“Attached”
Written by Nicholas Sagan
Directed by Jonathan Frakes
Season 7, Episode 8
Production episode 40276-260
Original air date: November 8, 1993
Stardate: 47304.2
Captain’s Log: The Enterprise is evaluating a request by the Kes—one of two nations on Kesprytt III—for associate membership in the Federation. The other nation, the Prytt, have no interest in having any contact with any outsiders. Picard’s concern is that every other world that has joined the Federation has been united.
He and Crusher beam down to meet with the Kes ambassador—but their transporter beam was diverted, and they wake up in a Prytt prison cell. They both have implants attached to their brain stems which, according to their captors in Prytt security, will eventually be able to read their thoughts. The Prytt believe the Federation wishes to establish a military alliance with the Kes.
On the Enterprise, Data and Worf determine that the transporter beam was diverted to Prytt territory. Riker then meets with the Kes ambassador, Maruic, who offers to send a retrieval team into Prytt land. Riker prefers to at least attempt a diplomatic solution, but Mauric points out that the Kes have no diplomatic relationship with the Prytt whatsoever. Riker will attempt to communicate from the Enterprise, while Mauric will prepare a military option in case that fails. Mauric also asks to set up a base on the ship, as the diversion of the transporter indicates a hole in the Kes’s security. Mauric is extremely paranoid, going so far as to make sure that Worf enters the quarters they’ve provided for him first.
A guard brings a food dish to Picard and Crusher, but instead of a meal, it has Crusher’s tricorder, complete with an escape plan. They open the door with a provided code, move through lava tubes, and navigate exploding gas pockets. They also soon realize that they’re starting to hear each others’ thoughts—Crusher “hears” Picard thinking that he’s thirsty, and Picard can feel Crusher’s fear of heights as they climb a rockface. It’s a side effect of the implants.
Riker’s attempts to communicate with the Prytt fail pretty spectacularly. Mauric, however, reveals that one of their operatives has freed Picard and Crusher. Mauric will only provide operational details in their guest quarters, as he feels the bridge is too public a place to discuss such things.
When Riker arrives at the Kes quarters, he finds a lot of new equipment having been brought in, and Riker is fully scanned upon entering. Mauric explains that they have recruited some spies among the Prytt, and they’ll help Picard and Crusher across the border once they reach a tavern.
Picard and Crusher keep trying to adjust to hearing each others’ thoughts, especially as it’s getting more intense. They try to put some distance between themselves, but once they reach a certain distance apart, they’re both overcome by nausea. Not only are they telepathically linked, they need to remain physically proximate as well.
When they come upon a ridge, they see a Prytt sentry, and so must take another route. Back on the Enterprise, Mauric (who has added more equipment to his quarters) is suspicious (naturally) that Picard and Crusher didn’t make the rendezvous. Mauric immediately concocts a conspiracy theory that the Federation is secretly allying with the Prytt and that Picard and Crusher are meeting with the Prytt authorities. Riker is now officially fed up and says he’ll find them without Mauric’s help, and Mauric declares his intention to leave, which comes to Riker and Worf as something of a relief.
Crusher and Picard camp out for the night, the implants providing more revelations via telepathy, like the fact that they both prefer simple breakfasts—and also the depths of Picard’s feelings for Crusher, which goes back to when they first met.
Riker, meanwhile, having grown sick of the Kes and the Prytt, invites Mauric back and then clandestinely beams the Prytt security chief on board. They start throwing their paranoid delusions back and forth, each believing the other is collaborating with the Federation. Riker makes it clear to the Prytt that Starfleet will come in force, with plenty of ships searching for Picard and Crusher.
Upon reaching the force field-protected border between Kes and Prytt territory, Crusher and Picard are fired upon. However, the Prytt provide the coordinates of the two of them to Riker, who is able to beam them back up.
That night, Crusher and Picard share dinner. They’re grateful to be out of each others’ heads, but they also kinda miss it. Picard then makes a pass, but Crusher deflects it.
Can’t We Just Reverse the Polarity?: The Prytt use telepathic implants as a combination interrogation tool and set of handcuffs, as the implants read thoughts and force people wearing them to stay close to each other.
Thank You, Counselor Obvious: Troi (and the viewer) is stunned that there’s no provision for communication between the Kes and the Prytt in case of a planetary emergency.
There is No Honor in Being Pummeled: The Kes are sufficiently paranoid that Worf has to be the one to engage transport so that they can coordinate the lowering of force fields. Worf also assures Mauric that the Enterprise is secure, which Mauric refuses to believe, and then Worf later beams the Prytt security chief up against her will.
No Sex, Please, We’re Starfleet: Picard admits that he’s been in love with Crusher from the moment he met her, but never acted on it because she was his best friend’s wife. Later, Picard takes the obvious opening for them to finally pursue a relationship, but Crusher—who up until now has always been the one who seemed to have the stronger feelings toward Picard—turns him down for no compellingly good reason.
I Believe I Said That: “It’s just that I don’t like—”
“—what I’ve been choosing for breakfast recently.”
“You see, I think that breakfast should be a simple meal, and recently you’ve been ordering these elaborate things.”
“Coffee and croissant. That’s all you really want, isn’t it? Coffee and croissant. Well, why didn’t you just say so?”
“I didn’t think it was important.” (Catches a thought.) “You don’t like those elaborate meals, either!”
“No! I usually prefer something simple myself, but I thought you might enjoy more variety. Well—I guess it’s coffee and croissant for both of us from now on.”
Picard and Crusher discovering that elaborate breakfasts are not their thing.
