star trek next generation angel one cast

Angel One (episode)

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While Riker leads an away team to a female-dominated planet, a mysterious virus spreads among the Enterprise crew.

• 1.2 Act One
• 1.3 Act Two
• 1.4 Act Three
• 1.5 Act Four
• 1.6 Act Five
• 1.7 Log entry
• 2 Memorable quotes
• 3.1 Production history
• 3.2 Story and production
• 3.3 Cast and characters
• 3.4 Props and sets
• 3.5 Continuity
• 3.6 Reception
• 3.7 Video and DVD releases
• 4.1 Starring
• 4.2 Also starring
• 4.3 Guest stars
• 4.4 Co-star
• 4.5 Uncredited co-stars
• 4.6 Stand-ins
• 4.7 References
• 4.8 Deleted references
• 4.9 External links

Summary [ ]

The USS Enterprise -D has discovered the wreckage of the Odin , a freighter that disappeared seven years earlier . It was disabled by a collision with an asteroid , and there are no life signs on board, but three escape pods have been discovered missing. The Enterprise travels to Angel I , the nearest class M planet, to search for the freighter's survivors. Angel I is a female-dominated society , ruled by six elected mistresses and a leader known simply as "the Elected One ". It has been 62 years since the last Federation contact with the planet .

The Enterprise hails the planet, and Captain Picard suggests Troi speak with the Elected One, Mistress Beata . Although initially wary, she agrees to let an away team beam down to visit the planet.

Act One [ ]

" The away team's ready, sir. "

As the away team heads for the transporter room, they encounter Wesley and a friend entering the holodeck for a skiing lesson in the Denubian Alps . The away team of Data , Riker , Troi, and Yar beam down to the planet, where they meet with Beata and ask about any survivors that might be on the planet. Still suspicious, she asks why they are only coming now, and Troi explains that the Enterprise 's discovery of the freighter was unexpected. Their only purpose in coming is to simply find any survivors and bring them home to their families. Another member of the council, Ariel , expresses her misgivings, and Beata refuses to tell them if there are survivors. Instead, Beata's male servant, Trent , takes them to another room where they will stay until summoned. Troi reckons that Beata's refusal to tell them about the survivors confirms that there are in fact survivors.

Petitioning the Mistresses

Back on the Enterprise , Picard tells Worf in the turbolift that all department heads will have to prepare for a trip to the Neutral Zone when the away team returns, as Romulan battle cruisers have been detected near one of the Federation's border posts. As they pass the holodeck, they are hit by a snowball thrown by Wesley. Picard scolds him. He also detects an unusual smell that Worf identifies as Night-Blooming Throgni , a Klingon scent.

Data is investigating some perfume when Trent returns to bring them back to the council chambers. Beata tells them that, although the decision was not unanimous, they have decided to tell them about the survivors. She says there were four of them, and their leader is a man named Ramsey . However, they are now fugitives in hiding: some time after arriving on Angel I, they started to abuse the hospitality they received and began to cause trouble. She warns Troi that they are dangerous.

Act Two [ ]

" …it's kind of sexy! "

Meanwhile, Dr. Crusher tells Picard that Wes and his friend are sick with a respiratory ailment. She is, however, working on a vaccine . On the planet, Data suggests that they can locate the survivors by searching for platinum , an element not found on Angel I, but which would have been brought by the survivors. Data asks La Forge to break orbit and to begin the search. Riker is brought an outfit worn by the men of the planet, as he wants to wear it when he meets Beata, to impress her by wearing indigenous apparel. Troi and Yar find his appearance wearing the outfit hilarious, however.

Dr. Crusher examines Captain Picard in his ready room . She pronounces him unfit for command and orders him to bed. He relents and tells La Forge while stumbling to the turbolift that he has command. La Forge sits in the captain's chair , and Worf tells him the platinum has been located on the planet. Riker meets with Beata and tells her the Enterprise has found the location of the survivors. Ariel is still suspicious and tells Riker this, then she storms out. Riker waits with Beata and tells Yar to begin the search. She, Data, and Troi beam to the location of the platinum, a cave mouth, where they meet a man who says he's been expecting them.

Act Three [ ]

Crusher tells La Forge there are 82 more cases of the virus and she's converted a holodeck to deal with it. Worf then leaves the bridge to go to sickbay . Meanwhile, Yar tells Ramsey how they found him, and tells him they're bringing him home. He shocks them by telling them he doesn't want to leave as he and the others are happy. They have wives and in some cases children.

Diplomatic courtesy

Beata tells Riker that Ramsey and his friends are anarchists and outlaws. She starts flirting with him, and as they start to kiss, Trent walks in with a present that Riker has brought for her. He shows her the Albeni meditation crystal , before they get back to kissing. Ramsey tells the rest of the away team that at first, they thought Angel I was great, but then they saw how the men had no respect and were discriminated against. When they spoke out, they were forced to become fugitives. He refuses to leave, and Data adds that they can't force him, as he and his crew are not members of Starfleet , nor do they have to obey the Prime Directive . Crusher tells La Forge there are more sick than beds, and he remarks they'd be seriously undermanned if they were forced to take action against the Romulans.

Yar contacts La Forge, asking to beam the three of them to their previous location, where they will regroup with Riker and return to the ship. He informs them that one-third of the crew has been infected and more Romulan vessels are converging in the Neutral Zone. Ramsey won't tell them how he knew they were coming, but after they beam away, Ariel comes out of the cave and kisses him.

Riker is with Beata when Trent enters and tells her that the away team hasn't got the survivors. Yar fills in Riker, and then Beata says she is forced to sentence the survivors to death.

Act Four [ ]

Sick aboard ship

Dr. Crusher visits Picard in his quarters to give him some medicine and notices the same odor that Picard smelled at the holodeck. She realizes that the virus is caused by an airborne particle whose sweet scent induces deep inhalation and that this is the way the virus spreads. Down on the planet, Data tells Riker that seven Romulan battle cruisers are now in the vicinity of the outpost, and the USS Berlin has responded to the distress call. However, the presence of the Enterprise is still regarded as a vital show of strength by Starfleet.

Beata brings in Ramsey and his crew, whom she found by having Ariel followed. She tells Riker that the fugitives are to be executed tomorrow. Riker is outraged and asks her for another chance to convince Ramsey to leave with them. She agrees, but Ramsey still won't go. Riker wants to beam them aboard anyway, against their will, in violation of regulations. However, Dr. Crusher won't allow anyone to come aboard the ship. La Forge has succumbed to the virus, and she can't find a cure. Riker orders Data to beam up and take the Enterprise to the Neutral Zone before it is too late.

Act Five [ ]

Data in command

The next day, Trent invites them to come to the execution. Data contacts them and says they still have time for Dr. Crusher to develop a vaccine before their ship has to leave for the Neutral Zone: 47 minutes to be exact. Riker agrees to attend the execution, which will be carried out by disintegrating the fugitives . Riker makes a speech about how Beata is trying to hold back evolution , which can't be done, and warns her that she'll just make a martyr out of Ramsey. At the last second, she relents and adjourns to reconsider. Crusher informs Data that she has devised an inoculant. Data then informs Riker that the Enterprise is ready for the away team to return. Riker instructs Data to maintain a lock on the away team and Ramsey's group but to stand by for further instructions. Beata then returns and says she's decided to stay the executions, and she exiles Ramsey and his followers to a remote region. It's not quite as hospitable as the rest of the planet, but she is confident that if they work hard, they can make a life for themselves… and be free to live as they please.

The away team returns to the Enterprise and is inoculated by Dr. Crusher against the virus. Captain Picard, although hoarse, has returned to the bridge , and the ship heads for the Neutral Zone.

Log entry [ ]

• Captain's log, USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D), 2364

Memorable quotes [ ]

" I think I may sneeze. " " A Klingon sneeze? " " Only kind I know. "

" Ever feel like you're not really wanted? "

" Save us some deep powder. " " No problem, sir. The holodecks have all you'll ever need. "

" Engineering reports computer ma… ah… ACHOO!! …I'm sorry, I'm getting sick. " " I'm sure half the ship knows that by now. "

" On the Enterprise , Mr. Crusher, nothing just happens! "

" Make it so! "

" You can't rescue a man from what he calls his home. "

" It looks horrible, tastes worse, but it's absolutely guaranteed to make you feel better. "

" I must say, Commander, it looks kinda sexy! " " Thank you. Actually, it feels quite comfortable."

(hoarsely) " Mr. Data, set course for the Neutral Zone. Warp six. " " Coordinates set. Warp six, on your mark, sir. " (inaudibly) " Engage. " " Sir? " (Picard turns to Riker, who gives the order) " Engage. "

" We have determined that the heretical teachings of Ramsey and his followers are inconsistent with harmonious life on Angel I. Our patient efforts to silence revolutionary voices have failed. Therefore, we are left with none but the most final alternative. " (Trent demonstrates the device used on Angel I for executions, vaporizing a vase) " As you can see, we are not without compassion. Your deaths will be swift and painless. "

" After careful consideration this legislature has voted to stay the executions of the prisoners. Their children will be returned to them immediately. Do not rejoice prematurely. Ramsey and his followers are to be exiled to a distant and unpopulated region. Life will be difficult there, with little time for revolutionary or evolutionary upheaval. As some have observed we may not be able to stop evolution, but perhaps we can reduce it to a slow crawl. (aside) For a man, you can be very clever, Commander Riker."

Background information [ ]

Production history [ ].

