to matter that Picard was almost killed, because we liked the story. Selfish once again.
Wow.
Thu, Sep 18, 2014, 10:55am (UTC -6)
It was a good piece of melodrama in itself, but take Stewart out of it and replace him with any other member of the crew and it just wouldn't be quite so captivating.
I agree that the 30+ years of memories passing by in a real time of 25 minutes, and with that the memories of a life aboard a star ship that live within, was effective and certainly captures the imagination, but I can't help but feel there is a little too much love for cheese here on this board if everybody is tearing up at the mere mention of this episode.
I just watched The Wind That Shakes The Barely earlier today! Now that has the power to elicit tears in me! The Inner Light? Not so much.
Like I said, it's a good episode elevated by Stewart, but it is not a masterpiece of sci-fi/melodrama at all!
Thu, Sep 18, 2014, 11:02am (UTC -6)
Sat, Oct 18, 2014, 12:39pm (UTC -6)
Sun, Oct 19, 2014, 3:03pm (UTC -6)
He lived the dream man.
Tue, Nov 4, 2014, 11:16am (UTC -6)
Couldn't have said it any better myself, so I won't try. LOVE LOVE this episode, by far one of the best hours Trek has ever done.
Sun, Nov 23, 2014, 8:45pm (UTC -6)
Mon, Nov 24, 2014, 9:39pm (UTC -6)
Anyone have any thoughts?
Tue, Nov 25, 2014, 6:26am (UTC -6)
Personal suggestion would be Measure of a Man or Q Who, both from Season 2... whichever you think she'd respond to better.
Tue, Nov 25, 2014, 8:52am (UTC -6)
That's a question I guess many of us have asked many times :)
In the end, of course, it all depends on the person you want to present it to. But while I agree of course with Robert that "The Measure of a Man" and "Q Who?" are outstanding episodes, they both benefit much from having seen the series till then. You cannot really understand, or rather, feel Data's situation in the former episode if you haven't seen a number of episodes with Data, and come to understand him and his nature. Much the same way, you can only know how desperate the situation of the Enterprise is, and how special an episode "Q Who?" is, if you've seen Picard & Co. handle a number of perious situations with relative ease before. You need to truly know how huge Picard is to see just how humbled he is here.
In my opinion, those two episodes are just too good to be shown to a Trek virgin. It's a shame to pull out the big guns to one who cannot fully appreciate them; you enjoy them much more if you know a bit more about TNG.
I would recommend "11001001". It's Season 1, it introduces the holodeck (to one who has never seen Trek before), it is very much Star Trek, and let's face it, it's pretty good sci-fi, and with great sound effects for the era.
After that, I'd suggest either any one of the better Season 1 episodes ― "We'll Always Have Paris" might be a good idea if she's a romantic at heart, while still having great sci-fi elements (I'll never forget the lift scene: pure magic when I first saw it all those years ago!) ― or "Time Squared", a great episode you can always watch out of continuity. It depends on the person.
Good luck, and have fun! :)
Tue, Nov 25, 2014, 9:54am (UTC -6)
There's just so much high quality TV out there today that I think you need to knock her socks off with what the series CAN be. And it can be better than 11001001.
I don't know if I put any S1 episodes in "knock her socks off" level of good. Although I see Andy's Friend's point about Measure of a Man specifically, I still think it's a compelling courtroom drama, but you may not feel for Data without a season and a half prior.
Maybe "Who Watches The Watchers?" It needs less backstory (from Data and or Q) and it's pretty outstanding. Any thoughts?
Tue, Nov 25, 2014, 10:28am (UTC -6)
Tue, Nov 25, 2014, 10:38am (UTC -6)
Tue, Nov 25, 2014, 12:40pm (UTC -6)
Wed, Nov 26, 2014, 10:32pm (UTC -6)
That being said, I ended up going with "The Inner Light" anyway, but I warned her that it wasn't a typical episode. At one point she asked if this was the best episode of the series, so I guess that's a good sign.
Thu, Dec 11, 2014, 1:04pm (UTC -6)
"I would recommend "11001001". It's Season 1, it introduces the holodeck (to one who has never seen Trek before), it is very much Star Trek, and let's face it, it's pretty good sci-fi, and with great sound effects for the era."
Not only that, it helps the later episode "Future Imprefect" make sense in that it introduces Minuet.
Sun, Jan 4, 2015, 2:58pm (UTC -6)
It's a self contained tale of one doomed planet's desire to be remembered. What a lovely idea that is. I can forgive them for assaulting Picard (haha) because the ends justify the means. Making someone live the life of a lost civilization is original and clever. The episode is brilliantly executed and evokes the exact emotional response it was designed to do, without any phoniness.
As with most great stories, you have to watch it to really understand it, because words don't really give you the feeling of it. And the thought and feeling you get from this kind of story is precisely what matters.
I also liked that they did not do a reset switch with this. The flute(?) plays a role in future episodes and Picard clearly never forgets about his experience. That was nice to see.
Wed, Jan 7, 2015, 3:46am (UTC -6)
Wed, Jan 14, 2015, 2:47am (UTC -6)
Sun, Feb 1, 2015, 10:43pm (UTC -6)
Mon, Jul 13, 2015, 9:22am (UTC -6)
Watching the writer commendary on the BluRay was very interesting. The original story had Picard, Riker, and Troi all taken in by the probe. Wow can't see that working at all... And the writer had to lobby hard for the flute. That haunting music Picard learns to play, how wonderful. Other posters have suggested that it would be more traumatic. Picard always had in the back of his mind who he was, coupled with the reveal and the well acted despite the terrible makeup "it's me!". It was more akin to awaking from a very lucid dream.
Also I like the BluRay extras: Patrick Stewart's son in the episode and this was his favorite episode. Also the story of them finding the flute in a warehouse and its subsequent auction price in the $40,000 range.
Mon, Jul 27, 2015, 6:50pm (UTC -6)
Now just to be clear I don't like this episode. I don't dislike it.
I think I love this episode and I hate it at the same time.
I love Picard's bits. They started off a little hard to get into, but once it got going, it was one of the best character pieces that Trek has ever done. I think the bits on the ship were pretty solid.
Unfortunately I worked out what was going on about halfway through this episode, and from that moment on my brain went into overdrive asking one question over and over again: "WHY!?"
(For the record, I'm not going to go too in depth on the ethics of this episode, but yeah I'm not exactly thrilled with them. Even if your opinion is that the probe is not mind raping them, the probe still makes the person it latches onto think they're crazy, then gives them a life on a dying planet with a family, only to reveal that it wasn't real at all so the family you thought you had was fake. That's…cruel. That's really cruel).
Why would this be the method chosen by the people on the planet to preserve their culture – a noble goal to be sure? They clearly have very advanced computer technology to store all that data – essentially a holodeck program in your head – so why not just store a bunch of information on a computer. If you really think it's important that the aliens who may not even speak your language experience your planet, create it as a computer program or – here's a thought – ask the recipient of your mind program for their consent to experience your culture BEFORE making them live a life on your planet so you don't have to spend time convincing them that their former life wasn't real.
That's the basics of it. To be clear this was all stuff that was going through my head while I was watching the episode, and that probably hurt my experience of it. And to be clear, I don't think this is a bad episode. I just can't justify, for myself, the explanation for what was going on.
Sat, Aug 29, 2015, 9:02am (UTC -6)
Well, ladies and gentlemen, we come to it at last - the show-stopper. I tend to run against the grain with a lot of episodes around here (especially well-loved episodes). I thought that "The City on the Edge of Forever" was over-rated. I thought that "Yesterday's Enterprise" was also over-rated. I stirred up some controversy with my thoughts on "Who Watches the Watchers?" and "First Contact." I even thought that "The Best of Both Worlds" was slightly over-rated. And I doubt it's going to be any different here with "The Inner Light." So, strap your seat-belts on, we're going in.
Is "The Inner Light" the single best episode of the entire Trek franchise? Is it the single best episode of TNG? Is it the best episode of Season Five of TNG? Is it even 10 out of 10 worthy? I can honestly answer each one of those questions with a resounding "absolutely not!" This, folks, is undoubtedly the single most over-rated episode of Trek I have ever seen. In some cases, I would go so far as to say that it is the single most over-rated "anything" I've ever seen. That's because, and I'm not joking or using hyperbole here, I have actually encountered people who have said that "The Inner Light" is hands-down the most poignant, moving, touching, heart-warming and emotionally satisfying piece of fiction they have ever consumed. Give me a break! Is it good? I can answer question with a "yes." But to listen to so many people, you would think that it doesn't just deserve a 10 out of 10 but an infinity to the infinity power out of 10. It's not that good. Sorry.
So, let's just get to the overall problem I have with "The Inner Light," shall we? The fact of the matter is that what the Kataanians do to Picard here is evil, pure and simple. Let me be as clear as I possibly can about this - they violated him, in about the worst way imaginable. What happens to Picard here is the exact same thing that happens later to O'Brien in the DS9 episode "Hard Time." But, at least that episode was willing to take the time to explore the emotional implications of what happened to the character. And yes, I know that in "Hard Time" O'Brien was forced to endure a lifetime of unpleasant memories while Picard here got to experience rather pleasant ones. But, that's a difference of degree, not of kind. They both still had a lifetime of experiences literally forced upon them against their wills. Who the FUCK did the Kataanians think they were to do that to another person? If this was the only way they could think to save their civilization, then I'm just going to say it - maybe their civilization wasn't worth saving! They apparently had the option of doing something like preserving genetic samples, or setting up a library or launching a traditional time capsule. Instead, they actively choose to go with the option that involved the mind-rape of an innocent bystander. And I don't use that term (mind-rape) lightly here. If we're going to accept what was done to Troi, Crusher and Riker in "Violations" as a form of rape, then what the hell else am I supposed to call this?! The fact that they provided Picard with a pleasing setting for his rape doesn't negate the fact that it is still rape! And the episode never addresses this issue. Not once! We're just supposed to accept what happened, think of it as moving beyond belief and then move on.
Now, let's get to a second huge problem I have - the fact that "The Inner Light" is so damn schmaltzy. Jesus Christ, apparently the show-runners decided to cover up the fact that Picard is being thoroughly violated by making the story as sickeningly, sugary sweet as possible. It's like they thought "if we just crank up the sweetness factor to a factor of about 1000 it will distract everyone from the subtext." God Almighty, this story is so damn sugary that I feel like I need an insulin injection! If I had to come up with a single word to describe this episode with, that word would undoubtedly be "schmaltz."
Now, with all that said, there's a much more practical problem I have with this story. Jammer is willing to skim over it in his review, but I'm going to focus on it because I think it is a rather significant plot element - the method the Kataanians used to preserve their culture/civilization. Leaving aside all the subtext and rather barbaric implications of the method, I'm still left thinking "talk about putting all of your eggs in one basket!". What exactly was their plan for the long-term here? They implant a lifetime of memories into a passing alien's mind and.... then what? Okay, so the Kataanian civilization now exists in one person's memory, but what happens when that person dies. Given that at it's heart this story is ultimately about mortality I really don't think the Kataanians were planning very far ahead. All they achieve is a momentary remembrance in the grand scheme of things. Once Picard eventually dies, their civilization dies with him. If I haven't lost you or you're not angry with me yet, prepare yourselves, because that is probably about to happen. If the Kataanians were really serious about preserving their culture and civilization in an actually tangible way, they should have done something similar to what the aliens in the future episode "Masks" did - create a moving library that actually materially recreates elements of their world. That's right, I'm going there. In at least one way, the much derided "Masks" does a better job than "The Inner Light." Also, talk about lucky that the probe managed to find a Human on a Federation ship to do this to. Just imagine if it was a Klingon, or a Romulan, or (God forbid) a Cardassian ship that stumbled onto the probe. It would have been destroyed the moment it locked onto any member of the crew, let alone the captain. Then the Kataanians would really have been up the creek without a paddle.