Welcome Aboard: Robin Gammell and Lenore Kasdorf both are entertainingly paranoid and crazed as the Kes and Prytt representatives.
Trivial Matters: This is the first Star Trek script by Nicholas Sagan, the son of Carl. He would go on to write “Bloodlines” for TNG and several scripts for Voyager, and also being hired as a story editor for the latter’s fifth season.
While Crusher and Picard do not get together on screen, except in the alternate future seen in “All Good Things…” (not even in the films; seriously, it would’ve been the perfect response for Picard to have after the death of his brother and nephew in Star Trek Generations, to finally get together with Crusher), they do, finally, in the tie-in fiction, specifically in Michael Jan Friedman’s Death in Winter, and the subsequent post-Nemesis TNG fiction, in which they are married and have a son named Rene.
Make it So: “Just make sure you take all that junk with you.” Until the ending, this is a delightful episode. Seriously, it’s going along swimmingly and then they totally blow the landing. I mean, we’re talking about two characters who have oozed chemistry from the minute we saw them together in “Encounter at Farpoint.” At times, you can stick a match between Sir Patrick Stewart and Gates McFadden and it would light on its own.
So finally, we get a story when they are forced to come out and admit how they feel about each other, and instead of it being the beginning of their relationship, Crusher cuts Picard off at the pass, and that’s it. True, TNG is a standalone show, but given that they’ll be pursuing a Worf/Troi relationship later in the season, it’s obvious they’re not averse to the notion of two regulars dating, so why not the couple that’s been on the verge from jump?
Look, I’m no kind of “shipper” (a net-ologism I have always despised), but for crying out loud, everything on TNG in general and this episode in particular has them pointed toward finally taking the plunge and becoming a couple. Hell, it’s Picard—who has the, er, lessons of “Lessons” giving him reason not to get involved with a subordinate—who made the first move! And it’s Dr. Beverly “there’s something I want to tell you, Jean-Luc, in case we don’t get out of this” Crusher who’s backing off? WTF?
Anyhow, the episode’s truly a delight up until that stupid last scene. This gets so much play as the Crusher/Picard episode that one tends to forget that the B-plot of Riker dealing with the Kes and Prytt loonies is pretty hilarious, too. And the Picard/Crusher scenes are charming as all heck. I especially like the revelation that Picard’s feelings for Crusher go all the way back to when they met and she was married to his best friend, adding another layer of tragedy to Jack Crusher’s death. In general, the episode has you smiling all the way through.
Until the ending, when I, at least, throw my shoe at the screen.
Warp factor rating: 6
Keith R.A. DeCandido really enjoyed writing Crusher and Picard as a married couple in Q & A.
You’re definitely not a shipper…you prefer couples who actually show attraction and chemistry on screen. As far as I can tell, the majority of shippers prefer “One True Couples” with no in universe justification whatsoever.
and then they totally stick the landing
Surely you mean they flub the landing?
I dunno, it wasn’t just the ending that didn’t work for me. That whole conversation where they finally brought Picard’s feelings out in the open was far too understated and tentative, right down to ending with: “And now we’re friends.” “Yes, friends.” Which just felt like such a copout to me. The whole thing is too little, too late.
@Earl – that’s not a completely accurate statement, as ‘shipping’ in general just means wanting two (or more in some cases :sigh: ) characters to get together (mainly in a romantic sense, occasionally in a best friend sense). That means in-universe justification, head canon justification, or just plain CRACK theory justification. And it nominally refers to those who actively engage in talking about a couple.
In this case KRAD isn’t a shipper merely because he was explaining why it would have made more sense in context (or in-story) than a certain other relationship that flourished (for no godly reason in my opinion except they didn’t want Troi/Riker together).
That all being said I agree with Christopher in that it was a bit of ‘too little, too late’ for me. By this point I didn’t much care if they got together (to be fair I didn’t care if Riker/Troi got together in the show/movie either and I was far more invested in caring about that couple as a kid).
I do love watching Riker and Worf have to deal with political chicanery though.
Indeed, I’m with Keith here. I remember being totally annoyed when I saw the ending of this episode for the first time. I was pretty young and had only been watching TNG a short time, but even I could tell that the writers were somewhat paralyzed when it came to moving relationships forward in a continuing capacity.
Incidentally, in an interview in Mark Altman’s Captains’ Logs, Jeri Taylor sort of blames it on Patrick Stewart, who apparently “didn’t feel that Jean-Luc Picard would move in that direction.” And Nick Sagan said the show was “really about people who make choices that prevent them from getting together.” Umm, what? Because like Keith pointed out, the episode — and the whole show in general — gives us zero justification for Beverly’s decision.
And while, yes, the writers did flirt with the Worf/Troi romance, flirt is all they did. The Worf/Troi romance features in only three episodes — “Parallels,” “The Eye of the Beholder,” and “All Good Things…” The romantic progressions in the first two episodes take place in (a) an alternate reality, and (b) inside Troi’s head due to a strange psychic memory or something. In the real world, there’s no actual lead-up to seeing them together in “All Good Things…” It actually kind of comes out of nowhere (not unlike Seven/Chakotay in the Voyager finale). And after that the relationship is completely ignored in Generations.
I’ve been looking forward to your opinion on this one, KRAD. I’ve always enjoyed the episode up until the end as well; Crusher chickening out at this point makes no sense. And as Chris said, it does feel ‘too little, too late,” as well.
I’ve always heard that the story ended that way to keep Picard open to having romantic interests in the movies. The fact that they didn’t get together in the movies EITHER is just dumb, because like you said, the chemistry was there from the beginning.
