Welcome back to Underrated Trek, where I take a special look at Star Trek episodes that I love…which may not be the most popular or even liked by most. Today we continue our special Halloween look at scary Trek with a look at an episode of Next Generation that is scary. Even if it’s also a far from perfect episode. This is:
I had a few choices from TNG, such as Conspiracy which was scary at the time but is more silly today. There was also Genesis and Identity Crisis, but I already covered them. Schisms and Frame of Mind are hard one’s to talk about, being closer to Twilight Zone than horror. Though you could argue Schisms is the idea in this episode realized a lot better, the ending is a bit more satisfying but not entirely. I finally decided that this is as close as TNG would come to a genuine scary episode…which makes it more tragic that the episode basically fails. Lets to a closer look at it.
Plot Synopsis:
The Enterprise has discovered the lost vessel “Brattain” and discover that everyone on board apparently went mad and killed each other. The Enterprise attempts to salvage the ship but it is stuck in a rift which also traps the Enterprise.
While the crew work on the problem everyone starts to have odd experiences on this ship. While Troi has dreams where she hears voices telling her something which she can’t understand. As the crew experience fear and paranoia Crusher realizes no one the ship as had REM sleep in days.
Of course humans need REM so they need to find a solution before the crew all go insane. Data and Troi put the pieces together and figure that there is another ship trapped, and they are asking Troi for help in her dream. This telepathic communication is depriving the rest of the crew of REM sleep. They manages to figure what they need and provide it in time to save the crew and get out of there.
Guest Star:
No one really in this one.
Episode Pro’s:
The scares are really pretty top notch. Let’s see, we have Picard thinking he is being crushed by the turbolift. Riker going into bed and seeing snakes slithering around his feet. And the most infamous one, Crusher in the morgue when all of the dead bodies seem to all get up on their own! The rest of the crew turning into paranoid loons works pretty well too.
Everyone has one big scene which is always nice feature. Worf gets his own scene where he is ready to kill himself because the fear has convinced him he is no longer a warrior. Troi talks him down. We even see how the lower levels of the ship are being affected with the officers in Ten Forward, which is kind of rare. Even Guinan shows up, in her most pointless role to be honest, and kicks some ass with a laser weapon when the officers in Ten Forward begin getting rowdy. One of her best scenes.
The solution is a little obvious in he end, but I like the process Troi and Data use to get their. Troi is useful in this one you could argue she saves the ship though Data of course has to help. Aren’t they lucky to have an android on board who can save the day because he feels no emotions? The whole time Troi’s voices are saying “one moon circles” which turns out to be Hydrogen that the other aliens who are trapped need to make the explosion. I love when Troi and Data work together those scenes are always really good.
Episode Con’s:
Ok let’s get the big one out of the way, that shot of Troi floating in the void was awful. I went over it before and even the creators admitted it looked terrible.
The episode comes close to dealing with some cool ideas, including REM and dream deprivation not to mention directed dreaming, but it never seems to really get there. Heck even get talk of the crew seeing ghosts and hallucinating but again, it’s not developed enough.
And the other biggest gripe in this episode comes from the way Picard just has the Enterprise stay in the area. The Enterprise finds the Brittain stuck in space and the crew having killed themselves, and yet he stays there four days rather than just taking the ship and getting out of here. And guess what? They end up stuck too of course!
While everyone gets a scene the episode is harder on some than others. Riker basically vanishes from the episode after his scare. Where was he, curled up in his bed sobbing? Same with Worf after his scene. At least Picard, Crusher and LaForge were struggling to work out of the mess. And the ending is a little to simple, with all that tension you would have expected something bigger than “they figure out how to blow it up”. It feels like they realized they were running out of time and needed to make it quick.
Fast Forward Moment:
Um, all of it? The pacing is so slow. I know they were going for creating a creepy and dark mood, and in some ways they succeeded, but rather than being suspenseful the episode plods along.
Final Thoughts:While not the best episode of TNG out there if you’re looking for a scare on Halloween than this one is worth a look. So will DS9 do the job better? I’ll be back with a scary episode of that series soon to find out.
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