Finally, one last problem I have with the episode - the coda. I'm sorry, but I do not find the scene with Picard playing the flute in his quarters touching in any way whatsoever. Not. At. All. You know what the scene strikes me as? I strikes me as a man who has been so completely and thoroughly abused that he has come to identify with his abusers in a way. I'm probably going to lose anybody who stayed through the "Masks" comparison - but ,essentially, when he starts playing that flute and the episode fades to black he's basically displaying Stockholm Syndrome. The Kataanians have so thoroughly indoctrinated him that he now misses the mind-rape. And, once again, the episode doesn't focus on this and instead expects the audience to think it's sweet. It's not! To me, that damn flute is nothing but a symbol of Picard's torture and I simply don't understand why so many people both think the scene is touching and why so many people are so attached to the actual flute. (I mean, I've said it before and I'll say it again, to each their own, but I simply cannot wrap my mind around it.) The actual prop of the flute even once sold at auction for close to $50,000. WHY?!! Even Brannon Braga and Patrick Stewart himself have been known to laugh at that, through probably for different reasons than I would.
Okay, so I did say that I thought that the episode was good, so what did I like about it. Well, I can only point to one thing that I thought was good - the acting, because it seriously is top notch. Patrick Stewart, even though he was given some rather disturbing and not very well-thought-through material to work with here really knocks it out of the park. I really don't think much else needs to be said about that because it's one area that everyone agrees on that I'm more than willing to go along with. I also really liked the dynamics back on the Enterprise bridge. Not so much with the Kataanian characters (that's where the schmaltz comes in). I really liked that there was something of a tension with Riker and Worf on one side and Crusher on the other. All three had the same goal in mind - protecting Picard - but they had vastly different ways of going about it. And Frakes, Dorn and McFadden handled that tension rather nice I thought. I suppose I can also like the fact that the show-runners were trying to tell a story about the acceptance of mortality. If they had just turned the sugar quotient down by a factor of about 1000% it could have been much better.
So, there it all is - my thoughts on the most over-rated Trek (not just TNG) episode ever. If anybody is still reading this, this is the moment when you probably come to hate me, but....
6/10
Sat, Aug 29, 2015, 10:04am (UTC -6)
There is more to say, but I tend to view the morality of the Kataan probe on a similar level to the way I view the morality of Q in "Q Who" or "Tapestry" -- under normal circumstances, *AND PERHAPS EVEN IN THESE CIRCUMSTANCES*, I would describe what is done here as wrong. However, the message that is communicated is extremely important, and Q/the Kataan people are not themselves Picard-like figures we should necessarily admire.
I very much agree with a point made by Lewikee earlier:
'I rationalize that aspect as the probe doing what life does to everyone of us. We didn't ask to live and yet here we are, whether we like it or not. Then we deal with it as best we can. I think the probe is as unethical as life itself. We all got hit with the "like it or not, live a life" directive. Picard just got hit with it twice.'
It is likely different for theists for whom life is a divine decision, but for me and many others simply *being here* is a fact that we have not had control over. Bringing a person into this world is a guarantee that they will suffer, at some point or another, and the people can hardly be asked permission before they are born. The hope is that their life will ultimately have more joys than sorrows, and that they will exit their lives having been glad they lived it.
O'Brien's lifetime in "Hard Time" was *specifically* designed to torture and break him. Picard's here is something different. And, yes, much of the goal of the Kataan civilization is the stated goal -- to preserve something of their culture, for someone in the future. AND YET -- it also imparts to Picard (and vicariously, the audience) something even greater. What is special about Kataan, for me, is not that they lived, but that they died, and Picard is given a chance to see into a dead civilization, and live through that death and still continue his life. He has seen his whole civilization die, and returns to his own world with fresh eyes. The probe would be less ethically dubious if it got his permission, but the full-immersion is what makes the probe's experience a kind of second life, including death.
I am glad that this episode happened, and thus I am "glad" the probe did what it did to Picard, just as Picard himself is on some level happy that the experience happened, but it is a particular kind of happy, of the kind of someone who nears the end of their life and realizes that they are glad to have lived, but are not sure that they would have chosen to do so. That the Kataan people have no *right* is plain, but then I rather think that of all parents. The "arrogance" of the Kataan people is that they have something to share with their probe, and on the balance I would say that this is justified; they are not imposing torture but the experience of what it is like for an individual lifetime and for a civilization to meet its end. It is an incredible gift, one which is also painful and unwanted.
Sat, Aug 29, 2015, 10:20am (UTC -6)
Sat, Aug 29, 2015, 1:21pm (UTC -6)
You know, that's something I never considered but now that I think about it, it would have eliminated so many of the problems I have with the episode. If the writers had re-worked the script so that Picard agreed to it instead of having it forced on him, I would find the story much more moving. Instead of having the probe simply lock onto whoever it encounters, it instead comes with an automated greeting - something along the lines of "we offer you a chance to experience our world as it was, come aboard our probe for further instructions if you're interested." Picard then decides that any archaeologist worth his salt would never refuse such an opportunity and so beams over with Crusher (to monitor him during the "procedure") and Worf (for possible protection).
That would solve the problem of the mind-rape. It could also solve the problem I have with the coda. Instead of Picard's playing of the flute being disturbing (or bittersweet as the show-runners intended) it's now something more triumphant and I could buy his deep connection to it since it wouldn't be burdened by the bad subtext. Also, a simple line toward the end about it being possible for others to now experience the same "procedure" would solve the problem of "all your eggs in one basket." There would still be the problem of the over-the-top schmaltz. But, it would be a drastic improvement none-the-less because I do agree that the Kataanians do have something worthwhile to impart - it's just the method of delivery that really kills it for me.
I don't think you're comparison with Q in "Q Who?" and "Tapestry" quite works, however. Q indeed forced some experiences on them in "Q Who?" but he didn't make them live entire lives as Borg drones. And in "Tapestry," he didn't force Picard to live another life with his new altered past. Q was trying to teach a lesson in both instances, just like the Kataanians are trying to do, but his methods don't strike me as quite as morally reprehensible as theirs do.
Sat, Aug 29, 2015, 1:39pm (UTC -6)
Sat, Aug 29, 2015, 2:29pm (UTC -6)
Sat, Aug 29, 2015, 7:40pm (UTC -6)
Rather, I think Picard is humbled, dazed and moved by what has happened to him and has not the emotional context to evaluate the actions of a whole civilization which was dying -- nor does he feel the need to. Maybe that would come eventually, and I have no doubt that Picard has had something happen to him that is bigger than his ability to handle -- which means that the Stockholm Syndrome experience of loving his tormentors is a possible interpretation. But this strikes me as a particularly non-didactic episode of this show. This is how a planet responds to its destruction; this is what happens to Picard; this is how he feels. Responses to this obviously vary. The episode may manipulate in terms of getting the audience to *feel* what Picard feels, but that is distinct from a moral approval of the planet's last message into the darkness, which is left almost entirely unexamined, neither approved nor condemned but simply let to be as an imaginative experiment. Whether the lack of debate over the justness of what the Kataan probe does is a serious flaw in this episode or the result of this episode's focus being understandably elsewhere is a point about which people can disagree, though I am pretty firmly in the camp that the episode's focus being elsewhere is very much justified.
Sat, Aug 29, 2015, 7:47pm (UTC -6)
Mon, Sep 7, 2015, 5:34pm (UTC -6)
Very interesting post. A couple points that I posted about some time ago.
I was however moved by the flute scene at the end. My problems with this episode were with the aliens, not Picard's experience.
Sun, Sep 27, 2015, 2:36pm (UTC -6)
"Oh! It's me..." indeed. Wonderful, wonderful episode. 4 stars.
Thu, Oct 1, 2015, 12:34pm (UTC -6)
Thu, Jan 7, 2016, 9:41pm (UTC -6)
In thousands of years, after humans are long gone (after killing each other or overpopulation), those two probes will be the only proof that we ever existed.
I can imagine an alien civilization trying the decipher the contents of the disc with messages the probes carry with them.
Thu, Feb 4, 2016, 10:10pm (UTC -6)
*sigh* However, coming back to it now after...geez has it been over 2 decades?...I find myself, sadly, agreeing with and sympathizing with virtually everything Luke had to say about this. I can't not think about the violation that's occurring here, even though I know it's not the way to approach this deep, soulful episode.
I really find myself disagreeing with the premise that a dead race can just steal someone else's life, hijack it, for their own ends. There had to have been a better way.
Of course it's about the journey Picard takes, the endearing moments, illuminations, and riches of emotion and joy he's given as he lives Kamen's life. I get that. (as an aside, I suppose if a slavering drooling 3 armed, 2 headed spacefaring lizard-species found the probe the appearence of the Kataan-um-ites? would have changed to match? Or is this coincidentally yet another genetically perfect match for humanity lost amongst the stars. I'm sure his daughter would have been equally as fetching with two heads and scaly skin to the right Kamen).
Anyway, I kept putting myself in Picard's shoes. As soon as he saw the necklace around his 'wife's neck, I would have lost my *bleep*. It would be full on Kirk-mode. "The game's over, you hear me! (shouted out loud to presumed invisible overseers). I'm not playing whatever it is you want me to play." A fistfight with the village elders would surely have ensued.
Being forced to live a life you know is not yours...I just can't reconcile that in my head. Especially when you know it's an alien species, a wife who's not your wife, a cultural history that's entirely not your own. There has to be a better way. If Picard had lost his mind and gone on a killing spree would the 'simulation' have ended? It seems to rely entirely on his going along with the charade in order to 'work'.
But all that's just my knee-jerk reaction now, after years have passed and maybe some kind of jaded cynicism has set in. It's unquestionably a thoughtful, touching, well conceived and well executed episode for what it's trying to say. You just have to ignore the profound injustice of it all.
I try to tell myself that he 'lived' his life literally in the same way we, as the viewers, saw it. In bite sized pieces and giant leaps forwards in time. With 'memories' of his life and children growing up sort of taken for granted. Basically the way Inception describes dreams: You always start in the middle of the action or sequence, you never really know or care how you got there. Picard just skipped ahead and his subconscious just went with the flow. Now my hair is different, ok. Now I have kids, fine. Now I have grandkids, seems reasonable. The probe and his subconcious act to 'fill in the blanks' with false memories and emotions to provide continuity.
That's what I tell myself to try and make it all feel less...horrific. But I know deep down that's not what happened, so my misplaced anger over what's happening wins out. He really did have to life 30 some odd years as a different person, then 'wake up' and try to put his long forgotten life back together...Now an old soul in a younger man's body. The Picard both he and WE knew was taken from us and in the span of 30 minutes replaced by someone else. He was forced to 'grow up' in a way I didn't really want him to. But that's on me I guess...not the writers of the story, or the Kataanoids.
3.5 / 4 stars taking the episode at face value, which I'm prepared to do (I'm not huge on the numerous cheery family/musical sequences either I guess, though less put off then Luke in that regard).. But I can never watch it again and feel emotionally drawn to it the way it want's me to be...or the way I was when I first saw it as a younger man. My brain recognizes the depth of meaning, emotion and heart present as he picks up the flute and starts playing at the end. But my heart can't go along for the ride any more. That's entirely my loss I guess. More is the pity.
(Would like to have seen how the 'killing spree' version of Kamen played out though)
Sun, Jun 5, 2016, 4:19am (UTC -6)
"The question is: what good does it do the extinct race to be remembered at all?"
Humans will become an extinct race. Nothing lasts forever. Not even us.
Why wouldn't you want to be remembered ?
Sun, Jun 26, 2016, 1:56am (UTC -6)
Thu, Sep 8, 2016, 4:17pm (UTC -6)
Wed, Oct 12, 2016, 9:55am (UTC -6)
So lets talk about this planet's technology. For the story to work, you need i) the ability to create dream-like or VR-like simulations in someone's head, indistinguishable from reality, compressing a span years into real-life minutes, and ii) an inability to colonize other planets or communicate with alien peoples. Can I believe a civilization exists with this odd-seeming combination of technological advancement? Sure, why not? But do I believe the world that we see has the ability to create (i)? No, not at all.