I enjoyed this episode all the way through, including Riker’s entertainingly exasperated dealings with the Kes and Prytt, until that last scene. It not only made little sense in the context of the show’s arc overall, but it didn’t make sense in the context of the episode either, where even after all the revelations they still seemed quite comfortable with each other (including with Crusher teasing Picard about his dreams about her). It would not have been ‘too little, too late’ from my perspective because the characters and their relationships were so mature by this season that it would have been easy enough to fit in – we already had seen a lot of breakfasts, for instance. Even in the remainder of this season there would be more interactions that could have worked fine in the context of a marriage or romantic relationship – I’m thinking specifically of Crusher reaching out to Picard for parenting help in “Journey’s End,” him asking her for parenting advice in “Firstborn,” or all their interactions in “Sub Rosa,” as awful as that episode was in other ways. They were mature characters and a relationshp would have made sense in-universe, especially after this episode. At least KRAD and others finally made that happen in the novels – just wish after seven years it would have happened first onscreen.
Oh, and even a flirtation with Worf/Troi was too much for my taste – never bought that at all.
@2,
Exactly what I was going to say. To “stick the landing” is to end your routine perfectly, leaving the judges with a good feeling as they score it. The opinion of this review seems to be that this was the sort of landing where they took three giant steps, tripped, and then took a header into the judges table.
I remember being disappointed by this episode. The concept seemed so good: I liked Crusher, I liked the idea of Picard/Crusher actually facing their feelings for each other, and I liked the idea of a planet with multiple governments and belief systems. In practice, though, it was just boring. Some of the telepathy antics were kind of amusing, but on the whole, the ending was just the lack of frosting on the bland cake that was this episode.
But seriously, tell us how you really feel.
heh I always liked this one. Good chemestry between chracters. But mostly for Riker and the Paraniods. Wow. I just loved that stuff. Felt like classic Trek with it’s modern commentary. If only we had Worf at a transporter.
Not only does Crusher’s backing off in the final scene not make sense in the context of the episode as a whole, but it doesn’t make sense in the context of the scene itself. From the very beginning of the scene, a *lot* of Crusher’s rhetoric is clearly drawing Picard out, maneuvering the conversation toward an explicit confession of feelings. Her sudden reversal doesn’t square with the rest of her behavior; it just goes against the logic of the scene.
The ending of the episode made perfect sense to me because similar things have happened to me before.
I’ve gone out on dates with a particular man and spent significant time with him. He expressed in interest in me for several months. After 3 months of talking and seeing each other 3-4 times/week at the gym, I decided it might be time to consummate our relationship. I went to his apartment and sat on his bed where he kissed me passionately. Then, he suddenly stopped, and I asked if something was wrong. He didn’t answer. I asked him if he was afraid, and he said, “I think you need to leave.” I felt a little embarrased and I left right away.
I think Beverly really did have feelings for Jean-Luc but got cold feet when it came time to pursuing a relationship with him because she didn’t know what the consequences of it would be on their professional relationship. I certainly would never feel comfortable having an intimate relationship with a colleague.
There’s an old saying that I’ve always liked: “Don’t get laid where you get paid.”
There are many good reasons for this!
I was also frustrated with the ending, although I can also think of some reason why Beverly might be wary of the relationship, even if she had feelings for him – misplaced guilt, not wanting the awkwardness of dating a superior officer, knowing how awkward he felt his relationship with the gal from Lessons was…still, I would have liked to see them together and NOT in some fake future (where they divorce, anyway).
IIRC, the Worf/Troi relationship was also kind of a tease too – it seems like most of the relationship was happening in alternate realities/memories, aside from a few things. I think it actually would have been interesting to see how that relationship progressed if it hadn’t come so late in the game.
Having been one of the first episodes I saw, I think this episode did a great job of establishing the characters and providing some exposition that hey, these two have chemistry! So then when I saw earlier episodes later that focused on the two of them, I already knew that the feelings were indeed there on screen.
As for the ending, I actually thought it was a little strange that Picard was the one pushing for a relationship, because “Lessons” was not that long ago and he made her transfer off the ship so he wouldn’t have to worry about her being in danger, and quite frankly, Crusher is way more likely to be put into danger. I got the sense that he was going gung ho off his feelings, and then Crusher was grounding him back in the reality that he himself would have preferred.
As for the comments about them getting together in the movies…it got me thinking about how all of the TNG movies really became about Picard and Data, and the other characters sort of got a back seat. First Contact probably was the best at including characterization for the others, because there was a whole side plot where the other characters were important. Crusher especially seems to not do a whole lot in the movies.
At the time the conventional wisdom was full of the “Northern Exposure Effect” — when the two characters with the suppressed sexual tension finally grow up and get together, the audience loses interest. Ratings seriously plummeted for several shows after they did this. So I wouldn’t be surprised if they shied away from it for that reason.
But also, Kirk…oops, I mean Picard, has to be able to have one-ep romances with whatever females come along. Can’t tie him down to just Crusher.
@14: I would’ve called it the Moonlighting Effect.
The Moonlighting effect is total bullshit. The reason why people lost interest in Dave and Maddie when they got together is because Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd despised each other, hated working on the show at that point, and were never going to have any kind of romantic chemistry. The fact that they became a couple is irrelevant; the chemistry between the two was already shot to hell.
So many TV writers have used Moonlighting as a feeble excuse to not put two characters together and instead draw out sexual tension forever and bloody ever, it has grown beyond tiresome.
—Keith R.A. DeCandido
Krad, I want to agree with you on the Moonlighting effect, but I can’t think of a TV romance where the romance (and often the show also) stayed in any way interesting after the consumation. Please enlighten me if there has been one.
