Let's finish this season of TNG:
- Again with the energy beings! Again with the kids! A ball of energy enters the ship, sees a young girl Clara (Noley Thornton) talking to her "Imaginary Friend", and decides to make her real (Shay Astar). Of course, the adults still can't see Clara's friend. There's also technobabble nebula strand thingies that are slowing down the ship. Guinan has a moment with Clara. Troi tries psychology on the girl (she still thinks Clara is making her up), and attempts to "separate" them. She gets thrown around by the entity for her efforts. There's a whole "Single White Female" thing going on here. Her "friend" says she's going to kill them all--complete with red eyes. More energy beings show up and start draining the shields--Clara's friend is actually a scout for the others. Pciard gives a big speech about how humans care for their children, and the energy beings relent. One other note--I know this is was produced in the 80's, but Troi's hair is out of control. It looks like she has a poodle on her head.
- The Enterprise finds a crashed Borg ship--with a survivor (Jonathan del Arco). Picard (understandably) wants to retreat, but Crusher wants to save it(?!?). Picard has an idea--use this Borg as a virus, sending programming back through the Collective. Crusher is still worried about what is essentially genocide. Was she not here during "The Best of Both Worlds"? Guinan and Picard have a fencing match--both physically and via wordplay. The Borg announces he is "Third of Five", and wants to go home to the Collective. They decide to call him "Hugh" (bad idea). Geordi and Data present their "virus" to Picard (essentially the "figure out the last value of pi" bit). Guinan comes to Picard--she's had a change of heart, but wants Picard to talk her out of it. He talks to Hugh, playing up the Locutus bit. Hugh says "resistance is NOT futile", and refuses to help in assimilation. He gives Hugh the option for asylum or to go back as is (no virus)--he chooses the latter to save them. Their hope is that Hugh's individuality will be a more effective virus.
- A Romulan ship sends out an SOS and during the rescue, Geordi and Ro are apparently lost in mid-transport. But then we see Ro wake up on the Enterprise--no one can see or hear her, and she walks right through objects. Is she dead? She finds Geordi in engineering--he has the same problem. They discuss the afterlife--Ro is accepting it, Geordi not so much. Ro goes to the bridge and says her goodbyes using the Audition Scenes for Young Actors method. Geordi figures out the Romulans "phased" them--they're not dead, just cloaked. It's "The Next Phase". They also learn the Romulans plan to destroy the ship--and one Romulan follows them, walking through a control panel as he does (he's phased as well). Geordi gives Data hints by walking though things, but the phased Romulan finds Ro--he just wants to get re-phased. Ro and the Romulan have a merry chase through bulkheads and people--Geordi pushes him out the ship. Now they have to warn Picard--and they do it at their New Orleans-style wake.
- The Enterprise comes upon an alien probe, which seems to knock out Picard. He awakes to find his wife (?!?) standing over him, calling him "Kamin". He's on an alien planet, and everyone thinks he should be there. They tell him he's been ill, and try to convince him his memories of the Enterprise are just a dream. His wife Eline (Margot Rose) gives him a flute he's been trying to play for years. We cut back to the Enterprise--he's still there and unconscious. All attempt to block the probe's transmission from Picard fail. Back on the planet--it's 5 years later! He's still trying to figure out his "dreams"--his wife wants him to drop it and live his life with her. He agrees--and decides to start a family. A quick check with the Enterprise--and when we return, time has passed again, and his family is there. An attempt to stop the probe almost kills Picard. It's now 25 years since Kamin "arrived". His little girl is now a woman (Jennifer Nash). The planet is dying from drought--their sun is going nova. Eline dies from old age. FInally, a probe is launched--with Kamin's life encoded on it! That's what Picard has experienced--an entire life. Picard awakens back on the bridge--only 20 minutes have elapsed. The last scene is Picard playing the flute they found on the probe. "The Inner Light" is a terrific episode.
- Not so terrific is "Time's Arrow"--the season cliffhanger. A mining crew has found evidence of extraterrestrials on Earth in the 1800's--Data's head! Geordi want to talk to him about it, but Data is philosophical about it. Microbes on the head are only found on a distant planet, so off they go. Data is held back from the away team, and he wonders why--Picard is protecting him. Troi, on the away team, senses hundreds of human lives--just out of phase in time. Data has to go down in order to detect them. He phases out,, and starts seeing what sounds like "greys". There's a temporal distortion--and Data is gone. We wakes up on a 19th century backlot. He makes some money in a poker game, using his communicator as ante, and checks into a hotel. A Victorian couple somehow zap a bum in the street--shades of Doctor Who! Back on the Enterprise, they make plans to find Data and communicate with the "greys". Guinan warns Picard that he has to go with the next away team. Data reads that there's a literary reception--with Guinan's picture. We cut to Mark Twain--of course (Jerry Hardin)--at the reception. Data barges in--Guinan is there, but this is before she knew him. Twain eavesdropped, and heard way too much. Back in the 24th century, the team phases in--and sees the "greys". There's a lot of Spielbergian lights and vortices, one of which they enter. TO BE CONTINUED!
Star Trek: The Next Generation is available on Netflix--more to come!