The final draft script

• Revised second draft script: 30 October 1987
• Final draft script: 4 November 1987
• Revised final draft script: 9 November 1987 [1]
• Filmed: 11 November 1987 – 19 November 1987
• Premiere airdate: 25 January 1988
• UK Premiere airdate on BBC2 : 9 January 1991

Story and production [ ]

• In Patrick Barry 's original story, Beata was named "Victoria" and she imprisoned Riker after he directly addressed her and then touched her hand. Tasha Yar stunned Riker to prevent him being killed and then took over command of the away team. In this version, Captain Picard was the only person aboard the Enterprise -D who was affected by the virus. The male slaves started a revolution, led by Lucas Jones , who was killed. ( Creating the Next Generation , p. 52)
• An early story meeting about this episode was attended by Patrick Barry, Gene Roddenberry , and Herbert J. Wright . Wright was wary that the concept of a matriarchal society had been too overdone. " So one of the major issues that we didn't want to do was an Amazon Women kind of thing where the women are six feet tall with steel D cups, " he recalled. " I said, 'The hit I want to take on this is apartheid, so that the men are treated as though they are blacks of South Africa. Make it political. Sexual overtones, yes, but political.' Well, that didn't last very long. Everything that Gene got involved with had to have sex in it. It's so perverse that it's hard to believe. The places it was dragged into is absurd. We were talking about how women would react, and Gene was voicing all the right words again, saying, 'Oh, yes, we've got to make sure that women are represented fairly, because, after all, women are probably the superior sex anyway, and it's real important we don't get letters from feminists, because we want to be fair and we don't want to infer that women have to rule by force if they do rule, because men don't have to rule by force.' Very sensible stuff. All of a sudden something kicks in and he changes: 'However, we also don't want to infer that it would be a better society if women ruled.' " His voice becoming increasingly louder, Roddenberry continued that this was because women were untrustworthy, "vicious creatures," which he angrily blurted out in a torrent of hateful verbiage. Concluded Wright, " Then he looks out the window, looks at the outline, and says, 'Okay, on page eight…' and continues like that didn't even happen. " ( The Fifty-Year Mission: The Next 25 Years , p. 83)
• In November 1987 , production was shut down for a few days because the script of this episode wasn't available yet. This was the first of two occasions in TNG Season 1 when production was stopped for a few days due to the unavailability of scripts (the other being for " The Arsenal of Freedom "). ( Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Continuing Mission , p. 56)
• Wesley Crusher had two friends who accompany him to his ski trip on the holodeck, which was to the Swiss Alps instead of the Denubian Alps .
• In this script version no Romulan was mentioned being a threat. The heading for the Enterprise -D was the Avastam Triangle where a Federation outpost was surrounded by seven Ferengi battle cruisers.
• Following their first visit on the planet's surface, the away team was invited to an evening meal. This was also the time Riker and Troi delivered their gift, the Albeni meditation crystal.
• During the evening meal, Data sat next to Mistress Di who would later bring him to a separate room and a terminal where he could study the history of Angel I. She also tried to seduce him and kissed him.
• Ramsey and fellow survivors were not hiding in this version. There was only one survivor, Ramsey, and he was a prisoner of Beata. A guard brought him into the evening meal, restrained, at the order of Beata. Ramsey tried to knock one of the guards down and was himself knocked to the ground. When Tasha scanned him with a tricorder, she tried to calm him down and told him that they'd bring him home, but Ramsey responded that this is his home.
• Wesley and his two friends were treated in sickbay because of their viral infection. Wesley compared the infection to a Romulan thumping cough.
• During the away team mission, there were several conversations between Troi and Riker with harsh words. Troi named the attraction between Beata and Riker and Riker had a problem accepting Troi as the commanding officer of the away team.
• Dr. Crusher relieved La Forge from duty when he became ill. She took command of the Enterprise -D and did her research from the conn station.
• Ramsey escaped from his prison before he could be transported to the Enterprise -D. When Troi decided to beam back to the ship and head for the Avastam Triangle and come back later, Beata and two guards disarmed the away team and held them prisoners. They got their gear back when Ramsey was imprisoned again. But Dr. Crusher declined to beam the away team back because of the virus; only Data was beamed aboard. The rest of the away team was again held prisoner.
• Mistress Ariel, who previously helped Ramsey to escape, brought a communicator to the away team. When the away team prepared to beam aboard, including Ramsey, Ariel told them that she was expecting Ramsey's child. After a discussion about the Prime Directive, the away team assisted Ariel and Ramsey in their escape and then paid a visit to Beata who got furious and threw the Albeni meditation crystal at the away team but failed because Troi, Tasha, and Riker already beamed back aboard the Enterprise -D.
• The episode was filmed between Wednesday 11 November 1987 and Thursday 19 November 1987 for seven days on Paramount Stage 6 , 9 , and 16 .
• This episode wrapped principal photography on the same date as Paramount announced that Star Trek: The Next Generation had been renewed for a second season . ( Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Continuing Mission , p. 58)

Cast and characters [ ]

• This was Leonard John Crofoot 's first Star Trek appearance. He later appeared in TNG : " The Offspring " and VOY : " Virtuoso ".
• This episode was also the first for recurring background actor David Eum who was most notably featured as Ensign Wright during the first three seasons of The Next Generation .

Props and sets [ ]

• The first reuse came in the second season episode " Samaritan Snare ", when the Angel I matte was used to depict Starbase 515 without any change. In the fourth season episode " First Contact ", the painting remained substantially the same to depict the surface of Malcor III , though the colors were slightly more intense, the hue being overall more green compared to Angel I. A completely new painting was produced to represent another view of the planet, the style being similar to the original Angel I scenery.
• In the episode " The Mind's Eye ", the Angel I matte was modified to represent the Klingon colony Krios Prime . Trees were removed, and the style of the buildings were "Klingon-ized". Several new buildings were added in the background, the most prominent bearing the Klingon emblem.
• For the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine first season episode " Dax ", much of the original Angel I scenery was restored, adding a new tall building in the background for the night shot (which had curiously disappeared at daytime) and omitting some of the greenery. The colors for the day shot are more intense than the original matte; instead, it appears more similar to Malcor III.
• The most recent reuse of the Angel I matte came on the Star Trek: Voyager first season episode " Ex Post Facto ", when it was used to depict the surface of Banea .

• White lamps in various sizes, helix-shaped statues and round wall decorations appeared in several episodes.
• The silver box in which Riker keeps the Albeni meditation crystal later housed Miles O'Brien 's pet Lycosa tarantula Christina in " Realm Of Fear ".
• The pen that Mistress Beata uses to sign the death sentences popped up as a pen again in " Resistance ".
• The Albeni meditation crystal later appeared as an artifact housing the embryonic lifeform in DS9 : " Q-Less ".
• A flower-shaped wall decoration (presumably the Angel I logo) is seen in several scenes in the episode.
• Among the items from this episode which were sold off on the It's A Wrap! sale and auction on eBay, was an Angel I costume lot including the costume of Jacqueline Drake [2] , the costumes of Jonathan Frakes , [3] Karen Montgomery , [4] Leonard John Crofoot , [5] Wil Wheaton , [6] Chris Hall , [7] and three background performer costumes. [8] [9] [10]

Continuity [ ]

Two production staff members in a reflection on a prop

• This episode marks the first mention of the Romulans in The Next Generation . At the end of the episode, the Enterprise heads for the Romulan Neutral Zone . However, apparently no confrontation actually ensued, since the encounter with the Romulans in " The Neutral Zone " is described as the first direct encounter since 2311 .
• Data's party transports directly from their planetside accommodations to Ramsey's camp, marking the second occurrence of site-to-site transport , though it is not given its specific name yet. The first occurrence was in " Encounter at Farpoint ", when Riker and Data beamed to Troi's position underneath Farpoint Station .
• This episode depicts the Prime Directive into a doctrine of total non-interference with the affairs of other species or cultures, irrespective of technology level. This is consistent with " The Magicks of Megas-Tu ", which stated that "No starship may interfere with the normal development of any alien life or society." While " First Contact " would later establish the idea that the Directive was meant to apply to pre-warp civilizations, it would also continue to be applied to post-warp civilizations as well; for instance, Starfleet could not intervene in either the Klingon Civil War or the coup of the Alliance for Global Unity as long as they were believed to be strictly internal matters.
• This episode does differ from other portrayals of the Prime Directive in stating that the rule applies only to Starfleet personnel and not Federation civilians.
• It is also unclear how the Federation was able to make contact with Angel I, given that on other occasions the Prime Directive prohibited contacting pre-warp civilizations, something Angel I appears to be.
• This is one of only two episodes where La Forge was in command, the second being " The Arsenal of Freedom ".
• This episode marks the second time in The Next Generation someone from the production staff can be seen. This time the reflection of a boom operator and another man can be seen in the Albeni meditation crystal prop in Beata's quarters. Previously a camera operator was seen in a reflection in the episode " The Naked Now ". Further production staffers who can be seen include Bill Gocke in " Unification II ", an unknown man in " Time's Arrow ", June Abston Haymore in " Birthright, Part I ", and a boom operator in " Journey's End ".
• After his ski lesson, Wesley accidentally hits Captain Picard (standing outside the holodeck) with a snowball. Some water from this snowball remains on both his and Worf's uniform for the entire scene. The permanence of basic matter exiting the holodeck is unclear.
• At the conclusion of the episode, as the bridge crew discusses moving on to the Neutral Zone, the turbolift the away team entered from remains open.

Reception [ ]

• Maurice Hurley was succinct in his opinion of "Angel One": " Terrible. Just terrible. One of the ones you'd just as soon erase ". ( Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages , page 118))
• A mission report by Patrick Daniel O'Neill for this episode was published in The Official Star Trek: The Next Generation Magazine  issue 5 , pp. 19-21.
• Keith R.A. DeCandido reviewed the episode for Tor.com. He described the episode as being " one of the most sexist episodes of Star Trek ever produced under the veneer of feminism ", and that the virus subplot was " filler, and boring filler at that ". He said that it was " one of the absolute low points of the show ", giving it a score of two out of ten.
• Wil Wheaton watched it for AOL TV and thought that it started well but soon descended into the appearance of an episode from Star Trek: The Original Series with Riker in the Kirk role. He also noted that if the speech that Riker gave towards the end of the episode had been given to Yar or Troi then the overall message would have been more subtle. He gave it a grade of D overall.
• James Hunt of Den of Geek said that the episode was not as bad as " Code of Honor ", but that it contained " almost every terrible cliché seen in TNG's first season in one episode ". He summed up, " We've seen all of this before, and it was barely interesting the first time around. The second time, it's just tedious. A horrible episode on so many levels. "
• Zack Handlen watched the episode for The A.V. Club and said that he was not sure what the reversal of gender roles in the episode was meant to achieve. He described the virus subplot as "absurd" and gave the episode an F grade.
• The episode was included in a couple of worst episode lists, including in one compiled by Scott Thrill for Wired magazine, and it was ranked the fourth worst episode by Jay Garmon at the website TechRepublic.

Video and DVD releases [ ]

• Original UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video ): Volume 7 , catalog number VHR 2398, 5 November 1990
• UK re-release (three-episode tapes, Paramount Home Entertainment ): Volume 1.5, catalog number VHR 4646, 6 July 1998
• As part of the TNG Season 1 DVD collection
• As part of the TNG Season 1 Blu-ray collection

Links and references [ ]

Starring [ ].