The closest I have personally seen was Jim and Pam (The Office), but my interest was only into around season 5, and that was really only because of the other characters.
@17: I can think of quite a few:
Eureka, Jack/Alison.
Deep Space Nine, Worf/Jadzia, Kira/Odo, arguably Sisko/Kasady. Whatever TNG lacked in stable long-term adult relationships, DS9 definitely made up for.
Voyager, Paris/Torres.
BSG, Adama/Roslin.
Once Upon a Time, Rumple (Gold)/Belle (although that’s still playing out).
Merlin, Arthur/Gwen (I admit YMMV; my husband thinks they never had chemistry, but I liked them together).
Leverage, Hardison/Parker, Nate/Sophie.
The key is that the couple is not the point of the show. These are all ensembles, with ongoing plotlines and stories which don’t involve the pair together or individually and which don’t make the actual pairing the focus of the week’s plot.
My problem with the ending was that it made a lie of the earlier statement in the episode “and now we’re friends”. They have been making a big thing of knowing each other’s feelings, and yet it seems she didn’t see that one coming? Or if she did, then surely he would have known, and also known how she would react.
The other big glaring hole in the episode is that while all the paranoia is fun, you have to ask, has nobody from the Federation visited this planet before? They are asking for entry into the Federation, and yet it very quickly becomes obvious that they are horribly unsuitable, so how did the negotiations even get so far a formal evaluation?
I would also just like to say, calling the planet Kesprytt was just silly. How did they known in advance that they would be the two dominant nations and say “let’s name our planet this!”
What really kills it is this attitude television (well, society really) has that nothing interesting can possibly happen to a happy couple, that adventure somehow ends with marriage, and that conflict can only come from cheating/an unhealthy relationship/sexual tension.
As if people can’t have problems that have nothing to do with their relationship. As if marriage can’t be about going on awesome adventures together because you chose to have a partner in your life, and not ‘settling down’ away from everything cool because you had to give up your freedom and be domesticated.
I want more happy couples in fiction, is what I’m saying. Everything I’ve ever liked has eventually run into someone bringing up the Moonlighting effect and it is totally bullshit.
I enjoyed this episode, especially the way they started getting embarrassed and, to me, it almost seemed like the telepathy made them start acting like two little kids who like each other but don’t know how to show it because boys are gross and girls are icky (totally different reasons for acting that way but still).
It’s been a while since I saw this ep but I think I put Crusher’s “no” off to his recent romance in ‘Lessons’, like maybe she was afraid that she might have lost him completely if the same type of situation happened between them.
@20 – WORD. My life is definitely more fun now that I am married, and a lot of things also have new (or rediscovered) joys now that we have kids (although there are definitely some sacrifices to be made at the stage we’re in right now). Also, I think you described the plot of a Full House episode, haha ;)
I was going to say, one of the couples I could think of was Logan/Veronica in Veronica Mars, except that the relationship was basically a train wreck. Also, Season 2 had other issues, but I’m not sure those were due to the Logan/Veronica relationship.
The one example of a happy married couple I can think of is Zoe/Wash in Firefly, and that was one of the things I really liked about the show.
@19: The only characters in the episode who actually say the name “Kesprytt” are Picard and Riker. So we don’t know that the natives actually use that name themselves. It could be a name the Federation coined as a convenience because the natives have no agreed-upon name for their world.
@19 Maybe “Kesprytt” came from their official paperwork application, and they settled on it after those nations came to power. *shrug*
What’s more interesting to me is the whole “the planet must be united” thing. Maybe that’s just an artifact of the whole “alien cultures are homogenous” mindset (itself pretty stupid), but it chills me a little to think that such uniformity is a prerequisite of Federation membership. IDIC, my butt.
As to the Picard/Crusher thing, I’m with #20. Teasing their relationship out is just stupid Hollywood thinking. Just because they can’t seem to understand stable relationships doesn’t mean they don’t exist.
@22 Yes, Zoe and Wash were a great couple. Too bad that spells doom in a Joss Wheadon universe.
I’m just disappointed that according to this episode Australia actually joined a world government – what happened to our anti-authoritarian attitude?
What, no-one’s mentioned Amy and Rory in Doctor Who as an example of a couple getting married and the show staying interesting? Okay, the show’s based around the Doctor, not them, but still…
I also find it ludicrous that Starfleet (and the vast majority of television) seems to be 95% populated with middle-aged adults who have never been married.
And agreeing with above posters, Firefly had no trouble finding interesting stories for Zoe and Wash, likewise Doctor Who for Amy and Rory.
“To “stick the landing” is to end your routine perfectly, leaving the judges with a good feeling as they score it.”
Not just a good feeling, there is a significant portion of the score dedicated to the landing — how you land is largely a product of how well you executed the skills going into the landing, gauging your position in the air, applying forces just right, etc. It’s kinda equivalent to a ‘rip entry’ for divers — you can get a good score without one, but a *great* score really needs one, and it’s a legitimate marker of perfect control.
(My son was a competitive gymnast for a few years…)
Anyway, somehow in my memory, this episode had gotten conflated with the earlier one where they fell in a pit and Crusher had a broken leg and Picard had to find the right roots to help her, etc. When I watched that one, I kept expecting them to have a telepathic link and proclaim their love for each other. I had very little actual recollection of this episode other than the Picard/Crusher relationship stuff.
Now, was I the only one who noticed that they made it through the Fireswamp? They had the flame spurts… and they even walked out of the caves at the end to find an (so they thought anyway) ambush waiting for them!
