Descent: Part 1 (19 Jun. 1993)

After an encounter with the Borg, Data feels his first emotion when he gets angry with the Borg. Data then tries to find ways to recreate the situation in order to feel emotions again, ... See full summary »

Director:

Alexander Singer

Writers:

Gene Roddenberry (creator), Ronald D. Moore (teleplay),

Stars:

John Neville, Natalija Nogulich, Brian Cousins

Cast

Episode cast overview:
John Neville	...	Isaac Newton
Natalija Nogulich	...	Admiral Alynna Nechayev
Brian Cousins	...	Crosis (as Brian J. Cousins)
Stephen Hawking	...	Himself (as Professor Stephen Hawking)
Patrick Stewart	...	Captain Jean-Luc Picard
Jonathan Frakes	...	Commander William T. Riker
LeVar Burton	...	Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge
Michael Dorn	...	Lieutenant Worf
Gates McFadden	...	Doctor Beverly Crusher
Marina Sirtis	...	Counselor Deanna Troi
Brent Spiner	...	Lt. Commander Data / Lore
Richard Gilbert-Hill	...	Bosus
Stephen James Carver	...	Tayar

Storyline

After an encounter with the Borg, Data feels his first emotion when he gets angry with the Borg. Data then tries to find ways to recreate the situation in order to feel emotions again, whilst the Enterprise investigates the Borg activity, and are bewildered as to why they feel emotions too.

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Plot Keywords:

24th century | cliffhanger | cyborg

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

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Details

Release Date:

19 June 1993 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Brandeis-Bardin Institute - 1101 Pepper Tree Lane, Simi Valley, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Television

Technical Specs

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Stephen Hawking was on the Paramount lot for the video release of his film A Brief History of Time. He asked the staff "Could you take me out of my chair and put me in the captain's chair?" His request was granted.

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Goofs

Either the brig continues to be remodeled, or there is a continuity problem with respect to the controls for the force field that closes off the prisoner's cell. In this episode, a crewman sits at a control console & activated/deactivates the force field. In Star Trek: The Next Generation: I Borg, a crewman tapped a panel on the wall to operate it, and in an even earlier episode Picard himself was able to turn it on/off with a simple voice command to the computer.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Prof. Stephen Hawking: ...But then I said, "In that frame of reference, the perihelion of Mercury would have recessed in the opposite direction."

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Connections

Features Star Trek: The Next Generation: I Borg (1992)

User Reviews

Finding emotions.

ST:TNG:152 - "Descent, Part I" (Stardate: 46982.1) - this is the 26th and last episode of the 6th season of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

In this beginning of a 2-part episode, the Enterprise responds to a distress call from Ohniaka III, where the Enterprise confronts an ominous-looking alien vessel orbiting the planet. An Away Team to the planet though discover a group of Borg that are hostile but self-aware (calling themselves "I" not "we") - at the same time Data begins to experience emotions for the first time ever (more specifically rage).

Soon one of the Borg is captured while the Federation prepares for an invasion by the Borg again (lead by Vice Admiral Alynna Nechayev - played again by Natalia Nogulich). And this Borg convinces Data to yearn for more emotions and that may lead to the betrayal of his crewmates.

What really is going on? What the Enterprise crew finds leads them to familiar figures from their past, with Dr. Crusher in command!

Trivia note: Data plays poker on the Holodeck with Isaac Newton (played by John Neville), Albert Einstein (played again by Jim Norton whom we last saw in "The Nth Degree"), and the real-life Stephen Hawking. Nechayev also questions what Picard did with Hugh in "I, Borg". Data also reveals that you need 2 senior officers to disable the Holodeck safety protocol. And, Picard mentions he was Locutus of Borg again.