star trek next generation gambit cast

Star Trek The Next Generation Gambit Cast and Crew

Movie Recommendations

Featured news.

Movie Reviews

Follow Moviefone

Movie trailers.

Gambit, Part II (episode)

• View history
• 1.2 Act One
• 1.3 Act Two
• 1.4 Act Three
• 1.5 Act Four
• 1.6 Act Five
• 2 Memorable quotes
• 3.1 Production history
• 3.2 Story and script
• 3.3 Cast and characters
• 3.4 Production
• 3.5 Continuity
• 3.6 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 Stunt doubles
• 4.7 Stand-ins
• 4.8.1 Library computer references
• 4.9 External links

Summary [ ]

The USS Enterprise -D is hit on the port nacelle with a barrage of fire from the mercenary vessel where Riker is being held prisoner. To Worf 's surprise, the damage was minimal. The same is true when the starboard nacelle is then hit. Troi believes Riker has done something to their weapons, which Data , as acting captain, believes it to be true and sees that they must play along. The Enterprise simulates serious damage and fires back with only minimal phaser power. Picard pretends that phaser hit damaged the vessel's three plasma arrays on their disruptors . This, along with the antimatter containment units buckling forces Baran to order the mercenary ship to withdraw. Data orders the crew to let the ship go, much to Worf's chagrin, assuming that this is what Riker wants them to do.

Act One [ ]

Data is intent on having the Enterprise hold position and continue investigating, rather than send ships to the other two likely planets – Draken IV and Yadalla Prime – to be attacked. Geordi La Forge and Troi attempt to find out more hidden signals in Riker's transmission, and La Forge does detect a pattern in a sub-harmonic analysis of the transmission. Data joins in the investigation and begins to re-sequence the signal. He asks that La Forge begin a search for a decryption key.

On the mercenary ship, Riker and Picard stage a heated argument. Their acrimonious relationship arouses Tallera 's suspicions, and she later interrogates Picard. Her questions stop when Picard's tests reveal that they have found one of the artifacts they are looking for. They immediately notify Baran of their discovery, who is being fooled by Riker's portrayal of a less-than-ideal Starfleet officer. Riker plays on this and tells Baran that he may need to find a new career. Baran says he might like to continue to work with Riker, and tells him that when the time comes, he wants him to be the one to kill Picard.

Act Two [ ]

On the Enterprise , Data determines that the message is a flight plan, indicating the mercenary ship is headed to the Hyralan sector . Worf believes that it would take them at least fourteen hours to be there since their maximum warp factor is 8.7, while La Forge says the Enterprise could be there in five. Data decides to beat them there, to which Worf responds in an irritated tone, which catches both La Forge and Data off guard.

As Worf orders the helm to lay in the coordinates and engage at warp 9, Data asks Worf to join him in the ready room . Once inside, Data berates him over his performance as first officer , most notably, for questioning his decisions in front of the crew. Worf states that he has always felt free to voice his opinions that would differ from Picard or Riker. Data accepts that but in those instances, he was acting as security chief . Data explains the role of the second-in-command is to carry out the orders of the commanding officer. In this case, the latter is Data. Should Worf object to those orders, he should discuss it with him in private, and further states that he doesn't recall Riker ever showing irritation with Picard's orders as he just did with his. Data states that if Worf is not capable of carrying out this role, he will return him to tactical and assign La Forge as first officer instead. Worf elects to remain as first officer, and Data accepts it on the condition he conforms to the guidelines. He also apologizes if this berating has ended their friendship. Worf takes responsibility for it and asks that this incident be overlooked to continue their friendship. Data accepts it and Worf leaves. Once alone, Data simply straightens his uniform.

Alone with Picard in his quarters, Riker fills him in on Baran's plan, including the fact that he is supposed to kill Picard after the authenticity of the final artifact is confirmed. Riker reveals that they are headed to the Hyralan sector to pick up the artifact, which will be Romulan in origin, from a Klingon transport ship. Picard, however, states that the artifacts are actually all Vulcan in origin after looking at glyphs and pictograms from the artifact taken from Calder II .

Picard discusses mutiny with Narik and is repulsed since he assumes Picard would want to be captain. He is favorable to Tallera, though. Then, Tallera bursts in and pulls a phaser on Picard, demanding to be told his true identity.

Act Three [ ]

Tallera reveals that she is a Vulcan intelligence officer named T'Paal on a mission of her own. The artifacts being sought are fragments of the mythical Stone of Gol , a powerful weapon she believes is being sought by a Vulcan isolationist group. She explains that the stone is a psionic resonator , a device that focuses and amplifies telepathic energy . If the stone were reassembled and used by a trained telepath, the weapon could eliminate the entire Vulcan council with a single thought.

Meanwhile, in the Hyralan sector, the Enterprise is surprised to encounter a Klingon ship, Toron -class . Suspicious, they seek options on how to bring the craft over since the treaty with the Klingons gives its pilot, Koral free movement in Federation space. Worf suggests the treaty does stipulate the right to conduct inspections for health and safety reasons. Data points out that using the treaty in this manner might not be in keeping with its spirit. Worf swallows his protests and concedes before Data notes that if Koral wishes to protest, he can file such a protest with the office of the Judge Advocate General , and gives the order to bring the shuttle aboard.

Koral is greeted by Dr. Crusher and Worf to conduct the "inspection". Koral scoffs at the notion, but Crusher carries out the inspection, nervously trying to conceal their real objective.