I think the writers could have been more thoughtful and creative in their world-building. If this tech is the crown jewel of the civilization, where's the evidence of everything it builds upon? Computers? Medicine? Art? Communication? What are the social implications? Wouldn't some people rather live in a simulation than real life? Especially when real life is so depressing? And especially when you can live a thousand lifetimes before your own life prematurely ends? Would this be a useful education tool, perhaps a way to quickly develop the expertise needed to get off of or preserve the planet, a singularity in their technological development? (And I have to ask: what happens if Picard tries out the simulation tech while living in a simulation, a la Inception? How many layers deep can his brain handle?)
Of course none of this is the point. But even in the background, it would have been nice to acknowledge some of these implications.
Sun, Nov 13, 2016, 10:19am (UTC -6)
Wed, Jan 25, 2017, 1:26pm (UTC -6)
Wed, Mar 15, 2017, 7:12pm (UTC -6)
For me, the most wrenching scene was Eline's death.
Here is Kamin, formerly Picard, losing the one person who has been by his side for the entirety of his journey from starship captain to iron weaver. He surrendered to her. He made a life with her. Nobody knew him as well, or understood his journey, as well as she did (even more then he knew). And then she's gone, her last words being the achingly domestic injunction, "put your shoes away."
That repetitive facet, his bad habit -- so un-Jean Luc Picard-ian -- her sweetly irritated reminders, is one of those little details that give this episode its depth and in that depth its power.
This was a great story. This is still a great story.
Doubters and debaters, willingly suspend your disbelief. Don't get caught up in the technobabble of "could that really happen?" Pull on too many of those strings and you'll unravel the whole tapestry that is Star Trek.
This is an extraordinary tale about human lives. Embrace it.
Fri, Apr 7, 2017, 1:49am (UTC -6)
The Inner Light is the single greatest Star Trek episode of all time.
Not ballsy enough for you? Try this on for size: The Inner Light is better than City On The Edge Of Forever.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE L O V E City On The Edge Of Forever. It is a freaking masterpiece. But have you ever met or heard of someone who says "I wept like a baby when I watched City On The Edge Of Forever"?
City On The Edge Of Forever ends as a largely negative experience for the main characters ("Let's get the hell out of here") while The Inner Light leaves us with a sense of joy ("Now we live in you") albeit a bittersweet sense.
The Inner Light is an unbridled celebration of Star Trek that simultaneously transcends Star Trek.
(P.S. Thanks Jammer - I've enjoyed your reviews of these episodes immensely, Just found your site a few days ago)
Mon, Apr 10, 2017, 4:37am (UTC -6)
Mon, Apr 10, 2017, 5:53am (UTC -6)
So was Picard bamboozled by a fantasy? Wouldn't a man like him have struggled to escape rather than live a life he must have known (deep down) was fraudulent? Did Picard swallow the blue pill?
I don't have the answer, but my sense is that the probe could only have worked the way it did on a man like Picard - without significant family, (seeing Robert once every 20 yrs doesn't count!) without children, really bereft of deep human connection in his life. The probe gave Picard something he never knew he needed or wanted, but that he was starving for.
Fri, May 5, 2017, 1:45pm (UTC -6)
I don't think it was an idealized picture. In fact, one of the things I was really impressed by in the characterization is how the "Administrator" is sort of a typical politician, making nice talk about how it's good to get input from citizens--but Picard sees through it. But this politician doesn't have some secret sinister agenda, and he's not really evil. He's just something in between, a realistic character you rarely see on TV and especially not on a Trek show.
Aside from the subtle writing and strong acting that make this such a great episode (which I can't believe I never saw until just today), there's another factor (or group of factors) making this above and beyond the usual level of quality. That's the costume and especially set design. We've seen plenty of alien planets before, and they are often pretty much the same. When they are different, it's not generally in a convincing, "lived in" way. But so much thought was put into all the little details of this world, from the way the door opening button looked to the architecture.
I especially liked the little set of steps next to the doorway, that Kamin (and at another point his friend) sat on. I've not seen those before, although maybe they are inspired by something in the Mediterranean? A perfect touch, in any case. Without those little details, without that "lived-in" feeling of the sets and costumes, the strong writing and acting would not carry the same impact.
Sat, May 6, 2017, 1:04am (UTC -6)
@Nick P: "I always felt it might have been a little better if they never cut back to the Enterprise, I felt it was unnessary dramatically, cut down the mystery and tension, and implied Picard was not actually 'Living' the memories, just being donwloaded them"
Good point, I think you may be right. Although it did add a sci-fi element that wouldn't be there otherwise. Hard to say.
@laurence k: "In subsequent TNG episodes, we should have at least seen evidence of Kataanian door decorations appear in Picard's quarters, for example."
Great point.
"Similarly, when Kamin agrees to build the nursery, and Eline hugs him, we see in her face great sorrow as well as joy, as though she knew that the only children Kamin could ever have with her would be virtual ones."
This raises multiple questions. Were the other characters (NPCs, if you will) sentient, like the Doctor in Voyager? And if so, did they "know" they were playing parts in a simulation, or did they think they were really living on Kataan a thousand years ago? Obviously we saw them give a reveal at the very end, but I thought that might have only been activated at that point.
I also liked your points about gender.
@Jammer: "I don't think belief in God has anything to do with it. It gets to the very nature of our own human need to have a purpose in life, to say that we were here, that we lived, and that we leave something behind when we die. Children. Writings. History. A legacy. Something."
I absolutely agree (in fact, this is one of my preoccupations: I've thought of having a law firm periodically send letters or videos to my descendants, every few decades). But I'm an atheist, so I can't necessarily contradict the point made there. I can kinda see how if you thought you'd all be in Heaven or whatever, this urge would be a lot weaker.
@CeeBee: "I wouldn't take kind to people forcing me into memories I never experienced, never had before and never asked for. Thirty years of torture. Unfathomable. Good these people are extinct so they cannot screw up others anymore."
As someone noted upthread, it's more like fifty years, or more. Anyway, as long as that extra life was happy, I'd be grateful for having so many years added to my life.
@Joe: "I think that Kataanian probe was _deliberately_ created as an idealized representation of their life... a 'Photoshopped' representation, if you will."
I don't quite see it, because of the way the Administrator was shown to be, not a villain, but kind of an insincere politician type.
@Lewikee: "In regards to the ethics of the probe:
I rationalize that aspect as the probe doing what life does to everyone of us. We didn't ask to live and yet here we are, whether we like it or not. Then we deal with it as best we can. I think the probe is as unethical as life itself. We all got hit with the "like it or not, live a life" directive. Picard just got hit with it twice."
Oh wow, that is profound. I hadn't thought of it that way, but you are really onto something there! Very philosophical, and very cool.
@milk73: "I try to tell myself that he 'lived' his life literally in the same way we, as the viewers, saw it. In bite sized pieces and giant leaps forwards in time. With 'memories' of his life and children growing up sort of taken for granted. Basically the way Inception describes dreams: You always start in the middle of the action or sequence, you never really know or care how you got there. Picard just skipped ahead and his subconscious just went with the flow. Now my hair is different, ok. Now I have kids, fine. Now I have grandkids, seems reasonable. The probe and his subconcious act to 'fill in the blanks' with false memories and emotions to provide continuity."
That's a very intriguing possibility. It would also make it much more reasonable to imagine fitting that much into under a half hour of real time.
Sat, May 6, 2017, 11:39pm (UTC -6)
@SlackerInc
Wow. What a very thought-out response. I hope to see more of your thoughts in the future....
Heh, my thought was how could he start to do the day-to-day he'd done before, after being in another 'world' for perhaps 30 to 50 years.
If I came back after living another life for 30+ or so years in my mind, and went back to what I'd been doing before, would I still remember everything? I think back 30 years, and I remember Mike, who worked for the Post Office and couldn't stop smoking two packs of Camels a day, perhaps a few co-workers, some of the police officers, the quarterback who liked Copenhagen, the clerk I really liked but couldn't tell her because I was the Manager, how to make coffee. But ask me to run that register again in a heartbeat? Nope. Remember everyone who worked under me? Nope, no clue. How to run the phone? heheh. Faces would be familiar, and I would have things come back to me... but be a Starship Captain in a few minutes? Nope. Not possible.
I'd be very nearly clueless trying to get back to that day when I was a manager of a convenience store near that big university, who knew everything about it then, but would be clueless now because I'd not done it for so long. Heh, and I think it is a Nail Salon now...
Just some random thoughts...
Take care Everyone... RT
Sun, May 7, 2017, 3:17am (UTC -6)
Thanks! I have made several comments on Voyager reviews over the past few years, but I've only just started to branch out to TNG due to it being the focus of the "TV Book Club" on the Appointment TV podcast:
https://twitter.com/atvpodcast/status/837395408565452802
(You'll also find comments from me on most of the episodes above this one on that list, and soon on the ones below it.)
I also only just learned this weekend how to use an RSS browser extension so I can know when someone comments below one of mine, which will help me engage more in a conversation rather than just throwing my thoughts out into the void for those who arrive later to see. :)
I think you make a great point about whether Picard was prepared to resume command. In reality, shouldn't Riker and Dr. Crusher have questioned this, and maybe held some kind of hearing with Starfleet? If they weren't so dedicated to the reset button, it could have been cool to see them take another episode on this, perhaps concluding with a montage of Picard going back to Starfleet Academy for a crash refresher course.
I had a similar thought about Captain Bateson in "Cause and Effect", although not at the time I watched it--it was after I read some Wiki stuff about what happened to that crew later in the continuity. Bateson was apparently given immediate(?) command of a 24th century starship, even though he had just come from the 23rd century, 90 years earlier. Wouldn't that be like a Navy captain from 1927 being given command of a ship today? What would he make of all the satellite navigation, etc. Even more than Picard, that strikes me as requiring a trip back to Starfleet to say the least.
But I should probably take that question over to that episode's comment thread...
Mon, Jun 12, 2017, 9:58pm (UTC -6)
This is still a good episode, worth at least 3.0 stars or maybe 3.5 stars. My main problem with this story is the implausibility. Granted, a certain amount of artistic license has to be allowed. However, I agree with the previous comments that it is doubtful an alien race with 1950s space level technology would have such advanced computer technology. (I suppose this is possible, but very unlikely.) It is true that different fields of technology may advance at different rates, but usually technology in various fields will be at the same approximate level.
In Jammer's review of "Conundrum", he rightly points out that is doubtful that an alien race as advanced as "Commander MacDuff's" would be so far behind in weapons technology. Yet here, he makes no comment regarding the incongruity of this alien race having extremely advanced computer technology, while having only 1950s space technology.
Wed, Jul 12, 2017, 12:55pm (UTC -6)
Ridiculous, but still a fun episode.
In The Inner Light, yes, their technology seems primitive, but there is no reason to believe all humanoid species would progress technologically at the same rate... Perhaps the Kataanians understood minds/memories/spirits way better than humans and thus mind VR was early tech for them.
Also, they may be more advanced than they appear, similar to how the Ba'ku were far more technologically advanced than they appeared to be.
Wed, Jul 12, 2017, 12:58pm (UTC -6)
Mon, Jul 17, 2017, 2:47pm (UTC -6)
We all love Picard, but the episodic nature of TNG made it harder to relate to him or any of the other characters. However, I'm glad they did finally revisit this in Lessons, which had the added bonus of arguably being the best depiction of a romance in Star Trek history, and I think Picard's life as Kamin made easier for him to pursue a relationship with another crew member. :-)
Sat, Aug 5, 2017, 5:46am (UTC -6)
Sat, Aug 5, 2017, 8:51pm (UTC -6)
I think it's loved mostly because Picard is loved by fans. PS made him a strong and believable - and lonely - character. It's a well-crafted episode and the emotional notes are really beautifully sold by the actors - but really, it's my longstanding affection for Picard that makes me tear up over first his love, and then his loss, of home and family.