The Moonlighting/Northern Exposure Effect holds only for freshly resolved “unresolved sexual tension” (UST), so couples who are (happily) married at the beginning of a series don’t count. The Washburns of Firefly—but also every married sitcom couple ever—are a good example of this. We can discuss UST couples in every genre, and it almost always seems that the show loses steam shortly afterwards. I propose that the cause-and-effect relationship may go the other way, though. Resolving sexual tension is a jump-the-shark moment in long running series that are already in decline. The sooner it is resolved, and the less the drama is derived from UST in the first place, the more successful the show seems to be post-UST. The latest experiment with this seems to be Castle. I was talking to a friend about this earlier this week. Extended UST is simply not realistic.
In the case of Picard and Crusher, it may or may not have “ruined” TNG (we’ll never know). But I’m pretty sure everyone knew season 7 was the last season, so I don’t know if it would have mattered. For the record, I agree with those that say married life is fun and exciting. I am happier with my lovely wife than I ever was without her. Of course, I am not traipsing through the galaxy or solving murders.
As far as Kesprytt needing to be a planet of hats before entry in the Federation vs. the concept of IDIC, Star Trek has covered multiple times the dangers violent splinter groups pose to the peace of a planet of the Federation. If the Prytt were violently opposed to the presence of the Feds, then they might fire upon Starfleet and civilian vessels alike; not to mention that the Federation might inadvertently provide the Kes the means to dominate the Prytt with technology or supplies, as they fear. I usually disagree with the Prime Directive as it is typically represented, but here it fits perfectly. Kesprytt doesn’t need to be a homogenous society, but they do need to be able to work together peacefully before it is feasible for them to be part of the Federation.
So I know it’s not a drama or sci fi, but a TV couple that has been married for a while now is Andy and April on Parks and Recreation. They got married near the beginning of season 3, I think, and they’re on season 5 now, and they’re still just as fun.
To a lesser extent there’s Lilly and Marshall on How I Met Your Mother, as well.
I have no comment to make about relationships, as other people’s doings, both onscreen, but mainly offscreen, bore me. I do however have a comment to make about the episode in question viz. Star Trek TNG Attached. It was very clear, especially in this episode, that Gates McFadden is a dancer. The way she places her feet:'(pointing her toes a lot), and strides is very balletic. This was especially apparent when she first entered the transporter in the beginning of the show. She almost did a plié on the transporter, her left foot being at right angles. I remember watching in tedium my sisters ballet lessons, and remember those feet positions vividly, so vividly in fact, that that is all I can comment on about this episode.
I’m a bit late on this but… how about Brennan and Booth from Bones? That show seems to be able to portray happy couples without jumping the shark (Angela and Hodgins too)
Wasn’t it a bit remiss of Worf not to confirm transport was successful after beaming Picard and Beverly down? But instead after the transport cycle is complete, he’s all but ready to walk out the transporter room.
I liked Star Treck Next Generation very much, as much as I hated those soap-opera episodes, always promoting some propagandist societal dogma, like exagerated nihilism to the point of lying to and/or sacrifying one self (most often for peanuts or for the profit of an idiot or a clique of rogues for whom you never vote and who have the power over your lives – a contradiction btw, explaining the violence of our societies)… Which has nothing to do with Star Treck, and is totaly unrealistic given the “advancements” they’ve supposedly achieved in Star Treck Era… Even my GF found these epîsodes most annoying and sooooo over-the-top (because of their fundamental emptyness) : for her (and I think she’s right), people turning their back and sacrifying their personal and itimate lives while thriving on mind games, makes up for such an empty life, along which most would NEED that kind of overly (and empty) emotionally acrobatic and boring episode (with all the camera shots suggesting vulgar sexual tension, another contradiction). In short : pitifull Soap Opera for the emotionally empty and ill stooge nurturing on such deviance to compensate (deviant just for the thrill of the emotion such deviance can provoke, like a vicious circle)… Like a desease of our generations thinking that they live in a Democracy while they’re not, nothing to do with Sci-Fi (nor Star Treck), everything to do with propagenda….
..
While I agree that the last scene played false, I totally disagree that it was because Picard and Crusher didn’t end up playing with each other’s naughty bits. First, as krad mentions himself, Picard has already fallen in love on the Enterprise in Lessons. To me it made no sense whatsoever for him to forget that and make a pass at Crusher unless it was just to get his rocks off for a one-nighter, which doesn’t sound like him. If there’s one thing Picard has in common with his Enterprise predecessor on TOS, it’s that he loves his ship more than any woman, and I don’t see a man as disciplined as he is making the same mistake twice and putting himself, again, in the position of having to make a choice between choosing the right person for a dangerous job, or protecting her from harm because he’s in love with her.
And frankly, when you consider how often Crusher has totally disregarded her Captain’s orders in this series, at least once resulting in the deaths of several people because she was all agog over a terrorist – it was really the right call for them to keep their emotional distance.
Other than the fact it was Picard and not Crusher who made the move, I thought the last scene was played absolutely perfectly. These two want to get it on so bad it sometimes drives them nuts, but they know that this is not the time and place in their lives where they can indulge that urge.
Another example of the Moonlighting effect is Niles and Daphne from Frasier. But after seven years how long could the writers stretch out that storyline, even if it was a font of hilarity. The mistake they made was keeping the show running for another four years after that.
36: are you talking about S3’s The High Ground? How did Beverly cause the death of several? And she was not agog over Finn. She came to understand him, even though she didn’t agree with his politics.
Great picture KRAD of Picard and Beverly suffering from the implants. Gates McFadden looks convincingly nauseous, but Patrick Stewart just looks out of breath.