When the mercenaries learn what has happened, Baran reluctantly prepares a team to board the Enterprise . Picard balks at the notion and asks how many security officers would serve on such as ship as that. Dismissing him, Baran orders Riker to lead the team to invade the Enterprise and retrieve the artifact. Acting out his role, Picard shows serious doubt in Riker's loyalty, which Baran allays by assigning him to Riker, then secretly pulls the commander aside and tells him that he expects him to kill Picard after the raid.

Act Four [ ]

" I'm sure the health and safety inspection won't last much longer. "

Koral is sitting in the observation lounge with Troi and Data, who are overly-friendly with him, much to Koral's annoyance, who just sits with them in silence. Data offers him some Klingon bloodwine that Worf programmed into the replicator to his liking. Instead, Koral simply looks at the beverage, picks it up, and pours it on the floor.

Worf and Crusher are running out of time and excuses for the inspection, and have found nothing substantial. Before they can continue, the mercenary ship beams Riker and his team in the shuttle bay, with Riker stunning an operations crewman who was just entering. He explains to Crusher that he decided to make a career change.

Picard demands Worf reveal the location of the artifact, but Riker believes Koral has it and demands his location, giving Crusher a look. Picking up on this, Crusher reveals his location, and Worf says security won't let them get there but by using the shuttlecraft Justman , they can simply beam in without encountering them. Riker apologizes and stuns both Worf and Crusher; the latter seems to startle Picard a bit.

While Data and Troi continue to fail at their attempts at conversation with Koral, the mercenary team beams in, which surprises all three of them. Picard walks over to Koral and retrieves the artifact from his clothing and prepares to leave. Data warns Riker that his actions would bring charges of theft, assault, piracy and treason on him. Riker shrugs it off and decides to add one more to the list: murder. He fires at Picard who rolls out of the way, and returns fire, sending Riker falling to the ground. Troi and Data rush to his aid and tells Picard that Riker is dead, which Picard expresses pleasure in. They then return to the mercenary ship and Riker comes to as he was only stunned. Data admits that he feels a similar sensation to Riker's. Dazed, Riker explains it will take time to explain everything.

Back on the mercenary ship, Picard delivers two items to Baran: the artifact, and a vicious punch to the face. Narik explains that Riker turned on the team, which they believe was acting on Baran's orders. This forces Picard to incite a mutiny on the ship, which he succeeds as the crew turns their back on Baran and follows Picard. Baran reaches for his device stating that while he has it, he's still in command and will use it to kill Picard.

Act Five [ ]

When Baran attempts to activate Picard's patch, he kills himself instead. Picard then explains that he switched the transponder codes. He destroys the control device and takes command. Next, he orders the crew to deliver the artifacts as planned.

On the Enterprise , Riker notifies Vulcan security minister Satok that their operative is on her way, and learns from the minister that the Vulcans have no operative stationed on any mercenary ship. Meanwhile, Picard talks with Tallera about the two pieces, taking note of the symbol of War and Death and notices that the there seems to be an important glyph missing from between them. Tallera then says when they arrive that she will take the pieces and go to collect the payment. She says she must go alone, since she is Vulcan, to avoid suspicion. Picard then reveals that he asked Riker to contact Vulcan security, which unnerves Tallera but she plays along, telling Picard that it was a wise precaution.

When they arrive at Vulcan , Picard stops her as she prepares to go, ordering her to leave one piece behind. Tallera then reveals to the rest of the crew his true identity as a Starfleet officer. They start to turn on him but he then reveals that Tallera is going to use the pieces to make a volatile weapon, there's no money waiting for them at all, and she is going to double cross them to escape. Vekor aims her weapon at both of them and says she is only interested in the money, and she and Narik will go with them to the surface. All they want is their reward and after they are paid, they do not care where Tellara goes.

" The resonator cannot be stopped by phasers and shields… but it can be defeated by peace. "

They find the third resonator piece in a cave in the abandoned T'Karath Sanctuary on the Vulcan homeworld. Vekor finds that that the bounty money is "less than half of what we were promised", and she and Narik demand payment in full. Tallera completes the device and proceeds to kill Narik and Vekor. She turns on Picard just as Riker, Worf, and two security guards materialize in the cave. Picard orders them to drop their weapons and to clear their minds of aggressive thoughts. He tells them that he now recognizes the missing glyph, which is Peace, and can defeat the effects of the weapon. Tallera tries to use it on Riker, but he clears his mind and the weapon fails. Picard says that when the Vulcans realized that peace could defeat war and death , the weapon was dismantled. Tallera, angry, tries the weapon on Worf, but also fails. After a last failed attempt on Picard, who has knelt in front of her, he gently takes it from her. She is taken into custody, and the resonator is given to the Vulcans, and they assure Captain Picard that they will destroy all three fragments.

A stoic Data escorts Riker to the brig after not getting Picard's joke

Once back on board the Enterprise , Picard is ready to move on and orders Riker to leave orbit. Data is dismayed that the Stone of Gol will be destroyed, as it is from a "remarkable period of history". Riker smiles and reminds Picard that he been officially declared 'dead' and therefore cannot give him orders. Data then reminds them that technically Riker has been declared a renegade, facing twelve court martial offenses and cannot give orders either. Picard decides to stay 'dead' a little longer and goes to take a nap in his quarters and jokingly suggests that Data ought to put Riker in the brig for his transgressions. As Picard enters his quarters and the door closes behind him, Riker laughs too, until Data starts dragging him away without getting the joke.