• Patrick Stewart as Captain Jean-Luc Picard
• Jonathan Frakes as Commander William T. Riker

Also starring [ ]

• LeVar Burton as Lt. Geordi La Forge
• Denise Crosby as Lt. Tasha Yar
• Michael Dorn as Lt. Worf
• Gates McFadden as Doctor Beverly Crusher
• Marina Sirtis as Counselor Deanna Troi
• Brent Spiner as Lt. Commander Data
• Wil Wheaton as Wesley Crusher

Guest stars [ ]

• Karen Montgomery as Beata
• Sam Hennings as Ramsey
• Patricia McPherson as Ariel

Co-star [ ]

• Leonard John Crofoot as Trent

Uncredited co-stars [ ]

• James G. Becker as Youngblood
• Kellee Bradley as Angel I guard
• Jeffrey Deacon as command officer
• Jacqueline Drake as Angel I mistress
• Susan Duchow as operations officer
• David Eum as Odin crewmember
• Curtis Fairchild as Odin crewmember
• Chris Hall as Wesley's friend
• Nora Leonhardt as sciences ensign
• Tim McCormack as Bennett
• James McElroy as operations officer
• Lorine Mendell as Diana Giddings
• Rebecca Rose as Angel I native
• Guy Vardaman as Darien Wallace
• Engineering crewmember (voice)
• Female Angel I native
• Female command officer
• Female medical officer
• Female tactical officer
• Four Angel I mistresses
• Four command crewmembers
• Odin crewmember
• Operations crewmember
• Sciences officer
• Six civilians
• Three Angel I guards
• Three male Angel I natives
• Two male Angel I servants

Stand-ins [ ]

• James G. Becker – stand-in for Jonathan Frakes
• Darrell Burris – stand-in for LeVar Burton
• Dexter Clay – stand-in for Michael Dorn
• Jeffrey Deacon – stand-in for Patrick Stewart
• Susan Duchow – stand-in for Denise Crosby
• Nora Leonhardt – stand-in for Marina Sirtis
• Tim McCormack – stand-in for Brent Spiner
• Lorine Mendell – stand-in for Gates McFadden
• Guy Vardaman – stand-in for Wil Wheaton

References [ ]

20th century ; 2302 ; 2357 ; 47 ; adjournment ; advice ; ailment ; Albeni meditation crystal ; alcohol ; alternative ; amusement ; anarchist ; android ; Angel I ; Angel I execution device ; Angel I native ; Angel I settlement ; Annotated Shakespeare, The : anticipation ; aphrodisiac ; appointment ; area ; Armus IX ; asteroid ; attack ; attention ; attitude ; audience ; audio signal ; autopilot ; away team ; battle cruiser, Romulan ; bed ; Berlin , USS ; Betazed ; bingo ; border post ( border outpost ); cabin ; campfire ; carbon-based lifeform ; case ; choice ; citizen ; class M ; cloud ; combadge ; computer ; contact ; collision ; cologne ; color ; compassion ; compliments ; comportment ; coordinates ; course ; courtesy call ; court martial ; culture ; day ; death ; Denubian Alps ; Denubian Alps planet ; death penalty ( execution ); department ; desktop monitor ; destination ; diplomatic relations ; discovery ; dissent ; distance ; distress call ; domestic affairs ; earring ; Earth ; effect ; Elected One ; element ; evolution ; escape pod ( rescue pod ); eternity ; examination ; exile ; existence ; eye ; fact ; failure ; family ; fear ; feather ; Federation ; Federation starship (2302) ; field trip ; figure of speech ; fixed orbit ; floral scent ; freighter ; friend ; fugitive ; fur ; Galaxy -class decks ; gesture ; Great Hall ; governing body ; guilt ; hailing frequency ; head of state ; heaven ; hiding place ; holodeck ; hope ; hospitality ; hostility ; hour ; hunter ; hypospray ; idea ; impression ; information ; inhalation ; initial contact ; inoculation ; instruction ; isolation ward ; job ; Kabatris ; kiss ; Klingon ; law ; leader ; leadership council ; leniency ; lesson ; library ; listening device ; log entry ; malfunction ; marooning ; martyr ; matriarchal ; maximum warp speed ; medical emergency ; medical situation ; medical test ; medical tricorder ; meeting ; Milky Way Galaxy ; minute ; mission ; mister ; mistress ; month ; moral imperative ; morning ; mountain ; murder ; natural order ; nature ; necklace ; Night-Blooming Throgni ; number one ; object ; objection ; obligation ; Odin ; olfactory nerve ; oligarchy ; " on the double "; opinion ; opportunity ; order ; painting ; paper ; paranoia ; Parliament of Angel I ; perfume ; permission ; phaser ; place ; planet ; platinum ; plea ; pleasure ; praise ; Prime Directive ; prisoner ; privacy ; problem ; quadrant ; Quazulu VIII ; Quazulu VIII virus ; question ; ready room ; reason ; reference ; region ; repatriation ; report ; representative ; revolution ; revolutionary ; Romulan ; Romulan battle cruisers ; Romulan Neutral Zone ; Romulan Neutral Zone outpost ; room ; sculpture ; search ; search pattern ; second ; scanner ; sensor range ; sex ; sextant ; sexual pleasure ; sexy ; shipmate ; sickbay ; sincerity ; skant ; skiing ; ski instructor ; smell ; sneeze ; snow ; snowball ; society ; " soldier ; " stand by "; Starfleet ; Starfleet regulations ; starship ; statue ; status ; status report ; stimulation ; stranger ; student ; success ; surface ; survivor ; symbol ; technological development ; technology ( advanced technology ); territory ; term ; time ; tomorrow ; trace ; traitor ; transmission ; transporter ; transporter room ; tricorder ; trip ; tunic ; turbolift ; type I phaser ; universe ; unnamed plants ; value ; viewscreen ; visit ; VISOR ; voice ; vote ; window ; wings ; wish ; Wong ; word

Deleted references [ ]

Hesperan thumping cough

External links [ ]

• "Angel One" at StarTrek.com
• " Angel One " at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• " Angel One " at Wikipedia
• " Angel One " at the Internet Movie Database
• " Angel One " at MissionLogPodcast.com , a Roddenberry Star Trek podcast
• "Angel One" script  at Star Trek Minutiae
• 3 ISS Enterprise (NCC-1701)

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Star Trek: The Next Generation Re-Watch: “Angel One”

Season 1, Episode 14 Original air date:  January 25, 1988 Star date: 41636.9

Mission summary

The Enterprise stumbles upon the remains of the Odin , a small freighter that collided with an asteroid seven years previous. While there are no life signs onboard, three escape pods are missing. The nearest class M planet where any survivors may have landed is Angel I, a matriarchal constitutional oligarchy with whom the Federation last had contact sixty-two years ago.

Riker, Data, Troi, and Yar beam down to the surface with Troi taking the lead out of respect for the “Elected One,” Mistress Beata. Beata and her council neither confirm nor deny the existence of survivors. She consults with her Fashion Club before revealing that four men, led by someone named Ramsey, survived and made it to their planet. They are fugitives on Angel I for being uppity and “causing trouble,” but as long as Troi promises to get them off this planet Beata is pleased with the idea of a manhunt. She’s also on a manhunt ( rowr ) of her own, intrigued by Riker’s masculinity, and sends him something a bit more comfortable to slip into. He heads to her private chambers and they begin to bring their cultures closer together with some mood lighting and an unfortunate softcore soundtrack.

Meanwhile, Data, Yar, and Troi locate the men hiding out in a cave. MacGuyver Ramsey refuses to return with them, though, explaining that the survivors have taken wives and some of them even have children: Angel I is now their home. When the away team reports this to Beata, the mistress is outraged. She orders the execution of Ramsey and his men, not leastwise because one of her own councilwomen, Ariel, is secretly married to Ramsey. Riker begs Ramsey to reconsider his choice to stay on the planet and face the death penalty, but the ex-freighter captain declines once more.

Meanwhile, everyone on the Enterprise is coming down with an incurable, untreatable flu. (As per usual, it’s Wesley’s fault.) The ship’s complement is bed-bound one-by-one, and command eventually goes to Dr. Crusher. Riker asks about beaming the whole Ramsey contingent up to the Enterprise against their will, but with this virus going around Crusher won’t allow it, so the away team is on their own. In a third and even less plausible plot, the Enterprise is needed at the Neutral Zone as a display of power towards the Romulans, so Data beams up to the ship to warp over there if a resolution isn’t reached.

With only 48 minutes left before the Enterprise must leave, Beata arranges for the execution of Ramsey via disintegration zapper. Luckily Riker is there to mansplain the whole men’s rights thing to her and in the end her womanly emotions are swayed. She releases Ramsey and orders them to exile instead. On the Enterprise , a cure for the flu is found and the recovering crew head to the Neutral Zone.

Ah, the first of several Very Special Episodes has finally arrived.

This episode could have simply been a single scene: Riker walking out of the changing area wearing that ridiculous outfit while Troi and Yar laugh uncontrollably. It perfectly encapsulates “Angel One,” don’t you think? Where Riker thinks he’s being progressive and diplomatic by wearing the local attire, the episode as a whole has the same unearned smugness about rejecting sexism. (Sexism! It’s bad! This takes 48 minutes to explain!) The “mistresses” (because we’ve met so many men out there in the Alpha Quadrant who call themselves “masters”…) blow out their hair, are catty to one another, and wear high heels and shoulderpads, so there’s no confusion that this is slyly about that uppity woman down the hall from you at work .

What really bothers me here and with just about every woman-in-power plot we see in the Trek universe (and beyond) is the hypersexualization of women with any degree of authority. They’re never simply leaders–they’re always oversexed leaders. The Romulan Commander is, of course, vulnerable to Spock’s charms, and the worst offender is certainly the women of DS9’s mirror universe, who go from 0 to bisexual sadomasochist in the blink of an eye. Here Beata latches onto Riker almost instantly, as if the problem weren’t sexism itself (which is bad! don’t forget!) but that Beata just needed to find someone sufficiently masculine to mansplain it all to her. She doesn’t come to respect the men on her planet any more, and in fact remains hardened against their empowerment. Rather, she acknowledges that she’s a reactionary whose days will soon be over, but not on her watch. Your heroine, ladies and gentlemen!

Ultimately, what I find so galling is that this is a story about sexism that utterly fails to capture any of the realities of sexism. From what I can tell here sex discrimination mostly involves wearing a stupid costume and being a waiter. Luckily the men of Angel I don’t seem to ever contend with the less absurdly trivial: the fallout of a culture that objectifies one sex would more realistically include related issues of self esteem and depression, a culture of rape and the constant threat of violence (domestic or otherwise), and so on. No, all we see is Trent looking a little jealous when Riker horns in on his “mistress.” It reinforces the idea that sexism is the behavior of a few misguided relics, long since “cured” in our own world, and not a set of subtle, institutionalized power structures that legitimize behaviors that reinforce those privileges. And isn’t it cute that they think maybe feminism can one day go “too far”?