The conversation about this episode has long since ended, but I just saw the episode again today and was still let down by the ending. I’m enough of a romantic to want them to end up together after so many seasons of dancing around their feelings, but even if the showrunner determined that wasn’t the right way to go, the way that they didn’t end up together was horrible. A simple “maybe we should be afraid” was not a sufficient explanation.
As others here have noted, Picard had recently fallen for another woman. Maybe that could have come up. Maybe she could have said more about what they should be concerned about. But the vague ‘no’ and a quick ‘goodnight’ were supremely unsatisfying for me, even after all of these years.
Yes, both shoes!
@36 – I generally agree. I seem to be in the minority, but I actually didn’t mind the ending. Sure, it would have made more sense if Crusher had made the move. But by this point in the show, haven’t we learned that Picard is first and foremost married to his ship and sense of duty above all else?
Firefox: I don’t think we’ve learned any such thing. Picard was never portrayed as having the near-symbiotic relationship with the Big E that Kirk had. Heck, his response to the ship being destroyed in Generations was a very blase declaration that they’ll build another one. If anything, based on his conversation with Scotty in “Relics,” not to mention his reaction in “The Battle,” he is way more attached to the Stargazer…….
—Keith R.A. DeCandido
@41/krad: Right. People tend to forget (since the show itself rarely acknowledged it) that Picard served on the Stargazer for 22 years, much longer than he’s spent on both Enterprises put together (at least as of the last time we saw him onscreen, though it’s nearly tied now in the novels).
After all, Roddenberry basically created TNG by rehashing his plans for the abortive Phase II revival that evolved into ST:TMP. The older, seasoned Kirk became Picard, Will Decker became Will Riker, Ilia became Troi (which is probably an Ilium/Troy pun), and Xon (crossed with the title character from The Questor Tapes) became Data. So the Stargazer was meant to be to Picard what the Enterprise had been to Kirk in TOS — the former command during which he’d earned his reputation as a Starfleet legend. But due to all the first-season writer-producers pretty much leaving the show by the second season, this was one of many foundational ideas behind TNG that got lost or ignored.
From personal experience, Crusher backing out of the relationship at the end makes sense to me. That’s not to say from a story standpoint, it isn’t inconvenient for viewers who wanted Picard and Crusher to get together, because it is. All I can say is that from a reality standpoint, it is perfectly believable to me.
Even though this episode was made years before Star Trek Enterprise, I have to ask the question if the Aenar of Andoria are members of the Federation. It is a similar scenario to the Prytt, where the Aenar want to be left alone.
@41 krad- to be fair to Firefox, who was responding to my comment, he included sense of duty in describing Picard’s feelings about the Enterprise. What I mean is, while Kirk was in love with his ship, literally, Picard is enamored with his duty to Starfleet, and to his command. He wouldn’t wax poetic about the Enterprise and its warp drive and it’s Jefferies tubes, etc, but I believe that just like Kirk, Picard has a heightened sense of gravitas as to what being a captain of a ship in the Federation really means. I just watched the season 2 episode Time Squared a few days ago, and I think Picard’s actions in that episode are consistent with what I’m talking about. He cannot conceive of a situation where he he as Captain would leave his ship in a time of crisis. I don’t think that’s unique to Picard or to Kirk, but I do think that part of the reason both of them have ascended to the captaincy of Galaxy class ships is that they love those ships, more for what they represent than for the elements from which they are constructed.
@44/thierafhal: The Aenar were a small, isolated group in ENT, and in the novel continuity, they’re said to have gone extinct in the late 23rd century (presumably to explain why they never appeared in TOS or the TNG-era shows — although hardly any Andorians appeared in the latter anyway).
@37- in The High Ground, Crusher stubbornly refuses to be beamed back to the Enterprise contrary to her Captain’s orders. As a result, she is kidnapped, during which a police officer is killed. And as a further result, the terrorists have a hostage, an advantage that they parlay to get onto the Enterprise itself and kill several of her crew, in an attempt to destroy the entire ship. And even after this happens, Crusher is not contrite. She accuses Picard of not giving her a “reasonable orders”. That was the episode where I decided I wasn’t a Crusher fan. Nothing she ever did for the remainder of the series changed my mind about that.
47: The Ansata only managed to kill three Enterprise crew members, not several, according to Counselor Troi. Crusher’s stubborn refusal to follow Picard’s orders stems from the fact of her being a doctor first and a Starfleet officer second. Something that does get her into trouble on occasion, for example, Who Watches the Watchers, Suspicions, etc.
@48/David Sim: “Several” includes three. The dictionary defines it as “more than two but fewer than many.”
I believe that, as demonstrated in “Lessons”, embarking upon a relationship would mean Crusher transferring off the Enterprise. And in that last scene, they both know it. Picard is asking if she Is willing to take that risk- it might be worth it- and she isn’t, not yet.
Agreed re “Lessons”. And agreed that sometimes, you really don’t want to ruin an incredible friendship. I always thought that was a terrible cop-out, but as a somewhat grownup, it really seems to be true.
They work so well together; they have delightful breakfasts; trying to imagine how a serious relationship could get wedged into their lives on the Enterprise seems a fool’s dream.
That said, I recently went back to watch S1 (my current rewatch, which is mostly just a watch, started with S2) and seeing Picard with Wesley at the beginning, with all his complicated feelings (which we just here learn more about) … it’s beautifully sad. I think it’s one of the best things about Farpoint, especially in retrospect. I teared up, which is not hard to do in 2020, but still.