Memorable quotes [ ]

"What's wrong, Commander? You having second thoughts about betraying your comrades? 'Cause that's what you've done: betrayed them. Betrayed them in order to save yourself. You used to be just a second-rate officer. Now you're a traitor and a coward. How does that feel?" [Riker decks Picard] "I don't know. How did that feel?"

" If we had not let them escape, this would not be necessary. " " That is correct, but I believe Commander Riker wanted us to let them escape. "

" May I inquire as to your destination? " " No. " " May I ask the purpose of your journey? " " No. "

" Mr. Worf, I am sorry if I have ended our friendship. " " Sir, it is I who has jeopardized our friendship, not you. If you will overlook this incident, I would like to continue to consider you my friend. " " I would like that as well. " " Thank you, sir. "

" Oh, what a tangled web we weave. "

" Will, you always seem to be after my job. "

" He's alright, he's only stunned. " " I must admit, I am experiencing a similar sensation. " " This is going to take a little time to explain. "

" It would take them at least fourteen hours to reach that position. " " We could be there in five. " " Make it so. " " Finally. "

" I am not certain that using this clause as an excuse to conduct a search would be consistent with the spirit of the Treaty . " " Yes, sir. " " However, if Koral wishes to contest our actions, he can file a protest with the Judge Advocate General 's Office. Bring the shuttle aboard. "

" You were right, Tallera. The resonator cannot be stopped by phasers and shields… but it can be defeated by peace. "

" Number one, will you set a course for Starbase 227? I'll join you on the bridge shortly. " " Wait a minute. You've been declared dead. You can't give orders around here. " " If we are to adhere to the exact letter of Starfleet regulations, then technically sir, you have been declared a renegade. In fact I believe you are facing twelve counts of court martial offenses. You cannot give orders either, sir. " " That's quite right. And as I am supposed to be dead, I'll go and get some sleep, and Mr. Data, I suggest that you escort Commander Riker to the brig. " " Aye, sir… " (Data grabs Riker to lead him towards the brig) " this way, sir. " " Data, he was joking. You know that, right? … Data? "

Background information [ ]

Production history [ ].

• Final draft script: 6 August 1993 [1]
• Filmed: 9 August 1993 – 17 August 1993
• Premiere airdate: 18 October 1993
• First UK airdate: 7 February 1996

Story and script [ ]

• Ronald D. Moore commented, " I felt we ran out of story in 'Part II'. There were places where I was treading water. We had to find the lost ark and I didn't know what the lost ark was. Instead, we had a device from ancient Vulcan myth that had mythic properties that you explain are telepathic focusing properties. I was trying really hard to make this thing work and in the end, I just said, 'All right, maybe we should just go for it and make this a classic Gene [Roddenberry] kind of message and go for "think happy thoughts" and make it something which tied into the backstory of Vulcan and of Surak and peace.' I thought it would fit in nicely. I'm not sure if it did. It might have just fallen in on its own gooeyness. " ( Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages , p. 292)
• In early drafts of the script the psionic resonator was much more powerful, capable of killing millions of people at a time. ( Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion  (2nd ed., p. 267))
• Naren Shankar based the Vulcan subplot here on Spock's admission in TOS : " Journey to Babel " that a Vulcan could kill for a logical reason. He decided to take a different tone for the Vulcans: " We went for people who very logically felt that Vulcan's problems were linked to contamination by illogical people, so in a logical sense you say 'Get rid of them'…a very logical way to arrive at racism. " ( Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion  (2nd ed., pp. 266-267))
• Initially the Vulcan god of death was bald, until Rick Berman ordered hair to be etched on to avoid resemblance to Patrick Stewart in close-ups. ( Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion  (2nd ed., p. 267))

Cast and characters [ ]

Filming with James Worthy

• NBA star James Worthy 's appearance as Koral came about due to a chance meeting with Robert O'Reilly on an airplane. Worthy admitted his desire to appear on the show. At O'Reilly's urging, Worthy met with Rick Berman and Michael Piller , who in turn asked Jeri Taylor for suitable cameo roles. This timed perfectly with the need for filler elements in this episode, and thus Koral was created. ( Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion  (2nd ed., p. 266))

Production [ ]

• "Gambit, Part II" was filmed between Monday 9 August 1993 and Tuesday 17 August 1993 on Paramount Stage 8 , 9 , and 16 .
• Ronald B. Moore , effects supervisor, is incorrectly credited with an initial "D" in the end credits, which confuses him with writer and producer Ronald D. Moore.

