Genesis (19 Mar. 1994)

When a new torpedo guidance system malfunctions, Picard and Data go chasing after it into an asteroid field, while the crew is left behind to deal with their own strange behaviors.

Director:

Gates McFadden

Writers:

Gene Roddenberry (creator), Brannon Braga

Stars:

Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, LeVar Burton

Cast

Episode cast overview:
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
Patti Yasutake	...	Nurse Alyssa Ogawa
Dwight Schultz	...	Barclay
Carlos Ferro	...	Ensign Dern
Majel Barrett	...	Enterprise Computer (voice)

Storyline

After some arboretum visits Dr. Crusher diagnoses nothing serious, but soon dozens of crew members get behavioral deviations, affecting appetite, memory and emotions. Reg Barclay takes care of Data's cat Spot, who is pregnant like nurse Alyssa Ogawa. Worf first fails testing or diagnosing his new guidance system, so Picard and Data chase a lost torpedo, then bites Deana and turns into an erratic beast due to a bite a sprays venom himself. By the time Picard and Data return, everyone aboard seems mutating and/or molested: the Enterprise has become a 'de-evolution zoo', Data believes by a virus reviving dormant genes from ancestral species. Picard is also infected, causing growing prey-anxiety. Nevertheless he must lure monstrous Worf away so Data can develop a retrovirus from genetic material after finding Spot's kittens remained perfectly feline when ma turned iguana.

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Plot Keywords:

24th century | fight | monster

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

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Details

Release Date:

19 March 1994 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Television

Technical Specs

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the original script, Carlos Ferro was found dead on the floor, rather than sitting at his station.

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Goofs

Worf's venom sac appears rather quickly. When he attacks Deanna, its not there. In the following scene in Sickbay, its there on his neck.

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Quotes

Lt. Commander Data: [to Ogawa, referring to her and Spot's pregnancy] I have spent the past nine weeks as an expectant parent. I would be happy to share my insights with your husband. If my experience is any indication, he will need all the help he can get.

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Connections

References Star Trek: The Next Generation: Realm of Fear (1992)

User Reviews

Barclay's Proto-morphism Syndrome

"Gates" does an incredible job of directing this Ep - Which takes the plot element of a Medical Conundrum and mixes it with an Homage, either deliberate or Accidental, of the film "Alien".

Of course, it is all Barclay's fault - This guy is an even worse hypochondriac than I am. I think all of us at one time or another, read too many Medical Journals, and have developed symptoms equivalent to things we had read about. Even so, this is Dwight Schultz' Penultimate Performance as "Barclay" - And his last in The Next Generation until his cameo in Star Trek: First Contact.

This Ep had some great Makeup effects, very realistic. Of course Spot might not have "Devolved" into an Iguana, but it would not have been cost effective to use makeup on a Cat. But to see Barclay as a Spider, Riker as a Cro-Magnon man, Nurse Ogawa as a Neanderthal, and Troi as a kind of Newt-Woman (Which of course was another nod to the Alien/Aliens Universe, as there was a character named "Newt" in Aliens) - Was enough to satisfy my Trek Injection of the time, as I saw this Ep First-Run.

The homages to Alien were done very well, especially the finding of the Shed Skin, and Worf's denting of the Sickbay Doors, and although his makeup looked more like "Predator" - Well, it is still an homage to Alien. There were some very startling moments in this- Two specifically I can think of, but I've put enough Spoilers into this. It is too bad the Series ended so soon after, "Gates" should have helmed more Eps - She mastered this one, Probably all of Riker's directing ability rubbed off on her.

We can thank Braga again for this story, another one of his better ones. At least he didn't blow up the Enterprise D in this ep (yet)- Or turn the Borg into Wimps. One of the stronger stories of the 7th Season.