Like with “Code of Honor,” while I definitely remembered the primary catastrophic failure (sexism! it’s really really bad!), I had again totally forgotten all of the other huge failures. I didn’t remember the Ramsey plot at all, and the logical pretzels required for the Starfleet officers to believe they don’t have the authority to force Ramsey off the planet. Who cares if he’s in Starfleet? The Federation has an obligation to protect its own citizens. I can’t just move my family to Prince Edward Island without a passport and a visa, and my country has the right to repatriate me whether PEI turned out to be an unstable coven of moonsisters or not. I was also shocked that both times the Federation representatives try to convince the oppressed men to leave, Ramsey unilaterally declares that they won’t. What about what the other guys want? Shouldn’t they be able to make their own choices? And finally, how does a holoprogram create a real virus that incapacitates an entire ship, and why should we even care?

I’m going to use this opportunity to introduce the First Rule of TNG: if Futurama did it better , this is probably one of the worst ten episodes.

Torie’s Rating: Impulse Power (on a scale of 1-6)

Best Line: YAR: They’ve broken off transmission. LAFORGE: Ever feel like you’re not really wanted?

Trivia/Other Notes: La Forge only gets command once more, in “The Arsenal of Freedom.”

Previous episode: Season 1, Episode 13 – “ Datalore .”

Next episode: Season 1, Episode 15 – “ 11001001 .”

About Torie Atkinson

23 comments.

Impulse is rather generous. I’d have said Dead in Space. There really aren’t any redeeming features here at all. It’s just… ooh, there aren’t words for it. This is probably in the bottom 10, if not the worst, period (making allowances for “Shades of Gray” because they were forced to do a clip show).

There’s also the whole oppressive matriarch swoons for a real man ™ (sensitive New Age guy version) thing. Why? Is it like ancient Greeks finding women acting like their intellectual equals a perverse turn-on? It makes no sense! Actually, I wonder if Patrick Barry (or whoever hacked his script into this abortion) had some dom/sub issues that needed to be worked out. GAAAHHHH!!

The other thing that sticks out to me is the costume design and hair. In a way, it’s almost retro. The look seems to me to be much more early-mid 80s. Totally out of style by 1988. It’s a little too Flashdance , feathered hair and borderline mullets. I thought that was over by then and we were moving toward the grunge 90s look. I could be wrong.

As for the flu, I don’t think it was caused by the holodeck so much as Picard caught a chill from the snowball and succumbed to some bug in his bloodstream. But Federation medicine borders on the magical and they can’t figure out a simple virus? How about just “There’s not a lot we can do, but the symptoms aren’t really that bad and it’s less stressful on your system to let the thing run its course.” That’s better than making Dr. Crusher look incompetent.

In my mind, the Riker thing never happens. Troi, Yar, and Crusher go planetside to deal with the women, while Riker stays on board the Enterprise to deal with everyone being sick. Perhaps there’s an early intro of Alyssa Ogawa if we need more fabulous medical staff. And if there’s any dalliance with Beata, give it to Yar or Troi. But then again, anything other than what aired makes this episode better…

On the note of failing to really encapsulate sexism — here’s a sexist society where Beata’s manservant is the guy who operates the execution device? At what point in 1950s America would ANY woman have been put in charge of throwing the switch on the electric chair? Even if its only function at that point was to vaporize your Pottery Barn seconds.

I also love how Beata tells Riker she will repay him “in kind” for the gift of the meditation sphere. If that’s true, she intends to… give him another meditation sphere! Because THAT IS WHAT IT MEANS TO REPAY IN KIND. Not trading the sexing for it.

Also I think this episode should have a “yay kyriarchy ” tag…

It’s always sad how the Star Trek episodes about sexism only serve to underline that the people crafting the episode just don’t get it.

I have absolutely no memory of this episode, for which I am grateful to the US Navy. Not surprising it didn’t get a lot of syndication replay.

I’m puzzled though at why you’d consider Enterprise being called away for flag-showing purposes “less plausible.” It seems like the only sensible thing that happened in the entire episode.

Who would craft a policy like the Federation’s?

They have a policy, the HIGHEST principle, of non-interference with other cultures, but are powerless to remove a Federation citizen who is disrupting that society? And a citizen whose life is endangered because of that unwanted disruption? And who is endangering the lives of other Federation citizens and innocent citizens of that society in the process?

And all this, in place of a simple policy that would just remove Ramsey, and allow him to file his appeal through some court of appropriate jurisdiction.

It makes absolutely no sense. And the smug superiority with which such nonsense is dispensed is truly insufferable.

This is still one of the crap episodes before “The Best of Both Worlds” put TNG on track, which means I skipped it and still change channels when a non-collared uniform episode is on. So no comment on the episode from me. But thank you, Torie, for the Futurama link. Which I decided to briefly check out. Forty minutes ago.

I dashed off my earlier comment, but following on: It seems half the episodes in this season explore what is, in fact, a contrivance and invention: “Drama” created by the consequences of a non-interference directive.

Yet while strutting around and making declarations about how this policy has been tried and tested, the crew also stumbles around like they’re reinventing the wheel every time it comes up.

How common is it, in a mapped and explored galaxy where starships are evidently common, that the “humanitarian armada” of Starfleet would happen across Federation citizens who had exceeded the scope of the noninterference directive? I’d say in the multi-century existence of the Federation, this situation would be quite common. In fact, the commonness of interference might be considered the very thing that created the directive and policy in the first place.

Look at it this way, if these Federation traders had crashed on some world and set up a slave trade or a drug trade, would there be any “question” in the captain’s mind about how these Federation citizens should be handled? No, they would be stopped. They would be removed. Depending on the circumstances, they might be proescuted. They might have avenue for appeal. It is only because Ramsey acts out of “love” and “family devotion” that there is any ambiguity about what should be done here. The entire “dilemma” operates around some arbitrary situational premise that, frankly, Federation policy should have already addressed scores of times. After all, that’s what makes it a **policy.**

Someone once cleverly described Playboy as “the magazine entirely about itself.” I’m inclined to think TNG is “the television series entirely about itself” and its own self-referential contrivances.

(as an aside, I’m surprised you don’t thematically link this ep with “Spock’s Brain” in your Featured Posts. If Angel One is not Eymorg, I don’t know what is: “Brain and brian! What is brain?!”)

Oh, Torie…Torie, you have my sympathy. You drew Angel One . That’s just mean . Now I’m going to go read it, but I wanted to express my condolences just from seeing your name in conjunction with this shitfest, one which makes me long for the halcyon feminist-friendly days of I, Mudd and The Turnabout Intruder .

Let’s just put this one in the same killing jar as “Code of Honor”. It’s perhaps not as wretched an episode as “The Outcast” but it’s up there.

Nope. Can’t add anything to what you wise people have said. It’s like an MRA (Mens’ Rights Advocate, the polite name for “guys who had bitter divorces and now really hate all women completely unless they’re hookers in which case they only hate them when they’re not actually having sex with them”) version of what a feminist society would be. It’s the nightmare of every overprivileged, super-entitled asshole ever: that the uppity $TARGETS_OF_BIGOTRY ever take over, they’ll massacre the formerly privileged, and treat them the same way the formerly privileged treated them . It’s like a big red flag waving, saying, “I’m a person who will oppress you in every way I can get away with, and I assume you would do the same to me, because I’d rather believe this is just ‘being human’ than that it means I’m a crapsack waste of good oxygen.”

Maybe there is sonething more to be said, not about this episode so much but about the storytelling method. It’s pure Rod Serling irony; the nearest analogy I can think of is the Twilight Zone episode in which a young woman, who looks ordinary to our eyes, is hideously deformed in the eyes of creatures (concealed until the third act) who are made up to look like distorted frog-men for the audience’s benefit. Supposedly this reversal of point of view is supposed to say something about prejudice and the subjective nature of beauty. Instead…it comes across like an attractive girl is being persecuted by frog people until she’s rescued by a comely young man. It just doesn’t work the way Serling intended. Did it ever work?

Same thing here, only it’s decades on and the plot device is even creakier. It doesn’t feel like a statement against sexism, it just feels horribly sexist. How could anyone have thought that the role-reversal fictional conceit, already shabby when Serling was doing it, would work in a modern teleplay?

And just eleven years before this aired Norman Lear’s short-lived and justly forgotten All That Glitters ran with it’s look at a world just like ours – except that women were the dominate gender. My memory insists that a few episodes ran (even though I don’t remember a thing about them) but IMDB seems to list only the pilot.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075658/

Now, about those costumes. They didn’t seem too far removed from the fantasy themed porn of that time. Back then, Cencom Cable had an adult entertainment pay-per-view channel on which the programming was all run on 3/4 inch video tape from tape decks in Master Control. We Master Control Operators shared the task of QCing (Quality Checking) everything that was to run off tape on all our tape fed channels. And before you make your comments, let me point out that most of it was boring crap and it was made worse by being “cut for cable” crap. You know the story – boy meets girl, Boy does girl. Boy meets other girl, boy does other girl. Girl meets other girl … Anyway. I remember commenting “I know how they came up with these costumes” when I watched this episode. One other thing. There was an ‘actor’ in some of those movies who (to me) looked so much like Jonathan Frakes that I thought it was him – from a few years earlier.

Not much else to say about this episode. Another one I’m looking forward to forgetting again.

And I just remembered that this isn’t the first time Roddenberry went to this well. Back in 1974 he took a second try at getting his concept of 20th century man awakens in a devastated future turned into a series. The first attempt was Genesis II and was OK. The second was Planet Earth , which starred John Saxon and had him encounter a vicious matriarchal society that enslaved and brutalized their men. It was awful. Lots of Trek actors in it: Ted Cassidy, Diana Muldaur, Majel Barrett. And much of it eventually became Andromeda . Dylan Hunt was the hero in both films, the idea of traveling to the future and trying to rebuild a ruined society.

Oh save me from over moralizing in fiction. It always damages the fiction and rarely reaches beyond those alreay in agreement. The story must come first, and any ‘lesson’ should be buried in the theme, not used like a whip to keep Dr. Moraeu’s beat men at bay. There is nothing I can think of to reclaim or recommend this episode. Yes sexism is bad, I really don’t need an hour of tv to tell me that.