I think that the same episode transposed into one of the other ST series, featuring Sisko or Janeway for example, would not have been such a hit with fans.
No mockery here.
Mon, Sep 4, 2017, 6:57pm (UTC -6)
Tue, Oct 3, 2017, 6:23pm (UTC -6)
Initially Picard/Kamin is being abrupt about where he is etc. but then in the next act, it's 5 years later and with a more mellow attitude, you start to wonder what he's learning about his situation. Maybe that's the point of the episode, you think.
But there's so much here. The talk about living in the now, but also realizing maybe he's the only person who could save the civilization. But then you realize, it's not about actually saving the civilization and that it's about keeping alive the memories of the civilization.
But Picard also has the memories of living a full life that he could not lead since he didn't get married, have kids, have grand-kids etc. There were plenty of scenes of Picard just doing normal things, but given what he's normally doing on the Enterprise, it's just enjoyable to see. I guess I'm saying I could watch Picard do just about anything and I wouldn't be bored.
The ending scene when Riker gives Picard the flute that was in the probe is fantastic. Just Picard playing the flute after 30 years of memories playing it -- just a wonderful ending.
If I have one gripe, it would be a very minor one in that the people of Kataan really don't seem to have the capability to build such a probe with that kind of a program. But this episode is like DS9's "The Visitor" -- don't worry about how, just watch the story and be moved. The probe found the right man for the job.
A strong 4 stars for "The Inner Light" -- it did not disappoint after all the hype I had read about the episode. Picard's acting is spot on -- he goes through a number of emotions here. Kamin's wife struck the right tone and was well acted -- and they even got Stewart's real son in here. This is a terrific example of sci-fi used to tell a story everybody can enjoy about life in general.
Sat, Oct 14, 2017, 3:24am (UTC -6)
Certainly I could do that with this episode as well, as many others above me have already done. But for this episode...I don't care.
It grabbed hold of me from the moment Picard collapsed on the bridge until the final credits. I think it's the best Star Trek episode of all the series. That is the mark of a good episode, that despite it's flaws (which they all have, including this one), it forces you to disregard them, because it's such a compelling story. That's what makes Star Trek so magical sometimes. You forget that it's a science fiction show.
There is no better episode for doing all of that than this one.
4 stars.
Mon, Oct 16, 2017, 10:50pm (UTC -6)
Tue, Nov 14, 2017, 3:17pm (UTC -6)
"We're umm ... we're umm ... ... we're married." [Immediately buries his face in the soup.]
Elliott:
"There are only a couple of actors in the whole franchise's history who could I think rise to such a challenge: Patrick Stewart, Andrew J. Robinson, Kate Mulgrew and maybe Robert Picardo. That's about it."
Well ... Avery Brooks watched Jake Sisko outage him and become an old man.
Tue, Nov 14, 2017, 3:27pm (UTC -6)
Thu, Nov 16, 2017, 4:45am (UTC -6)
I may have a solution to the issue of the disparity in technology. What if Kataan actually spent something like a thousand years or more slowly dying, all the while advancing technology with a focus on preserving a memory of their civilization? But they designed the effect to sort of elide that and show the change from the full flower of their civilization to the dark days at the end within one lifetime. Otherwise, they might have had to choose either showing Picard a lifetime from before things got very bad, or one in which it was bad all the way through.
Mon, Dec 25, 2017, 10:42pm (UTC -6)
Oh, just a sudden thought: They had this program that was designed to put a *hopefully* humanoid alien sentient being into this setting so they could see what life was like there. They must not have run the scenario past any politicians, because I could not see them allowing a true depiction of said politician. :)
He'd be bringing flowers and candy to everyone he saw...
Have a Great Day and I hope all had some sort of Merry Christmas and eventual Happy New Year!
RT
Mon, Dec 25, 2017, 11:55pm (UTC -6)
@Slackerinc
Heh, I didn't look at your post when I'd made my last comment, and should have, but maybe it's for the best today, not mixing things...
I agree that would be a plausible explanation. It seems to take a while for things to change on a planet, even this one. If we did this, we might sanitize it a bit (remove some wars and whatnot), and compress the time.
I like that thought, and will keep it in mind the next time I view it. :)
Take care Everyone... RT
Sat, Jan 6, 2018, 1:12am (UTC -6)
Mon, Mar 12, 2018, 6:10pm (UTC -6)
Sat, Apr 7, 2018, 5:50pm (UTC -6)
The village that Kamin lived was just a small rural community. The smart scientist types and the high technology was in the big city. That's where Eline his wife, told Kamin he would have to go if he wanted to send a message. That's where the rocket and probe was designed, built, and launched. Had Kamin gone there, he would had felt more normal among other egg heads, and would had stayed to figure things out. In fact I'm sure he did when he traveled there to try to contact the Enterprise. Not sure why he stayed and lived his life in that sleepy town.
I still wipe a tear even after watching this episode upteen times, but one thing bothers me. You see playing music was the most important thing to Kamin and his son, but neither really knew how to play that flute. While Kamin played it with such soul and feeling, he wasn't much better then I was in the 5th grade playing Mary had a Little Lamb on the black plastic flutes we were given in school. I would have liked to have heard some trills and triplets. Some real playing.
I played trumpet in the grade school band, and this girl played the silver flute. She played much better than Kamin when she was in Junior High. I thought she was pretty good until I went to high school. There was this guy who played flute in the jazz band, and that guy could blow! He could play the funky solo's of all the hits songs back in the late 70's. After 30-40 years of playing, Kamin should had seriously been plowing that flute. That would had made it more realistic for me, rather than the simple folk tunes he played. Picard never seemed to get much better either. I guess there was no music instructors, books on tape, or Youtube on the Enterprise.
Still one of the best TNG episodes I've seen.
Sun, May 27, 2018, 1:18am (UTC -6)
Tue, Jul 3, 2018, 5:48pm (UTC -6)
I was surprised to read all the controversy.
My thoughts:
Great ep. Beautifully done in all particulars. Stewart is absolutely at his best. Amazing.
I don't think the choice of Picard was random. I had the impression the probe was able to be picky. It may have passed on other opportunities, who knows, but I don't think it zeroed in on Picard because he happened to be standing in that spot.
I also suspect there was some sort of failsafe, should the choice prove untenable. If the person was suffering, unable to adapt our enjoy, he could be released.
I also assume the experience was tailored to some extent, to the wishes - conscious and subconscious -- of the chosen one.
So I don't see this as a horrible mind rape, but rather as an abduction in the hope of giving someone the great gift of sharing their world. It worked because Picard wanted it. I don't think it would have worked otherwise.
That Picard greatly loved and enjoyed his life on Kataan is made clear. This is no coincidence. This isn't luck. This is part of the plan.
Yes, there are the usual sci-fi issues that require some suspension of disbelief, but nothing unusual there.
Anyhow, I've no moral problem with this. The feel of it, the clues in the dialog, all tell me that in many ways Picard shaped his own experience, and he remained there because he wanted to stay.
Stewart's acting during the reveal is absolute perfection.
That's enough for now.
And William B, you don't happen to be the same William B that I used to discuss Buffy eps with, are you?
Tue, Jul 3, 2018, 7:50pm (UTC -6)
Wed, Jul 4, 2018, 12:41am (UTC -6)
Fri, Sep 7, 2018, 2:36am (UTC -6)
Sun, Sep 16, 2018, 2:44am (UTC -6)
I like this episode. I enjoy this episode. It’s another solid season 5 episode but I don’t see it as the classic or masterpiece a lot of folks do. To get 3.5 or 4 stars I think an episode really needs to not waste a single scene and be top notch from teaser to closing scene
The stuff on the ship felt like filler and reminded me a lot of similar shipboard scenes from Darmok. Those felt like 2.5 star stuff
The Katan scenes were much better and what I want in my TNG episodes. I found all the guest characters very likable and by the end of the episode I was attached to them so much so it really was poignant when his wife dies and when we realize all these folks have been dead for centuries
I also enjoyed the music featured. The set design for the village and the flavor the cinematography gave to the katan scenes. Definite bonus.
The scene in the final act that reveals everything to Picard was very well done. Not only was it poignant but the presentation had a odd surreal vibe and weight to it. The reference to a missile launch, thevway everyone has a certain resignation heading off to the ceremony, picard’s continuous unawareness of such a momentous event, the whole village there, the noticeable increased brightness of the daylight All lent a poignancy to what was coming. You just knew something profound and life shattering was going to be revealed. The appearance of his long dead friend Batai then his wife restored to her youthful appearance as the fog of confusion slowly gave way to clarity and understanding made for a powerful
Scene. A true highlight! Then the shot of apocard looking upward at the sight of the probe he will encounter was a memorable and at same time surreal scene. Very well done
The other strong scene was the final one of Picard in his quarters. Riker brings a mysterious item
That was contained in the probe. And it turns out to be the flute. Perfection. And the way Picard grips it tight to his chest was a powerful moment.
Those two key scenes really help deliver the loss and sadness to this dying-dead- civilization and planet and more intimately the people Picard-and the audience- came to know and care about within the hour
The guest stars were all great in their roles!
A very solid hour
One of the effects of TNG’s standalone nature is the sense of going on these adventures and meeting all these different races and people and you may never seeing them again but them becoming memorable parts of the adventure you’re on.
Wed, Sep 19, 2018, 7:41am (UTC -6)
Wed, Sep 19, 2018, 7:55am (UTC -6)
“Come on! It just doesn't make any sense at all: it would have been far easier for them to build ships to take them to another planet than to invent the technology required for the mind probe.”
Are you implying that if you have advanced neurological technology you should automatically have advanced astronautical technology? These sciences are hardly related, and it’s an alien culture anyway so there’s no reason to think their scientific advances will evolve in the same pattern as ours. And that’s still assuming we ourselves will be capable of leaving Earth and colonizing other planets.
Wed, Sep 19, 2018, 7:04pm (UTC -6)
I think this is 4 stars, but for me The Visitor is better (more sophisticated script, better guest cast, and more solid throughout - the depiction of Kamin's life on the planet is quite hokey and schmaltzy, and the limitations of the set never gives us the feel that this is a real society. Thine Own Self is a lesser episode but I think it did a better job in terms of the set design and communicating an authentic village community feel.)
Wed, Sep 19, 2018, 7:24pm (UTC -6)
Sat, Sep 22, 2018, 12:41am (UTC -6)
Well said, and astute.
Thu, Nov 22, 2018, 1:25pm (UTC -6)
Fri, Dec 7, 2018, 5:03am (UTC -6)
I find Junji Ito's exploration of the concept far more believable even if it might be less engaging. Especially since Ito explores the concept of year long 'dreams' as horror and not honored remembrance.
Thu, Jan 3, 2019, 3:48pm (UTC -6)
This is surely one of the ,if not the best TNG episodes.
I think it must be one that everyone tends to remember just like The Other Side of the Sky fills that slot certainly for me in DS9 and City on the Edge of Forever in TOS
Bravo TNG.
Sun, Feb 3, 2019, 7:12am (UTC -6)
As said though what a terrific piece of TV, no alien rubber masks, no wars, just good tv. Margot Rose's speech at the end.. "now we live in you, tell them of us, my darling" is highly emotional and moving. One last thing....this couldve been a 2 parter or a feature film, im sure.
Sat, Apr 13, 2019, 9:43am (UTC -6)
Fri, Apr 26, 2019, 5:15pm (UTC -6)
Here`s to all lost civilizations. That song always haunts me. I overuse the word iconic when I probably mean something else. This is an episode that is one of the best of Star Trek and of any TV. What a beautiful story!