Search criteria to get here as if by thought, without words: rewtch attchd
I agree with comment #19: The ending – Picard suggesting to further explore their feelings – is in contradiction to what he said earlier, viz., that he was in love with Beverly Crusher for a long time but now has only feelings of friendship for her. It would have been so much better to leave it at that: a friendship deepened by this unique experience of sharing each others thoughts and feelings for some time. Apart from that I can see why the producers didn’t want to have a love affair / relationship between Picard and Crusher: It would have prevented any romantic affairs of the Captain in the movies to come. Well, in the end he had just one love affair in the movies, but a delightful one.
At this point it feels like it was too late for a Picard/Crusher romance. They did a bit of this in season 1 but then McFadden was fired for season 2 and since she came back in season 3, there really hadn’t been any relationship between the two, other than the daily breakfasts.
And didn’t they just show what would happen if the captain gets in a relationship with a subordinate in Lessons? Crusher probably didn’t want to get Daren’d. Besides, in shows like this they never want to tie down the regulars in committed relationships because then they can’t do romance of the week stories.
Otherwise, it was a good episode, Stewart and McFadden do have good chemistry and it was a great directing job by Frakes. Compared to the previous episode, Dark Place, which seemed to be terribly paced with all those boring zoom in shots when they were doing the telepathy.
@53/Tommy Tutone:
If you mean “Dark Page”, I agree. I’m not actually a huge fan of this one either, but it’s definitely a better episode.
Tommy Tutone: If it was “too late” to do a relationship, why did they develop one between Worf and Troi?
—Keith R.A. DeCandido
@55/krad: I think Tommy meant that Picard and Crusher had already been through a flirtation/attraction phase early on (picking up from a couple of decades earlier) and then moved past it. So they’d already had their chance and chosen not to act on it, and thus it was unconvincing that it suddenly got dredged up years later. Whereas Worf and Troi’s attraction was a new development, only just discovered.
@56/ChristopherLBennett: Exactly. Crusher became a boring character when she came back in season 3. Her 2 story arcs were: Possible romantic chemistry with Picard (the man who sent her husband to die), and her relationship with her son, Wesley. Well they gave up on the Picard/Crusher stuff after season 1 and they stopped doing much with Wesley by season 3. So she only did generic doctor stuff after that. It seems weird that they are suddenly bringing it back after 6 years. I like Gates McFadden but I don’t like Dr. Crusher. Dr. Pulaski was a way more interesting character. Same with Troi. I love Marina Sirtis but don’t really like Troi. She has at least been getting better once they gave her the standard uniform.
I’m doing a chronological watch through so I haven’t gotten to the Troi/Worf romance yet but there have been hints of it at least. Troi has basically been a surrogate mother to Alexander.
I just watched this episode for the first time since the late 1990s and I disagree with KRAD; the ending made perfect sense. It was clear by her reaction to realizing Picard was still in love with her she was a bit taken aback and uncomfortable. While she cared about Picard and greatly admired him as a person, she didn’t seem like she would be interested in a deeper relationship.
Indeed, as many other people have pointed out, fraternization with subordinates is a frowned upon in many institutions. It can lead to favoritism and poor decision making.
My employer makes having romantic relationships with subordinates grounds for dismissal for this reason. Also, it can lead to issues of harassment if one person feels pressured to continue a relationship they don’t want to pursue any longer because they’re afraid of being fired otherwise.
I think it is generally a very bad idea to become romantically involved with a coworker unless you work in totally unrelated areas and don’t interact much while performing your duties.
I think Beverly didn’t feel comfortable with the can of worms having romantic relations with her captain would open up.
So it makes sense to me.
@58/RMS81: But this is also a television show. I think krad’s complaint is more along the lines of the episode being “the one where Picard and Crusher finally get together,” but then doesn’t follow through. For the fans who wanted to see this and had to wait seven years for it, it was a letdown on those terms.
I think this is the highest-rated episode yet that I cannot ever remember having watched before (though I’m sure I have). I was also disappointed by the ending, since it seemed like the perfect moment for these two characters to get together. And now, with the Picard series, it seems they never, ever got together. Too bad.
Enjoyable episode what with the character building and revelations between Crusher and Picard, and the b-plot is decent too. Good guest actors. Stewart and McFadden do have wonderful chemistry between each other. It is sad that we were teased with some fun stuff of where it would go in the alternate future timeline of “All Good Things” but nothing of it came to be in the movies and so far nothing on Picard. There is still time and hope for the latter series that Crusher will show up or at the very least to find out what she’s been up to since Nemesis and the state of her relationship with Picard.
After rewatching this episode again (however many times I’ve seen it
) I started to think the official name of the planet, Kesprytt III, makes no sense. The Kes are paranoid to a ridiculous degree and have no interest in regular diplomatic contact with the Prytt. I’m guessing they wish the Prytt didn’t even exist. Why would they even call their own planet, KesPRYTT? I wonder if it was just a temporary placeholder name as a way to present themselves in a more positive light to the Federation. Surely when they applied for associate-membership as the episode calls it (whatver that even means*), the Federation’s concern about admitting only two thirds of the planet were broached. The Kes might have hoped that the Prytt would stay isolated and not cause much of a ruckus, but miscalculated.
Anyways, just a little nit that I felt compelled to try and explain.
@62/Thierafhal: I always figured that Kesprytt was just what the Federation called it in lieu of a single agreed-upon indigenous name.
The vast majority of discourse on this episode is the Picard/Beverly relationship and for good reason but knowing that it won’t go anywhere, can’t go anywhere, and doesn’t go anywhere makes me actually wish the episode had focused on the political elements of the episode instead.