@bobsandiego, what makes it worse for those of us within a certain age range is that, when sci fi and fantasy was actually included in our reading and literature curricula, it was always the ham-fisted, message-peddling stuff. This, we were taught, was the purpose of speculative fiction: to deliver clunky and obvious allegories to contemporary social problems. Among other things I truthfully remember from grade-school anthologies were Ray Bradbury’s depressing and shallow “All Summer in a Day” (bullying is bad!) not to mention Fahrenheit 451 (burning books is bad!); print versions of “Twilight Zone” teleplays, particularly the laughable “The Monsters are Due on Main Street” (paranoia is bad!); Orwell’s worst book, “Animal Farm” (Stalin was bad!); and even Orson Welles’s radioplay for “War of the Worlds” (humans are ants!)

No wonder I liked Arthur Clarke for a time in high school even though he couldn’t write his way out of a damp brown bag; at least, in some of his stories, it was *fun* to be in space.

@etomlins re: heavy-handed didactic sff —

Yeah, I totally know what you mean, even if I’m of an age where we occasionally got to read Citizen of the Galaxy and A Wrinkle in Time and Bram Stoker. I mean, heaven forfend anything be on an English syllabus because it’s actually fun to read, right?

Re: Orwell, I don’t think 1984 was any better — can’t say I’ve read any of his spec fic that wasn’t overbearingly message-heavy. I think you’re oversimplifying Fahrenheit 451 though; to me it was about the willing embrace of triviality rather than simply that book-burning is bad. More of an Amused to Death thing than a reaction to literal book-burning censorship (and I say that as not at all a Bradbury fan)…

Yeah, you’re right, I’m being a bit unfair to Fahrenheit 451 . Yes, it’s less about censorship and more about the kind of society that might demand it, although how Bradbury’s futuristic dystopia got to where it was doesn’t quite make sense. The ironies are too pat. Firefighters becoming bookburners? The head bookburner being a well-read, poetry-quoting man?

I suppose I should move this to the forums since it’s got nothing to do with “Angel One”, but you have to admit it’s an episode that begs to be distracted from.

Oh, something just occurred to me: I was never a big fan of Sliders but I just remembered they did a role-reversal plot something along these lines, in which John Rhys-Davies ends up being an unwilling male candidate for office in a society in which men are not trusted to make intelligent decisions, and I remember it being a lot better than this. I vaguely remember that the reasons the women in the episode gave for why men weren’t fit to make decisions actually seemed like at least a little thought had been put into the writing. To be fair, it was a few years later than “Angel One” and I don’t remember the episode that well anyway aside from the Ed Muskie plot twist at the end.

@ 1 DemetriosX The Real Man Riker thing implies all these women need is good hard you-know-what. But I can’t get over that Riker is the prime example of grade-A manliness available. He’s truly the poor man’s James T. Kirk. I cannot put my finger on why Riker comes across as a sleazy jerk every time sex is involved. They’re obviously trying to put him into the Kirk role and it’s just never ever going to work.

@ 2 Catherine E. Tobler I have the feeling we’re going to be using our imaginations a lot more in the next season and a half.

@ 3 DeepThought You obviously aren’t allowing yourself to conceive how truly appalling a society would be if feminism went too far! Men would be executing their own, cats and dogs would be living together…

@ 4 Toryx Well they understood that it’s bad. That’s all there is, right?

@ 5 S. Hutson Blount I just can’t imagine the Enterprise would ever get anything done if its primary task as the flagship was to show up for dick-waving contests at the Neutral Zone. It’s especially ridiculous considering the entire crew is incapacitated. I mean what good would it do if it actually came down to a show of force?

@ 6 Lemnoc This is actually the first time we see the Prime Directive in its modern incarnation, where it applies to all civilizations and not just pre-warp ones. And it’s idiotic.

@ 7 sps49 I love that Futurama episode. But I love most of Futurama.

@ 8 Lemnoc It just doesn’t make sense, and continues to make less and less sense as the series goes on and they wind up doing such non-interfering things as being involved in the Klingon civil war and the reunification of Romulus and Vulcan. It’s for the best when they eventually ditch this notion.

I did that Featured Posts thing now. I had a really busy few days and forgot!

@ 12 CaitieCat Like I said to Demetrios, the message is clear. What these women need is a good hard…

Thanks, TNG!

@ 13 etomlins I like that Twilight Zone episode, but maybe it gets more of a pass from being over twenty years older than this. Here it’s 1988 and yet it could have easily been written by a MRA crank on usenet.

@ 14 Ludon I still think the outfits look kind of power suit-y, but I confess that I have no knowledge of early ’80s porn and defer to you.

@ all regarding didactic fiction I actually don’t have a problem with moralizing, as long as there’s an interesting story in there. This fails to qualify.

Not to be overly simplistic about this, but all I can say about this episode is; “Ick”.

I was planning on re-watching this episode to be able to comment but I just can’t do it. Life is too short to waste time on this episode. Ick is right. Probably in my top 5 worst of TNG.

From my hazy memory of this steaming pile I give a…full stop. Or reverse. Or self-destruct. Yea self-destruct.

Sorry to sound off so late on this one, but it’s been a really busy week for me. I also might have been a little afraid to share my opinion, given the direction it’s going…

I had such low expectations for this episode going back into it, I was actually surprised that it wasn’t as bad as I remembered it. It still isn’t good, but it’s not without some redeeming elements. On the surface, each of the three plot threads is kind of interesting, however poorly they are handled and integrated with each other.

It feels like they had the A plot worked out, but couldn’t figure out what to do with it; rather than have the conversations that we’ve been having here, and handle the material as respectfully as possible, they decided to take it to the obvious places. Like Riker and the others, the matriarchy on Angel I is treated like a joke. Oh, how backwards they are! Let’s try to show them a better way, but without violating the Prime Directive–except we’re totally going to violate the Prime Directive by forcing them to keep this rebellion alive and planting the seeds of change.

One of the things writers learn is that plots need complications, but they went a bit overboard here. The crew is thwarted every step of the way, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but given how simple the solution should be, it just gets ridiculous. Especially when your complication relies on coincidence, like a mysterious outbreak on the ship at exactly the wrong moment. Although this subplot sticks out like a sore thumb because it doesn’t really fit with the rest of the show, it plays off better than any of “The Naked Now,” and I can’t help but think they squandered an intriguing premise–an infection that spreads because of its pleasing scent–on a crap episode.

The third complication, the posturing on the Federation side of the Neutral Zone, works best for me, particularly because it shows that writers were actually planning ahead and laying groundwork for the series. This minor plot point pays off in the season finale, “The Neutral Zone,” for some interpretations of “pays off.” I was surprised that they had introduced this arc so early, and it impressed me. It was just about the only thing that did in “Angel One.”

Even so, I started out ranking this one as a more middling episode and steadily knocked my assessment down as I read all your comments. I’m giving this one a tentative Warp 1.

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Recap / Star Trek: The Next Generation S1 E13 "Angel One"

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Original air date: January 25, 1988

We open with the Enterprise having investigated a seven-year overdue ship, the Odin . The wreck contained no life signs, but had several missing escape pods, suggesting there are survivors. The nearest planet is Angel One, a pre-warp society that is a matriarchy . Women are larger and dominant, while the men are small and subservient. The all-male survivors of Odin have become outlaws due to their subversive behavior. The elected leader of planet, Beata, agrees to allow the Federation to find and extract them.

Picard wants to get this small issue finished with quickly so that he can rush to the neutral zone, where the Romulans have started amassing battlecruisers. Further complications arise when Wesley Crusher contracts a virus aboard the ship, and it quickly spreads to other members of the crew. Picard gets hit with flu-like symptoms and is relieved of duty by Dr. Crusher, leaving Geordi in command.

On the planet, Riker has developed quite a thing for Beata. He meets with her for a private audience wearing the traditional attire of the native men, which includes a plunging neckline that exposes almost all of his Carpet of Virility . The display proves irresistible. After some heart-to-heart conversation, Riker marks another notch in his quest to screw every female guest star on the series.

Meanwhile, the away team decides to find the missing crew by isolating something unique to them that doesn't exist on Angel One. Rather than looking for human biosigns, they look for platinum. Sure enough, they find Ramsey, the leader of the surviving freighter crew. Unfortunately, he has no intention of leaving. The crew has settled in, taken wives, and even have children. However, due to how men are treated on this planet, they're in hiding. Nevertheless, they refuse to leave.

As Ramsey and his men are not members of Starfleet bound by the Prime Directive, the away team has no power to force them to comply. The team reports back to Riker right in front of Beata, who promptly sentences Ramsey and his followers to death and easily captures them. Riker offers to take them and their families off-planet to avoid execution, but they still choose to stay even in the face of death. Meanwhile, the virus has spread to so many crew members that Dr. Crusher declares the ship quarantined, meaning Riker can't beam them away even by force.

As the scheduled execution approaches, Riker makes a last-ditch appeal to Beata, pointing out that Ramsey's men are not the cause of the revolutionary views spreading across Angel One, but merely a symbol, and executing them would make them into martyrs and worsen the situation. After some thought, Beata agrees, and sentences the Odin survivors and their families to exile on the opposite side of the planet to at least slow down the effects of their rebellious views.

Just in time, Crusher has finally figured out how the virus spreads and treats the crew. The away team beams back, and a recovering Picard orders the ship to make haste to the Neutral Zone.

