Captain’s log: stardate 42695.3 Melinda M, Snodgrass writes the teleplay for this episode, based on a story by Hannah Louise Shearer. Pen Pals first aired on 1 May, 1989. There are some good ideas at work in the episode. Data (Brent Spiner) answers a distress call from a young being on a planet in an…
Tag: captain’s log
Star Trek: The Next Generation (1989) – Time Squared, and The Icarus Factor
Captain’s log: stardate 42679.2 Maurice Hurley pens the teleplay for this episode, that first aired on 3 April, 1989, basing it on a story by Kurt Michael Bensmiller. I’ve always liked this one, or at least most of it, I wish they had done more with the second Picard (Patrick Stewart). But I am getting…
Star Trek: The Next Generation (1989) – Contagion, and The Royale
Captain’s log: stardate 42609.1 Airing on 27 March, 1989, Contagion is a fairly solid story written by Steve Gerber and Beth Woods. In response to a distress call from their sister ship, the U.S.S. Yamato, Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) orders the Enterprise to violate the Romulan Neutral Zone. Racing towards the ship, the Enterprise downloads…
Star Trek: The Next Generation (1989) – The Measure of a Man, and The Dauphin
Captain’s log: stardate 42523.7 The Measure of a Man, definitely in the top ten Trek episodes of all time, this gem was written by Melinda M. Snodgrass this classic first aired on 13 February, 1989. Data (Brent Spiner) is on trial for his synthetic life as the debate on whether or not he is a…
Star Trek: The Next Generation (1989) – Unnatural Selection, and A Matter of Honor
Captain’s log: stardate 42494.8 Unnatural Selection made it’s debut on 20 January, 1989. Written by John Mason and and Mike Gray, the story puts the ship’s new doctor, Pulaski (Diana Muldaur) on centre stage, as the Enterprise responds to a distress signal from the starship, Lantree. Picard (Patrick Stewart) and the crew investigate, as Pulaski…
Star Trek: The Next Generation (1989) – Loud as a Whisper, and The Schizoid Man
Captain’s log: stardate 42477.2 Loud as a Whisper first aired on 9 January, 1989. Written by Jacqueline Zambrano, I’m sure there is a fairly solid tale in here somewhere, with a great message. But it gets a little lost along the way. The story line revolves around a deaf mute diplomat and negotiator named Riva…
Star Trek: The Next Generation (1988) – Elementary, Dear Data, and The Outrageous Okana
Captain’s log: stardate 42286.3 Elementary, Dear Data first aired on 5 December, 1988. Written by Brian Alan Lane, this one is a holodeck story. Data (Brent Spiner) and Geordi (LeVar Burton) are looking to have some fun on the holodeck engaging in the roles of Sherlock Holmes and Watson, respectively. Unfortunately, Data knows all the…
Star Trek: The Next Generation (1988) – The Child, and Where Silence Has Lease
Captain’s log: stardate 42073.1 Season 2 got underway on 21 November, 1988 with The Child a re-purposed script from the 1970s proposed Phase 2 series that eventually became The Motion Picture. It was an Ilia and Decker story, with Ilia being switched to Troi (Marina Sirtis). Written by Jaron Summers, Jon Povill and Maurice Hurley,…
Star Trek: The Next Generation (1988) – Conspiracy, and The Neutral Zone
Captain’s log: stardate 41775.5 Conspiracy is a strange one, and one of my favourite episodes from the first season. It’s darker than Trek usually is, and begged for a sequel which we never got sadly. This episode first aired on 9 May, 1988. Written by Tracy Torme from a story by Robert Sabaroff, the Enterprise…
Star Trek: The Next Generation (1988) – Skin of Evil, and We’ll Always Have Paris
Captain’s log: stardate 41601.3 Skin of Evil. Written by Joseph Stefano and Hannah Louise Shearer, from a story by Stefano. This episode which aired on 25 April, 1988 was Tasha Yar’s (Denise Crosby) swan song. The series to this point despite being touted as an ensemble had yet to deliver any real meat in terms…
The Mind Reels 