I am not going to nitpick on the technology, I haven`t read the reviews above yet and wonder if there are some on the technology of the probe. But I have an observation on one small matter: they made Picard`s skin resemble Dr Noonien Soong`s skin as Picard aged. He looked about 85 when his daughter was about 25, pre kids of her own. Then later once she had kids, he was down on the floor playing with them despite being somewhat tentative five minutes later walking out to watch the probe. I guess it is possible he didn't suffer sore or stiff joints and could get down on the floor and later walked slowly due to other reasons (also hunched over a bit). It is a bit of geriatric mismatch in my humble opinion and only a small obsrvation to show how wonderful the episode really was.
Wed, May 22, 2019, 2:54pm (UTC -6)
When Captain Picard wakes up from his journey, everyone tells him what happened and he explains what he experienced and all is well correct? But my problem is... how in the world does he still remember these people?? I know they're his friends and they've served together for a while now, but remember, he spent 30 years on that planet. I know it hasn't actually been that long, but for him it has. He's just woken up from a literal lifetime of experiences and he's like "oh hey everybody, it's nice to see you all again. Welp, I'm off to play my new flute." When he really should have been like "oh, where am I? *gasp* Beverly? Beverly Crusher is it really you? You're just as beautiful as all those years ago. *gasp* NUMBER ONE! it's been so long! Such a good officer.. *gasp* DATA! my old friend! You're even more human than I remember." *looks around for a good ten minutes absorbing everything* "I'm finally home.." Seriously this was just odd to me. I mean come on dude it's been 30 YEARS and he acts like he just woke up from a freaking nap! *which he did, but again, he doesn't know that.* It would be like trying to remember all your old high school friends from back in the day. He'd have the whole nostalgia feelin' going on. I don't know. This has just always bothered me. You'd think Starfleet would at least have him go thru some tests or something to make sure he still remembers what everything is and what it does. But this is just my honest opinion.
All in all a good episode and I don't mean to stomp on it, I just hate plot holes as much as every other true fan. Please forgive. :)
Also I read Luke's comments from years ago and I have to sort of agree with some of the things he said. It really would have better if they had just asked Picard if he wanted to experience that life. But whatever. And I didn't read all the other comments *coz there are a lot* but if someone has already addressed the issue I brought up earlier then I'll be sure to ponder their thoughts. Thank you for not hating me. ^-^
Wed, May 22, 2019, 3:07pm (UTC -6)
Your objection about the 30 year gap has occurred to me before, and the way I've decided to understand the story is that Picard was zapped with 30 years of memories all at once, and the way the episode play we're shown the memories chronologically as if Picard himself is remembering them as quickly as he can. If you think of it like The Matrix the episode makes a lot more sense, and Picard's time lying on the deck is the upload time of the data. If 30 years really have passed from his perspective, in actual flow of time, then it would certainly be strange that he even remembers his command codes or how to operate all the ship's systems. But if it felt like he lived a whole lifetime in just an instant he'd presumably be overwhelmed by all the new memories, but his actual post and duties would also still be fresh to him.
At least, this is the head canon I choose to go with because otherwise we get into Uhura-syndrom from The Changeling where he would need massive retraining and refreshers that are certainly never alluded to. It's a high concept episode so I'll take the literal premise with a grain of salt, knowing it's just a chance for us to see Picard get the life he knew he was never going to have.
Wed, May 22, 2019, 3:29pm (UTC -6)
Thank you for your thoughts I believe they have given me a better perspective on the matter. I just always thought it was like he had literally just experienced a thirty year gap from his regular life and would have a hard time readjusting to the Enterprise. And then I thought about all the future episodes where someone mentions a past event from a previous season and laughed to myself, thinking (as Picard) "oh, you mean the Farpoint mission? Oh sure! It's been three decades, but I definitely have a very clear memory of that day." But your explanation makes more sense.
Thu, Jun 20, 2019, 6:32am (UTC -6)
I was actually looking up the origin of that expression (giddy aunt), and the first page I landed on had a photo of Patrick Troughton as the Second Dr Who, playing his recorder. Troughton was still the Doctor when I first saw Dr Who, so I should have remembered this...
So the flute has tassles hanging off it, just like Picard's flute...
I can't be the first person who's noticed this - but amazingly I didn't find any webpages making a connection between ST, Picard, Dr Who, Troughton, flutes and/or recorders.
So I was going to suggest you search for images of 'troughton' and 'recorder' - but nevermind, because THIS came up straight away
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4C8Bpl32rl4
and nobody even made the connection even on that page!
Sun, Oct 20, 2019, 10:03pm (UTC -6)
Realizing you never had them to lose.
Fri, Jan 10, 2020, 5:53am (UTC -6)
It's boring and doesn't even take into account the aspect of mind rape. We are just suppose to fall in love with this race and excuse their crime. I've always been disappointed more people never took issue with that moral standpoint of the episode. And of course the giant reset button next week doesn't help.
Of course, I do get some humor our of how incompetent Beverly is shown to be yet again. One of my favorite unintentional recurring themes of TNG. I love Gates but Beverly is just pure incompetence She probably didn't want to use the EMH because she knew it'd be far more effective than she could ever be. But I am getting off topic.
I constantly try to understand why people love this episode, reading so many reviews. It still has never clicked with me. We get small fragments of Picard's alternate life with large time jumps. We barely know any of these characters, they are just background dressing to Picard's experience. Which is fine, but for an episode like this I feel like it's important to connect with those characters. To fully understand them, beyond Picard just having a family. Take Picard's son. He wants to do music and wanted to do two other things before settling on music. And that is his entire character.
His daughter takes after him and then becomes a mother and that is it. These characters are cardboard. There is zero depth to any of them.
Rene Picard had a lot more development in family. We can understand Picard's pain when he dies in Generations, we can feel sadness that he never got to go to Starfleet like he wanted or experience life. All cut short in a senseless fire, the randomness of life. Intially I wasn't a fan of Family on first run either, but all these years later I've grown to really like and appreciate all the themes in that episode.
Do we really feel sad for any of this alien race? As a concept, sure but the actual individual characters? Again cardboard. And they mind raped someone selfishly. They inflicted unwanted harm for their own selfish desires. We would excuse a man, who raped a woman, because he was dying and wanted her to remember him? They basically make Picard experience Stockholm syndrome as a way to cope with his torture. It's really quite disgusting when you actually think about it critically. The episode touches on none of this. In fact, we barely get any of the denial stage and just get a 5 year time jump. It's so compressed, it's ridiculous. And this is one of the greatest episodes of Star Trek?
No and again I wonder why everyone loves this episode?
Tapestry was so much better, it really examined the choices we make in our life and how things we regret can make us better people. The path you didn't take, that is an interesting exploration of the human condition. I think that was far more of an effective character study of Picard and his life choices.
As you've noticed, I haven't really attacked the technology level and how feasible those parts of the episode is. That is just there. It's one of the few things I can complain about. They were advanced in one field and not so much with space travel beyond their little probe. 21st century humans have amazing communications technology and the ability to constant anyone in the world instantly. But yet we've only been to the moon over 40 years ago and we don't even know when we'll get back. Let alone going to Mar.
I even hate the flute and the sounds it makes. Those songs almost make my ears bleed, but I tend to hate wind instruments and find them unappealing universally. That one is probably just one of my quirks. It just adds on to my hate.
Fri, Jan 10, 2020, 6:36am (UTC -6)
I am not going to disown this episode to the extent that you have, but I too have found it draggy in retrospect and agree with your assessment of the secondary characters.
To the extent that people love this episode (and I would have counted myself in that group when it first aired) it really has to do with two factors: the cool high concept and Patrick Stewart's performance. The rest of the show is actually quite weak on execution.
Regarding the concept, I am not all that concerned about its ethical implications (I really don't see this as meaningfully analogous to "rape" sorry) but it really has so many logical holes and with the reset button structure of the show back then, it just doesn't work. This would have been far better as a two-parter.
And so we are left with Patrick Stewart, who like so much in TNG, is the Atlas holding up the weight of the show on his shoulders. Let's face it, Patrick Stewart delivers the goods on this one. But I agree 100% that Family is the better episode. The acting, the characters, the themes - that episode really works much better. Not co-incidentally, I will return to watch Family but almost never TIL, which I haven't bothered to watch in years.
Fri, Jan 10, 2020, 9:13am (UTC -6)
In Science Fiction, often the protagonist will become subject to a power so great, so beyond control, that the world as they knew is ripped away from them. In Arthur C. Clark’s 2001, for example, the ending has Bowman transcend time reverting him back into a foetus. The prospect of this experience sounds horrifying, but Bowman doesn’t die per se — he’s actually seeing Earth and space from a perspective he couldn’t dream possible. This evolution, in a way, is the explorer’s greatest wish fulfilled even if it wasn’t what they were expecting. I think that’s the point.
To speak more from a Trek angle, there’s a great episode of TOS, “Metamorphosis”, where Zefram Cochrane appears to be trapped by an entity who is keeping him eternally young but in perpetual undeath. The entity sees this is wrong, and grants Cochrane a partner that he can share the wonder of space with. It’s as if in the end, Cochrane discovered the soul of exploration instead of just walking blindly along the path.
“The Inner Light” is Picard’s Jupiter moment, it’s his metamorphosis. He’s no longer just a guy in a uniform investigating anomalies but he’s living out a whole life that he could not fathom when he began his career. I think Jason R is correct that this episode could have been given time to breathe, though the consolation prize comes in “Lessons” where we see this story’s events really do move Picard profoundly.
Fri, Jan 10, 2020, 10:33am (UTC -6)
I'd be hard pressed to think of a more actorly episode of all of Star Trek. The fact is, Ressik is not an especially interesting place; there's not a lot of world building with the people of Kataan, and I think the pastoral "praise of the simple life" thing is laid on a bit too thick, and the staging is a little flat across the board. The episode loses momentum when it cuts back to the Enterprise (the same can be said of "Darmok," another very Stewart-driven episode). I would agree that the characters around Kamin, while well-played, are a little bland and archetypical, but they're really also not meant to be interesting on the their own terms, only for how they shape Picard's experience.
Here's a question I've always had: that moment when Picard/Kamin notices that Eline's necklace looks like the probe. What is that about? It comes and goes with no obvious consequences.
Sat, Jan 11, 2020, 10:10am (UTC -6)
Sat, Jan 11, 2020, 10:57am (UTC -6)
Sat, Jan 11, 2020, 5:08pm (UTC -6)
But you spot an interesting point. Men in western society have still problems with empathy/connecting with people emotionally which leads to loneliness on a very fundamental level. Women have far less problems with that. So maybe just having an intense emotional experience speaks less to women than to current men?
Which could mean that in some way it may be overhyped but in another way it may not be.
(full disclosure. I'm drunk and cried quite a bit without any apparent reason. Do with that information what you want.:)
Sat, Jan 11, 2020, 5:42pm (UTC -6)
Sat, Jan 11, 2020, 5:53pm (UTC -6)
Sat, Jan 11, 2020, 7:16pm (UTC -6)
Far fewer problems.
Sat, Jan 11, 2020, 8:21pm (UTC -6)
I'll toss in my own anecdotal evidence, for what it's worth. I watched this one with my partner a couple months ago, as one of the first Star Trek episodes I'd ever seen. He didn't have much of an emotional reaction at all. Now, don't get me wrong, he can and does become emotionally invested, and especially when Picard's concerned. 'Family' is one of his favourites. But he wasn't invested in this one, whereas I found myself deeply affected. The final scene in particular, with Picard playing the flute and overshadowed by loss, was haunting -- it stuck with me for the rest of the night.
I know my partner's dealt with loneliness as a significant issue in his life over the years. I can't say it's ever been much of an issue for me. So in that respect, we had the opposite reactions to what you might expect.
(Not sure what I think now. There's obvious ethical issues with what Picard's put through. But regardless: strong positive first impression on a person like me.)
For reference, both my partner and myself are men, though I was raised female and have only been experiencing life as a man for the past couple of years. Suffice to say, I've had life experience from opposite sides of the spectrum.