Continuity [ ]

• It is revealed in this episode that Vulcan is one of the founding worlds of the Federation . It would not be revealed until ENT : " Zero Hour " (which aired a decade later) that the other three are Earth , Andoria and Tellar , though these four worlds had been mentioned as the founding planets in several non-canon publications and fan works.
• Yadalla Prime was originally Yonada , to be the presumed destination of the people in TOS : " For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky ", but it was changed to meet the need for presumed Romulan origins.
• Barradas III was a homage to Beratis , one of the names for the Redjac entity in TOS : " Wolf in the Fold ".
• Ron Moore named the Stone of Gol after the plateau where Spock studied in Star Trek: The Motion Picture . Shankar joked that the weapon might colloquially be called the "Gol Stone".
• Draken IV was previously mentioned in TNG : " Face Of The Enemy ", also written by Shankar.
• According to Tallera , the T'Karath Sanctuary has been abandoned for centuries after being used as an " underground stronghold for one of the factions during the last civil war ". ENT : " Awakening ", which aired a decade later, depicted the same sanctuary as a Syrrannite stronghold during the Vulcan Reformation of 2154 .
• The Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion  (2nd ed., p. 267) comments that elements of this episode suggest the Vulcan-Romulan schism may predate Surak .
• After Data reprimands Worf in the ready room , he imitates Picard's tugging of his shirt when standing up (commonly referred to as a Picard Maneuver ).
• The weapon wielded by Tallera when confronting Picard is a re-use of the Varon-T disruptor from " The Most Toys ". A Varon-T disruptor prop also makes an appearance, as Kelsey 's personal weapon in " Starship Mine ".
• The statue seen in Arctus Baran's room can later be seen in the commander's office aboard Terok Nor in DS9 : " Shattered Mirror ".
• The mercenary vessel's bridge is later redressed as the bridge of the USS Pasteur in TNG : " All Good Things... ". One of the central consoles was a stock set element that also appeared in "All Good Things…" when the Romulan Commander Tomalak leans over it to address Picard through the viewscreen .
• While the chain of command of bridge officers from Picard through to Data has been clear-cut, Data's first officer was Worf, a line officer, rather than Troi or Crusher, both staff officers, despite Beverly holding the rank of Commander , being bridge certified and having commanded the Enterprise in TNG : " Descent, Part II ", and Deanna holding the rank of Lieutenant Commander over Worf's Lieutenant rank. Troi's rank and bridge certification would become pertinent in TNG : " Thine Own Self ". La Forge is also a line officer and also outranked Worf but is needed most in Engineering and rarely takes command.

Video and DVD releases [ ]

• UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video ): Volume 79, 9 May 1994 .
• In feature-length form, as part of the UK VHS release Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Full Length TV Movies : Volume 9, catalog number VHR 4109, 8 May 1995 .
• As part of the US video collection Star Trek - The Greatest Battles : 3 April 1997 .
• As part of the UK video collection Star Trek - Greatest Battles : 16 November 1998 .
• As part of the TNG Season 7 DVD collection.
• In feature-length form, as part of the Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Complete TV Movies collection.

Links and references [ ]

Starring [ ].

• Patrick Stewart as Capt. Jean-Luc Picard
• Jonathan Frakes as Cmdr. William T. Riker

Also starring [ ]

• LeVar Burton as Lt. Cmdr. Geordi La Forge
• Michael Dorn as Lieutenant Worf
• Gates McFadden as Dr. Beverly Crusher
• Marina Sirtis as Counselor Deanna Troi
• Brent Spiner as Lt. Commander Data

Guest stars [ ]

• Richard Lynch as Arctus Baran
• Robin Curtis as Tallera / T'Paal
• Caitlin Brown as Vekor
• Cameron Thor as Narik
• James Worthy as Koral
• Sabrina LeBeauf as Giusti

Co-star [ ]

• Martin Goslins as Setok

Uncredited co-stars [ ]

• Majel Barrett as Narrator
• Steve Blalock as operations division officer
• Eugenie Bondurant as alien mercenary
• Steven Boz as operations division ensign
• Cullen Chambers as command division officer
• Kevin Indio Copeland as alien mercenary
• Goldie Ann Gareza as command division officer
• Paul Genick as Human mercenary
• Kerry Hoyt as operations division ensign
• Michael Moorehead as science division ensign
• Keith Rayve as command division ensign
• M. Smith as Human mercenary
• Noriko Suzuki as operations division ensign
• Mary Thompson as operations division officer
• Baran's mercenary ship computer voice
• Command division ensign (voice)

Stunt doubles [ ]

• Maria Kelly as stunt double for Caitlin Brown
• Dennis Madalone as stunt double for Richard Lynch
• Joe Murphy as stunt double for Cameron Thor
• John Nowak as stunt double for Patrick Stewart
• Mark Riccardi as stunt double for Jonathan Frakes

Stand-ins [ ]

• David Keith Anderson – stand-in for LeVar Burton
• Debbie David – stand-in for Brent Spiner and Richard Lynch
• Michael Echols – stand-in for Michael Dorn
• Nora Leonhardt – stand-in for Marina Sirtis and Robin Curtis
• Lorine Mendell – stand-in for Gates McFadden and Caitlin Brown
• Richard Sarstedt – stand-in for Jonathan Frakes
• Dennis Tracy – stand-in for Patrick Stewart

References [ ]

4th century ; 2355 ; 2369 ; ability ; alphabet ; archaeological expert ; assassin ; Baran's mercenary ship ; bearing ; Beta Quadrant ; bloodwine ; brig ; Calder II ; Cardassian ; career ; carrier wave ; clause ; commercial orbital lane ; contamination ; coordinates ; court martial offense ; Draken IV ; emotional need ; energy weapon ; extremist ; Federation ; Federation space ; Ferengi ; flight plan ; friend ; Galaxy class decks ; glyph ; God of War ; head of security ; health hazard ; health and safety inspection ; Hyralan sector ; inertial damper ; inflection ; irritation ; Judge Advocate General ; Justman ; Klingon ; labor camp ; leader ; Milky Way Galaxy ; magic ; masquerade ; mythology ; number one ; periapsis ; pictogram ; psionic resonator ; radiation leak ; renegade ; reprimand ; Romulan ; Romulan language ; security officer ; Seven other planets ; ShiKahr District ; Starbase 227 ; Starfleet ; Starfleet Command ; Stone of Gol ; supernatural ; symbology ; T'Karath Sanctuary ; Taugan system ; telepathic ability ; thought ; Toron -class ; traitor ; treason ; Treaty of Alliance ; V'Shar ; Vulcan ; Vulcan (planet) ; Vulcan cities ; Vulcan Isolationist Movement ; Vulcan language ; Vulcan security forces ; weapon ; weapons control ; weave ; Yadalla Prime