I mean, the episode takes Picard’s fiat, “Only a united planetary government should be able to join the Federation!” Which, bluntly, is a completely arbitrary drawing of a line and arguably a bit like the Prime Directive’s warp drive. I would have been more interested if the Kes would have been perfectly reasonable but their VERY EXISTENCE on the planet means that Prytt viewed it as a provocation to become more involved in interstellar affairs.
They touched on this in “The High Ground” and I would have been interested in a further exploration of the issue. People who are affected by the Federation becoming involved with a planet’s affairs. Both episodes imply the Federation shouldn’t but that’s by making the people who want to ally with the Federation equally as bad as the people who are hostile to them.
There could have been ample food for discussion here about geopolitics and how this actually plays out in the real world. After all, whenever a superpower becomes involved in a local government, things change for its neighbors. Even when it’s not exploitative or conquest-hungry.
@64/C.T. Phipps: “I mean, the episode takes Picard’s fiat, “Only a united planetary government should be able to join the Federation!””
Huh? That’s not Picard’s rule, it’s a Federation rule. And it makes sense. The Prime Directive precludes favoring one side over another in local politics, and letting one nation join the UFP while another remains independent is pretty blatantly favoring one side and giving them a hugely unfair advantage. You even point out in your next paragraph how Federation alliance can exacerbate an internal conflict, so it makes sense to wait for a world to resolve its internal conflicts before offering it membership.
Besides, if you can’t unify with your own next-door neighbors, why should the Federation trust that you’d be able or willing to participate constructively as a member of an interstellar union?
I suppose I view it as punishing you for the actions of your neighbors. You shouldn’t be held responsible for the actions of others and if one group just happens to live on a planet that doesn’t want anything to do with the Federation, it seems weird to preclude membership. Crusher basically says, “Well, what if Australia didn’t want to join?” And Picard just goes, “That’s completely different.” Except, he’s cut off before he can give any sort of extended rebuttal. There’s an assumption that unification is something that is inevitable and even desirable I’m comfortable with.
I suppose part of it is the arbitrary nature of sharing a planetary biosphere. Certainly the Romulans and Vulcans don’t achieve reproachment for many centuries.
@66/C.T. Phipps: “I suppose I view it as punishing you for the actions of your neighbors. You shouldn’t be held responsible for the actions of others and if one group just happens to live on a planet that doesn’t want anything to do with the Federation, it seems weird to preclude membership.”
That’s where the Prime Directive concerns come in. It’s not punishing you, it’s refusing to punish or provoke your neighbors by giving you an unfair advantage over them.
Besides, UFP membership is only open to warp-capable cultures. So if you want to join the UFP but a rival nation on your planet refuses, you can found a colony world that can then join the UFP.
So, watching this episode in the wake of Picard season 2, I can’t help but notice that Jean-Luc is the one who wants to pursue a relationship at the end. The reading of his character as someone who’s pathologically closed to the possibility of forming romantic attachments just doesn’t seem like it’s textually supported.
@68/jaimebabb: “The reading of his character as someone who’s pathologically closed to the possibility of forming romantic attachments just doesn’t seem like it’s textually supported.”
On the one hand, I agree it’s kind of a retcon. On the other hand, speaking from my own life experience, I know that it’s possible to regress into introversion, that you can become more confident about relationships when your life is going better, then raise your defenses again later in life when things aren’t so great. So I can buy that something like that happened to Picard in the wake of the Romulan crisis and his retirement from Starfleet.
I suppose that you can make the argument that late-season Captain Picard is basically him at his maximum comfort level in life. He is a great deal more awkward socially in what we’ve seen of him both before and after.
@65: Does achieving planetary unification really speak that well though to how well a society could fit in the Federation (or even how well it gets along with its neighbors)? Lets consider two hypothetical planets. Planet A is made up of several independent polities, who, despite being independent from one another, otherwise have excellent diplomatic relations with each other and a long history of peaceful cooperation on matters of planetary concern. Planet B meanwhile has a unified government because the first nation on that planet to develop nuclear weapons used their military superiority to conquer all the other nations. Under those circumstances a nation from Planet A (with its history of diplomacy and cooperation with different nations) would seem a far better fit for the Federation than Planet B which only achieved unification at swordpoint.
Likewise if the concern is letting a society join the Federation when it has conflicts with its “neighbors” then where do you draw the line? What if a world is in conflict with another planet in their star system or the next star system over? Would those society’s also be barred from joining the Federation because they can’t get along with their next door neighbors?
@71/bguy: “Does achieving planetary unification really speak that well though to how well a society could fit in the Federation (or even how well it gets along with its neighbors)?”
No, but it’s obviously not the exclusive factor taken into consideration. Naturally an authoritarian regime that had conquered its entire world at gunpoint would not be considered a worthy candidate for membership. See above about universal civil rights being one of the requirements.
Checking the transcript of “Attached,” I see that lack of unification is not an automatic disqualifier for membership, since the Federation is considering the Kes’s application despite it. Picard merely says that every existing Federation member was unified when they joined, and he’s not sure it’s a good idea to admit a member that isn’t. In that case, it’s because the Prytt are isolationist and xenophobic. If it were a case like your Planet A, where everyone got along, that would have probably eased Picard’s concerns, based on what he said to Beverly.
I was just complaining about this episode this weekend. First, let me say I am a Picard/Crusher shipper. I’ve always found their relationship to be beautiful and loved the way it seemed to organically grow throughout the series. That said, I absolutely HATE the “he was in love with her from the moment they meant but she was his best friend’s girl” trope. I don’t buy that Beverly was so wonderful that he just instantly fell in love with her. There was no call for it. For me, it puts a taint on the relationship.