Series: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Season 7, Episode 8
Original Air Date: November 8, 1993
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| via Memory Alpha |
The Enterprise is in orbit around Kesprytt III to evaluate their request to join the Federation. It's an unusual case because the planet is not unified. The Kes are the ones reaching out while the Prytt are hostile to outsiders, on their own world and beyond. The two sides live in paranoid distrust of one another. It's an obvious Korea parallel to me. When the captain and Dr. Crusher beam down, their transporter signal is intercepted by the Prytt who take them as prisoners. Can our friends escape?
The Kesprytt story is interesting enough but the real reason this episode is important, especially in the long term, is the development of the relationship between Picard and Crusher. Perhaps not surprisingly, we learn the two have long had strong feelings for each other - romantic feelings. Jean-Luc had suppressed the emotions because Beverly had been married to his best friend. But now that all is out in the open, what are they to do? The question is left unanswered at episode's end but 30 years on, we know quite a lot about where these two are headed.
Overall, I'm glad that The Next Generation didn't hang its hat on any particular romances between crew members. As one sees from shows like Cheers and Friends, once you start down that path, it's hard not to let every other story revolve around it. However, as the series was wrapping up - and I have admittedly not been able to learn when during Season 7 that the writers would have learned the end was near - it's worth taking stock of where everyone stands with one another. A romance between Picard and Crusher is entirely believable and as we've seen in Picard's Season 3, the story has legs.
Acting Notes
Robin Gammell played the role of Mauric, the ambassador for the Kes. Gammell was born September 22, 1936 in Montreal. He got his start at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, the same festival which begat fellow Montrealer William Shatner. Among other roles, Gammell played Malcolm in Macbeth, the same part he later played on television opposite Sean Connery.
Films include The Pyx, Lipstick and Raid on Entebbe. Television work includes Wiseguy, Amazing Grace and Judging Amy. Gammell was in a relationship with actress Gretchen Corbett. The two had one daughter, actress Winslow Corbett.
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