Library computer references [ ]

Starship mission status : Ajax , USS ; Alderaan ; Alpha Laputa IV ; Ambassador -class ; Apollo -class ; Aries , USS ; Beta Cygni system ; Bradbury , USS ; Bradbury -class ; Charleston , USS ; Constellation -class ; Excelsior -class ; Fearless , USS ; Goddard , USS ; Hood , USS ; Korolev -class ; Merced -class ; Merrimac , USS ; Monitor , USS ; Nebula -class ; New Orleans -class pulsar ; Renaissance -class ; Repulse , USS ; Romulan Neutral Zone ; sector ; Sector 21396 ; Sector 21538 ; Sector 22358 ; Sector 22846 ; Sector 22853 ; Sector 23079 ; Starbase 134 ; Starbase 434 ; Thomas Paine , USS ; Trieste , USS ; Victory , USS ; Vulcan Science Academy ; warp drive ; Zhukov , USS

Spacecraft Systems Status : Bussard collector ; captain's yacht ; class M ; gross vehicle mass ; impulse engine ; main shuttlebay Mars ; navigational deflector ; observation lounge ; phaser bank ; service docking port ; shuttlebay 2 ; shuttlebay 3 ; torpedo launcher ; umbilical connect port ; Utopia Planitia ; warp nacelle

External links [ ]

• " Gambit " at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• " Gambit " at Wikipedia
• "Gambit, Part II" at StarTrek.com
• " "Gambit" " at MissionLogPodcast.com , a Roddenberry Star Trek podcast
• "Gambit, Part II" script  at Star Trek Minutiae

Star Trek: The Next Generation : “Interface”/“Gambit, Part 1”

“Interface” (season 7, episode 3; originally aired Oct. 2, 1993)

Or  The One Where Geordi Puts On A Cyber-Gimp Suit and Talks With His Mother

I got excited seeing Ben Vereen’s name in the opening credits for “Interface.” Vereen is a terrific actor—a little crazed if he doesn’t have strong direction, but brilliantly talented and unique—and I was curious to see what kind of energy he’d bring to the show. I was even more interested when I realized Vereen was going to be playing Geordi’s dad. The story was, in part, driven by Geordi’s concerns over his missing mother, and maybe there was going to be some estrangement or difficulty between him and Vereen that the two would have to overcome together to deal with the disappearance. Maybe halfway through the episode, Geordi talks with his dad via Future Skype. It’s a bit awkward, as La Forge Sr. has already given Mom up for dead, and Geordi isn’t ready to let go. Not a terrible scene, but there isn’t much to it; and that’s the only appearance Vereen makes. In fact, its his only appearance (so far as I can tell) in the entire franchise. I suppose he might not be quite as big a star to the rest of the world as he is to me (although surely everyone has seen him in  All That Jazz ?), but it seems like a waste. Much like everything else about this episode.

Related Content

We’re into season seven now, no turning back. That’s over twice the number of seasons as the original  Trek , and the stretch marks are starting to show. Seven seasons is an impressive number for any series, and however bad this end run gets, I’m going to leave  TNG  with a favorable impression on the whole. But man, if “Interface” is the mean for what’s to come, I’m not looking forward to the next couple of months. This was by turns boring, poorly constructed, and frustrating, a hodgepodge of half-considered ideas tossed together in an ill-advised hope that they might add up to more than the sum of their parts. It takes on a major issue—the potential loss of Geordi’s mom—and thoroughly bungles the delivery, treating behavior which in any other episode would be rewarded (i.e. Geordi’s refusal to believe that his mom is gone for good) as unstable, and throwing some magical aliens into the mix just to make everything worse. We’re not quite in the dregs of the first season here, as the episode isn’t badly acted, and characters behave roughly as they usually do, but man. This was a whole lot of not good.

To begin with, the level of coincidence required to make the story possible is a bit of a stretch. Geordi, Beverly, and Data are testing out a new virtual reality-esque interface, via which Geordi can physically control a probe from a distance, allowing him to study close-hand problems that would be otherwise fatal to human beings. (I thought this is what Data was for?) The  Enterprise  is on its way to  check out what happened to the  Raman , a science vessel currently trapped in the atmosphere of a gas giant, and Geordi plans to use the probe-suit to investigate the ship as directly as they can. It’s a little odd that, after so many years and God knows how many rescue missions, we get a mission that requires the use of a specific technology, and it just happens to be the episode that specific technology is first introduced, but it’s not like the show hasn’t played that card before. What really doesn’t work is that just as the  Enterprise  enters orbit around the gas giant, the word comes down that Geordi’s mother’s ship, the  Hera , has vanished. Silva La Forge’s disappearance is what creates much of “Interface”’s dramatic tension, and it’s what ultimately puts Geordi in serious danger, when an alien race assumes the form of Geordi’s mom to try and get him to let them go. The heightened emotions of the situation make the interface process a highly unstable one—which means it’s awfully convenient for the episode that Geordi just happens to be hit with a crisis. And such a specific sort of crisis, too. His mom isn’t “dead,” she’s “vanished,” a plot hook that could have easily served as the foundation of an episode on its own.