Tropes in this episode include:

• '80s Hair : It's all over S1, but it is especially prominent in this episode with Ramsey and Beata.
• Boldly Coming : One of the more notable cases in the series. Riker not only rationalizes going off to score with Beata as being part of the diplomatic nature of their mission, but he even dresses up in native male attire, which bares his chest, specifically to appeal to her. Deanna and Tasha find it hilarious .
• Camp Straight : The native males of Angel One are distinctly effeminate as compared to men from the Federation.
• Carpet of Virility : Riker causes several women to swoon when he bares his hairy chest while decked out in the planet's native attire.
• Disintegration Chamber : A variant, in which victims are executed by disintegration out in the open rather than in some kind of closed chamber—simply placed between two pillars and then subjected to a "swift and painless" death.
• Don't Create a Martyr : Riker advises Mistress Beata of the possible consequences of executing Ramsey and his friends, saying her actions are trying to hold back evolution, which can't be done, and warns her that she'll make a martyr out of Ramsey. At the last minute, Beata relents and simply chooses to have Ramsey exiled.
• Angel One is established to be a world in a mid-20th Century age of development, meaning the Prime Directive should have forbidden Picard from making contact with them. Possibly an in-universe example of the Grandfather Clause , as dialogue implies that first contact with them occurred back around the Star Trek: The Original Series era, when the Prime Directive was much more loosely applied.
• Picard refers to the sighted Romulan ships as "battlecruisers" rather than "warbirds." He also speaks as though the Federation and Romulans are still in regular, if adversarial contact; later in the season it's established that there have been no communications between the two powers for half a century, and almost no sightings of any Romulan ships in that time.
• Exact Words : Riker orders Data, in command of the Enterprise, to go to the Neutral Zone to deal with the Romulan threat. Data delays his departure, giving Dr. Crusher a window of time to develop an inoculant to the virus, and justifies it by pointing out that his orders were to get to the Neutral Zone not immediately, but "before it is too late". Riker realizes he can use that same window to his own advantage and even thanks Data "for following [his] orders so precisely".
• Halfway Plot Switch : The episode starts out looking like it's going to be A Day in the Limelight for Troi, who opens communications with Angel One and initially leads the negotiations with Beata. Riker takes over as the focal character partway through the story, and it's him who delivers the Patrick Stewart Speech that saves the day.
• Lady Land : Angel One is ruled by women.
• Lost Aesop : At the time of this episode's writing and for years afterwards, it was heavily insisted that the society on Angel One was an allegory for The Apartheid Era in South Africa . Although Angel One does depict a segregated society, there is far more evidence of a cautionary tale against certain radical feminist movements whose ideology is often interpreted as an intention to replace the alleged patriarchy with a matriarchy. It is possible that the writers insist on the apartheid allegory to avoid alienating part of the fanbase, and/or the credited writer, Patrick Barry, genuinely did intend for it to be a commentary on apartheid, but the message was lost during Gene Roddenberry 's rewrites.
• Ludicrous Precision : Riker: To travel the distance we did in two days at warp one would have taken the Odin escape pod five months. Data: Five months, six days, eleven hours, two minutes... Riker: Thank you, Data. Data: ...And 57 seconds.
• The Main Characters Do Everything : When Picard falls ill, he turns command over to Lieutenant JG La Forge, who at this point is just the helmsman. The Enterprise's crew should include scads of higher-ranking officers for this duty, but practically speaking, it has to be La Forge because every main cast member who outranks him is busy (on the away mission, ill, or — in Dr. Crusher's case — combating the illness).
• Minor Injury Overreaction : Dr. Crusher dramatically tells Picard that he's no longer capable of effectively commanding the ship, even though he looks like he has a mild case of the flu.
• Modern Stasis : Angel One is described as having roughly a 20th Century level of technology. Yet this is not their first contact with the Federation. They had been contacted more than 60 years prior, raising the question of whether they had either been very primitive at the time of first contact or else made very little technological progress.
• Omnidisciplinary Scientist : In this episode, Crusher is a GP, a virologist, immunologist, and chemist, and she doesn't need to run any kind of clinical trials on her cure once she has one she thinks will work (which she comes up with less than an hour after she figures out what the pathogen is). She also seems to have the best immune system because she never shows any symptoms despite her constant exposure to the sick.
• Patrick Stewart Speech : Riker tries his hand at one. "When you spoke of the prisoners, you used the term revolutionary. Indeed, death has been known to stop revolutions. But I suspect it's not a revolution that Angel One is hoping to stop. It's evolution. Mister Ramsey and the Odin survivors did not initiate the waves of dissent that are rippling through your planet. Their presence here merely reinforced the change in attitudes between men and women that was already well under way. They became symbols around whom others who shared their views could gather. You may eliminate the symbols, but that does not mean death to the issues which those symbols represent. No power in the universe can hope to stop the force of evolution. Be warned. The execution of Mister Ramsey and his followers may elevate them to the status of martyrs. Martyrs cannot be silenced."
• Persecution Flip : The native males on Angel One are physically smaller and weaker than the females, and are likewise treated as intellectually inferior. This reflects Angel One as a society supposedly similar to 20th Century Earth prior to the modern women's liberation movement.
• Phlebotinum-Proof Robot : Since Data is immune to the virus, due to being an android, he is put in command.
• Race Against the Clock : The Enterprise can't linger too long, as there is increased Romulan activity at an outpost near the Neutral Zone.
• Real Life Writes the Plot : Or a minor part of the plot, at least. Originally, the Race Against the Clock was supposed to be Ferengi ships threatening an outpost. Due to negative reactions to the Ferengi from fans and production personnel alike, this was changed to a Romulan threat instead.
• Ripped from the Headlines : The episode was meant to be a commentary on Apartheid.
• Running Gag : Data's Ludicrous Precision is once again played for comedy.
• Schizo Tech : Angel One does not seem to have much in the way of advanced technology, in keeping with their 20th Century level of development. However, public executions are by Disintegrator Ray , albeit one that is a bulky piece of machinery and obviously nowhere near as effective as Federation handheld phasers.
• Shirtless Scene : Picard while in bed.
• Skewed Priorities : Late in the story, Crusher refuses the landing party permission to beam up on the grounds that their lives may be in danger if they're exposed to the virus. Riker actually points out that the Odin survivors are facing the choice between possible death if they beam up and certain death if they stay on the planet, but Crusher still refuses, forcing him to resort to a Patrick Stewart Speech to get the survivors out of trouble.
• Straw Feminist : Angel One women are just as chauvinist against men as Earth men were against women in the mid-20th century.
• Take a Third Option : Instead of executing the freighter's survivors, or letting the Enterprise take them away, Beata chooses to exile them to a remote portion of the planet.
• Tempting Fate : Riker assures Troi and Tasha that execution of Ramsey and his people will be unlikely to happen since, being refugees on the run, they would be difficult to find in the first place. Literally ten seconds later, Beata returns with the survivors in tow.
• Ticking Clock : The crew are in a rush to finish their business on Angel One so that they can address more pressing concerns in the Neutral Zone.
• Too Dumb to Live : Ariel, a member of the ruling council, had married one of the survivors, presumably for quite some time, and somehow it is only now that she is caught.
• You Are in Command Now : Picard puts Geordi in command upon being relieved by Dr. Crusher. When Geordi is incapacitated, Riker orders Data back to the ship to take command, as he is immune to the virus.
• Star Trek: The Next Generation S1 E12 "Datalore"
• Recap/Star Trek: The Next Generation
• Star Trek: The Next Generation S1E14 "11001001"

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11001001 (1988)

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Jean-Luc Picard

William T. Riker

Deanna Troi

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Beverly Crusher

Wesley Crusher

Guest Stars 6

Cmdr. Orfil Quinteros

Edward R. Brown

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Home > Star Trek Angel One Cast

Star Trek Angel One Cast

• UPDATED: December 8, 2023

Table of Contents

“Angel One” is the seventh episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation. The episode originally aired on January 25, 1988. The episode follows the crew of the USS Enterprise as they encounter a matriarchal society on the planet Angel One. Here are the top ten cast members of the episode “Angel One” along with their IMDb URLs:

1. Patrick Stewart as Captain Jean-Luc Picard – https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001772/ 2. Jonathan Frakes as Commander William Riker – https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000408/ 3. LeVar Burton as Lieutenant Geordi La Forge – https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000993/ 4. Denise Crosby as Lieutenant Tasha Yar – https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000347/ 5. Michael Dorn as Lieutenant Worf – https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004886/ 6. Gates McFadden as Doctor Beverly Crusher – https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0564215/ 7. Marina Sirtis as Counselor Deanna Troi – https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000642/ 8. Brent Spiner as Lieutenant Commander Data – https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000650/ 9. Wil Wheaton as Wesley Crusher – https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000697/ 10. Karen Montgomery as Beata – https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0599783/

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Star Trek The Next Generation cast, characters, and actors

It's time to boldly go and explore the Star Trek The Next Generation cast, home to some of the best and most memorable characters in the history of Starfleet.

James Osborne

Published: Aug 25, 2023

Here’s everything you need to know about the Star Trek The Next Generation cast. After first airing almost 40 years ago, Star Trek The Next Generation remains one of the most iconic sci-fi series of all time. The Star Trek The Next Generation cast brought the series to life, captivating audiences around the world with its memorable array of characters.

While the many Star Trek shows often have their own central conceits, it’s the Star Trek characters – rather than the premises – which define their respective Star Trek series . Here, we take a close look at the main Star Trek The Next Generation cast, as well as major recurring guest stars like Michelle Forbes as Ro Laren.

If you’ve already watched the Star Trek movies in order and want to head back to the small screen, here we go. From the Star Trek captain to the transporter chief, here’s everything you need to know about the Star Trek The Next Generation cast.  It’s a long list, so buckle up.

The complete Star Trek The Next Generation cast list:

Patrick Stewart as Captain Jean-Luc Picard

Jonathan frakes as commander william riker, brent spiner as lieutenant commander data.

• Gates McFadden as Dr. Crusher
• LeVar Burton as Lieutenant Commander La Forge

Michael Dorn as Lieutenant Worf

• Marina Sirtis as Counsellor Troi

Whoopi Goldberg as Guinan

Wil wheaton as wesley crusher.

• Colm Meaney as Chief O’Brien
• Diana Muldaur as Dr. Pulaski
• Dwight Schultz as Lieutenant Barclay
• Michelle Forbes as Ensign Ro
• Denise Crosby as Lieutenant Yar
• Patti Yasutake as Alyssa Ogawa

John de Lancie as Q

Majel barrett as lwaxana troi and the voice of the uss enterprise, carel struycken as mr homn, rosalind chao as keiko o’brien, suzie plakson as k’ehleyr, andreas katsulas as tomalak, jonathan del arco as hugh, daniel davis as professor moriarty, jennifer hetrick as vash, david warner as gul madred.

We all know and love Patrick Stewart who made a name for himself on stage as a member of the Royal Shakespeare company before joining the cast of The Next Generation (TNG). He has since gone on to star in numerous movies and TV series, including the X-Men movie franchise as Professor Xavier. If you’re watching the X-Men movies in order , his last appearance is in Logan.

In TNG, Stewart played the role of Captain Jean-Luc Picard, a veteran Star Trek captain who commanded the Enterprise-D. Picard was known for his stern thoughtfulness, logic, and diplomatic skills. In his personal life he was quiet, reserved, and private.

On TNG, Frakes played the role of Commander William Riker, the Enterprise’s first officer and a trusted sounding board for Captain Picard. Riker was known for his charm and his bold willingness to take risks, reminiscent of Captain Kirk from the Original Series.

Since starring in TNG, Frakes worked as the host of Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction and also did voice work for the animated series Gargoyles. However Frakes’ post-TNG career has been defined by his directing, and he’s worked on numerous TV shows and movies since his days on TNG. He has directed many episodes of several Star Trek series, including Discovery, Picard, and Strange New Worlds season 2 , as well as the Star Trek movies First Contact and Insurrection.