Loneliness is certainly one aspect of this episode that people might relate to. Having a family and then losing it is another -- it's actually something that's been on my mind a lot over the past few months, for reasons I won't get into, so I don't doubt that helped my reaction. I suppose you could rephrase that as "fear of loneliness". I could also see it resonating with people's regret: that they could've lived a different life, but didn't. Picard *does* get to live a different life, and then that life vanishes as if it was his imagination. That's gotta speak to those dreaming for something different, and I imagine that's universal. Or hell, go with what Chrome's said a couple comments above: women might appreciate seeing a man show honest emotion. Anyone might, really. And TNG fans in general, who've built up an emotional relationship with this fictional character, will no doubt be able to feel for what Picard's going through.
Something else to mention regarding experiences of this episode: Picard-as-Kamin is a middle-aged man playing the role of father in a heterosexual nuclear family. Any number of those aspects of a person could be something that strengthens the personal connection. But naturally it's not only middle-aged heterosexual fathers in nuclear families that are going to be liking and appreciating this -- I mean, I'm none of the above!
So yes: it never will be as simple as "men like this" or "women don't" -- though I'll definitely grant "more men" or "more women" as possibilities. We all have a wealth of life experiences that have shaped us, and in many different ways. To harken back to Lynch's review, who knows what "personal chords" Kamin's life and story might strike?
Sun, Jan 12, 2020, 7:24am (UTC -6)
His response (copy-pasted with full permission):
"I'm biased against it because I don't like that kinda concept in media. Especially when (as is the case in Inner Light) the character that has lived a second life, or a life far longer than any normal human's, they still retain their personality and state of mind. It stretches my susension of disbelief too much. I'd expect Picard to be a very different person after at least another 20 years."
As a followup, I told him the general outline of a DS9 episode I recently watched (I'm being vague on which one for the sake of spoiler-avoidance in this comment section, but skip this paragraph if you're super-cautious). The DS9 episode I'm talking about *also* features decades of life experience being beamed into someone's head -- strongly *negative* life experience, at that -- but proceeds to spend the entire episode focusing on how it's changed the person and on that person's recovery. Partner has tried and failed to get into DS9, so hasn't seen that one and quite possibly never will, but said something like that would interest him more than 'The Inner Light' did.
So there's another perspective from someone for whom it wasn't a big hit at all.
Sun, Jan 12, 2020, 11:57am (UTC -6)
“Hard Time” is more of a PTSD metaphor where we take the most stable guy on the show and have him no longer able to enjoy that stability. It’s a very different story in that it focuses more on day-to-day grief. We mainly see how a memory violation impacts Mile’s life on DS9 with less focus on the memory itself. Both are good in their own ways, really.
Mon, Jan 13, 2020, 3:45am (UTC -6)
In social science it is basically almost always tendencies not 100% this 0% that. It is a good episode because, as pointed out, Stewart is the best actor on the show and this gives him a lot of time to shine. If you want to understand acting here is a good starting point. So my point was that Stewart's performance may resonate stronger with men because Picard is such a closed of character and getting a glimpse into this human fortress of solitude is touching, more so if you can emotionally connect with that.
@Jason
whoops, my bad.
@Fenn
What a colorful little family we are here. :)
And to you partners view. That's legit. The "it was all just a dream" fake out which this basically is can be a pretty cheap trick. Especially if it has no consequences.
Mon, Jan 13, 2020, 7:22am (UTC -6)
The other thing is that in addition to showing Jean-Luc opening up from his closed off world, it also shows him giving up some measure of control -- first he stops trying to get back to the Enterprise, then he stops trying to save his planet. It's not really a message that one should never try to do anything (!) but rather it pops because we know both how hard these things are for Jean-Luc and that he has had and will have plenty of opportunities to save humanity. There are some things beyond our control, however. Now of course here is where it's worth noting the invasive, violating element to what the probe does to Picard, and I do understand why people object. To me the episode is about what Jean-Luc gets from the experience (and the experience itself) rather than the morality of what the Ressikans did, so I think it's still meaningful to see Jean-Luc giving up some of his control in order to appreciate what he life he has.
Mon, Jan 13, 2020, 8:23am (UTC -6)
Mon, Jan 13, 2020, 12:38pm (UTC -6)
Mon, Jan 13, 2020, 12:42pm (UTC -6)
Tue, Jan 14, 2020, 3:22am (UTC -6)
Sun, Feb 23, 2020, 8:12pm (UTC -6)
Firstly, the magic space probe. They cannot invent warp drive or even a generational sub light speed colony ship but they can build a magic space probe that lasts for over a thousand years, that magically catches up to the Enterprise and is able to send a magic nucleonic beam which magically penetrates the Enterprise's shields and mind controls Picard by making him live out an entire life in 25 minutes?
NONSENSE!!!!!!!!
There is no way they could build such a magic space probe but not invent warp drive or at least build a generational colonybship. Such an assertion by the writer is ludicrous in the extreme. We could build a sublight speed colony ship TODAY if we had to. Do you see why I said thus would work only on a fantasy show?
Secondly, Picard has all his knowledge of being Captain Picard therefore INCLUDING his knowledge of how warp engines work. But never once does he propose building one to save the people? Or what about sending a message to Starfleet by building a subspace transmitter. Now I could understand if they had Picard wringing his hands over violating the Prime Directive, but the writer doesn'tbeven do that. They refuse to acknowledge this is a SCIENCE FICTION show and instead write a completely out of place drama with no payoff. A drama that only takes place because thed writer refuses to acknowledge this is az science fiction show. No, I'm not asking for a deus ex machina techno babble solution to solve the problem of the star dying, but the writer needed to at least pay respect to the setting instead of willfully ignoring it. They needed to be shown trying to create a proto warp drive engine or volony ship. Even if such an effort failed. That would at least be better than the nonsensical bs impossible magic space probe whose only purpose eaa making this not be Star Trek because the writer didn't want to lower themself to writing a science fiction story and instead just wanted to write a generic drama story. Considering the setting the drama story didn't even make sense. If the sun is dying then EVERYONE would be concerned about doing something to live. But no one cared. Everyone was more consigned to dying than the Kryptonians in Man of Steel. Except for launching that magic space probe no one seemed to care about trying to survive.
For me this is a bad episode written by a writer who didn't want to write a science fiction episode. Everything from the magic space probe to the planet dying was just the writer paying the barest lip service to the fact that this is supposed to be a science fiction show and not a fantasy show or drama. It is easy to write a story about someone starting a family, growing old and dying in order to evoke a tearful reaction from the audience and is all this writer did.
Sun, Feb 23, 2020, 9:12pm (UTC -6)
We haven't made progress in space propulsion not because we don't value space exploration but because there is no valuable progress to make. There is nothing more efficient than what we have and nothing of value that we can reach using chemical rockets. Now if Mars or Venus were second Earths that we could actually live on then we'd be colonizing them right now. But they are uninhabitable and have no valuable resources or ruins on them.
Our progress in computational technology and communications comes down to shrinking die sizes. There was room to shrink die sizes and we did so.
The areas of technologic advancement we make are determined more by the ability to make them than by a focus on making them. If exotic particles existed and could be created in useful quantities then we would be exploiting them. If we had an efficient method to reach and harvest asteroids then we would be harvesting asteroids. Resource extraction is a billion/trillion $ per year industry. If expoloiting asteroids were economically feasible it would be happening. There are trillions of dollars to be made by selling warp engines, but they are not possible except in fiction.
In Star Trek, warp drive is possible, exotic particles do exist and are exploited. The hallmark of a good science fiction story is asking, what would the world be like if this one thing were changed? What would the world be like if warp drive were possible? That is Star Trek. So asking why they did not have warp drive but did have a magic space probe is a fair question to ask.
And the answer which the fans of this episode don't want to see is becauss this writer didn't want to write a science fiction episode. They had a very generic story idea which could have bern forced onto any television show or even used as a short independent film. There was nothing Star Trek about this episode or even sci fi about thus episode. The episode wasn't even written well. Character development and drama were both lacking. As another critic ppinted out, Picard's sons character development and drama comes doen to I'm quitting school to play this flute. Picard didn't care because the writer didn't care and that character eas never seen again. The daugter gies from being 3 to suddenly being full grown. She discovers the planet is dying, that her father was lying to her, and then nothing. Thr writer didn't care about the chatacter pr thed setting. No one tries to take any action to sabe the species or themselves, they aren't even slightly worried or troubled. Nor does an impossibly long draught seem to be causing any problems. There is never talk of food shortages or rationing or even problems with water shortages. All the microbes in the soil are pronounced dead but four years later the only problem is the inconvenience of having to wear sunscreen no one puts on anyways.
I will reitetate why this is a bad episode. It is a generic drama story full of characters and events the writer didn't care about. The episode only sort of works thanks to the cheap emotional gimmicks about an old man watching everything he loved flash before his eyes as he passes on and Picard's acting talent.
In his review of Star Wars episode 1, redlettermedia posed this test: "Describe the following Star Wars characters without saying what they looked like, what kind of costume they wore, or what their profession or role on the movie was. The more descriptive they could get, the stronger the chatacter [was developed]."
I would pose the same test for the throwaway chatacters in this episode.
Wed, Mar 11, 2020, 12:18am (UTC -6)
Fri, Apr 17, 2020, 6:11am (UTC -6)
Sat, Apr 25, 2020, 11:16pm (UTC -6)
This was one of the greatest episodes in TNG. Everyone in my family enjoyed it. Jammer liked it. Every one of the reviews but yours is quite positive.
So I went through your post history. I am not sure there is an episode you did like. Seriously, you might spend your time watching another show if Star Trek isn't to your liking.
Sun, Apr 26, 2020, 9:54pm (UTC -6)
Can you say: "After this episode, Picard was a lot more open and friendly with his officers. He showed a kinder, gentler side." I can't think of any noticeable change in his character.
But if we take the premise of this episode seriously and respectfully, there should have been a MASSIVE change. He just spent something like 30 years living another life. I know that I'm not the same person that I was 30 years ago. That version of me is not ME.
But Picard is still Picard. And that makes this episode not much more significant than an extended stay on the holodeck.
Mon, May 25, 2020, 10:24pm (UTC -6)
What I like are some of the subtle cues about the drought as time goes on. When we first arrive, they're planting the tree, they have dark soil/mulch, and there's vines and other plants growing up the buildings and flowers in small planting beds, it's all actually rather lush. Five years in their symbolic tree is larger and thriving, though there's no more flowers around and the other plants look a bit more weedy. Once we get to baby Batai's naming ceremony the vines are dead and the planting beds are empty and barren, with what little decent soil was left presumably salvaged for crops. By the time the administrator comes for his last visit, the symbolic tree is dead. At the last jump, when they go to see the missile launch, they turned up the intensity of the sun a good bit as well, making it a harsher hotter and more blue color. All great touches.
Tue, May 26, 2020, 2:19am (UTC -6)
Tue, May 26, 2020, 12:17pm (UTC -6)
Directed by Peter Lauritson
Cinematography by Marvin Rush - director of photography
Production Design by Richard D. James
Set Decoration by Jim Mees
Art Department
Jason German - props
Andy Neskoromny - assistant art director
Gary Speckman - set designer
Rick Sternbach - senior illustrator
Cari Thomas - scenic artist
Herman Zimmerman - original set designer
Ed Miarecki - props (uncredited)
Michael W. Moore - props (uncredited)
William Peets - chief lighting technician
Sat, Sep 19, 2020, 8:17am (UTC -6)
This is so affecting. The masterstroke of this one is that Picard comes to accept and embrace his new life. He even has children that he can't imagine being without, and the moment he suggests a nursery to his wife was a real jaw-dropper for me. One can imagine that in a TOS story, Kirk would have fought against his illusion until he found some way out of it, probably by blowing up a computer somewhere.
There are of course some problems with this episode. I'm loath to write about them because despite them, this TNG story was absolutely fantastic telly.
But anyway -
The civilisation on the doomed planet seems quite simple, almost even agrarian. No dramatic cityscapes with pointy towers, no replicators, or transporters, etc.