And that’s another problem with this episode—the handling of Silva’s disappearance is unusual, and while it’s possible to view that unusual quality as a sign of the writers trying to take risks, it plays instead as sloppy storytelling. The  Hera  vanishes, and seemingly within hours, everyone is telling Geordi he needs to accept that she’s gone for good. There’s nothing wrong with drama that deals with the difficulties of overcoming grief, but the balance here is all wrong. Until “Silva” shows up on the  Raman,  Geordi seems like the sane one, and there’s something almost suspicious in the ease with which everyone—including the afore mentioned Vereen—is willing to let go. We’ve been trained by decades of sci-fi, horror, and fantasy stories on the principle that no body means no death, and while there’s a tale to tell that uses that need for closure to good purpose, “Interface” is not that story. Geordi’s grief and confusion are really just a means to an end, which makes his emotional responses throughout seem less a natural response to his situation, and more something that has been dictated by the needs of the story. That does a disservice to the character, and makes it difficult, if not impossible, to really care about anything that happens here. At the end of the hour, Geordi says that his experience with the magic shape-shifting aliens has allowed him to find closure regarding his mom’s probable death. Which is nice for him, but there’s no closure or catharsis for us, no transition from “Wait, her entire ship vanished? Leaving no trace? Okay,  something  has to be up with that,” to “Aww, she’s space vapor.” As far as I can tell, the issue is never resolved, and it’s not some sort of “Pine Barrens” -esque commentary on the essential mystery of life. It’s basically just half-assed. (If I had to guess, I’d say Silva’s hotshot engineer pulled something that destroyed the ship, but what’s bizarre is the cavalier attitude everyone has towards a vanished-without-a-trace starship. Any other time this happened, the  Enterprise  would be investigating. Here, it’s treated like this sort of thing happens every week.)

Then there’s the aliens. When Geordi uses the probe-suit to project his mind on-board the  Raman , he finds a damaged ship full of corpses—and then Silva shows up. She tells Geordi he needs to bring the  Raman  down to the surface of the planet somehow, claiming that the  Hera  is down there, and Geordi believes her. He spends most of the episode believing her, and doing his best to explain to everyone else how her ship could’ve somehow teleported itself onto a planet where the atmospheric pressure would easily be enough to crush its hull. At least in these conversations, Geordi comes across as actually off-kilter, as opposed to the other points in the episode where we’re simply  told  he’s being unreasonable. It’s silly, and it’s the sort of silly that could’ve maybe worked if they put a little more effort into making it work. All you’d have to do is make “Silva”’s story just a little more plausible. Like, have her claim her crew is trapped on the gas planet instead of saying her whole ship. Sure, the idea is that the alien pretending to be Silva is just pulling things off the surface of Geordi’s mind, and that Geordi is so desperate for some sign of his mom that he’ll believe it, but in order for the episode to work, I think we need to be able to believe it too. At least at first. This isn’t “Interface”’s worst crime, but it’s such a needless one that it’s hard to accept.

Turns out, the aliens are the reason everyone on board the  Raman  is dead. Oh, they’re nice aliens to be sure, but they tried to communicate with the ship’s crew in the same way they communicate with Geordi-in-a-Probe, and that killed ’em. For some reason. Now they’re trapped on board the  Raman , and they’re dying, and they need to get back to the planet. So that’s enough to give us some conflict—only thing is, that’s all we get. These aren’t sentient beings, they’re a plot device, as nakedly anonymous as they come. Everything about them is convenient to the needs of the episode and nothing else. Which is not a first for  TNG  (or  Trek in general), but I’d be more willing to accept this if it was in the service of a story that actually earned a level of expedience. Here, we have mind-reading aliens to exploit Geordi’s grief; and we have Geordi’s grief to make sure the interface with the probe becomes dangerous, and that’s as far as it goes. Once you clear away all the interference, there’s barely anything left.

There are other complaints. The virtual-reality probe system is pretty ridiculous—I’m not sure why it’s necessary for Geordi to be fully immersed in the system, in a body suit and everything (when we see the probe, it’s basically a floating trash can), and I certainly don’t understand the physics that go into a system that can create physical burns on its users hands simply because he’s really feeling it. (Maybe the aliens psychic powers caused it? Sure, let’s go with that.) And there is some good here as well, mostly in the interactions between Geordi and Data. It’s also great to see Geordi getting reprimanded for his behavior here—he’s irresponsible and directly disobeys Picard, and at least this doesn’t just get swept under the rug. Still, that doesn’t go very far. This is a weak effort, and while it’s possible to imagine various elements making for good television, the way they’re combined here mostly makes for a tedious, unrewarding hour.

Stray Observations:

• One positive: The cold open, which starts with Geordi already using the probe (instead of showing us the probe, we see Geordi himself, VISOR-less), is odd and fun.
• Oh, and one more: While Geordi is getting the real story from the alien during the episode’s climax, we’re watching Picard, Data, and Beverly trying to come up with a way to save Geordi. Which means we only hear Geordi’s half of the conversation. It’s not a bad way to get the information across without resorting to flat exposition.
• “You may experience the emptiness with me if you wish.” Best pick-up line ever?

