Emergence
- Episode aired May 7, 1994
- TV-PG
- 46m
Strange images begin appearing throughout the ship's decks and holodecks. Data and the rest of the crew begin to investigate only to discover that the ship's computer itself is exhibiting th... Read allStrange images begin appearing throughout the ship's decks and holodecks. Data and the rest of the crew begin to investigate only to discover that the ship's computer itself is exhibiting the strange behavior as it begins to become self-aware.Strange images begin appearing throughout the ship's decks and holodecks. Data and the rest of the crew begin to investigate only to discover that the ship's computer itself is exhibiting the strange behavior as it begins to become self-aware.
- Ensign Gates
- (uncredited)
- Starfleet Ensign
- (uncredited)
- Ensign Kellogg
- (uncredited)
- Lt. Jae
- (uncredited)
- Ensign Russell
- (uncredited)
- Taxi Driver
- (uncredited)
- Starfleet Ensign
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThis is the 25th TNG episode directed by Cliff Bole, making him the show's most prolific director.
- GoofsWhen Data is depolarising the power grid while holding the cab back with his left arm, the scene cuts to a view from over his right shoulder. There is a brief moment when his right arm is moved back to show his left hand. Since his left arm is no longer holding the cab, it should be in motion running him over. Even so, the wheels are still heard burning on the road as if still being held back.
- Quotes
[last lines]
Captain Jean-Luc Picard: [on Data's suggestion that the new life form may be dangerous] The intelligence that was formed on the Enterprise didn't just come out of the ship's systems. It came from us, from our mission records, personal logs, holodeck programs, our fantasies. Now, if our experiences with the Enterprise have been honorable, can't we trust that the sum of those experiences will be the same?
- ConnectionsReferenced in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: The Adversary (1995)
- SoundtracksStar Trek: The Next Generation Main Title
Composed by Jerry Goldsmith and Alexander Courage
The episode seems to be an allegory for a psychologist unable to crack someone's personality to get them to stop doing whatever it is that's causing problems. Somem unknown intelligence is forming on the Enterprise and taking over. When brute force doesn't work Captain Picard suggests the crew respect it and interact with it.
The plot takes center stage here by letting the communication's and conflict motifs that is Star Trek The Next Generation take center stage. That is in spite of the faux science from a white dwarf, with the crew being very static and trying to negotiate with a dream like thought process on the holodeck.
I've knocked the show a few times, and I think rightfully so, and more specifically the powers that control the creativity of the shows that all audiences watch. And this one, in spite of a more plot oriented story with some story dynamics, is still very static.
The episode proposes that a new life form that seems to pose a danger might need to be interacted with on an intellectual level, again with a lot of excuses that the ship and whatever's infecting it won't shut down the holodeck.
Things work out in the end but with no real tangible explanation. There's no explanation as to what invaded the Enterprise-D though Captain Picard gives some possible explanations as to the wherefores of how and why the thing came into being, but no real explanation as to what its reasons were, and that's lacking.
It's lacking because otherwise, like much of this show, you get these moments in the story that cannot be addressed by the crew. And that's a motif for Star Trek The Next Generation as a preparatory measure for young net users interacting with other net users from other nations or areas around the world.
In short not every conflict can be resolved, you cannot discern the motivations of things or others who are foreign to you. Did it work? Did it serve the world or society as a whole? I don't know, but I don't think so. The theme may have had some tangential application or perhaps influenced some people, but by and large media with ideas of any form can only reinforce your own personal values, unless there some truly new ground breaking philosophy, which there isn't.
The best I can say is that this episode still follows the presentational format and personal interaction motif established in the first seasons. And again, the actual presentation is non-dynamic, very much in the field of manipulative psychology, and otherwise not really intriguing no matter how it was framed story wise nor presented visually.
But, the fans ate it up. So, take that for what it is.
- Blueghost
- May 17, 2023
Details
- Runtime46 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1