Brent Spiner is best known for his performance as Lieutenant Commander Data as part of the TNG cast. Data is an android who served as the Enterprise-D’s second officer. Data was famous across the Federation for his analytical mind and his quest to understand human emotions, making him a character that many audiences were able to connect to on a variety of levels. He was the focal point of some of the best TNG episodes, including the likes of The Measure of a Man.

Away from Star Trek, Spiner has appeared in shows like The Big Bang Theory and Outcast, and has lent his voice to several animated series, including Justice League and Young Justice. He also starred in one of the best disaster movies , Independence Day, and its 2016 sequel.

Gates McFadden as Doctor Beverly Crusher

Gates McFadden is an actor and choreographer who worked on the dance routines in major releases including Labyrinth and The Muppets Take Manhattan. On TNG, McFadden played the role of Doctor Beverly Crusher, the Enterprise’s chief medical officer and a close friend (and romantic interest) of Captain Picard.

Crusher was known for her compassion, keen scientific mind, and willingness to stand up for herself and others. Even if that put her up against Captain Picard.

LeVar Burton as Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge

With his portrayal of Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge, LeVar Burton had one of the leading roles as the Enterprise-D’s chief engineer and Data’s closest friend. La Forge was highly technically capable, and was promoted to chief engineer after serving as the helmsman of the ship in season 1. Away from his work, Geordi found it easy to make friends and was likeable and warm, but he struggled to be himself and relax when interested in other people romantically.

Alongside TNG, Burton is best known for hosting the educational kids series Reading Rainbow, and he drew in a huge number of fans with his natural warmth and charisma.

Michael Dorn is Star Trek royalty, as he has the most Star Trek credits of any actor, with leading roles on both TNG and DS9.

On TNG, Dorn played the role of Lieutenant Worf, a Klingon Starfleet officer who served as the Enterprise’s tactical officer (replacing Tasha Yar after her death) and later as the chief of security on Deep Space Nine. Worf was known for his loyalty to his fellow officers, and for his fierce warrior spirit and devotion to Klingon culture.

Marina Sirtis as Counselor Deanna Troi

Marina Sirtis is a British-American actress who has appeared in shows like NCIS and Grey’s Anatomy, while also providing voice work for several animated series, including Gargoyles and Young Justice. During her time on the TNG cast, Sirtis played the role of Counselor Deanna Troi, a Betazoid officer who served as the Enterprise’s psychologist.

Troi’s empathic abilities cemented her role as a sounding board for the crew’s emotional concerns, and she was one of Captain Picard’s closest confidants as well as the love interest (and eventual partner) to commander Riker.

Whoopi Goldberg is a Hollywood legend as an actor, comedian, and television host. She has won an Academy Award, a Grammy, a Tony, and an Emmy, and is one of Star Trek’s most celebrated stars. She has appeared in numerous famous movies, including The Color Purple and one of the best drama movies , Ghost.

On TNG, Goldberg played the role of Guinan, the mysterious El-Aurian bartender of Ten Forward who shared a deep friendship with Captain Picard, acting as his unofficial adviser. Guinan was known for her experience and wisdom, and her ability to offer advice to the crew during times of crisis or moral complexity.

Wil Wheaton is an actor and writer with major movie credits including coming of age movie Stand by Me. During his time on the TNG cast, Wheaton played the role of Wesley Crusher, the son of Doctor Crusher and a prodigious young aspiring-officer who often found himself in some of the most dangerous situations. Wesley was known for his intelligence, his determination to prove himself, and his frustration with adults.

Since starring in TNG he has appeared in shows like The Big Bang Theory and Eureka, and has also written several books, including Just a Geek and Dancing Barefoot.

Colm Meaney as Miles O’Brien

Colm Meaney starred in TNG from the first season onwards, with his character being fleshed out more and more as the seasons went on. Eventually, Miles O’Brien cemented himself as the transporter chief onboard the Enterprise-D, and a handful of episodes focussed on him and his backstory, as well as his relationship with his wife Keiko. Meaney joined the main cast of DS9 where his character was promoted to the role of chief of operations.

Meaney has had a varied career post-Star Trek, with major roles in one of TV’s  best Westerns  Hell on Wheels, the Tolkien biopic, and Unwelcome.

Diana Muldaur as Doctor Pulaski

During her short stint in the TNG cast, Muldaur played the role of Doctor Pulaski, a physician who temporarily replaced Doctor Crusher as the Enterprise’s chief medical officer. Pulaski was known for her no-nonsense approach, her willingness to challenge the crew, and her initial distrust in Data. She left the show after its second season when Doctor Crusher returned. Muldaur joined TNG after previously having a role in TOS.

Dwight Schultz as Lieutenant Reginald Barclay

Best known for his work on The A-Team, Dwight Schultz also starred in Star Trek The Next Generation where he played Lieutenant Reginald Barclay. Barclay stood out among the other TNG cast of characters, as he was a shy and socially awkward officer who struggled to fit in with the rest of the crew. Barclay was known for his creative thinking, though he also suffered from an addiction to the Holodeck which he used to play out his many fantasies.

Michelle Forbes as Ro Laren

Michelle Forbes played the role of Ensign Ro Laren , a Bajoran officer who joined the Enterprise-D crew in season five of TNG. Ro was known for her determination, grit, and strong-willed rebellious nature. Forbes was offered the chance to join the main cast of DS9, however, she turned the opportunity down and that space was eventually filled by Nana Visitor as Kira Nerys. Forbes did return to the role of Ro Laren for the final time in Star Trek Picard season 3 episode 5 .

Away from Star Trek, Michelle Forbes is known for her work on shows like The Killing and Battlestar Galactica, as well as for doing voice work on the video game Half-Life 2.

Denise Crosby as Lieutenant Tasha Yar

Denise Crosby is best known for her work on TNG where she played the role of the Enterprise-D’s chief tactical officer, Lieutenant Tasha Yar, during season 1. However, she was killed off in the first season during the TNG episode ‘Skin of Evil’. Crosby would go on to return to TNG as Tasha Yar from an alternate timeline, and Tasha Yar’s daughter Sela in later seasons.

After TNG Crosby would appear in a supporting role in Quentin Tarantino’s Jackie Brown, and as the lead in the Stephen King adaptation Pet Sematary.

If TNG has an overarching villain, it’s not the Borg or the Romulans. It’s Q, and even then he’s not completely evil. Q is an intergalactic trickster, part of the god-like Q Continuum. He begins Picard’s trial in the first episode, and concludes it in the finale.

Q is a recurring presence throughout the series, appearing in a handful of TNG’s greatest adventures. These include Q Who, Deja Q, Tapestry, and (of course) All Good Things. Basically, when Q shows up, you know you’re in for a good time.

Q is brought to life played by John de Lancie. Aside from TNG, de Lancie has starred in Stargate SG-1 and Breaking Bad, in which he played the father of Krysten Ritter’s Jane. He also showed up once again in the latter seasons of Picard.

Patti Yasutake as Nurse Alyssa Ogawa

Patti Yasutale joined the TNG cast in season 4 as Nurse Alyssa Ogawa. Ogawa was one of the head nurses in sickbay, and would step up as the senior staff member in Dr. Crusher’s absence. As TNG continued on, Ogawa (who also appears in two TNG movies) is promoted by Crusher, eventually becoming a Lieutenant.

Prior to TNG, Yasutake began her TV career on the William Shatner crime series TJ Hooker, and later appeared in an episode of Boston Legal, another Shatner series. Away from Star Trek entirely Yasutake starred in Netflix’s recent drama series Beef as Fumi, the mother of George, in what might be her biggest role since TNG.

Sometimes referred to as ‘the First Lady of Star Trek’ Majel Barrett is an icon within the franchise. She starred in the first pilot (The Cage) as Number One – a role which has subsequently been taken over by Rebecca Romijn – before taking on a regular role in TOS as Nurse Christine Chapel.

In the TNG cast, Barrett has a guest role as the mother of Deanna Troi, Lwaxana Troi, Daughter of the Fifth House, Holder of the Sacred Chalice of Rixx, Heir to the Holy Rings of Betazed. She’s larger than life, the bane of Picard’s life, and has a complicated relationship with her daughter. She’s great. More than that, you’ll recognize her voice instantly as the voice of the ship’s computer. Legend.

… And wherever Lwaxana Troi goes, Mr. Homn follows. Her silent assistant and literal bag carrier, Mr Homn allowed the spotlight to land firmly on Lwaxana. He loves hitting his little gong, and has some serious alcohol stamina.

Homn was played in TNG by Dutch actor Carel Struycken. Even if you’ve forgotten all about Mr Homn, you’re bound to recognize Struycken from his roles in Twin Peaks, The Addams Family, as well as recent horror movies like Gerald’s Game and Doctor Sleep. It’s perhaps Gerald’s Game in which he’s most effective as a genuinely terrifying villain.

Not a member of Starfleet, Keiko was a botany expert who lived on the Enterprise-D alongside her partner and, following on from the episode Data’s Day, husband Miles O’Brien. Like Colm Meaney, Chao joined the DS9 cast in a recurring role when their characters made the jump to the space station. She played a bigger part in DS9, as the spin-off show dedicated more time to exploring her and Miles’ family life.

Since Star Trek, Chao has become a familiar face in Hollywood, popping up new movies and TV shows seemingly every week. One of her biggest roles has been as Hua Li, the mother or Mulan in the Disney live-action remake. Chao is set to return to science fiction with her starring role in Netflix’s upcoming series The Three Body Problem.

Suzie Plakson is an actor who’s best known for her recurring roles in American sitcoms Love and War, Mad About You, and How I Met Your Mother. Before all this success though, Plakson made her debut as a guest star in the Star Trek TNG cast.

Her first role was in the season 2 episode Schizoid Man as Lieutenant Selar; a Vulcan member of the medical staff about the Enterprise-D. However, it’s for her role as K’Ehleyr that she’s best remembered. With a human mother and Klingon father, K’Ehleyer is the half-Klingon ambassador and special emissary to the Federation. She’s also Worf’s former partner, and becomes the mother of his child Alexander.

K’Ehleyer dies in the season 4 episode Reunion; assassinated by Duras. Despite only two episodes in the role, Plakson brought an intelligence, charm, and mischief to K’Ehleyer that made her an instant fan-favorite. The actor would return to Star Trek in Voyager, as a Q, and in Enterprise.

