Series: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Season 3, Episode 7
Original Air Date: November 6, 1989
It's a Romulan story and one rich with ethical dilemmas, the narrative life blood of Trek. Responding to a distress call, our heroes encounter a Romulan vessel which has crash landed inside Federation territory. One survivor, Patahk, is in rough shape and is beamed directly to sickbay. La Forge gets separated from the rest of the away team and loses contact with the ship. In his efforts to reestablish communication, he encounters a second Romulan, Bochra, who takes Geordi prisoner. Complicating all of this is a second Romulan vessel arriving from the Neutral Zone, commanded by Tomalak, who is demanding, yet cagey about what the ship was doing outside the NZ in the first place.
So, our tale plays out on three fronts:
- Patahk is dying and Worf is the only one aboard ship with compatible blood for a transfusion. Klingons and Romulans don't play well together. Worf doesn't want to give the blood and Patahk has no interest in accepting it.
- La Forge and Bochra must set aside their own animosity and work together in order to survive.
- Picard's verbal chess match with Tomalak.
No surprise, the Worf thread is the most compelling. No one orders Worf to give the blood, even though he says he would if so ordered. In fact, Picard makes it clear that he won't. Instead, he begs. Still Worf declines. It's a fascinating test of the character's conflicting loyalties.
Best episode of the season so far.
Acting Notes
John Snyder (Bochra) was born in Boston in 1950. He is a graduate of Boston University. His big screen credits include The Warriors and Love Sick Diaries. This is his first of two appearances on TNG. He also made two appearances on Babylon 5. He's done extensive voice work, including video games and English dubs of Japanese animes.
I wish I remembered this episode, but I don't. :(
ReplyDeleteOkay.
DeleteIs this Tomalak's first appearance? This was where I first saw Andreas Katsulas... who later played the incomparable G'Kar on Babylon 5. It's interesting that the other Romulan here was on B5, too.
ReplyDeleteThe more I learn, the more I realize television casting circles are small. It's just like the rest of the world: who you know counts for plenty.
DeleteThe Tomalak and Worf stories are more memorable than La Forge’s. Although I best remember Tomalak, at this point, from his appearance in the final episode. “Tell me, Captain, how long will we stare at each other across the Neutral Zone?”
ReplyDeleteTomalak feels like a completely understandable effort to rekindle the Balance of Terror magic.
DeleteGreat episode, but my one minor criticism revolves around a comment made by Bochra. While on the planet, he says something to Geordi about the believing the Romulans would be around long after humans went extinct.
ReplyDeleteThis sounded like an ideological belief promoted by their government. Something akin to Khrushchev's statement in the 1950s that communism would "bury" the West.
It would have been interesting if the writers had developed that idea in future Romulan episodes like they expanded Klingon culture and civilization.
I would love more Romulan stories. There were actually only two such episodes in TOS. Both are classics, of course. I read once that the Klingons won out as the primary villains because their makeup was easier than the Romulans'.
DeleteTheir makeup was easier? That is great.
ReplyDeleteBudget drives story. That's how the transporter came to be, too. It was cheaper than a shuttle craft.
Delete