They do have missile technology, we learn, but only just. How do they build a probe capable of identifying a passing space vessel then beaming a 30-year 3D reality into a starship captain's brain?
Picard must bring knowledge of his life in Starfleet to his new life. There must be a definitive way, via understanding perhaps of technology they don't have, to establish that he is Not Of Their World. Yet over time he seems almost to accept that his former life was a delusion .. or does he? It's never quite clear.
Surely after losing his new life, the old one would almost be as hard to accept, all those years later, as his life as Kamin was, when he wakes up on the doomed planet. One can imagine him raging against it .. no .. NO this is just an old dream! But he adapts very quickly.
It occurred to me that to make a man lose his wife, friends and children, real to him albeit actually an illusion, is actually an abuse. But then again - even in the illusion, they are doomed by their planet's star. Perhaps that's the point. Millions of the planets inhabitants lost their lives and families.
It crossed my mind that a nice touch might have been for someone to retrieve the program from the probe, and extract its data to make a holodeck program from it. But on further consideration - no. The finality and the loss of that society makes the story more emotional.
Anyway. That last scene, with Batai and his family gently explaining to Picard the meaning of the apparent last few decades of his life is really haunting.
Bravo.
Tue, Oct 6, 2020, 1:57pm (UTC -6)
Sun, Oct 18, 2020, 1:58am (UTC -6)
Before Picard debuted earlier this year, I made a list of TNG episodes to revisit with my wife, who had rarely seen any Star Trek. I wanted her to have a good idea of who Picard was and what experiences had shaped him. I think of all the episodes, this one affected her most. Heck, I think this one affected me most.
For the record, that list of pre-Picard revisit episodes also included Skin of Evil, The Measure of a Man, Best of Both Worlds 1 and 2, Family, The Drumhead, Tapestry and All Good Things.
I love that the lullaby played by Kamin's son made it back to become part of the opening theme for Picard. It's such a lovely piece of music.
Oof. That final scene. Frakes is so underrated as an actor. By this point, the TNG main cast was really doing well with each other. Frakes and Stewart convey so much without saying a word before Picard takes the flute out. What a great performance by both men.
One of TNG's finest hours, and one of Trek's finest hours. If I need to be a crying mess, I'll put this episode and The Visitor on back-to-back.
Wed, Oct 28, 2020, 9:48am (UTC -6)
Sun, Dec 13, 2020, 6:45pm (UTC -6)
>In reality there is no warp drive. Chemical based liquid fuel rockets are the limit. Getting into space is difficult, expensive and risky. And there is nothing of value out there even when we do expend the incredibly huge amount of resources to do so. We have, barring a complete breakthrough that will upend our knowledge of the universe, reached the limit in space propulsion technology and it is hopelessly inadequate to do anything worthwhile with.
How can you be so sure? How do you know that what ever we evolve in to in a million years time won't discover a new form of propulsion? What about in a 100 million years? There could be life on other planets even if it's very primitive. Anyway. The whole point of the episode is to experience the sadness that emerges from knowing that one day our civilization will be extinguished and be forgotten. How ever there's a tiny bit of hope may be some small part of our lives, our culture, will live on.
It's for that reason that I award The Inner Light a 9/10.
Mon, Dec 14, 2020, 12:10pm (UTC -6)
There's also huge value out in space, even just the nearest reaches of our solar system. The moon may have vast stores of helium 3 which is incredibly valuable for fusion power. Small asteroids are worth hundreds or thousands of trillions of dollars for their metal content alone. We don't even need warp drive to get these things, we just need to innovate beyond chemical rockets, which isn't that difficult considering how far we've come already. Orbital slings, ion propulsion, solar sails, nuclear propulsion are all in the works.
Mon, Dec 14, 2020, 12:33pm (UTC -6)
Just because something might not violate the laws of physics as we understand it doesn't mean it is possible, let alone that it will ever happen.
"There's also huge value out in space, even just the nearest reaches of our solar system. The moon may have vast stores of helium 3 which is incredibly valuable for fusion power."
What? What form of fusion power generation uses helium?
"Small asteroids are worth hundreds or thousands of trillions of dollars for their metal content alone. We don't even need warp drive to get these things, we just need to innovate beyond chemical rockets, which isn't that difficult considering how far we've come already. Orbital slings, ion propulsion, solar sails, nuclear propulsion are all in the works."
Sounds to me like the next big 2020 tech ipo. Just photo your sailboat on a space background, call it a "solar sail starship" and take some preorders. Should be valued at least 50 billion in today's market.
Mon, Dec 14, 2020, 2:09pm (UTC -6)
"What? What form of fusion power generation uses helium?"
Deuterium-Helium (D/He-3) fusion. In many ways this is the ideal fusion reaction: It requires lower temperatures than ordinary fusion, generates 4-5 times as much energy, and produces no neutrons (meaning a cleaner reaction and a more efficient use of the energy).
The only reason nobody uses it today, is that Helium-3 is practically nonexistent on earth.
Mon, Dec 14, 2020, 6:07pm (UTC -6)
Tue, Dec 15, 2020, 12:51am (UTC -6)
When people talk about "traditional" fusion reactions, they can mean one of two things:
1. Fusion of pure deuterium (D/D)
2. Fusion of deuterium with tritium (D/T).
When you hear of fusion as a clean cheap energy source, that's the first option. Deuterium is dirt cheap, and it can be extracted from ordinary water.
Current fusion prototypes, though, mostly use the second option. It "ignites" at a far lower temperature than either D/D or He-3/D fusion, which explains the fact you've quoted from that wiki article. It's neither clean or cheap, though, because tritium is manufactured in fission nuclear reactors and it costs about a million bucks per ounce.
Tue, Dec 15, 2020, 4:12am (UTC -6)
I gather they plan to breed the tritium in the fusion reactor itself with some kind of envelope that produces tritium as a byproduct when it's bombarded with neutron radiation from the fusion reaction. Reminds me of a story I read about a Soviet nuclear reactor where they discovered some casing had been transmuted into gold over time- *radioactive* gold!!
This is all hypothetical of course since no one actually has ever built a working fusion reactor. We are still at the science experiment stage of the technology which is why I guess they are going with the less challenging formula. Fusion is nut-bustingly impossible enough on easy mode - no need to get fancy.
Tue, Dec 15, 2020, 2:32pm (UTC -6)
As for breeding tritium: perhaps.
If we ever find an efficient way to breed tritium, though, then we've automatically found a cheap way to manufacture He-3. There would be no longer a need to go to the moon to fetch it. Just take a flask of tritium and wait for a few years. It naturally decays to He-3 :-)
Tue, Dec 15, 2020, 5:45pm (UTC -6)
And none of them actually generate any electricity. They are basically just science experiments. Even ITER, the big project of a multibillion dollar international consortium (which might be online by the 2040s at this rate lol) is just a science experiment that will never so much as turn on a lightbulb. I sometimes wonder if nuclear fusion will ever happen. People are always so certain that human ingenuity will find a way. We will see. I hope so.
Thu, Feb 25, 2021, 8:39pm (UTC -6)
The Inner Light
Without going out of my door,
I can know all things on earth
without looking out of my window,
I can know the ways of heaven.
The farther one travels
the less one knows
the less one really knows.
Without going out of your door,
You can know all things on earth
without looking out of your window,
you can know the ways of heaven.
The farther one travels
the less one knows
the less one really knows.
Arrive without travelling,
See all without looking,
Do all without doing.
Another thing that is a big tipoff was the fact that Picard's best friend on the planet was named Patay. The word Patay is Tagalog for dead. So they are telling you that he is dead. I don't think anyone caught this either. I wouldn't have known it but for the fact that I have spent time in the Philippines and know a bit of the language.
Greg
Fri, Feb 26, 2021, 4:44am (UTC -6)
By the way, amazing catch on both items. After all these years I am amazed no one else on this board mentioned either one.
Fri, Feb 26, 2021, 8:53am (UTC -6)
Seems like you're stretching...
Fri, Feb 26, 2021, 9:36am (UTC -6)
Fri, Feb 26, 2021, 10:37am (UTC -6)
Well, then they REALLY tipped their hand because "Batai" is the Tagalog word for "Ancient artifact generated best buddy of a flute playing member of an alien race that's been dead for a thousand years."
Surprised no one has picked up on that before.
Fri, Feb 26, 2021, 12:08pm (UTC -6)
Fri, Feb 26, 2021, 12:18pm (UTC -6)
Well then they really dropped the ball as Picard wasn't a member of an alien race that's been dead for a thousand years.
Fri, Feb 26, 2021, 12:41pm (UTC -6)
ELINE: "The rest of us have been gone for a thousand years. If you remember what we were, and how we lived, then we'll have found life again."
Fri, Feb 26, 2021, 1:01pm (UTC -6)
Only in the sense that Data became Sherlock Holmes on the holodeck.
Fri, Feb 26, 2021, 1:05pm (UTC -6)
Fri, Feb 26, 2021, 1:20pm (UTC -6)
Fri, Feb 26, 2021, 5:08pm (UTC -6)
The truth points to itself.
Tue, Mar 30, 2021, 3:06pm (UTC -6)
Sat, Apr 10, 2021, 7:30pm (UTC -6)
I just wanted to say that I appreciate these reviews greatly....though it makes me a bit sad to see more thoughtful replies 10 or 12 years ago and then a bit more impatient and mocking in tone nowdays (with some exceptions).
anyway, a thank you to you, Mr Jammer.
Sat, Jul 17, 2021, 5:23pm (UTC -6)
The perfect episode. Go well.
Sat, Aug 21, 2021, 1:00pm (UTC -6)
I saw this ep for the first time when I was 10-12 or so and I'm now in my mid-30's and I never forgot this line. It's so true, and makes you sad about all the time in your youth you'll never have again
Tue, Aug 24, 2021, 1:08am (UTC -6)
So, it's certainly right that we acknowledge this is an issue, but in judging the episode as a whole, if we don't bear in mind the times in which it was produced, we make the de facto argument that we should throw out three-quarters of all art produced before, oh, let's say 1999, and brace ourselves for our grandchildren to reject and condemn the art we make today, because something we don't even think about now will be considered barbaric and hateful by then.
It's perhaps a better idea to take these things with a grain of common sense. How much of Bill Cosby's work do we exile from our culture is not in the same realm as how we view what happens to Picard. Nobody is saying it is, of course; this is just an illustrative example. And we want to start being mindful of this, because trust me, some day, we're going to be taken to task for, say, how often we turn the sexual assault of men into a punchline in our "modern" culture, or some other example I can't even conceive of right now, but will be considered as bad as we're seeing past offenses today.
Sat, Oct 9, 2021, 2:55am (UTC -6)
Jammer’s review expresses it all perfectly and there’s little to add. There is the paradox of course - the ‘chicken or egg’ of how Picard as Kaman designs a probe 1000 years in the past in order to reach Picard as Picard on the Enterprise. It’s an insoluble riddle, but for once it doesn’t matter. The story’s the thing and the story’s perfect.
A simply beautiful episode and once again - 5 stars.
Sun, Dec 12, 2021, 1:25pm (UTC -6)
I would just have had them beam the thing onboard and then had it accost Picard in the cargo bay or something - sort of like how Sisko would get mind raped from time to time by ancient Bajoran relics. Quite a bit more plausible that way.
Mon, Jan 17, 2022, 6:34pm (UTC -6)
[[In the coda, Eline tells Picard that they've "been dead a thousand years". How did they know how much time passed between when the civilization ended and when the Enterprise found their probe? And what's a year? It would have to be a Kataanian year, because they'd have no idea how long a terrestrial year is.]]
These are excellent points.
What happened after Picard realized he was/would be the person the probe found? Did the simulation end, or did Kamin live another few years and then die with everyone else in the supernova?
Tue, Jan 18, 2022, 9:54am (UTC -6)
To the first question I imagine the probe is equipped with a clock.
To the second, if the probe has access to Picard's mind (which it surely does) then it would know all that and much more.