“Gambit, Part 1” (season 7, episode 4; originally aired Oct. 9, 1993)

Or  The One where Picard And Riker Are Menaced By Richard Lynch’s Forehead Bumps

Oh hey, another two-parter. Joy.

Actually, “Gambit: Part 1” isn’t as bad as I was dreading it would be. In fact, once you get past the opening 15 minutes, it turns into a fun, goofy romp along the lines of “Starship Mine. ” Only it’s a bit better than “Mine,” because Data ends up as captain of the  Enterprise , which hasn’t happened in a while. “Gambit” plays a bit like a cheesy ’80s sci-fi flick, something Canon might’ve made in between churning out ninja and Chuck Norris pictures; the presence of ’80s B-movie fixture Richard Lynch as the episode’s main villain doesn’t alter this impression. It’s not amazing or anything, and as always I question the need to spread this out over two episodes. (We’ll see how part two works out, though.) But it’s less bad than “Interface,” and, at least right now, probably better than anything the seventh season has had to offer. I’m slowly coming around to the idea that the thoughtful, challenging stories that  TNG  told in its best moments might be a thing of the past, but if this is what’s replacing them, well, there are worse ways to go.

Speaking of “worse,” the first act of “Gambit” is something of a slog. The cold open in the space bar, featuring Riker, Worf, Beverly, and Troi trying to find out what happened to Picard, is decent—I especially enjoyed Beverly’s kicky beret—but once the crew learns that Picard is dead, things take a turn for the painful. (No, Picard isn’t dead. But they think he is.) Really, it’s just this one scene, when Troi confronts Riker on his behavior in the wake of Picard’s purported demise. It’s amazingly bad. Like “high-school students doing a play that somebody in creative writing class wrote after watching ‘“A,” My Name Is Alex ’ ” Full of tortured, overly direct sentences and actors so desperate to justify their dialogue that they overplay everything. It’s an unnecessary scene as well; it exists to show how Riker and Troi are dealing with their grief, and how Riker is determined to track down Picard’s killers. The latter information is proven redundant when Riker tells a Federation admiral of his intentions (to the episode’s credit, we don’t waste a lot of time on authority figures arguing against Riker’s decision, although I’m fuzzy on exactly what happens to a ship’s command when its captain dies), and the former… well, since Picard is, in fact, not dead (Gasp!), this is pointless. It’s necessary to indicate that the ensemble has been affected by what happened, but a whole scene about how to properly deal with the tragedy is wasted time when the object of their mourning pops back on screen in the next act. If the Riker-Troi argument had been well-written, if it had been even competently managed, I wouldn’t object so much—but this one scene threatens to derail the entire episode.

Which is a shame, really. Once Riker gets himself kidnapped by a group of relic-hunting space pirates, things get a lot more interesting. The bad guys are straight out of the genre playbook, a motley crew of scum and villainy who serve at the pleasure of Arctus Baran (Lynch). And I’m not kidding about the pleasure part; each crewmember has a neural servo implanted in his or her neck, and if they go against Baran’s wishes, Baran can transmit great waves of pain with the touch of a button. (Which is somewhat reminiscent of “Chain Of Command, Part 2. ” I was initially worried the episode would lean too heavily on the servos as a way of breaking Riker—torture isn’t something this show can do casually anymore—but the devices are more an obstacle that Picard and Riker will eventually have to overcome than anything designed to unsettle us too badly.) Picard’s already on board. In an explanation that only just lands within the bounds of plausibility, it turns out that Baran and the others have a special device that allows them to beam people onto their ship by shooting them. Which is why the snitch at the bar thought Picard was dead; instead of being “shot,” he’d been transported to Baran’s ship. As for how that worked out, well, Picard was doing his archaeology routine, and the space bandits are hopping around the galaxy looking for a very specific relic. Since Picard was off-duty when they found him, he was able to fake his way onto the ship and join up. Now he’s processing relics looking for a certain signature that Baran wants (for reasons we don’t know quite yet), and Riker shows up to lend a helping hand in bringing the bad guys to justice.

Basically what starts off as an episode with a really big hook (PICARD IS DEAD OH NO) shifts soon enough into a bit of escapism, and is all the better for it. Picard and Riker make a great team, but it’s not a pair the show usually throws into action together; usually Riker is off on the away team, and whenever Picard is directly involved with the action, it’s because Riker has already been incapacitated or Picard has been separated from the crew. But this is one of the foundational relationships of the show, and while this episode isn’t particularly deep, it’s great to see captain and first officer making plans and kicking ass and so forth. It’s also amusing how readily Picard takes to hating on Riker whenever any other member of the crew is around to hear. (Picard is so committed to this that I briefly worried this was going to turn into a mind-control episode; thankfully, it’s just that Jean-Luc is nearly as good an actor as Patrick Stewart.) Obviously establishing open antagonism against his real-life friend is the easiest way to try and prevent Baran from suspecting anything, but Riker’s pained look after Picard belts him one is hilarious.