“What if Picard was a Romulan?” is probably the question TNG’s writers asked themselves when creating Commander Tomalak. The Romulan is the perfect opponent for the Starfleet captain: considered, calculated, and careful. But underneath his cool façade lies a hidden arrogance, and a temper that can bubble to the surface when pushed. He plays a major role in the events of season 3 as the Romulans begin to gear up for war, appearing in the episodes The Enemy and The Defector – both excellent.

Aside from his time as a Romulan war leader, Andreas Katsulas’ career was defined by his time in the role of G’Kar in Babylon 5, and he also starred in the Kurt Russell movie Executive Decision. Katsulas died in 2006 at 59.

Aside from Jeri Ryan’s Seven of Nine, and the Borg Queen, Jonathan Del Arco’s Hugh is probably the most famous Borg character in Star Trek. To a certain extent, that’s not saying a lot (they are mostly mindless drones, after all), but Hugh’s role in I, Borg and the two-parter Descent is still remarkable.

I, Borg is an episode about understanding your enemy, and gaining sympathy for them along the way. Del Arco’s performance as the innocent, vulnerable Hugh is brilliant. Del Arco returned to play Hugh in Picard season 1. Since Hugh, Del Arco has become best known for his LGBTQ+ activism work, as Dr. Fernando Morales in the procedural The Closer, and its sequel series Major Crimes.

Notable for his leading roles in two of TNG’s best Holodeck episodes, Daniel Davis joined the Star Trek The Next Generation cast as Professor Moriarty: arch-nemesis of Sherlock Holmes. Moriarty was created as a sentient and self-aware program when Geordi commanded the computer to create a villain capable of defeating Data in the episode Elementary, Dear Data.

Not unlike Roy Batty in Blade Runner, Davis’ Moriarty then fights for his existence, and wants to leave the Holodeck and live his life among mortals. He returns in Ship in a Bottle to cause havoc once again, angry that Picard did not keep his word. Like so many of his co-stars, Davis returned to Star Trek in Picard season 3. Away from Star Trek, Davis had significant roles in Texas and The Nanny, and also appeared in The Hunt for the Red October, and Christopher Nolan’s The Prestige.

The first word that comes to mind when we think of Captain Jean-Luc Picard isn’t, “romantic,“ but if anyone can bring that side out of him, it’s Vash. A fellow archaeologist, Vash first appears in the episode Captain’s Holiday (TNG meets Indiana Jones) and slowly manages to ignite Picard’s adventurous side as they begin a hunt for an ancient Uhtat. She then returns in the episode Qpid, alongside Q, and Picard is forced to become Robin Hood and save her from Sir Guy of Gisbourne (it’s a misconception that TNG took itself too seriously).

Jennifer Hetrick reprised her role as Vash in the DS9 episode Q-less, but away from Star Trek she’s best known for her performance as Bonnie Carroll in Bodies of Evidence. Before that, she starred in TV series such as LA Law and Unsub.

Gul Madred is one of TNG’s greatest villains, starring in one of TNG’s two-parters: Chain of Command. In Chain of Command part 2, after Picard is captured by Cardassians, he meets Madred who becomes his captor and torturer. Cruel and intelligent, he dominates Picard and gets so close to breaking him.

If you recognize the face of Gul Madred, or more likely his voice, that’s because he’s a Star Trek legend. David Warner, who plays the evil Cardassian, also starred in Star Trek V as John Talbot and (much more famously) in Star Trek VI as Klingon Chancellor Gorkon. Warner died in 2022, and his final film role was in Mary Poppins Returns.

That’s it on the Star Trek The Next Generation cast. For more on Star Trek, check out our picks for the best Star Trek captains , best Star Trek characters , and best Star Trek starships . And if your head is truly scrambled, we can guide you through the Star Trek timeline .

Or, keep up with what’s going on in the franchise with our Star Trek Strange New Worlds season 2 review  and our interview with Anson Mount and Rebecca Romijn . We’ve also explained why Patrick Stewart doesn’t care about sci-fi , despite his Star Trek legend status.

We’ve also got guides to some of the new movies and best TV series coming for Trek fans, including the Star Trek Discovery season 5 release date , Lower Decks season 4 release date , and Star Trek 4 release date . And finally, if you fancy something completely different, we worked out which Star Trek captains would survive a zombie movie . Look, it could happen.

James Osborne After graduating from the University of York with a degree in archaeology (inspired by Captain Picard), James worked with the news team at Screen Rant while contributing features to Vulture, The AV Club, Digital Spy, FANDOM, and the official Star Trek website. Now, he writes about all things sci-fi and fantasy at The Digital Fix with an 'Enterprise-D ambiance' playlist on loop. He's a seasoned expert on all things Star Trek , Lord of the Rings , Star Wars , and Yellowstone , and is more than willing to share his hot takes on TNG which he believes is the greatest series ever made.

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Star trek: discovery’s red angel explained.

Star Trek: Discovery season 5 referenced the Red Angel, a crucial element of season 2 that took the form of two members of Michael Burnham's family.

Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Discovery Season 2, Episode 5 - "Face The Strange"

• The Red Angel from Star Trek: Discovery season 2 was referenced in Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 4.
• There were two Red Angels in Star Trek: Discovery season 2: Dr. Gabrielle Burnham and her daughter, Commander Michael Burnham.
• As the Red Angel, Michael led the USS Discovery to the 32nd century and then destroyed the Red Angel time suit.

The Red Angel returned in Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 4, "Face the Strange," after being an integral aspect of season 2 that literally brought the USS Discovery to the 32nd century. Discovery season 2 begins with Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) taking over command of the USS Discovery to investigate a series of mysterious signals that have appeared across the galaxy connected to a being called the Red Angel. Starfleet has been unable to determine the origin of the Red Angel or even what kind of lifeform it may be, but Commander Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and her foster brother, Lt. Spock (Ethan Peck), eventually uncover the truth.

The Red Angel briefly reappears in Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 4 , "Face the Strange," written by Sean Cochran and directed by Lee Rose. When Captain Burnham and Commander Rayner (Callum Keith Rennie) get trapped in a time loop, they jump to different points in Discovery 's past, present, and future, including experiencing the starship's journey to the 32nd century. From the bridge of the Discovery, surrounded by the unconscious crew members, Burnham and Rayner watch the Red Angel through the viewscreen, as she leads Discovery to the future.

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Star trek: discovery season 2’s original red angel was michael’s mother, dr. gabrielle burnham, michael's parents developed the original red angel suit with section 31..

In Star Trek: Discovery season 2 , the USS Discovery tracks the Red Angel to the wreckage of the USS Hiawatha. As they rescue the survivors, Michael Burnham gets her first glimpse of the Red Angel. Burnham also finds a log entry left by Spock that describes nightmares he has had since childhood of seven red burst-like signals and a red angel. In Discovery season 2, episode 8, "If Memory Serves," Spock reveals that he mind-melded with the Red Angel and learned that she is a time traveler trying to prevent the destruction of the galaxy. The full truth of the mysterious entity is finally revealed in the aptly titled Star Trek: Discovery season 2, episode 10, "The Red Angel."

As the Red Angel, Gabrielle then made it her mission to prevent this future, but she kept failing.

With Michael Burnham acting as bait, the Red Angel arrives and is revealed to be Michael's mother, Dr. Gabrielle Burnham (Sonja Sohn). The Red Angel time suit Gabrielle wears was built by Starfleet's covert agency, Section 31, as part of the Daedalus Project, a time travel research program created during a temporal arms race with the Klingons. Michael's parents developed the Red Angel suit but were believed to be killed when the Klingons attacked their research outpost. In reality, Gabrielle had traveled 950 years into the future and discovered that the artificially intelligent Control had wiped out all life. As the Red Angel, Gabrielle then made it her mission to prevent this future, but she kept failing.

Michael Burnham Became Star Trek: Discovery Season 2’s Second Red Angel

Burnham wore the new red angel suit to lead the uss discovery into the 32nd century..

When Gabrielle Burnham was captured in Star Trek: Discovery season 2, episode 10, "The Red Angel," she provided Michael with information, including her personal logs. Unfortunately, Control destroyed the Red Angel suit. As the conflict between Discovery and Control continued to escalate, Discovery's crew came up with a plan to create a new Red Angel suit that could be used to send Discovery into the far future. After a run-in with an ancient sphere, Discovery gained access to a massive amount of data about the galaxy's history. If Control obtained that data, it would then be powerful enough to destroy all sentient life in the galaxy.

To prevent Control from accessing the sphere data, the USS Discovery planned to follow the new Red Angel into the future where Control would be unable to reach them. Michael Burnham became the second Red Angel , donning the new suit to travel back in time and set up the initial signals that would put Discovery on the right path and close the time loop. Michael created a sixth burst to lead Discovery through the wormhole into the future, and a seventh burst to let Spock and the USS Enterprise know that she had been successful. Michael arrived in the 32nd century in 3188, about one year before the USS Discovery would emerge from the wormhole and crash-land on an icy planet in 3189.

In Star Trek : Discovery season 5's "Face the Strange," Burnham and Rayner observe Discovery's journey from the ship's bridge, as Rayner observes: " We’ve gone back in time to when you went forward to the future? That’s a little confusing."

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What happened to star trek: discovery’s red angel, burnham ensured discovery's journey was a one-way trip..

Upon emerging from the wormhole in the 32nd century in Star Trek: Discovery season 3's premiere, Burnham collides with the ship of Cleveland Booker (David Ajala), and she and the ship both crash-land on a nearby planet. When Burnham is unable to contact the USS Discovery, she uses the Red Angel suit to check for life signs to confirm that Discovery successfully prevented Control from destroying all life in the galaxy. Elated that their mission was successful, Burnham then sends the Red Angel suit back through the closing wormhole to relay the seventh and final signal. Michael then programs the suit to self-destruct to prevent anyone from following Discovery to the future.

The Red Angel also established the bond between Michael Burnham and her mother, Gabrielle, despite their tumultuous relationship.

The Red Angel was a pivotal component of Star Trek: Discovery season 2 that bridged the series from its 23rd-century origin point to the 32nd century. The Red Angel also established the bond between Michael Burnham and her mother, Gabrielle, despite their tumultuous relationship, as only Michael could accomplish the mission her mother was unable to complete . Star Trek: Discovery season 5 was savvy in nodding to Michael Burnham's history as the Red Angel, since Discovery would not be in the far future without her. But the winged Red Angel time suit had to be destroyed to protect the 23rd century, ensuring Discovery's journey to the 32nd century was one-way and permanent.

Star Trek: Discovery is available to stream on Paramount+.

Star Trek: Discovery