Let's face it, everything about this probe is ridiculously implausible. The time thing doesn't even rank.
Tue, Jan 18, 2022, 3:50pm (UTC -6)
Thu, May 19, 2022, 10:51am (UTC -6)
It also didn't make a whole lot of sense how a civilization that was supposedly so scientifically undeveloped managed to create a device that penetrated Enterprise's shields and created a complex neural pathway to Picard. Surely they would have been able to figure out SOME way of preserving themselves or continuing their life form...
That aside, a superlative episode. One of the best, from start to finish, even though it was pretty obvious what was happening from the beginning. Surprisingly moving, too, particularly the final 5-10 minutes. A well-deserved four stars.
(BTW, didn't Voyager have something similar? I'm positive I watched something somewhere on this same kind of theme/idea.)
Thu, May 19, 2022, 10:55am (UTC -6)
Phew!
I thought I was getting soft!
But, no, seriously: A show that manages to provoke such strong emotions in me and make me think about the bigger things than that particular episode-hour come along very rarely. This is the only episode of Star Trek that did it. Battlestar Galactica did it quite often, which is why it remains my forever favorite sci-fi show, hands-down.
Thu, May 19, 2022, 7:50pm (UTC -6)
>Anyone else find it annoying that Worf is this two-dimensional caricature of a hawkish meat
Worf the Eternal Jobber, as some fans say.
>(BTW, didn't Voyager have something similar? I'm positive I viewed something somewhere upon this same kind of theme/idea.)
https://www.jammersreviews.com/st-voy/s6/memorial.php
Mon, Jun 20, 2022, 10:20pm (UTC -6)
Mon, Jun 20, 2022, 10:47pm (UTC -6)
Tue, Jun 21, 2022, 1:26pm (UTC -6)
Nah, I don't have the show available to me right this moment, but I think there's a commercial break after the bridge scene, which in this episode always heralds an unseen passage of time. So I figure he took ill during the party, and he recovered, but then we just don't see the next decade and a half like at every other break.
Since Picard experienced roughly 40 years in a matter of about 25 minutes, that's 1.6 years per minute, so it's possible Picard/Kamin was out of commission for many months to a year or so, but it's also possible the simulation just paused until his brainwaves stabilized.
Wed, Aug 3, 2022, 2:22am (UTC -6)
My thoughts to explain this are that Kataan was actually much more advanced when their civilization died as presented in the episode. I would imagine if our culture were to be near its end, and we wanted another species to know us through a lived experience, we would try and recreate a time and place that represents the most truthful and romantically ideal aspects of who we are. Kataan decided a family life in a loving community from a certain time in their past was the ideal they wanted to present to the universe. I Imagine the probe has many detailed records of what exactly transpired in their civilization before the end, but the experience Picard was given was meant to reflect the living essence of a best kind of Kataanian experience. Kataan at the time of its demise was likely an advanced pre-warp society capable of AI and higher level brain - computer interfaces. Their society came from an agrarian background, and that is the experience they felt was the best to present to universe.
But who cares. I love this episode so much for it's human emotional content. I watch it almost every year and I cry each time.
Wed, Aug 3, 2022, 3:24am (UTC -6)
Wed, Aug 3, 2022, 9:22am (UTC -6)
I really like your theory and what you suggest it is saying of the Kataanian decision on what memories they chose to impart to Picard. (And perhaps the analogy to the various human civilizations over the ages).
"I would imagine if our culture were to be near its end, and we wanted another species to know us through a lived experience, we would try and recreate a time and place that represents the most truthful and romantically ideal aspects of who we are."
Indeed. So then it would make sense to me that it would not be their most technologically advanced period. It would come from a far more simpler time where certain universal values were more cherished -- in their case, that agrarian society.
It's amazing how much depth this episode has.
Wed, Aug 3, 2022, 9:39am (UTC -6)
So I think we have to take it as a "warts and all" depiction of how they dithered and failed to act until it was far too late.
But obviously they were also trying to present positive aspects about their civilization and culture, so maybe they could still be presenting the "story" in a more agrarian form.
Another possibility, as long as we are spitballing. There are still millions of people in India who don't even have access to an outhouse, never mind an actual flush toilet. Yet India also has a space program. So not everyone on a planet is necessarily going to represent the peak level of technological sophistication that may exist elsewhere.
Wed, Aug 3, 2022, 11:29am (UTC -6)
As I recall we later learn that the government had confirmed Kamin's research years ago and their seeming indifference was just a facade to avoid starting a panic. If you accept the premise that there was nothing to be done about the problem then it's not completely unreasonable. I am not sure this suggests a negative portrayal.
Personally, I like the theory that Picard was being shown an idealized version of the society. I also think the possibility that they were more technologically advanced than the memories beamed into Picard's head suggested is interesting.
As I said earlier I am still troubled by how the probe was able to casually punch through the Enterprise's shields and accost him directly on the bridge. For a prewar culture this is laughable.
That said I doubt that any of this was the intent of the writers. It is maddening that they didn't just have the probe accost Picard in the cargo bay or something because that might have filled some of these plot holes.
But anyway, it's still a classic episode.
Thu, Aug 4, 2022, 12:22am (UTC -6)
Thanks for the compliments! Funny how on a drive on the highway the other day I just started imagining alternative Star Trek plots and this idea came up.
I think Kataan sort of created a "historical fiction" narrative for Picard. Having the probe launch / planetary death be a part of Picard's story on Kataan would perhaps help him become the best and most emotionally invested ambassador he could be for a dead culture. Having the end of the world scenario allowed Picar to become emotionally attached to the planet's tragedy as well as the family values cherished by Kataanians. I would also imagine the maker of the probe wanted some realism to not break the reality, but a gentle realism, hence the mild politician.
As for the shields thing, not sure I could explain that. Perhaps probe's tech was just new to the enterprise and so it got through once as a fluke because it was a new encounter with alien tech. Maybe Worf wasn't on his A-game. Who knows.
Let's keep digging for answers to make this the perfect episode.
Thu, Aug 4, 2022, 4:07am (UTC -6)
Sat, Nov 19, 2022, 4:09pm (UTC -6)
Wed, Jan 11, 2023, 11:56pm (UTC -6)
Thu, Jan 12, 2023, 8:10am (UTC -6)
"Something I want to add, does anyone else feel Patrick Stewart's portrayal of captain Picard mellowed out after this episode? "
I think that you may be onto something. For one thing, he discovered his love of music on Kataan. That was carried forward in a good number of episodes late in the series. It added a layer to his cultivated and benevolent personna.
Wed, Apr 26, 2023, 1:38am (UTC -6)
Wed, Apr 26, 2023, 7:21pm (UTC -6)
It's the most depressing episode of all of Trek, knowing everything I care about will be lost in time really gets me.
Sun, Apr 30, 2023, 10:40pm (UTC -6)
I thought this was a worthy addition to this discussion.
Sun, Apr 30, 2023, 10:45pm (UTC -6)
Should have spoken to him, but didn't.
Mon, Jul 31, 2023, 11:43am (UTC -6)
Fri, Sep 29, 2023, 11:51am (UTC -6)
This sort of brought up a different issue, which is which other parts of Picard's life and knowledge did he bring or not bring into this new society? Obviously he was doing scientific research and teaching the same to his daughter, and yet despite not being an engineer I imagine he had sufficient technical knowledge to create advanced tools, like maybe communicators or weapons of some kind. Since he did apparently retain all of Jean-Luc's knowledge, my only conclusion is that he refrained from sharing any Federation technology with them, in order to adhere to the PD. Granted, this is really off-topic to the intention of the story, but the fact that he was at minimum doing soil sample research shows that he still had his knowledge even if he was keeping his methods to himself.
Fri, Sep 29, 2023, 1:19pm (UTC -6)
I hear this a lot, and it puzzles me. How could Picard possibly build anything without the sophisticated manufacturing abilities and supply chains from an already advanced civilization? Put the world's 1,000 smartest people on an uninhabited island and they won't be able to build an iPhone no matter how much they may know about how it works.
Or to put it another way, say you're transported back to the stone age. You may know that iron, carbon, and chromium make high quality steel, but do you know where there's a deposit of iron ore to mine? Do you even have the tools to mine it? Do you have fuel that gets hot enough to smelt the ore, and vessels that can withstand that melted ore without melting themselves? All this just to make a metal chisel or hammer, let alone an actual machine. A lot of technology is required to already exist if you want to make more advanced technology.
In the late 1830s James Harrison, a Scotsman who emigrated to Australia, tried to build a refrigeration machine, but he couldn't get one working until 1851 due to what he described as "inferior colonial workmanship." If they couldn't get a simple vapor compression system to work in such an environment, imagine trying to build a computer chip with all the sophisticated metallurgy, photolithography, chemical vapor deposition, thermal annealing, chemical polishing, and electroplating requirements, all of which require extremely sensitive clean rooms. We can't even design computer chips without computers anymore, they're too complicated to lay out on room-sized pieces of paper like they used to do in the 1960s.
In Picard's case, he'd be trying to make 24th century technology with the equivalent of mid-20th century resources. That would be like us trying to build a computer chip in the 1600s. I'd say it's about right that after 40 years he was able to do little more than confirm the sun is dying, without ever actually figuring out where in the galaxy he is. All he has to go on is a telescope and whatever star charts the Kataanians have made. He has nothing to cross-reference other than what's in his memory.
Fri, Sep 29, 2023, 1:26pm (UTC -6)
I agree that would be true now. Now engineering could produce a microchip all alone with no equipment or staff. But something about the 24th century knowledge (or Trek knowledge in general) seems to suggest that they understand fundamentals way better than we do. Spock and Data in turn both created fairly sophisticated equipment using far inferior technology as a basis. And the people of Kataan clearly do have some electronic technology already; they're not a bronze age civilization by any means. That being said, Picard isn't Spock or Data, but on the other hand these Captains do seem to have more technical knowledge than we might expect at first glance. In the Doomsday Machine we see Kirk repairing the Constellation all by himself; Picard seems at times to have an excellent grasp of various technical details about not only the ship but the physics interactions exterior to the ship. And Sisko, to cite another example, worked at a shipyard for years and so seems to know a great deal about starship engineering.
All this to say, I expected that Picard could have jury-rigged some devices had he seen fit to do so, but (a) this was not in the spirit of the episode, which was about him settling into family life, and (b) as I mentioned before would have been a PD violation, at least if he let anyone see his inventions.
Fri, Sep 29, 2023, 1:26pm (UTC -6)
Sat, Sep 30, 2023, 9:50am (UTC -6)
Sat, Sep 30, 2023, 11:12am (UTC -6)
Maybe in the most basic sense, but I'm still highly skeptical. As I mentioned before, knowledge is one thing, but resource and processing availability is another. Fixing something is easier than trying to build it out of scratch for sure, but even in Voyager's episode "Muse", B'Elanna couldn't fix the shuttle with the gold plate she got from her ancient Greek era playwright because it had too many impurities. She had no ability to make that herself either.
In a similar vein, Doc Brown couldn't fix the Delorean's time circuits in 1885 because a suitable replacement part wouldn't be invented until 1947. Even then his replacement for a microchip the size of a small USB thumb drive is a suitcase-sized contraption with vacuum tubes, huge coils, transformers, and bulky capacitors.
Yes it would seem that Kataan has technology equivalent to that of the 1930s to 1960s (Picard is there a good 30 years after all), automatic doors excepted. On the other hand, Ressik the town is pretty small and isolated, with no apparent industry or major transportation systems. So Picard's access to the technology that may have been available was even more limited.
Fri, Oct 13, 2023, 3:10pm (UTC -6)
Tue, Nov 14, 2023, 6:56pm (UTC -6)
Like I said, I thought it was great for the most part, well acted by all and well written. But those last couple of scenes kinda ruined it for me, or at least lessened the impact of what could have been a powerful episode. The same is true for the last episode of Voyager. They finally get home, and then "boom" the episode ends.
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