While all this is going down, Data has become captain of the  Enterprise,  and I’m not gonna lie to you: it’s awesome. The main focus of the story is Riker and Picard, but every scene with Data running the ship is gold—it’s not showy or particularly dramatic, but he’s super efficient, and basically unstoppable. If you’ve ever seen the original  Trek , you know that every once in a while, Spock would be in the command seat. Sometimes this didn’t work out so well, but by and large, he made a terrific commanding officer, because he was über-competant. Spock made logical, sensible choices, and while that isn’t always the source of great drama, it can be very satisfying to watch. Data is basically in the same boat here. Picard and the rest of the organic crew aren’t the hormone addled adult-teenagers of  TOS , but it’s refreshing to see a story move forward without being hindered by doubt or bad instincts.

Arguably that takes some suspense out of the cliffhanger that ends the episode. The  Enterprise  catches up with Baran’s ship while Picard is doing his best to stop Baran from destroying a science vessel that stands in his way. There’s some talk, and Riker sends Data a message to lower their shields. Data considers this, nods, and then obeys the order—which, apparently, allows Baran to fire on the  Enterprise  while it’s unprotected. The fact that Riker set this all up, and Data allowed it to happen, means that it’s hard to get too worried about anything happening to the  Enterprise  before we watch part two. But then, it’s hard to believe that anything would’ve happened to the ship regardless, and what Data and Riker are working together to accomplish is to create a different kind of suspense. I’m not wondering if the  Enterprise  will survive; I’m wondering  how  it survives. Which, really, is the question at the heart of all cliffhangers. It wouldn’t be a cliffhanger if it was going to have an unhappy ending.

I don’t really have a lot to say about this one—can’t say yet if the two-parter justifies itself, or if the cliffhanger resolution makes sense, or if Baran gets a dramatically satisfying end. I doubt the second part of the episode is going to be amazing television, and I’d guess that, super-sizing aside, “Gambit” isn’t going to try for quite as much as “Interface” did. (For all its faults, “Interface” did have a certain kind of ambition.) But it’s entertaining, and it makes a lot more sense than “Interface” did, and, that one scene aside, I didn’t hate this. I just don’t have a whole lot more to comment on, so hopefully that’s enough.

Next week:  I hopefully find something more compelling to talk about with “Gambit, Part 2,” and hold Data’s hand through some bad dreams in “Phantasms.”

• Cast & crew
• User reviews

Star Trek: The Next Generation

Set almost 100 years after Captain Kirk's 5-year mission, a new generation of Starfleet officers sets off in the U.S.S. Enterprise-D on its own mission to go where no one has gone before. Set almost 100 years after Captain Kirk's 5-year mission, a new generation of Starfleet officers sets off in the U.S.S. Enterprise-D on its own mission to go where no one has gone before. Set almost 100 years after Captain Kirk's 5-year mission, a new generation of Starfleet officers sets off in the U.S.S. Enterprise-D on its own mission to go where no one has gone before.

• Gene Roddenberry
• Patrick Stewart
• Brent Spiner
• Jonathan Frakes
• 320 User reviews
• 162 Critic reviews
• 39 wins & 61 nominations total

Episodes 176

Photos 3429

• Captain Jean-Luc Picard …

• Lieutenant Commander Data …

• Commander William Thomas 'Will' Riker …

• Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge …

• Counselor Deanna Troi

• Lieutenant Worf …

• Doctor Beverly Crusher …

• Enterprise Computer …

• Wesley Crusher …

• Chief Miles O'Brien …
• Youngblood …

• Lieutenant Natasha 'Tasha' Yar …

• Doctor Katherine Pulaski …

• Nurse Alyssa Ogawa …

• Ansata Terrorist …

• Ensign Ro Laren …

• Keiko O'Brien …
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

Stellar Photos From the "Star Trek" TV Universe

More like this

Did you know

• Trivia Almost everyone in the cast became life-long friends. At LeVar Burton 's 1992 wedding, Brent Spiner served as best man, and Sir Patrick Stewart , Jonathan Frakes , and Michael Dorn all served as ushers. Man of the People (1992) (#6.3) aired on that day.
• Goofs It is claimed that Data can't use contractions (Can't, Isn't, Don't, etc) yet there are several instances throughout the series where he does. One of the first such examples is heard in Encounter at Farpoint (1987) , where Data uses the word "Can't" while the Enterprise is being chased by Q's "ship".

[repeated line]

Capt. Picard : Engage!

• Crazy credits The model of the Enterprise used in the opening credits is so detailed, a tiny figure can be seen walking past a window just before the vessel jumps to warp speed.
• Alternate versions The first and last episodes were originally broadcast as two-hour TV movies, and were later re-edited into two one-hour episodes each. Both edits involved removing some scenes from each episode.
• Connections Edited into Reading Rainbow: The Bionic Bunny Show (1988)

User reviews 320

• Feb 26, 2003

Exceptional Robots on Film & TV

• How many seasons does Star Trek: The Next Generation have? Powered by Alexa
• Who is the captain of the USS Enterprise?
• Did any cast members of the original Star Trek series appear in The Next Generation?
• September 26, 1987 (United States)
• United States
• Official Facebook
• Official site
• Star Trek: TNG
• Donald C. Tillman Water Reclamation Plant - 6100 Woodley Avenue, Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California, USA (location)
• Paramount Television
• See more company credits at IMDbPro

Technical specs

• Runtime 45 minutes
• Dolby Stereo

Related news

Contribute to this page.

• IMDb Answers: Help fill gaps in our data
• Learn more about contributing

More to explore

Recently viewed